The Idea of North

HBO | Air Date: November 11, 2019

7.1	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 14 Ratings

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Gregdel69Nov 13, 2019

The last comment is so WRONG in many ways. This episode was even better than the first. And the casting is ON POINT and give VERY good performances. There are all exceptional. And the plot is not rushed at all. It’s actually very accurate toThe last comment is so WRONG in many ways. This episode was even better than the first. And the casting is ON POINT and give VERY good performances. There are all exceptional. And the plot is not rushed at all. It’s actually very accurate to the book and the pacing is on point. We go more in deep in this world and the worldbuilding was brilliant!… Expand

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KatalkysteNov 26, 2019

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. i hoped that the show would take on pace and gets to a place where it doesnt drag as much as the first episode did, which was ok in pace but it could have needed some extra drive in the plot advancement. yet the second episode does something weird. It reveals a bit too much for the second episode (the crossing) and yet drags the plot painfully slow. The episode is almost entirely shot in the apartment where the Art Deco setting of the series clashes with some of the set pieces like the balcony furniture from a home depot or the rectangular flower pots. It was astonishingly event less and simply boring to watch Ruth Wilson/ Miss Coulter trying to mimic some emotional expressions in her face. She just doesn't "own" this role as much as Nicole Kidman did. The entire episode just drags and drags with dialogues that lead to nowhere and periods where you simply miss the plot relevance until you have read the books in advance. Together with the lacking in cleverness in camera angle and cuts the episode was a clear downer. The show should be cut more like in the Trailer and less like a social drama. Lots of the "emotions" seem to be just there for emotions there is no real segway into or out of them.. Just one example : when Miss Coulter had her Party, there is no explanation as of why this is happening, the Journalist that approaches Lyra has no explanation as of why she is there and how she made it into this location and how she know about Lyra being there, why lyra is supposed to be important or how she had found her, she had no escape plan, no agency and no arc. Yet everyone important seemed to perfectly know who she is and why she in important /dangerous as so much that one of the main "evil" characters leaves the party and chrushes her demon to make her faint. why? noone knows. She should have been treated as an "unwanted guest" after failing to show her invitation being thrown out with a warning and that's it.

Also the show doesnt depict the demons correctly, they should be just "there" and not really speaking or giving advice other than just being at the right spot in the right moment. The voice of Pan is way too similar to lyras and is sometimes hard to distinguish. IF the demons have to talk (which defies the status as animal demons) the make it a shifted or distorted voice. And it clearly states in the books that humans normally do not take notice of demons unless its their own or they fight.. the scene in the car where he uses the demon of the reporter to faint her is not correct. Same with Mrs. Coulters ape demon attacking pan. Doesnt work this way. so all in all there are plenty of small and tiny annoyances and things that just doesnt make much sense in this setting, plus i think the introduction of "our world" was way to verbose, way too early and had no real impact on the episode.. Lord Carlo Boreal should have just crossed and we should have heard some car horns with some rain being swept over, that would have done the trick completely.… Expand

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YourmumsbillsNov 11, 2019

I was somewhat undecided after the first episode. There were things i liked, but there were far more i didn't. I was hoping that things would improve, but sadly episode two was just awful. Firstly, i quickly realised i had already forgottenI was somewhat undecided after the first episode. There were things i liked, but there were far more i didn't. I was hoping that things would improve, but sadly episode two was just awful. Firstly, i quickly realised i had already forgotten who was playing who in regards to many of the characters, due to a complete lack of any character development. Not a good thing given that the books are VERY character driven. And i hate to say it but i really can't stand the woman playing Mrs Coulter. As mentioned before, she is supposed to have a radiating beauty that is spellbinding to all around her. And unfortunately the actor playing her is far from attractive, at the very least not in the objective sense that the book describes, which basically undermines her entire character as she gets away with many of her evil deeds by way of her mesmerising beauty, radiance and charm. Apart from the (in my opinion) mostly awful casting, this second episode already shows signs of rushing the story. Obviously this is an adaptation, but a good screen writer can adapt a story without making it feel rushed. This episode just plows through too much in one go and even reveals story elements that are not introduced for some time in the book. By the end of the episode i had pretty much decided that i won't continue to watch and have the story tainted by this rather amateur production. I just feel really sad for Philip Pullman, This is another very poor attempt to adapt his wonderful writing to the screen.… Expand

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LJA1Dec 8, 2019

As Lyra leaves Jordan College, and joins Mrs Coulter, it's like leaving "amazing" and joining "phenomenal"

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