HBO’s His Dark Materials isn’t the first adaptation of the beloved Philip Pullman book trilogy, but with the premiere of the first episode this week, it’s looking like it might be the best. It’s not just the stellar cast, which includes Dafne Keen (the girl from Logan) as Lyra, James McAvoy as Lord Asriel, and Ruth Wilson as Mrs. Coulter; it’s also the fact that those responsible for the joint BBC and HBO production seem to be dedicated to staying faithful to the source material, unlike the filmmakers behind the mediocre 2007 movie version.
That isn’t to say there are no changes being made. As we saw in the premiere episode alone, “Lyra’s Jordan,” the show is taking some liberties with the way the story plays out. And those differences will likely only increase in scope as the season continues.
That’s probably fine, as long as the show stays true to the spirit and overall story of Pullman’s original trilogy. But sometimes, it’s still fun to point out all the changes. Here are some that we noticed, along with some general Easter eggs and references for fans.
1. Opening Info Dump
The world of His Dark Materials is dense and complicated, and often made even more dizzying by the fact that it’s similar to ours in many ways, with some key differences. The show opens with some text to lay out those differences. Notably, this info dump suggests that Lyra is the subject of a prophecy–information that isn’t revealed until later in the first book, The Golden Compass.
2. Gyrocopters
Viewers expecting a more conventional fantasy story might be surprised to see helicopters flying around Jordan College in the show’s opening scene. These vehicles, which are pretty much helicopters with a different name, didn’t appear in the book trilogy until later in the series, with the third book, The Amber Spyglass.
3. Scholastic Sanctuary
Fans of the original three His Dark Materials books might be confused by all the talk of “scholastic sanctuary” in the HBO show’s first episode. This concept actually is from the books, but not the original trilogy–it was introduced later, in Pullman’s 2017 prequel novel, La Belle Sauvage.
4. Meet Lord Asriel
The scene featuring Lord Asriel and his manservant in the far north are an invention of the show–the first time we met Asriel in the book The Golden Compass was when he arrived at Jordan College. Being primarily from Lyra’s perspective, the first book kept Asriel at a distance, so it will be exciting to see if the show allows us to spend more time with the character throughout this season.
5. Those Opening Credits
The show’s opening credits feature a ton of tidbits for fans who are familiar with the books. They start off with what appears to be the Big Bang, which apparently creates Dust. The Dust forms images of angel wings before flowing into the Alethiometer. The Subtle Knife from book 2 then makes an appearance, and the credits conclude with a strong visual suggesting parallel worlds.
6. The Serpent’s Motivation
When Lyra is studying with Jordan College’s librarian, Charles, she mentions the story of the Serpent’s motivation in the Garden of Eden. For those in the know, this is a strong hint about the series’ overall themes of innocence vs. the pursuit of knowledge.
7. Through the Window
While Lyra cavorting around the rooftops is very true to her character, the moment when she witnesses Jordan’s Master attempting to poison Lord Asriel is slightly different in the show. In the book, she’s infiltrated the retiring room and watches from inside a wardrobe.
8. A Changed Relationship
In the show, Lord Asriel, played by James McAvoy, is much warmer toward Lyra than in the books. It’s hard to imagine the character as originally written carrying Lyra to bed and gently untying her shoes–he’s much colder and more distant toward her. This isn’t necessarily a bad change–but it will be interesting watching future events in the series play out.
9. A Calculated Performance
Asriel’s presentation to the Jordan College scholars is a lot more performative and bombastic in the show than in the books. Within the episode, it serves as a sort of thesis statement speaking to what the show is largely about–a conflict between those who desire freedom of information and those who want to suppress knowledge–so inflating this speech makes sense.
10. Missing Information
In the books’ version of this same scene, Lyra overhears a reference to “severed” vs. “entire” children. This is a hint of things to come, but the show left it out.
11. Introducing the Gyptians
The scene introducing the Gyptian characters, including Ma Costa and Billy Costa, is made up for the show. However, it makes sense, as it serves to introduce the concept of daemons “settling” into their fixed forms. Later in the episode, we also meet John Faa and Farder Coram, an introduction that occurs much earlier in the show than in the book.
12. Mrs. Coulter
There’s a huge difference between Mrs. Coulter’s introduction in the show and in the original book. We won’t say what it is, because it involves a reveal that the show hasn’t made yet. But if you’ve read The Golden Compass, you probably know what we’re referring to.
13. Lord Asriel’s Note
As Lord Asriel puts Lyra to bed, he catches a glimpse of a note he sent the child at some point. The note is a reference to one of Lyra and Roger’s adventures, an event she often thinks back on in the book. It reads: “Lyra, Reports have reached me that you stole a Gyptian boat. Tenacity aside it would serve you to apply this zeal against the Costa children to your tuition with Charles. Regards, Asriel”
14. The Magisterium
The Magisterium is present throughout the first book, The Golden Compass, but in the show’s first episode, we met two characters who weren’t introduced until much later in the source material: Lord Boreal (Ariyon Bakare) and Father MacPhail (Will Keen). We’ll have to wait and see what effect their early introduction has on the story.
15. Roger’s Disappearance
In the books, when Mrs. Coulter offers to take Lyra to live with her to London, Roger has already disappeared. This may seem like a small change, but it alters some things slightly–motivations that will only become apparent later.
16. Where’s Your Luggage?
In the show, Lyra makes a last-minute decision to leave with Mrs. Coulter. This is different from the books, where she packs the night before and is woken early in the morning to receive the Alethiometer from the college’s Master. The main effect is that she apparently doesn’t bring any luggage or possessions with her to London, which is pretty weird.