His Dark Materials season 3, episode 4 recap: Lyra and Her Death

Mrs. Coulter decides to take matters into her own hands by going directly to The Magisterium herself. In HBO’s His Dark Materials season 3 episode 4 “Lyra and Her Death”, we find out if her plan works meanwhile Lyra meets her Death in order to find Roger.

His Dark Materials Season 3 Episode 4 recap – Lyra meets her Death

Lyra, Pan and Will follow the silent people into a building, hoping this will lead them to Roger. However, they are spotted by a man who notices they are not dead.

They are told to go to one holding area and then another. This process feels ridiculous until they meet a man noticing they are still alive.

He takes them into a waiting room where people are literally waiting for their Death. Lyra tells the group what she and Will are trying to do, with one old woman being kind enough to try to help.

She explains to them that everyone, since birth has their Death following them. It stays with them until it is their time to die.

If Lyra wishes to seek her Death, she merely has to want it. However, Lyra is warned that all those who go to the Land of the Dead are never seen again.

Both Pan and Will are unsure about Lyra’s plan, but she is sticking to it, becoming obsessed with helping Roger. Her Death indeed arrives as a quiet, calm young woman dressed in black that only Lyra can see.

Lyra and her Death talk in private about everything she wants to do. Even though her Death disagrees with Lyra’s plan, she agrees to help her.

His Dark Materials Season 3 Episode 4 recap – Mrs. Coulter’s Plan

Mrs. Coulter decides to go to The Magisterium using Lord Asriel’s Intention Craft. Once there she uses her old, cunning ways to meet with Father President MacPhail who she still addresses by his first name.

Immediately she plays her cards right, explaining to him what her plan was with Lyra and how The Magisterium messed it up. She explains that Eve was tempted and that’s why Eden fell.

She believes that if Lyra is never tempted, she will never become Eve. Part of her story seems to work.

Especially when she ups the charm on the supposedly abstinent Father President. Her love and devotion for Lyra is equal to that of The Magisterium, however she is not out of the woods yet.

She is brought to a room where she meets one of Lord Asriel’s fairy/insect beings. They had come with her in the Intention Craft but lost communication with Lord Asriel.

They cannot return to him with Mrs. Coulter and the Intention Craft. They decide to work together as the fairy/insect, and she set up a brilliant plan to see what Father Gomez is up to.

After donning one of many dresses from her mother (it’s implied she has or had a horrific relationship with her), Mrs. Coulter demands to pray in the chapel. She manages to open a door where others are praying (we assume this is where the fairy/insect went), before spotting a lab.

There Dr. Cooper is working on a bomb which intrigues Mrs. Coulter before she is arrested. That night, while pretending to be asleep, Father Gomez takes Mrs. Coulter’s necklace which holds Lyra’s hair inside.

Turns out the bomb they are building will track and kill whoever the assigned target is. The fairy/insect is able to retrieve the hair and warn Mrs. Coulter.

However, as they try to escape via the Intention Craft, Mrs. Coulter is trapped. As they attempt to arrest her, she demands she stand trial for aiding in the death of a previous Cardinal, which ensured Father President MacPhail’s current position.

Of course, Father President MacPhail shuts her accusations down. She is arrested, separated from her daemon, where they are planning to cut the bond the two have.

To make matters even worse, they still have some leftover hair to still be able to use the bomb.

His Dark Materials Season 3 Episode 4 recap – Goodbye

Lyra’s Death leads her to the ferryman, an older man with a small boat. She is warned once again that anyone who has gone to the Land of the Dead hasn’t returned.

As Lyra and Will prepare to board, the ferryman tells her, Pan cannot go. Lyra makes multiple attempts to change his mind, even explaining how Pan is a part of her.

However, he will hear none of it. Even Will’s threats mean nothing to him.

The ferryman has dealt with all kinds of people who don’t want to go. He must follow the rules and laws and that means Pan cannot go with them.

Lyra must choose between saving Roger or staying with Pan and going home. Lyra however feels she must choose Roger which breaks Pan’s heart.

He makes a very convincing argument as to why she shouldn’t go however Lyra’s mind has already been made up. Pan and Lyra watch each other as the boat leaves.

Once Lyra can no longer see Pan through the fog, she begins to feel a horrible pain in her chest. The episode ends with Pan hearing Lyra’s screams of pain.

His Dark Materials Season 3 Episode 4 review

There is a lot to unpack here. As much as I feared this was going to be episode that goes nowhere, it surprisingly covered a lot of ground.

While I apologize for saying that the idea of a bomb that can track a target from anywhere, yes even worlds away, seems ridiculous to me, it does work in the sense that Mrs. Coulter will be behind Lyra’s death. If she had stayed with Lord Asriel, then this situation wouldn’t be happening.

It is sort of that cautionary tale we’ve seen repeatedly, where someone tries to prevent an event but by doing so causes the event to happen. If the plan works and bomb is able to track Lyra, how will this happen if she is in the Land of the Dead?

We’re about to find out how untouchable or not, these other words can be. Even if it is a supernatural world.

I am conflicted about Lyra’s decision to go through with going to the Land of the Dead. By all accounts, this is a pointless mission as Roger is dead.

For her to risk her own life, as well as potentially end her bond with Pan because she feels the need to tell Roger goodbye or I’m sorry, is really dumb. Which is also why I believe there will be more at play and her mission won’t be a complete waste of time.

What does feel like a waste of time is Dr. Malone, as once again we are following her for a brief moment in the episode where nothing truly happens. This may be the first-time something sort of does.

She’s comes across a strange animal, that looks like a combination of several animals, that can talk. When she desperately tries to follow it, she’s grabbing all her belongings but forgets one thing.

That’s it. I understand audiences want to know what she’s up to, but you have to show us something other than her walking around.

This is the final season with not a lot of episodes left and she hasn’t contributed anything. We’re hoping we actually see more of her in the next episode.

By see her, we mean see her doing something relevant to the story.

What did you think of the His Dark Materials season 3 episode 4? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

His Dark Materials season 3 episode 5 airs on HBO December 19, 2022.