I must say that the show is a lot more intense than the book.

The madness of Lady Pole.

The scene of Stephen's birth.

The war. The only moment when it was anything, but an adventure for Strange was after the Battle of Waterloo. Even Neopolitans were mostly described as more of an annoyance to him than a horror. And as I liked an outrageous magic he used in the books, effortlessly changing a landscape how he wished it to be, it worked well in the show to make it harder for him.

 

Alright. So, having seen the third episode, I'll just say that it was pretty amazing. Not as faithful to the book as the earlier episodes, but it worked well.

So, reactions. First, I liked the scene with Jeremy. In the book, he just disappeared somewhere halfway through. That one scene here, though...

Second, I'm a little disappointed in Childermass here. Stealing Strange's mail was in character, but breaking into Pole's house and taking that tapestry, that came off as cruel. I was sympathetic when he was shot in the book, not so much here.

Though you do see the shortcoming of the medium in that same scene. In the book, Childermass' confusion and disorientation during the whole scene was much more visceral.

That scene with Norrell and Lady Pole, though. The show has made me much more sympathetic to Stephen and Lady Pole than the book ever managed. In the book, Emma's dislike and distrust for her husband and all men and magicians seemed understandable, but still a bit forced. Here, I can understand why she'd hate Walter. On the other hand, the book did much better to show Walter in a more sympathetic light.

On the war, I have to agree with Celestin, above.

The man with the thistledown hair was still disappointing. In the book, he was crazy, and his brand of evil was just so oblivious, he really came of as inhuman. Here he just comes off as sinister and trying too hard.

And finally, that scene with Stephen and his mother. It was intense, but I liked the book's version better. Because,

Spoiler

When the man with the thistledown hair explains how he obtained the secret is the moment of his greatest alien-ness and the fact that Stephen chooses freedom over the name his mother gave him, that was an amazing movement.

This scene took away a lot of impact from that.

 

The man with the thistledown hair is let down by his wardrobe/makeup.

Instead of looking like an inhuman creature he looks like something out of Mighty Boosh.

 

That awkward moment when a BBC tv show does magical battles better than most of the Harry Potter films.

Best episode yet, imo. Bertie Carvell is just brilliant. On the other hand, I think they did a poor job with Stephen this episode.

Spoiler

In losing his POV, there's a different spin on his actions, like trying to stop Lady Pole talking to Segundus and Honeyfoot, and spiriting away Arabella - he looks like a coward at best, a willing collaborator at worst. If you've read the book, you know that he's dancing a complicated waltz trying to minimise the damage the Gentleman is causing, but that isn't coming across terribly well, in this episode at least.

 

In reading about tonight's episode, I learnt a (mostly obsolete) term for a group of ravens - an unkindness of ravens. Love it.

Penultimate episode, and it's still going strong.

Spoiler

They did a better job with Stephen tonight, and handled Strange's madness rather well. The pillar of darkness looked cool, and the two scenes between Strange and Thistledown were great.

 

Just watched it myself and was suitably impressed. I'm looking forward to next weekend and the final episode.

 

Shame it's all ending next week, didn't get enough, the last episode is incredible.

 

I'm kinda worried, though, because the ending of the book was a bit lacklustre to me. The series has done well in keeping to the books, though it has skipped a few parts that are not fully necessary to move the plot forward, and that's where my problem lies.

 

A first small disappointment - no Byron. Then again, there wasn't much point to him other than being himself.

Other than that I love how they are bringing much more drama and emotion to the source material without alternating it too much. Masterfully done and it allows the TV show to stand as it's own, different take on the story that in a way completes the book.

But the trickiest part is yet to come. The finale, as Aekiel mentioned, was a little anticlimactic though fitting for the book.

Spoiler

They basically defeated the Gentleman by accident trying to do something else. In the show, it may happen the same way (they're destined to fail), but I expect it to be a lot more dynamic than them sitting and trying spells with no sense of urgency.

I'm curious if they cast someone famous as the Raven King. It's a perfect cameo role for a big name actor.

 

If they couldn't cast Alan Rickman, I would like Ciaran Hinds (I don't remember if the Raven King in the book is portrayed old or young. If young, Tom Hiddleston or David Tennant) .

 

He's mentioned as being as youthful at the end of his reign as at the start, so he looks around 15 years old.

 

And that's all folks. The finale...I dunno. I kept thinking of all the differences from the book, and debating whether they work or not. It felt a little more traditional fantasy showdown than the book's ending. That said, with the alterations and streamlining they've done to adapt it into seven episodes, a straight recreation of the book's ending wouldn't have made sense, and it captured the spirit of the ending just fine.

All in all, I think it's one of the finest things the BBC has done in ages, and if I hadn't read the book I'd have no complaints at all.

 

I think it worked well. The book's ending was never going to work on screen so they took what parts were good for it and added/subtracted parts to make it fit better. I'm just disappointed that there won't be a sequel. I want to see more of English Magic.

EDIT: Tell a lie, Susanna Clarke is working on a sequel featuring Childermass and Vinculus as the protagonists. I cannot tell you how much I'm looking forward to it.

 

So how did this ending differ from the Original?

Do we learn more about the Raven King?

 

All Norrell and Strange do in the book is summon the Raven King and then give power to Stephen. They do not take part in the final "battle". Instead they only discover that Arabelle is free and then disappear with the Library at Hurtfew. It's all a lot less dramatic. Even the Darkness isn't killing them, only keeping from being apart.

There is plenty about him in the book and he even speaks when meeting Childermass.

Anyway, I liked the ending. As I was expecting it was a lot more dramatic. A big plus was making the Darkness slowly kill Strange. In the book, for an enchantment that was suppose to do a great harm, it wasn't doing much to him.

I was a little disappointed in the Raven King because I was expecting someone more charismatic for this small role with at least few lines of dialogues. And while I wasn't against simply making the Gentleman into an evil villain, it took away a lot from his relationship with Stephen and how Black perceived him when he finally defeated the fairy.

Doesn't change the fact that overall it was a superb adaptation.