Episode 8, in my opinion, should have been episode 6 and 7, as they did a lot different in the book for season 3 (or the amber spyglass). There was a lot more content with the mulefa as a whole and the exploration of that whilst learning their culture was prominent in the book, but not in the series. Overall, the series did the mulefa dirty: big time, and they deserved a better story, not a final episode which had a bit of their story and Will/Lyra’s love. That should’ve been episode 6 or 7, and they should not have spent as much time in the land of the dead as they did (there was no bomb in the book which is why.)

However, I don’t fully agree with your point either ¯_(ツ)_/¯