Series Two of 'His Dark Materials' is coming!

 

 

With the second series of ‘His Dark Materials’ about to air, now seems a good time for a little refresher on series one, and to remind ourselves where we are up to and what is coming next. In a previous post (A suitable Boy) I discussed the demands on a TV adaptation that brings a national treasure book to the screen. These included making the story comprehensible to viewers who had not read the book, balanced with the need to avoid outrage from those who had.

When it comes to ‘His Dark Materials’ there is a further complication; the still fresh in the memory film version starring Daniel Craig and Nichole Kidman. Like the film of the first Eragon book, The Golden Compass has failed to be followed up by subsequent parts. The Golden Compass is not without its merits; it is visually stunning in places and is reasonably faithful to the book. But the consensus was that it didn’t quite do its material justice, whilst the A list status of its stars somehow prevented them being wholly convincing. This applies to Jim Carter as John Faa as well as Craig and Kidman.

An eight part series seemed to offer scope to tell the story in more depth, whilst the ever evolving capacity of CGI to bring the fantastic to life would enable Lyra’s world to be convincingly portrayed. So how did it measure up? To begin with, let’s make a point about structure. Series one, though covering the action of Northern Lights, also included some events described in The Subtle Knife, thus introducing us to Will Parry as well as Lyra Silvertongue, as well as antagonists such as Lord Boreal. This sets up the second series and allows for a swift meeting of Will and Lyra on the third world of Citagazze. It did mean however, that viewers needed to pay attention and retain information in order to follow the plot.

Secondly, a word on character portrayal. As compared to the film, there is a grittiness to characterisation that is all to the good. As Mrs Coulter, Ruth Wilson exudes quite as much menace as glamour, whilst James McEvoy as Asriel does a good job of portraying the moral ambiguity that is central to the character. James Cosmo brings a vulnerability to the role of Farder Coram that helps you forget that he is also the Lord Commander of the Nights Watch in Game of Thrones. Another character who is as much Anti as Hero is Lin-Manuel Miranda as Lee Scoresby, the Texan Aeronaut. The Gyptians too have suitably rough edges to them.

The story arc of the trilogy is from the relatively straightforward good v evil premise of Northern Lights to the increasingly convoluted and moral maze-like existentialism of first the Subtle Knife and then The Amber Spyglass. The reader is invited to question the motivations of not just the obvious bad guys (The Magisterium) but also of Lyra’s parents and even Lyra herself. It will be interesting to see how the viewer is engaged with the same ambiguities in series two.

At its simplest, you could describe the books as coming of age novels. In this context, both Lyra and Will have a lot of growing up ahead of them. Lyra gradually realises that her supporters from earlier adventures are ageing and that she has to rely on herself in the last analysis, whilst Will has to deal with cruel disappointment which I won’t go into here. I think that Dafne Keen is going to grow into the Lyra role in series two. Initially in series one she was restrained and less charismatic than you might have expected, but she gradually came into her own and I think she is going to be spectacular in this series, as is Amir Wilson as Will. We glimpsed his calm but tenacious personality in series one but he is going to go through the fires in this next stage of the story, to the extent that he even upstages Lyra. At the same time, the metaphysical elements of the story are gradually going to eclipse the quest style narrative of series one.

For me, the unexpected star of the first series was Ariyon Bakare as the dangerous Lord Boreal. He is the flip side of the coin that is Lord Ariel; clever, competent, and clearly operating to an agenda of his own that he keeps from his nominal allies. Bakare has a presence that attracts as much as it repels and allows the viewer to see that the ‘other side’ who are opposed to Lyra have their own, to them, perfectly justifiable motivations.

In summary, I approve of the first series and am very much looking forward to the second. If you enjoyed this brief review then take a look at the other Pullman reviews on the blog. In any event, feel free to leave a comment.