Lyra has a message for King Iofur on His Dark Materials

Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Monday, December 16. All times are Eastern.

Top picks

His Dark Materials (HBO, 9 p.m.): Week after week, Ruth Wilson’s performance continues to be the most compelling thing about His Dark Materials. In her newbies recap of last week’s episode, Lisa Weidenfeld writes:

This episode was a real high-water mark for the character, because so many of the actions she’s taken suddenly have an additional degree of nuance, from her bizarre relationship with her daemon to her stunted efforts to connect with Lyra.

It’s also an interesting twist on the show that the character who best makes clear what daemons represent to people is the one who loathes them. How much was Mrs. Coulter traumatized by her youthful affair with Lord Asriel? Irreparably, it turns out, such that she thinks passion and sex are what ruin people. After all, those things ruined her life.

This week, Lyra visits the king of the panserbjørne, Iofur, with a message: “Iorek’s coming for you.” As always, Myles McNutt and Lisa Weidenfeld are on hand for our experts and newbies recaps, respectively.

Regular coverage

Wild card

Monday Night Football: Indianapolis Colts vs. New Orleans Saints (ESPN, 8:15 p.m.): Only two more weeks in the regular season, which means there’s only one more edition of Monday Night Football this year (thank god).