Most people are familiar with the feeling of reading a great book only to watch a screen adaptation later on and be deeply disappointed. Something like that happened with the 2007 film The Golden Compass, adapted from Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. The movie gets the names and the general plot right, but destroys the overall spirit of the story.
The Golden Compass was not a hit, and promised sequels never arrived. It took over a decade for someone to try adapting the books again, but when it finally happened, we got fantasy TV perfection.
His Dark Materials finally adapts the beloved book series right
No compromise, all payoff
His Dark Materials takes place in a sideways version of Earth that seems to be in the midst of an industrial revolution. In this world, everybody has a “dæmon,” an animal familiar that’s bound to you forever. Think of it like a piece of your soul that exists outside your body.
Our lead character is Lyra (Dafne Keen), a young tomboy who gets caught up in a conspiracy involving the Magisterium, the combination church/government that runs her world. Her journey will take her to several different parallel dimensions, including a mysterious city devoid of adults, a world of tall trees populated with intelligent creatures with diamond-shaped skeletons, and even our own Earth, where she runs into Will Parry (Amir Wison), the other main character.
His Dark Materials is too sprawling a story to summarize in a couple of paragraphs, and the HBO show matches it. There are three books in the series, and three seasons of the show. It gets to everything, and it doesn’t have to sacrifice any major elements along the way.
His Dark Materials is brave enough to adapt the controversial parts of the books
None of that old time religion
The Golden Compass ends on a bizarre cliffhanger, not even getting to the climax of the first book. That was a letdown for fans looking to see a scene from their favorite novel finally brought to life, but the biggest disappointment was that the movie cut out all the criticism of organized religion.
As a series, His Dark Materials is mainly an action-adventure story. Lyra encounters talking bears she can ride into battle, and Will gets hold of a magical knife that can tear holes in the fabric of reality, allowing him to travel between dimensions. But Pullman also has very specific ideas about organized religion that he weaves into the story. He’s not against spirituality, but he’s very suspicious of hierarchical, dogmatic institutions that enforce strict rules that can lead to intolerance and persecution. The Magisterium is such an institution, and much of the book is devoted to bringing it down, even if Lyra and Will don’t always realize that’s what they’re doing. It’s not an exaggeration to say that, in a way, the climax of the series involves killing God, although it doesn’t feel particularly heretical when you read it. Pullman is a subtle enough writer that he can include these themes without it feeling overbearing.
The show adapts all this subtext as the book lays it out: it’s there if you want to look into it and talk about it at your book club, but if you just want to enjoy the world-hopping adventure, that’s an option too.
The actors on His Dark Materials shine bright
The ensemble is heaven-sent
His Dark Materials isn’t all heavy thematics and religious allegory. It’s a fun show that moves from set piece to plot twist with verve and energy, and it features some terrific performances. You might recognize Dafne Keen from the 2017 X-Men movie Logan, where she plays the pint-sized super-shredder Laura. She brings all of that rebellious energy to the part of Lyra. Will Parry is more subdued as Will; they have great chemistry together, which ends up being important to the fate of the universe.
To support them, HBO has hired a rogue’s gallery of acting veterans. James McAvoy, also an X-Men alum, is terrific as the complex, ambitious Lord Asriel, an aristocrat with noble goals and questionable means to achieve them. Ruth Wilson (Luther) steals the show as Mrs. Coulter, a Magisterium agent with steel trap brain and a poisonous smirk. And also Lin-Manuel Miranda is on hand as a Texan hot air ballooner with a cowboy code. That casting choice doesn’t work quite as well, but they don’t all need to be winners.
And don’t forget that most of these characters also have dæmons, which means the cast is lousy with talking leopards, rabbits, lizards, and more. His Dark Materials is whimsical, exciting, funny, scary, and imaginative. And with only three seasons and 23 episodes total, it can be watched without commanding too much of your valuable time.
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All’s well that ends perfect
The Golden Compass never got anywhere near the ending of Pullman’s books, but His Dark Materials gets there and nails it. The ending of the story threads together a lot of the themes that have been running through the whole thing, and is just the right mixture of triumphant and melancholy.
And don’t discount the signature coat of HBO polish that goes on all the network’s shows. His Dark Materials is just well put together, and another reason why HBO Max is worth the money. And if you’re not satisfied by the end, there are lots of other great fantasy shows out there to sample.
- Release Date
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2019 – 2022-00-00
- Network
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BBC One
- Directors
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William McGregor, Amit Gupta, Leanne Welham, Charles Martin, Otto Bathurst, Euros Lyn, Dawn Shadforth, Harry Wootliff, Jamie Childs
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Dafne Keen
Lyra Silvertongue
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Will Keen
Father/Cardinal MacPhail
