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https://nerdist.com/article/his-dark-materials-4th-episode-real-beginning/
Warning: This post contains major spoilers from episode four of His Dark Materials.
HBO/BBC
One of the most common refrains from His Dark Materials’ early detractors has been that the show moves too slowly. We don’t agree, but it’s true there has been a lot of world building at the series’ outset. But it’s also true the show has been moving at a much faster pace than the first novel in author Philip Pullman’s trilogy. No matter how you feel about the first three episodes, the fourth marked the end of the show’s exposition phase and the start of its epic story. And a talking bear, his charming balloon-flying friend, and real witches only hint at the incredible journey His Dark Materials is about to take.
The show’s fourth episode, “Armour,” took its name from the stolen gear belonging to Iorek Byrnison. His imposing presence and fierceness made Lyra’s constant hyping of the North more than live up to its reputation. But even beyond the spectacle of a massive, snarling, grumpy talking bear, this episode felt like the first time the show truly tapped into its fantastical elements.
HBO/BBC
The promise of the alethiometer proved vital to the plot in a way only teased before. We’re also one step closer to meeting the witches the show’s opening title card references. Serafina Pekkala’s daemon, which can safely travel a great distance away from her, was enough to make the Northern clan feel special without formally introducing her. The sad story of Serafina’s past relationship with Farder Coram also made her feel real. Armored Bears and Witches are no longer mythical beings in far away lands, they are ever-present and active characters in the story.
It’s an important development for the show, and it made this episode feel very different from the first three. Daemons and magical spy flies were enough to help differentiate Lyra’s world from our own early on. But “Armour” was the first time His Dark Materials fully embraced its fantasy elements. The Magisterium might be important, but oppressive old men in black robes aren’t as interesting as magical creatures living on the edge of the world. Stuffy old London—with its dusty colleges and fancy high-rises—already feels insignificant compared to what lies ahead. Even Lin-Manuel Miranda’s balloon-flying Lee Scoresby felt like he swooped in from another place and time, one far removed from where the show had taken us previously.
HBO/BBC
Does that mean critics who said the show moved too slowly to start were right? Did we need three episodes to get to the proverbial “good stuff?” It’s up to each viewer to decide, but it seems like a “problem” that was unavoidable.
Readers of Philip Pullman’s books know the first half of The Golden Compass moves at a snail’s pace compared to the rest of the story. The second and third novels move so fast they sound insane when you describe them. It’s not a problem when you’re reading it because you don’t know that, and The Golden Compass is engaging unto itself. Pullman’s superb prose is a big reason why. You’re so immersed in Lyra’s story that taking your time to ground yourself in her universe doesn’t feel slow. Only later, when things happen at a breakneck speed, do you even realize how comfortable you felt there in the first place. And it’s all worth it. All of that early world-building pays off in ways you could never have predicted.
HBO/BBC
There’s a reason the novels are so beloved. Unfortunately, that kind of introduction into a fantasy world doesn’t always work for a TV show. It certainly doesn’t always work for a TV show in 2019. There are more television options than any one human could watch in a single year. A series doesn’t have the luxury of finding its footing. It can’t take its time building towards something the way it might have 20 years ago. TV shows need to engage you immediately. The best way to do that is by starting off fast and never slowing down.
For viewers new to the story, it might be hard to realize that’s exactly what His Dark Materials has done. It has moved through a large portion of The Golden Compass already. It’s also introduced major elements from the second novel, The Subtle Knife. The show has already revealed important plot elements and characters a reader would still be far away from learning.
HBO/BBC
That’s not a defense of the show of course. Different mediums are held to different standards. What works in one might not work in another. Maybe it has been too slow, and maybe there has been too much world-building. But that doesn’t matter now. What will ultimately determine if the show is a success or not is what comes next.
Maybe you’ve loved the show so far. Maybe you’ve stayed with it because you were hopeful it would get better. Either way, episode four marked a clear turning point. We needed to know where Lyra came from so we could appreciate where she is going, and now she’s on her way there. This is when her journey really starts. And it’s a good one.
Featured Image: HBO/BBC
The post HIS DARK MATERIALS’ 4th Episode Marks Its Real Beginning appeared first on Nerdist.
Warning: This post contains major spoilers from episode four of His Dark Materials.
HBO/BBC
One of the most common refrains from His Dark Materials’ early detractors has been that the show moves too slowly. We don’t agree, but it’s true there has been a lot of world building at the series’ outset. But it’s also true the show has been moving at a much faster pace than the first novel in author Philip Pullman’s trilogy. No matter how you feel about the first three episodes, the fourth marked the end of the show’s exposition phase and the start of its epic story. And a talking bear, his charming balloon-flying friend, and real witches only hint at the incredible journey His Dark Materials is about to take.
The show’s fourth episode, “Armour,” took its name from the stolen gear belonging to Iorek Byrnison. His imposing presence and fierceness made Lyra’s constant hyping of the North more than live up to its reputation. But even beyond the spectacle of a massive, snarling, grumpy talking bear, this episode felt like the first time the show truly tapped into its fantastical elements.
HBO/BBC
The promise of the alethiometer proved vital to the plot in a way only teased before. We’re also one step closer to meeting the witches the show’s opening title card references. Serafina Pekkala’s daemon, which can safely travel a great distance away from her, was enough to make the Northern clan feel special without formally introducing her. The sad story of Serafina’s past relationship with Farder Coram also made her feel real. Armored Bears and Witches are no longer mythical beings in far away lands, they are ever-present and active characters in the story.
It’s an important development for the show, and it made this episode feel very different from the first three. Daemons and magical spy flies were enough to help differentiate Lyra’s world from our own early on. But “Armour” was the first time His Dark Materials fully embraced its fantasy elements. The Magisterium might be important, but oppressive old men in black robes aren’t as interesting as magical creatures living on the edge of the world. Stuffy old London—with its dusty colleges and fancy high-rises—already feels insignificant compared to what lies ahead. Even Lin-Manuel Miranda’s balloon-flying Lee Scoresby felt like he swooped in from another place and time, one far removed from where the show had taken us previously.
HBO/BBC
Does that mean critics who said the show moved too slowly to start were right? Did we need three episodes to get to the proverbial “good stuff?” It’s up to each viewer to decide, but it seems like a “problem” that was unavoidable.
Readers of Philip Pullman’s books know the first half of The Golden Compass moves at a snail’s pace compared to the rest of the story. The second and third novels move so fast they sound insane when you describe them. It’s not a problem when you’re reading it because you don’t know that, and The Golden Compass is engaging unto itself. Pullman’s superb prose is a big reason why. You’re so immersed in Lyra’s story that taking your time to ground yourself in her universe doesn’t feel slow. Only later, when things happen at a breakneck speed, do you even realize how comfortable you felt there in the first place. And it’s all worth it. All of that early world-building pays off in ways you could never have predicted.
HBO/BBC
There’s a reason the novels are so beloved. Unfortunately, that kind of introduction into a fantasy world doesn’t always work for a TV show. It certainly doesn’t always work for a TV show in 2019. There are more television options than any one human could watch in a single year. A series doesn’t have the luxury of finding its footing. It can’t take its time building towards something the way it might have 20 years ago. TV shows need to engage you immediately. The best way to do that is by starting off fast and never slowing down.
For viewers new to the story, it might be hard to realize that’s exactly what His Dark Materials has done. It has moved through a large portion of The Golden Compass already. It’s also introduced major elements from the second novel, The Subtle Knife. The show has already revealed important plot elements and characters a reader would still be far away from learning.
HBO/BBC
That’s not a defense of the show of course. Different mediums are held to different standards. What works in one might not work in another. Maybe it has been too slow, and maybe there has been too much world-building. But that doesn’t matter now. What will ultimately determine if the show is a success or not is what comes next.
Maybe you’ve loved the show so far. Maybe you’ve stayed with it because you were hopeful it would get better. Either way, episode four marked a clear turning point. We needed to know where Lyra came from so we could appreciate where she is going, and now she’s on her way there. This is when her journey really starts. And it’s a good one.
Featured Image: HBO/BBC
The post HIS DARK MATERIALS’ 4th Episode Marks Its Real Beginning appeared first on Nerdist.
Writer:Ta-Nehisi Coates /Artist:Daniel Acuña / Marvel Comics
The Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda arc is in its third book, Two Thousand Seasons, and issue #17 goes off! Ta-Nehisi Coates has brought this story to the point of crucial conflict (had to sneak a 90s rap reference in there). In all honesty, this book could’ve opened with Billy Porter at a podium in full Pray Tell regalia proclaiming, “The category is…Tango and Cash!”
Really though, Changamire, Zenzi, and Tetu (from the World of Wakanda arc, incited civil war, remember?) run up into Nigandan territory like Ocean’s Eleven to loot the cadaver of an infamous enemy of Wakanda. They’re the villains that come through to grab that one last component of the weapon that solidifies their plans. Once they show up, you know there’s a show of force against some nameless guards that ends with them ultimately getting what they came for. Despite the trope, the moments of dialogue between these three displays some fantastic character development.
This Black Panther run is still delivering peak Blackness on all fronts. The development of secondary and tertiary characters deepens this arc and leaves readers wondering where it’ll go next. Nakia and Storm have a conversation that I swear I’ve seen recapped in gifs of Love and Hip-Hop. Ororo is really feeling herself these days and Coates is selling it to great effect in issue #17.
Artist Daniel Acuña knows not only how to color Black skin for light sources (Federico Blee, I’m looking at you), but is capable of portraying Black nonverbal communication. Storm gives us Jill Scott at Chapelle’s Block Party confidence and Acuña captures all of it. I Stan.
The creative team on this book is turning out a clever piece of narrative work. In a digital age where Twitter will come for anyone not doing their due diligence, it means so much that at no point in this series is the violence simply for violence’s sake. Every moment is full of intention and symbolism. All props to those who came before but this is, without a doubt, the greatest Black Panther run ever executed.
Suggested Listening: You Got Me by The Roots (ft.Erykah Badu)
7.5 Tough Conversations out of 10
The post Black Panther #17 Review appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
Writer: Kelly Thompson // Artist: Chris Bachalo // MARVEL
It’s Confirmed Once Again…
Nobody likes Staten Island. We’re back with Deadpool #1 so you know what that means, a new and bigger target. We begin with the Monster King, and we meet Wade already torn in half in the first few panels. As we see him slowly heal, notice the artistic direction taken across the flashback Deadpool provides for his birthday memory. It stretches across the rest of the first issue. Deadpool #1 is all about the “split”. What our priorities are versus what we want for ourselves and how sometimes the intersection does not prove to be easy to acquire.
With color, Bachalo used Deadpool’s highlights in the midst of black and white. Thompson’s introduction to the painful gray area when you can tell something is about to hurt before it actually does sets the stage for a beautiful inference for the rest of the issue. Deadpool #1 taught me:
sometimes regeneration is numbing…
If there is one thing we know about Wade Wilson, it’s that he is impulsive. Often participating in grand gestures that would be seen as dangerous, but since his regeneration is impeccable he’s not always punished for his recklessness. In this issue the Thompson-Bachalo team attacked his impulsiveness through his humor, relationships and fighting style. Readers can sink into the emotions of Wade through chaotic art panels, that do not feel messy and displaced but rather reflective of his emotions in the situation.
From his lonely celebration night to the search for excitement while taking on the responsibility of an empire, we see Wade digging himself into a deeper hole. At times it felt like trying to search for meaning in the midst of loneliness. He’s just pitting recklessness against his own desires and through the whole comic I keep asking myself —
Bast Almighty! Wade, are you okay?
In this issue we still get our saucy mercenary who doesn’t know the right time to shut up, the right basis of all good things Deadpool. What I hope to see in future issues is the different ways in which Wade handles his stoic emotions. We see it in the fight with the Monster King and we see it in the slow tear of an empire he took over, but what are other clever ways can we see Deadpool face his inevitable sadness? Deadpool #1 introduced the pains of regeneration. When you’re too numb and you’re trying to find modes of escape. I am excited to see what this creative team does with Deadpool’s humor as well as the construction of sadness that showcases the various layers we have yet to discuss.
9.2 Dead Kings out of 10
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The post Wade Got Some Blood On His Crown in Deadpool #1 appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
Writer: Jason Aaron / Artists: Dale Keown and Andrea Sorrentino / Marvel Comics
I don’t know about you but my new preferred theory for the origin of life on planet Earth is a “diseased Celestial vomiting its liquified space innards onto our planet’s primordial shores”. I repeatedly roll my eyes and shrug my shoulders when trying to figure out what an issue of Aaron’s Avengers is going to be, given the prehistoric iterations introduced towards the beginning of this run. I should know better. These issues have been good, especially the ones that focus on one character. Last time it was Ghost Rider; Jason Aaron said, “Oh you liked the flaming mammoth? I’ll see that and raise you two gay cavemen and an energy blast-spitting T-Rex”. I’m only half-joking, but does Jason Aaron have the superpower to take my childhood dreams and turn them into legit comics? Much of the Million B.C. Avengers make sense. Iron Fist, Black Panther, Ghost Rider, Thor and Phoenix have cannon origins than go back generations. The stretch was Hulk. Hulk is being linked to the “Starbrand”, a cosmic force re-introduced by Jonathan Hickman in his Avengers run. If there’s one universal truth in comics (maybe even in life), though, it’s that it doesn’t matter how bizarre an idea is if it comes with a compelling story.
This tale follows the Starbrand on its first journey to Earth as the meteor (meteorite? I don’t know space) that wiped out the dinosaurs. Well, almost all the dinosaurs. Next, Aaron plays with Biblical themes introducing the slight Vnn and the burly Brrkk in a garden of paradise. Spending their days naming plants, defending the garden from attackers, and loving each other until the Starbrand abruptly infuses one with its power as the other dies. The grief, rage and loneliness expressed by the new Starbrand made a Hulk a befitting a new form of Earth’s new champion.
The art team demolished this one. Between the dinosaurs, a celestial and a Starbrand Hulk there were plenty of opportunities for impressive action shots. Not relying on action alone, the tranquil garden scene had elegance and grace. The emotion was beautifully conveyed on the two lovers’ faces. This was the best kind of book; one that could stand alone with no context and still shine.
10 “Starbrand T-Rex vs Kree Fights” out of 10
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The post Avengers #26 Review appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.