My thoughts on Marisa Coulter’s Decision To Set Lee Scoresby free, and her love for her child, Lyra Belaqua on This week’s episode of His Dark Materials.

TW: child abuse

*SPOILER ALERT*

In this week’s episode of His Dark Materials; Lyra races between worlds with Pan and Will, and Mrs. Coulter (Ruth Wilson) uses her new leverage with the Magisterium to go to great lengths to find her. It is in this pursuit that she comes face-to-face with Lee Scoresby (Lin Manuel-Miranda), who is on his own Lyra-related mission. Their first encounter in Monday’s episode reveals not only their shared love of the young protagonist, but also a linked trauma through childhood abuse. It is a poignant scene, with Wilson and Miranda both showing a vulnerability in their characters, that hasn’t been seen up to this point, especially in the case of Mrs. Coulter.

In the few moments that we’ve seen cracks in Coulter’s stoic, cold and calculating exterior, it is almost always in relation to Lyra. Even when she is reunited with Asriel and she contemplates leaving with him through the portal, her daughter is in the forefront of her mind. One of the things I appreciate about Marisa Coulter’s character is that despite everything else, she truly loves her child. And even though that is clear to us as the viewer, and to anyone she meets, this fact is not used to try to redeem her as a person. 

She is an evil woman. She’s calculating and deceitful, she kidnapped and mutilated children, and even killed to get the things she wants. And yet her sins do not downplay how she feels about her child. As you watch her go to great lengths to find Lyra, you can’t help but feel for her as a mother. Even if she was able to find her, we know that her daughter wants nothing to do with her. And that she will never stop trying to get away from her. Mrs. Coulter also knows this, and I feel like that is a large part of her motivation in setting Scoresby free. While their meeting is in no way a friendly one, she sees something in him, and vice versa. They are both people who have refused to be broken by their dark pasts, and they both love genuinely love Lyra. And unlike with her mother, Lyra trusts Lee. Despite the fact that he and Coulter are on two completely different sides of this brewing conflict, she knows that Scoresby will take care of her daughter. Because like her, he is willing to risk his life, if it means protecting Lyra.