The latest episode of His Dark Materials has left fans somewhat disappointed after a certain change was made from the original book.
The BBC series’ fifth episode included a heartbreaking moment where Lyra (Dafne Keen) discovers a dying Billy Costa (Tyler Howitt) who has been cut away from his daemon.
He is brought back to his mother Ma Costa (Anne-Marie Duff) who lets him reunite with his daemon as he passes away.
However, this is a significant change from the book Northern Lights, where Lyra actually finds another boy, Tony Makarios, who has been separated from his daemon.
In the moment, Tony is discovered desperately clutching to a dried fish. It’s the closest thing he can find to a daemon before he dies.
Many viewers have expressed dissatisfaction in how the dried fish element was excluded as well as the merging of Billy with another character.
“I think tonight’s episode lost something desperately sad when they decided not to go with the dried fish part. In the book that is the moment that guts – the horror and futility of it. We lost the ringing poignancy of that scene in the book,” one fan wrote.
Another added: “This was exactly what I worried about previously; with so little focus on the daemons and how physically close they always are, I don’t think the moment landed at all. And without the dried fish part it lost so much poignancy/horror.”
“Literally nothing about this adaptation has pissed me off more than merging Billy Costa and Tony Makarios and making this moment about someone they know being hurt rather than the pure horror of something that shouldn’t be done to anyone,” a third said.
OPINION TIME: I think tonight’s episode lost something desperately sad when they decided not to go with the dried fish part. In the book that is the moment that guts – the horror and futility of it. We lost the ringing poignancy of that scene in the book #HisDarkMaterials
— Melinda Salisbury (@MESalisbury) December 1, 2019
Couldn’t agree more – this was exactly what I worried about previously; with so little focus on the daemons and how physically close they always are, I don’t think the moment landed at all. And without the dried fish part it lost so much poignancy/horror.
— Alison Hennessey (@Alison_Edits) December 1, 2019
literally nothing about this adaptation has pissed me off more than merging Billy Costa and Tony Makarios and making this moment about someone they know being hurt rather than the pure horror of something that shouldn’t be done to anyone #HisDarkMaterials
— Leah Mountford (@choctopus) December 1, 2019
I can forgive merging Tony with Billy for a TV adaptation, but they should have kept the fish! And he should have been asking for Ratter. The emotion of that scene was watered down. #HisDarkMaterials
— Jo! (@Jay_Bee_Gee) December 1, 2019
Yep…totally lost. Also, why have Billy in a fish drier but not include the point of him being in there aka the fish?
— Dr Carrie Parris ? (@ParrisNotices) December 1, 2019
You can read NME‘s verdict on the latest His Dark Materials episode, which also gave viewers a first proper look at Will Parry.
