His review of BBC One’s Dark Materials Series 3: What’s it like before the watershed? This is scary!

It’s been almost two years since last season. Dark materials and the third episode was one of the BBC’s perhaps less traditional holiday family offerings. What could be more Christmassy than the final denouement of a fantasy epic that was banned from American schools for condemning religious totalitarianism and calling for the final destruction of God?

A lot has happened since little Lyra Belakua (Daphne Keen) ran away from Oxford. She discovered heartbreaking experiments in the Arctic, accidentally doomed her best friend, befriended a giant armored bear, discovered her real parents, traveled between multiple worlds, faced an almighty slender blade, dodged creepy ghosts, escaped witches, and escaped certain death dozens of times. Luckily, the first episode started with a rather lengthy “Before” segment. relief.

No matter how much preceded it, there is nothing on it Amber Spectator, the book on which this latest series is based. Philip Pullmans Northern lights long considered inedible (as confirmed by the 2007 film). golden compass), but this BBC adaptation has worked hard to prove otherwise. However, the third and final part of the trilogy presents a completely different and more ambitious perspective, with many great heretical theories and a variety of mind-blowing fantasy elements, such as the long-awaited mulefas – some kind of elephant-like creature that rolls on the ground. . round on wheels with seed pods.

As with most opening episodes, the story jumped from side to side, creating many threads that converge as a major battle approaches, and the focus shifts to the Realm of Immortality. Lyra, who according to the prophecy is actually the new “Eve”, the mother of all sins, has been drugged and imprisoned on a remote island by her mother, Mrs. Coulter (the charming Ruth Wilson), in her last poisonous attempt at motherhood. care . Her only hope seemed to be her teenage rebel Will (Amir Wilson), who was busy wading through worlds to find her.

But the bigger story of the first episode was the arrival of fan favorites Baruch (Simon Harrison) and Balthamos (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith), two rebellious fishermen on the trail of Will and his knife. Appearing in human form, they were beautifully rendered and clearly otherworldly. They soon realized that the quickest way to get Will out of the way was to help him track down Lyra first.

Back on Lyra’s home planet, the Magisterium intensifies its hunt for heretics with a sadistic new foot soldier, Father Gomez (Jamie Ward). Lord Asriel (James McAvoy) with all his might war of the stars resistance and seeks to assemble a rebel army to wage the ultimate holy war by recruiting Commander Ogunwe (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) whom he has released from prison in yet another new world.

Inevitably, with so much to cram in, elements of the book are lost along the way or only mentioned in passing. In the first episode, that honor went to the Gallivespians (miniature bug-riding people), who, oddly enough, showed up as allies of Lord Asriel without any introduction.

bites to the side Dark materials was a beautiful sight: visually lush, with great costumes, beautifully realized details, and irresistible music that made it special. But that magnificence was matched by performances that only got better as the series progressed, highlighting the emotional complexity of Pullman’s story and preparing to dive into the sheer scope of a grand finale.

Don’t let the 7pm airtime fool you: the spooky stuff was pretty spooky, the themes were huge, and it all got me on a wild ride with the fate of many worlds hanging in the balance. Really Merry Christmas!