Warning: Spoilers Ahead For His Dark Materials Season One Finale
The His Dark Materials season 1 finale, “Betrayal”, ends with final battles, losses, and a doorway broken open to a new world. It was a fitting episode to end the season, which encompassed the events of the entire first book (The Golden Compass) as well as early parts of the second book (The Subtle Knife) - specifically, the introduction of Will Parry (Amir Wilson) and the moment he also steps into a new world.
His Dark Materials is based on Philip Pullman’s novel series of the same name, and it was developed by the BBC and co-produced by HBO for both networks. The show debuted a little more than a decade after The Golden Compass movie released in theaters. And while the show is much more faithful to the books, there are some differences in how the story is being unfolded on television.
In addition to wrapping up book one, the His Dark Materials season 1 finale also sets up season 2. The assumption is that season 2 will cover the events of The Subtle Knife, as Will and Lyra (Dafne Keen) cross paths in another world, find another magical tool to help them, and join forces to hunt down Dust. But before looking to season 2, here’s a complete breakdown of the His Dark Materials season 1 finale.
What Happens In His Dark Materials Season 1’s Ending
His Dark Materials’ penultimate episode of season 1, “The Fight To The Death”, ended with the Magisterium mobilizing to go North and attack Asriel (James McAvoy), Mrs. Coulter (Ruth Wilson) searching for Lyra, and Lyra and Roger (Lewin Lloyd) being taken to Asriel’s prison by the bears. The His Dark Materials season 1 finale continues from here, in an interesting combination of emotional moments and major battle scenes - starting with Lyra finally getting to have a conversation with her father, and some time with Roger.
It’s clear, at this point, that Lyra wants to just go home. She tries to give the alethiometer to Asriel, only to be told that he didn’t need or want it. She challenges him about being her father, and despite some touching moments, and some discussions about Dust and the Magisterium, she tells him that she just wants to take Roger home - and keep the name the bears gave her, rather than use his. She and Roger, too, have a sweet moment where they talk about going home, and keeping each other as family, because they have no one else. Of course, everyone who read the books knows that that was never going to happen.
Lord Asriel’s Plan & Roger’s Death Explained
Much of this episode centers on Lord Asriel’s plan - and the death of Roger. As Asriel explains to Lyra, his photograms from the first episode showed that Dust seemed to fall from the sky, that it only settled on adults, and that there was a city visible through the Northern Lights. What he wants to do is to seek out Dust - to understand it and to destroy it. And to do that, he needs to break open the sky and follow Dust to these other worlds; something that needs a huge surge of energy. As for how he will get that energy? It turns out that Mrs. Coulter isn’t the only player who has been experimenting with severing. Asriel also knows that there is a huge release of energy when the connection between human and daemon is cut, and he is going to use that to power his break between worlds.
This is why he was panicked when he saw Lyra at the door - he didn’t want to kill his own child. However, he was happy to drag Roger with him to the site of his experiment, toss him in a cage, and kill him to use the energy of that connection. After succeeding, Asriel further explains his plan to Mrs. Coulter when she arrives at the scene. Asriel says that he wants to destroy the Magisterium, create a new world where knowledge is free from oppression - and even take down the Authority itself, the ultimate power. He wants to free people and “create a new Republic of Heaven.” For a moment, it seems as though the two might actually get together, and they share a passionate kiss. But although she would follow him, Mrs. Coulter wants to find Lyra. She leaves, and Asriel steps through the door, to take his battle against the Magisterium to the (literal) highest level.
Where Lyra Is Going (& What Comes Next)
After Asriel and Mrs. Coulter go their separate ways, Lyra is left alone - with Roger’s body. While crying over her dead friend, and her grief that she brought him to this place where he died, Lyra and Pantalaimon (Kit Connor) figure out what to do next. Although she had wanted to simply return home with Roger, given everything that has happened, she and Pan decide to go on. They have heard Asriel’s plan to destroy Dust and the Authority, and decide to go after him… not to help him, but to stop him.
The two decide that if the adults in their lives - the ones kidnapping, severing, and killing children - have all decided that Dust is bad, then it may actually be good, and it may be up to them to protect it. It’s not clear how they intend to do this, but that’s the plan, and they have the alethiometer to help. The His Dark Materials season 1 finale ends with Lyra stepping into the window in the sky, just as Asriel did, unsure of where she is going. In this regard, Asriel and Lyra are both on similar missions, but against each other and with different end-goals in mind. His Dark Materials season 2 may very much be father vs. daughter, at least on some level.
The War With The Magisterium Is Just Beginning
Of course, just because Lyra has left her world behind, that doesn’t mean that her fight with the Magisterium is over. It’s very clear that this authority is desperate to destroy Asriel, and Mrs. Coulter has fallen from grace with them as well. Lyra, as their child and the holder of an (illegal) alethiometer, is also likely to be in their crosshairs. This episode also makes it clear that the Magisterium isn’t just a bunch of robed men with creepy buildings and veiled threats - they are a very real power with an army.
It’s also worth noting that the battle between the Magisterium and the bears is not resolved - no clear ending is shown for anyone but Lyra, Asriel, and Mrs. Coulter (and even then, it simply shows that they are alive). This particular battle may be over (even if the outcome isn’t explicit in the finale), but the fight with the Magisterium as a whole is just beginning. Asriel is setting himself against them, and Lyra is setting herself against Asriel, meaning that this is going to be the final conflict - whether that comes up in the second season or beyond.
Which World Will Is Going To
While everything else is going on in Lyra’s world, it’s important to remember that there is plenty happening to Will, too. In the previous episode, “The Fight To The Death”, Will had accidentally killed one of Boreal’s (Ariyon Bakare) lackeys. He was recovering the letters from his house when they broke in, and he ended up knocking one over the stairs. In the His Dark Materials season 1 finale, Will is on the run from the police. He is seen wandering the streets, unsure of what to do next, and trying to avoid police officers. This leads him to hide in a park, and from there, to notice that through a bent fence, there is a shining gap in the air - something that viewers know is a doorway to another world. In the final moments of the episode, Will steps through.
It’s important to note that while this doorway looks to be the same one that Boreal uses when he crosses between worlds - Broeal opens the gate to get to it, while Will squeezes through the fence, but otherwise they appear to be identical. This is interesting, because it would theoretically lead Will to Lyra’s Oxford, but book readers will know that this isn’t the case - he and Lyra meet in another world, in the city of Cittagazze. It makes sense that there wouldn’t be windows between worlds all over Oxford, of course, and seeing Boreal use this one in the past makes it clearer for viewers that it is an opening from one world to another.
However, this leads to some major questions. If Will does go to Lyra’s world, how does he then get to a third world and meet Lyra? If Asriel’s experiment messed with existing gateways (as it does, in the books), and this particular window now leads only to Cittagazze, then how will Boreal cross over (assuming he does, as he does in the books, and has an important part to play!)? Boreal cannot be passing through Cittagazze, as adults cannot live there (for reasons that will become clear in His Dark Materials season 2). It will definitely be interesting to see how BBC/HBO resolves this issue, but for now, it’s ending the season with a big question mark, for book fans.
Next: What To Expect From His Dark Materials Season 2
