This His Dark Materials article contains spoilers for the TV show and some spoilers for the Golden Compass book. You can check out our His Dark Materials spoiler-free review here, or dive into our spoiler-filled review of the first episode here.
There are many ways to judge a TV or film adaptation—mostly, the same ways you judge original work. However, it can be fun, when it comes to TV shows and films developed from previously-existing source material, to also look at the narrative decisions the production made to make changes—or not—to what has come before.
HBO has officially launched His Dark Materials, an adaptation of Philip Pullman’s bestselling book series about a girl and her alethiometer. Let’s take a look at what changes writer Jack Thorne and executive producer Jane Trantner have chosen to make from The Golden Compass, the first book in the His Dark Materials book series.
His Dark Materials & The Golden Compass Differences Episode 1
Rather than beginning with Lyra (Dafne Keen) spying on the master of Jordan College, the TV adaptation chooses to adapt a scene from La Belle Sauvage, the first book in the ongoing His Dark Materials prequel/sequel trilogy The Book of Dust.
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The scene sees Lord Asriel (James McAvoy) dropping baby Lyra (and Pan!) off at Jordan College during The Great Flood. (Though, it should be noted that La Belle Sauvage characters Malcolm and Hannah are also a part of this dangerous effort in the books.) This is the first hint that this adaptation will be expanding the perspective of The Golden Compass in the book, showing us much more of this world and faster than we get when following solely Lyra’s journey in the books.
read more: His Dark Materials Gyptians & Their Real-Life Connections
Because of this widening of perspective, we are introduced to various parts of this world much sooner and more thoroughly. The best example of this in Episode 1 is the introduction of the Gyptians, whom we meet in a daemon settling ceremony that is not featured in the book. In The Golden Compass, Gyptian Billy Costa (Tyler Howitt) is kidnapped by the Gobblers during the annual Horse Fair, not at his big brother’s settling ceremony. Because we see this happen, we learn more definitive details about the Gobblers early in this story, whereas in the book, the reader only has unsubstantiated rumors at this point.
Speaking of the Gyptians, His Dark Materials seems to have combined Billy Costa and Tony Makarios’ characters. In the books, Tony is the first local Gyptian taken by the Gobblers, and it is his daemon whose name is Ratter. In the TV series, Billy’s daemon is Ratter. This could mean some devastating things for Billy’s character moving forward…
We also meet Lord Boreal (Ariyon Bakare), an artisocrat working with the Magisterium. In the books, his character doesn’t pop up until Mrs. Coulter’s (Ruth Wilson) cocktail party. On that note, we get a peak at the Magisterium, with their high ceilings and their robes, very early on when it was just a daunting, yet faraway body for Lyra at this point in the books.
read more: His Dark Materials Daemons Explained
We also see Lyra try (and fail) to use the alethiometer much sooner than in His Dark Materials she does in The Golden Compass. As Den of Geek’s Louisa Mellor notes in her review of the first episode:
“One changed scene from the first book in Pullman’s trilogy (Season 1’s eight episodes adapt The Golden Compass, with the already-filming second season adapting The Subtle Knife, and any subsequent series tackling The Amber Spyglass) is Lyra’s first try at using the alethiometer. Like any kid in 2019, she attempts a Siri-like voice-command but gets nowhere. The gift she’s been given isn’t easy to penetrate. Like a truly great story, it won’t deliver showy answers from the off. It’s something special, something rare requiring an investment of time and attention that once made, returns untold rewards.”
Speaking of the alethiometer (which, should be noted, is square rather than round in this adaptation), it is actually La Belle Sauvage character Malcolm who leaves it with Baby Lyra, not Lord Asriel.
Check back in with this article, as we will be keeping it updated with any further changes made from the source material. Please let us know in the comments below if we missed anything!
Kayti Burt is a staff editor covering books, TV, movies, and fan culture at Den of Geek. Read more of her work here or follow her on Twitter @kaytiburt.
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