The City of Magpies

Do you ever spend a lot of money on something, then look at it again and wonder why you spent so much on it?

The BBC do every time this programme airs.

Visually stunning, but lacking in anything else that warrants the sheer amount of hype surrounding it.

An excellent return to one of last year's best new shows. Plenty of exciting things happening with no filler, season 2 starts off with a bang. This is visually stunning in UHD HLG HDR on BBC and the charisma between Lyra and Will is powerful and instant. We are in for an exciting second season

What a great start. After a solid first season, His Dark Materials returns better than ever, with an outstanding first episode. Every thing was better, acting cinematography etc, and it promises a whole lot for the rest of the season! In my opinion, dialogue improved the most, and it might get even better. Keeping it spoiler free, it made watching the first season worth.

Lyra Silvertongue crosses the gate and arrives in an abandoned town without adults called Cittàgazze in another world. She stumbles upon a teenager without daemon, Will Perry, in a cafeteria and she leaves him alone. Later, Pan convinces her to meet will again. Will and Lyra talk to two local girls that explain that Spectres eat the soul of adults, reason why there is no adult in Cittàgazze. Meanwhile, in a zeppelin, Hugh MacPhail argues with Cardinal Sturrock about the portal that Lord Asriel opened in the North. Marisa Coulter tells them that she will interview the witch they have captured, and Coulter tortures her to get information about Lyra. However, the witch Ruta Skadi comes on board and kills the prisoner, a few soldiers and hurts Cardinal Sturrock. The evil Ms. Coulter proposes a Machiavellian plan to MacPhail.

"The City of Magpies" is the first episode of the Second Season of "His Dark Materials", with the interaction of Lyra and Will. They learn that they are both from Oxford from different worlds. Mrs. Coulter's evilness is amazing and the mastermind of the evil Magisterium. The black witch Ruta Skadi helps her plans. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "The City of Magpies"

If you loved the first season (and if you have common sense, you DID), there's always this tingling fear when the second season starts that it might not live up to it. Or even worse: downright suck. Now how often has THAT nightmare happened to you, am I right? Let me put your mind at ease: no need for that fear! Not even a little bit. If anything is different it's that I wonder if it didn't just start out even better.

Now I have read the books and loved them. But luckily long ago, enough to not remember every detail no more so the diferences can't annoy me as they always do when I see a movie adaptation too close after reading the book! So that is definitely a good thing, because I'm typically VERY prone to that particular annoyance. Now I can just sit back and enjoy the hell out of this show, and I do.

Man I enjoyed every bloody second of this episode! More than I remember from the first season I felt this episode had many differently colored moments: it was exiting, beautiful, tense, impressive, funny and moving at times. If they keep this up I will be hooked for the whole season. This episode made me want to pick the books up again and I guess I soon will! Don't worry though, I'm a sloooooow reader!

To end this review I'ld like to state something very important to me: I really hope I'm not the only person in the world that totally thinks Ruth Wilson is a bloody AWESOME and fascinating actress to look at! Man I am eating up every second that woman is on screen and I think she wears the role of Miss Coulter like a perfectly fitting dress.

Ruth Wilson can add me to her fanlist for sure!