HBO
The new HBO and BBC series His Dark Materials is premiering on HBO on Monday night, November 4, after premiering on BBC One in the UK on November 3. And the first episode definitely lives up to the hype. It is phenomenal and a wonderful new fantasy series that will be especially enjoyed by Harry Potter fans and viewers wanting a new fantasy series to replace the empty space left from Game of Thrones. All those positive reviews you’re seeing on IMDb are right.
This article will have spoilers for the premiere.
The New Series Is Phenomenal
The new series is phenomenal. You won’t need to have read Philip Pullman’s books to enjoy the series. It starts from the beginning, right with book one, and slowly reveals an alternate Earth that is tantalizing and intriguing.
For me (being a big fan of cute animals), I loved the idea of the daemons who are essentially human souls. The series doesn’t immediately explain how those spirits work, but we learn that they change shape when their humans are children. Once they’ve reached a certain age, the daemons decide what permanent form they’re taking. We get to see a Gyptian ceremony showing one daemon after choosing his form, and it sheds more light on how the process works. (But only a little.)
Lyra’s story in Oxford gave me a lot of Harry Potter vibes, which I absolutely loved. She’s in Jordan College in Oxford (for now) and is a little rebellious, which is perfect. No, she’s not learning magic, but she has a daemon who’s adorable, a best friend who’s a little less adventurous than she is, and an intriguing back story. We don’t yet know why she’s so special, but she is.
Her uncle Asriel is another fascinating character. He stands up to establishment and is following his scientific pursuits whatever direction they lead. He reveals an intriguing discovery about something called “dust” and how children aren’t affected by it. It’s something huge and he must return to the north to study it. (This gave me some fun Game of Thrones vibes. The show’s not as adult-themed as Game of Thrones, but it will help fill that fantasy void that the show left behind.)
Meanwhile, there’s another story going on that involves children being kidnapped, and viewers can’t help but wonder if that’s connected to Asriel’s dust discovery. But the motive isn’t known yet. All we know is that children are disappearing, but we don’t know why.
The first episode really does live up to the hype on IMDb, if you’ve read any reviews there. The show is rated 8.8 out of 10 out of 992 IMDb users.
IMDb
The episode deserves every bit of that rating (and more.) User reviews are all high, saying the show is amazing, intriguing, and offers a promising start.
The first episode was beautiful, wonderfully produced, and has an intriguing storyline with mysteries that leave me ready to watch more. The CGI animals are a great touch, and this is going to be the perfect Harry Potter like series for HBO and BBC. Think of it as a mix of Harry Potter with some Pokemon and a dash of Game of Thrones. I can’t wati to see what’s next.