Based on Philip Pullman’s trilogy novel series, His Dark Materials is a fantasy drama that is set in a multi-world reality, with the narrative shifting from one world to another. It follows Lyra, portrayed by Dafne Keen, as she navigates through an alternate world, where human souls manifest as daemons, a sort of animal companion, to find a missing friend. In total, His Dark Materials has three seasons, with the most recent one that started airing in December 2022. Overall, the TV show had a positive reception, with the first series doing the best in terms of ratings. Here are some of the best episodes from the series, ranked:
6 The Fight To The Death (S01, E07)
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The good thing about the majority of the episodes in the first season is that they all have similar ratings, which demonstrates the consistency in not only the storytelling but also the performance of the cast. “The Fight To The Death” does well to set up for the season finale; it’s one of the few episodes in the series that shines light into the different narratives at once.
On the one hand, the audience discovers that fortunately, Lyra survived the fall. However, unfortunately, she’s captivated by an armored polar bear. While she’s trying her best to trick the bear to let go, Mrs. Coulter is heading towards Svalbard along with Magisterium’s soldiers with the intent to kill Asriel. The fight between Lorek and Lofur was definitely the highlight of the episode. It felt more realistic than the way it was depicted in the 2007 film, with the gritty and almost claustrophobic portrayal.
5 The Lost Boy (S01, E05)
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In “The Lost Boy”, the initial narrative focuses on Lyra but eventually shifts towards the Will. As the episode title hints, Lyra finally finds Billy Costa, the missing boy, in an abandoned village, but without his daemon. While Lyra does manage to help Billy get back to his mother, she herself ends up getting kidnapped. The episode then shifts its focus toward Will, as the audience finally meets Will and his mentally ill mother. As Thomas and Boreal stalk Will, the audience gets to see how Will splits his time between looking after his mother and his school. Boreal also discovers that Will’s father, John Parry, probably had the ability to travel between worlds, but neither Will nor his mother have the ability. What makes the episode extra emotional is the focus on what happens to daemon-less kids, like Billy. It’s rather heart-wrenching when the truth of what really happened to Billy comes out into the open.
4 The Idea Of North (S01, E02)
“The Idea Of North” is an enjoyable episode because it brings quite a few revelations. The episode would be surprising for fans of the book because it unveils quite a few secrets well before they were originally in the book. One of these secrets is the existence of alternate worlds. The second, perhaps biggest reveal is surrounding Mrs. Coulter. Lyra held the perception that Mrs. Coulter was a savior, only to have that belief shattered as it’s revealed that she’s heavily involved with the Globbers who are kidnapping children. Lyra gets first-hand experience of Mrs. Coulter’s foul temper when she sends her own daemon, Pan, after Lyra. In addition, Mrs. Coulter is also the one responsible for revealing that Lord Asriel is in fact Lyra’s father. Talk about dropping multiple bombs in a single episode!
3 The Betrayal (S01, E08)
Season one’s finale, “The Betrayal”, brings the first part of the TV show to quite the fitting end. Despite how much Lyra was hurt by Asriel leaving her behind, she still decides to take a leap of faith to trust him. However, this turns out to become Roger’s downfall as Asriel severs Roger’s connection to his Daemon and kills him to create enough energy to open a gate between worlds. Feeling betrayed and angry, for trusting Asriel and being unable to save Roger, Lyra decides to cross the bridge. In another world, Will also discovers a gateway to a parallel world on his own. The finale ties up as many loose ends as it can, while also setting the premise for the upcoming season. As far as season finales go, The Betrayal does not disappoint at all.
2 The Daemon-Cages (S01, E06)
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The majority of episode six, “The Daemon-Cage”, takes place at Bolvangar where Lyra is held captive. She manages to survive captivity by changing her name to Lizzie. She finds Roger amongst the captive children and discovers that the Globbers are experimenting on the children to surgically sever them from their daemons. Just as Lyra is about to be sent to get her daemon severed, Mrs. Coulter visits Bolvanger and intervenes. She tries to persuade Lyra to join her, but is unsuccessful as Lyra attacks her and escapes. One of the main reasons why this episode was a fan favorite was because not only does it give the audience more insight into the His Dark Materials world, but it also was the most tension-filled episode of season one. One can’t help but grip tightly onto their seats as the episode unfolds bit by bit.
1 Tower of the Angels (S02, E04)
“Tower of the Angels” is perhaps the best episode of His Dark Materials. The episode is so good that one has a hard time glancing away for even a second. And it’s best to keep the focus on the screen as the episode finally gives the audience some of the most awaited moments. To highlight some of these moments: Will becomes the bearer of the knife, Mary gives some crucial insight about Dust, and the much-awaited arrival of Stanislaus Grumman, whose appearance was first teased in season one. It’s one exciting moment after another, but perhaps the best thing about the whole episode was Amir Wilson’s portrayal and performance as Will. He finally finds his footing as Lyra’s equal and not just a sidekick.
