The complexity of the books has held up very well in this series adaptation. Where it is sometimes a bit lacking in tension, His Dark Materials makes up for it with a fantastic storyline and beautiful special effects. The His Dark Materials series is now complete. Season 3 has been completed and this has been the last season of this series. The series is deliberately made at the pace of the books, which also consists of three parts. Each season shows the story of a book. His Dark Materials is a fantasy series set in an alternate world. Although set in Oxford, the series has wonderful magical details and locations where they go that are not as tangible as where Jordan College is located. Each character in this series is accompanied by a Daemon, an animal that is supposed to represent the person's soul. Where the original film The Golden Compass had many flaws, this three-season series is a beautiful and worthy film adaptation of the trilogy written by Philip Pullman.
The series follows Lyra (Dafne Keen, Refugiados), an orphan who lives at Jordan College. When Lyra goes looking for her missing friend, she learns why so many children in her area are kidnapped. This results in a search for Dust, which she and her best friend Will Parry (Amir Wilson) investigate. Will comes in handy here, as he has a mysterious blade that allows him to travel between worlds through the windows he creates. On their mysterious quest, Lyra discovers who her parents are.
In the first season, you notice that they made the series a bit clearer, for us as viewers, by including some details from the second book. The first season is therefore very strong, but it does result in fewer details in the second season that cause tension. The second season has also been shorter for this reason. Because the series takes place in a world unknown to us, a lot of information is needed in the first season to give us a complete picture. This makes the story very messy. Fortunately, the makers manage to regain the peace and you can catch your breath in the second season to brace yourself for the third and final season. The third and final season is almost poetic. In image and dialogue, the writers have again made something beautiful out of it, which makes it very unfortunate that we have to say goodbye to this series. The third and final season is a bit more chaotic, so the storyline gradually starts to become a bit unclear and you really have to pay attention during the dialogues, otherwise, you will miss important details. The good thing is that they take the time to complete the story in the last episode. The story is nicely concluded.
The complexity of the books has held up very well in the series. Where it is sometimes a bit lacking in tension, the series makes up for it with a fantastic storyline and beautiful special effects. The display of the Deamons and the polar bears make this fantasy series feel very intense. The emotions are also very strong. This can especially be seen in Marisa Coulter (Ruth Wilson, Luther) where the line between good and evil is paper thin and can change in a second.
The Blu-ray contains more than just the three seasons. It's packed with extras that bring the story to life even more. Background on how the story was made, how they brought the characters to life, and extra insights into important places in the story, there is so much beauty that you don't want to miss as a true fan of the series. The only pity is that only the first and second season has bonus content, no extras have been added to the Blu-ray with the third season.