‘His Dark Materials’ Season 1 Premiere ‘Lyra’s Jordan’ Review: A Spellbinding Realization of Philip Pullman’s World

Breathtaking, mind-boggling, and absolutely magnificent – that’s what Philip Pullman’s world in his His Dark Materials trilogy is. But, even then, those three words can’t even fully encompass the totality of Pullman’s world. With that kind of weight, it’s possibly one of the most daunting if not impossible books to adapt. However, it seems that HBO and BBC are on the right track to a spectacular realization.

Right from the get-go, His Dark Materials dives headfirst into Pullman’s world pausing nowhere for explanations. It immediately tackles the mythos but it reveals only just enough to get the balls rolling. For those unfamiliar with Pullman’s books, however, this type of storytelling could be quite confusing. But, if newcomers will stick long enough, they might find it quite enthralling.

While Pullman’s world is so much like ours, it’s also so different in many aspects. Here, the soul or essence of humans manifests in animal companions called daemons. In childhood, these daemons keep shifting forms and when the human reaches adulthood, they settle into one final form. This world is also dominated by the Magisterium, a religious body that has a tight grip on the information that circulates the community. And in the middle of it all is the orphaned child, Lyra Belacqua whose fate coincides with the fate of their world.

Introducing Dust and the Child of Oxford

His Dark Materials immediately begins with a hint of action in baby Lyra Belacqua’s hurried and dire arrival at Jordan College. There, her uncle, Lord Asriel, shoves her into the hands of the college master invoking the principle of “scholastic sanctuary.” 12 years later, Lord Asriel is in the midst of an expedition taking pictures of the Aurora. And what he discovers sets the precedent for claims of heresy waiting for him back at Oxford. Meanwhile, little Lyra has grown into the tenacious, intelligent, and headstrong child of Jordan college. And when her uncle returns to Jordan, her sunny days playing on Jordan college’s rooftops and crypts with her best friend Roger abruptly comes to an end.

Alex Bailey/ BBC/ HBO

James McAvoy fits effortlessly into the role of Lord Asriel like a rubber glove. He carries himself with such grace and he commands respect and power in every frame he’s in. He also masters Asriel’s domineering feature which exudes of a man who values the ends more than the means.

Much like him, Dafne Keen embodies the titular character of Lyra quite spectacularly. She brings just the right amount of ferocity she demonstrated in Logan to bring Lyra’s strong-willed persona to life. And she’s charming when she needs to be and petulant when the situation calls for it. Both these actors seem to understand their roles deeply and this helps cement their fluid dynamic from the beginning.

Alex Bailey/ BBC/ HBO

Going back, more than simply introducing Lyra and Lord Asriel, the latter’s return to Jordan college holds much more weight to the entire show. After Lyra saves her uncle from a glass of wine the Master poisoned, Asriel stores her in a cupboard to spy for him. There, Lyra bears witness to Asriel’s revelation about Dust, a seemingly reviling substance invisible to the naked eye. Asriel reveals that Dust doesn’t affect children. More than that, it points to something more preposterous. It reveals cities in the Aurora lights, parallel worlds living just above them. But, as it may, these are the kinds of claims the Magisterium brands as heresy.

The Destiny of an Innocent Child

This concept of dust and heresy is by no means confusing. And by the end of this episode, everyone’s just as clueless as Lyra of what the hell it is. What’s clear is that the Magisterium doesn’t want anyone knowing about Dust. In the pursuit of knowledge, however, the scholars of Jordan College support Lord Asriel’s research on it. Even if we’re still mostly in the dark about this, the episode establishes the mystery well enough and the frenzy that surrounds it. It also effectively pulls Lyra’s destiny into the picture.

HBO

As it is, she’s destined to leave Jordan and embark on a dangerous journey. The irony is that she’s not supposed to know about any of it and that she’ll have to figure it out on her own. The saddest part is that she’ll be facing a betrayal of her own doing. And as much as Charles (Ian Gelder), her mentor, and the Master (Clarke Peters) care for her, they have to let her go.

Unfortunately, to Lyra’s ire, it’s not part of her destiny yet to accompany her uncle to the North. Since he got the funding he came for, Asriel abandons Lyra once more for another expedition to continue his research on Dust. While all of that was transpiring within the walls of Jordan college, the number of missing children in Oxford kept growing. According to the rumor mill, these children were being taken by people called the Gobblers. The latest child on the list belongs to the Costa family of the Gyptians. Later on, Lyra’s best friend Roger (Lewin Lloyd) also joins the list. Unfortunately, since most of the episode was dedicated to establishing Lyra’s position in the whole chain of events, the Gyptians and the missing children felt like a shoehorned detail. Given that the season is only going to be eight episodes long, however, it’s easy to let it slide.

The Beginning of Lyra’s Journey

In the latter half of the episode, we finally meet Mrs. Coulter. And Ruth Wilson plays her just as beguilingly terrifying as anyone would expect. See, Mrs. Coulter is the kind of woman you don’t want to have as a mother. She’s ruthless, selfish, and downright cruel. But, Wilson easily lays the charm on thick so it becomes easy to believe how Lyra becomes so enamored with her.

HBO

Soon enough, with a lethal combination of Lyra’s longing to see the world and a promise to find her best friend, Mrs. Coulter has Lyra in her pocket. With Lyra’s departure coming far too soon, the Master finally passes down the precious alethiometer to Lyra. It’s a device much like a compass marked with symbols that tell the truth to whatever question you ask it. Contrary to how she first used it in the books, however, Lyra took to asking the alethiometer questions like how someone would use Siri. In the end, fueled by her determination to find Roger, Lyra boards the airship headed to London with Mrs. Coulter.

‘His Dark Materials’ Season 1 Premiere Overall Verdict

The 2007 big-screen adaptation of the first book of the His Dark Materials trilogy had a healthy budget and a rich story source to draw on. However, it’s greatest failure was watering down the very essence of Pullman’s novels to entertaining kid gimmicks. Even though Pullman’s title character is an innocent child, the show discusses complicated questions about the ambiguity of truth, the real meaning of man’s soul, organized religion, authority, and other moral and theological considerations. This is the beauty of Pullman’s novels. And fortunately, this time around, it seems that the series isn’t going to duck and cower from these concepts.

Apart from that, His Dark Materials has one stellar cast that makes it seem like the characters just jumped out of the books. McAvoy, Keen, and Wilson have definitely done spectacular jobs presenting the complications of their characters. And though we’ve only just peeled through their first layers, they tease and beguile with more to come.

Complimenting them are the daemons always trotting beside them. It’s obvious that great attention has really been paid to the details to truly connect them with humans as naturally as possible. And even in crowds, you’ll see a tail here or a wing there which establishes their never-ending presence in that world. It goes on to show how to properly use a huge budget source.

Like everything, however, His Dark Materials still has a lot of rough edges it would hopefully improve on. Given the scope and complication of Pullman’s novels and the limited amount of episodes, it’s definitely understandable. It’s actually hard to imagine anything capturing the essence of Pullman’s work so perfectly. It’s a whole other level of world-building in its entirety. But, HBO and BBC’s collaborative effort already shows some great promise. It might not be the perfect adaptation that the books deserve but, it’s already a great start.

His Dark Materials continue Monday, November 11th, with “The Idea of the North” at 9/8c on HBO.