His Dark Materials fans praise ‘terrifying’ sixth episode as children have their deamons cut away by twisted scientists

HIS Dark Materials viewers have praised the “terrifying” sixth episode – as children have their deamons cut away by twisted scientists.

The BBC drama saw Lyra – played by Dafne Keen – try and rally her young peers as they faced having their deamons cut away at Bolvangar.

She ends up having an almighty clash with her own mother Mrs Coulter – played by Ruth Wilson – before tricking her into allowing an escape.

While Ruth has given her version of Mrs Coulter a slightly more sympathetic edge than in the books which the series is adapted from, viewers were full of praise for her portrayal.

Taking to Twitter, one wrote: “Someone else giving a great performance in television right now is Ruth Wilson in #HisDarkMaterials as Mrs Coulter. Truly terrifying but in a good way. Love Ruth playing these kind of roles!”

Another added: “The one thing BBC’s #HisDarkMaterials has gotten 100% right the whole way through is how chilling, terrifying, and utterly, devastatingly compelling Mrs Coulter is. She is the stuff of dreams and nightmares, and Ruth Wilson is beyond perfect.”

They weren’t alone in their thoughts, as another fan tweeted: “I think #HisDarkMaterials was magnificent tonight. Terrifying, heroic, deeply moving. The emotion hidden by Mrs Coulter’s evil…. incredible acting.”

Meanwhile a fourth wrote: “This goes from one terrifying incident to another. I’m close to behind the sofa…. #HisDarkMaterials.”

Speaking about her role, Ruth, 37, previously told Entertainment Weekly: “I have really enjoyed this job because there’s so much mystery to her. She’s quite enigmatic.

“In the books, you never get to know her at all. She comes in and she’s a bit like the White Witch in the Chronicles of Narnia. She comes in and does something ghastly and leaves again.

“You’re always confused by what her motives are and who she really is.”

But with the TV series, Ruth added: “[Author] Philip Pullman has given us more license to do that, which is really great.

“He’s allowed us to dig more into her and to examine why she is who she is and why she makes those decisions and why she does the awful things she does.

“It’s a huge journey for her to go on throughout the seasons.”

His Dark Materials continues at 9pm on Sunday, December 15 on BBC One.

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