Miranda discusses the tragedies that befall His Dark Materials and what it means for season 3.
Warning: Spoilers fromHis Dark Materialsseason 2, episode 7 are discussed in this article.
Lin-Manuel Mirandahas been preparing for this moment ever since reading the works of authorPhilip Pullman.
Courtesy of HBO
Well, four, if you count their daemons.
Crash landing in the woods, they are forced to fight.
That’s when Lee makes the ultimate sacrifice so that John can fulfill his mission.
He takes a bullet.
LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA:Haha!
What was your reaction when you found out that Lee would be going out in this blaze of glory?
And then what was it like acting it out?
Well, my first reaction was back in 2005 when I read the books.
I had that in the back of my mind when I said yes to the gig.
So, I think a part of me has been preparing since I signed on for the gig.
We haven’t just gotten to know Lee, we’ve gotten to know Hester and their relationship.
I think that’s the extra twist that you never see coming.
It’s heartbreaking in the book, and I hope we did it a bit of justice.
I also found something really beautiful about this moment.
I was curious if you had any thoughts on that for Lee.
So, why don’t I put their souls outside their body?
I haven’t readThe Subtle Knifefor many years.
I didn’t want to re-read it and get too attached to anything in case our version strayed.
That is a beautiful, heartbreaking line.
Have you paid any attention to the social media reaction surrounding Lee’s death in the U.K.?
[The finale episode aired earlier in abroad on Sunday, Dec.
I felt it psychically on a Sunday afternoon here in New York that things were sad.
You see it in an hour, but there was a week of filming.
So, was that the last scene you shot for the entire second season?
My last scenes were in the balloon, but we did have the luxury of filming that sequentially.
Was there a camaraderie with Andrew being that both your characters died off in this episode?
From my perspective, I’m fighting them off so he can keep going.
“Oh sh–!
He dies, too!”
That’s a lot for the viewers.
We had an amazing time filming that sequence.
Something that we talked about a lot wasBand of Brothers.
Andrew worked on that when he was a very young actor years ago.
The joy of working on this show is the backlot is all of Wales.
It’s just gorgeous country.
We were in the mud and in rain all day.
You just go off into a corner of the muddy gulch.
We’re insects now."
Going into this sequence, what to you defines Lee’s last leg of this journey?
He really makes Lyra into a higher cause.
I find that enormously moving.
The final scenes; no, I’m not gonna say that because it’s a spoiler.
But, yeah, my answer is I serve at the pleasure of Bad Wolf Productions.
If there’s a call for Lee in a corporeal or non-corporeal form, I would be there.
My family would love to go back to Wales.
I know Philip Pullman’s books are really close to your heart.
Jack Thorne talks about greatness versus goodness being a theme in this.
It’s not the same thing as doing “great things” and I think Lee shares that.
Are there any big moments from filming this show that will stick with you?
