![]() The problem is that His Dark Materials only grows more ambitious and flat-out weird as it approaches its endgame, culminating in a battle over humanity’s future that features literal angels. To paraphrase Tyrion Lannister, the show found its footing during great conversations in elegant rooms about the nature of free will, religion, and fate. In its first two seasons, the HBO and BBC coproduction excelled when it didn’t lean on the more fantastical elements of Pullman’s trilogy. ![]() (No wonder Pullman’s trilogy spent years as one of the most banned books in the United States.) But while His Dark Materials is imbued with bold and wondrous ideas, much of the show has been the opposite of what most fantasy adaptations strive for: It’s felt ordinary. As if that weren’t challenging enough from a production standpoint, the series hinges on the existence of parallel worlds, and, most controversially, the source material ends with the heroes effectively killing the Judeo-Christian concept of god. ![]() Sure, the small-screen adaptation of Philip Pullman’s trilogy doesn’t have the centuries- and galaxy-spanning sprawl of Foundation, but we’re still talking about a show in which several characters have a physical manifestation of their soul (daemons) in the form of talking animals. ![]() With so many fantasy series once deemed “unfilmable” now making their way to the screen, it’s easy for His Dark Materials to become an afterthought in the discussion. ![]()
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