His Dark Materials – Lyra’s Jordan (A Newbie’s Perspective)

I’ve never read the His Dark Materials series of novels. I know nothing about the story, the characters, the setting. All I know is what the new HBO adaptation tells me (which, if it’s a good show, should be enough to help understand why the novels have been so popular, and, in theory, to entice me to pick them up and start reading them, too). So, while my colleague Kieran will be covering the series for the site as a fan of the books, I thought it might be fun to offer a non-book reader perspective on the fantasy series. Can someone with no idea what a daemon is enjoy the show as much as a fan of the books? Let’s find out together.

After watching the premiere episode, I’m at a bit of a loss as to what to think of the show. Sure, it has the makings of an interesting fantasy tale, but I don’t quite know what to make of it. And, if I am honest, I’m a bit confused about just what the point of it is. I assume that Lyra (played by Dafne Keen, who was wonderful in the film Logan, but who was rather dull and wooden in the premiere episode) is the mystical child that the opposing forces of good and evil (or, at this point, grey and grey, since I don’t really trust anyone) want to control, but again, I still don’t understand who she is as a person, much less as a character within the story.

Her uncle, Lord Asriel (played by James McAvoy with as shaky of an English accent as I’ve ever heard him attempt), seems to be a self-centered jerk so focused on his illegal research he’s keen to ignore his niece – whom he charged Jordan College to protect and who has a propensity for getting tied up where she doesn’t belong. Not the best combination of situations, Asriel. Oh, and he seemed pretty cool with ignoring that the Master tried to poison him – and that he was continuing to leave his niece under his care.*

*Although, having adults ignore the potential danger posed to children under their care is a common facet of YA fantasy stories – see also Dumbledore in Harry Potter and all the adults in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.

So, for an outsider, it was hard to find any characters worth rooting for in this story. I guess young Roger, the serving boy? I hope his time with the Gobblers turns into a more interesting arc than the ones we’ve touched on so far (although I do worry that by separating Lyra and Roger the story is setting them up to be adversaries down the line). I did enjoy Ruth Wilson’s turn as (the presumably villainous) Marisa Coulter. Out of the entire cast, she seemed to be the only one who understands that she’s in a fantasy tale and she should have some fun with the world around her. The kiss of death in a fantasy story is when it takes itself too seriously – which I fear will be the case here following the rather soulless premiere episode. I want to immerse myself in this new world with its new rules. Instead, I found myself wondering just why I should care about what was happening as I tried to piece together the elements of the story.

What is Dust, and why is it important (and why is it illegal)? Who are the Magisterium and why is their hierarchical structure the same as the Catholic Church? (Are they the Catholic Church of this world?) Who and what are the Gobblers? Why are there daemons and how does a daemon choose its final form? Why is there a split between science and, I assume, religion? Are their other countries besides England that abide by these structures (and have daemons), or is that limited to the English?

Now, I assume some of these will be answered, since several speak to major structural elements of the story – namely the relationship between scholarship and religion, but with eight hour-long episodes in its season, I’m not sure how much time the series really has for world building. And, frankly, I’d much rather have the series focus on creating interesting characters (something that is already lacking, which troubles me) than explaining the intricacies of the world. But I would like to understand just what the hell is going on here. Without the use of onscreen text (which is helpful, but is also such a cheat tool – television is a visual medium, so show us, don’t tell us). I’ve been told by someone who read some of the first book in the series that the elements of the world unspool over time in the novel, and hopefully that’s also the case here.

So, I’m in this for the long haul, but I’m not at all sold on the story, the characters, or the performances (I also didn’t love the weak CGI daemons – HBO made dragons, they can get this right). But I can see there are the threads of an interesting story here, if screenwriter Jack Thorne and the host of big name producers can figure out how to translate it to the screen. It didn’t work with the disappointing Golden Compass film, but I hope they can handle it here.