The most gripping scene in the His Dark Materials episode ‘Theft’ is a two-hander between Ruth Wilson and Lin-Manuel Miranda as Mrs Coulter and Lee Scoresby. (As their daemons are a key part of things, the scene could more properly be described as a two-hands and eight-paws-er, but let’s not be cute about it.)
Invented for the TV adaptation by writers Jack Thorne and Sarah Quintrell, and directed by Leanne Welham, the scene shows Mrs Coulter threatening an imprisoned Lee with violence for information on Lyra’s whereabouts. By now, we know that’s no idle threat on Mrs Coulter’s side; torture is very much in this woman’s bag of tricks.
