The pilot episode of “His Dark Materials” (2019–), an HBO adaptation of Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” novel trilogy (1995–2000), premiered on Nov. 4. Setting the tone for the exposition-heavy nature of the episode, several title cards precede the start of the action that explain the rules of this alternate world — most notably, that humans’ souls are outside their bodies, and take the form of animals called “dæmons.” The episode gets off to a flying start, with Lord Asriel (James McAvoy) bringing an infant girl, Lyra, to the door of the fictional Jordan College in Oxford, England. Then comes the “Great Flood,” and the image of Asriel wading through chest-high water with the girl in his arms and his leopard dæmon paddling beside him is captivating. Asriel pounds at a door at one edge of the flooded college courtyard, and gives the girl to the man who opens it,the Master (Clarke Peters) of Jordan College. Asriel invokes “scholastic sanctuary” and tells the Master to protect Lyra, saying she won’t be safe anywhere else — harkening to the mention in the title cards of “a prophecy of a child with a great destiny."Given the opening scene and subsequent 12-year flash-forward to Lyra (Dafne Keen) playing with a friend on the college grounds, I can’t help drawing parallels to the source material’s fellow late-'90s British fantasy epic protagonist: Harry Potter. Lyra and Harry are both given away at a doorstep for their protection and grow up orphaned; they will both follow the hero’s journey once they leave their sheltered childhood home and attempt to fulfill their destiny. Yet the setup of the stories differs greatly. Harry learns about the wizarding world along with the reader; yet, in “The Golden Compass” (1995) novel and the pilot episode of “His Dark Materials,” every new element of the world is thrown at us from the start. The talking dæmons, sinister Magisterium and nomadic Gyptians are known to Lyra and the other characters, and their inclusion with little introduction in the pilot makes it seem as if the audience should be familiar with the books.An admission: I wasn’t a huge fan of the original novels — I can vaguely remember reading them, but unlike other fantasy works I read in elementary school, they just didn’t stick with me. The reason this show piqued my interest was actually the cast. When I saw “Logan” (2017) with friends at the Somerville Theatre, I had basically no expectations — I wasn’t a huge proponent of the X-Men movies, having only seen a random subset of them. The movie was dark and gripping, and Keen, who played a young mutant with similar powers to Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, really stole the show. When I saw the trailer for “His Dark Materials” in July, I was excited to see Keen in a leading role, especially alongside familiar faces from “Game of Thrones” (2011–2019) and Lin-Manuel Miranda. The other aspect that drew me in from the first trailer was the worldbuilding. The show depicts what looks like Earth around the turn of the 20th century, but the trailer highlighted the parallel-universe steampunk setting filled with ‘anachronistic’ future-esque tech and many, many zeppelins. The accomplished cast did not fall short in the first episode; Miranda’s adventurer Lee Scoresby has yet to appear, but Ruth Wilson’s Mrs. Coulter impressed in her appearance near the end of the episode, expertly convincing Lyra to trust her and leave Oxford.If “His Dark Materials” has legwork to do in the first episode beyond setting up the characters’ arcs and giving worldbuilding exposition, it’s assuring the audience that the show will atone for the failures of the previous adaptation of Pullman’s series. “The Golden Compass” (2007) film, adapted from Pullman’s first novel, received a 42% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie suffered where the series may not: In under two hours, there was not enough time to pay off having to sit through the tedious exposition and countless character introductions. In that sense, this pilot episode’s exposition-heavy nature should hopefully be worth it. Lyra is an exciting protagonist, and the cast around Keen is strong. The world is well-detailed and inviting; I’m looking forward to seeing the Northern Lights, armored bears and so much more. The first episode of “His Dark Materials” certainly isn’t perfect, but it sets the stage well for a fresh new fantasy series.
Summary
The pilot episode of “His Dark Materials,” a new adaptation of Philip Pullman’s novel trilogy, is heavy on character introduction and worldbuilding, but the characters are strong and the world looks spectacular.
3.5 Stars
