BONUS: Lyra’s Jordan

We are thrilled to have had such a great introduction to the world of His Dark Materials this week! Seeing Lyra, Lord Asriel, the Master, the Gyptians, and of course Mrs. Coulter made us so happy! Plus: Pan and Stelmaria and that darn monkey daemon! Of course, this is S01E01 “Lyra’s Jordan”! It aired on November 4, 2019 on HBO, was written by Jack Thorne and directed by Tom Hooper.

We have a few choice news items for you this week, beginning with Deadline profiling co-showrunner Bad Wolf’s Jane Tranter! Next up we have solid ratings debut numbers courtesy of Variety, and we close up with Refinery29 revealing that Daemons have their roots in mythology.

Then we enter the new world! In the dead of night during the great flood, a man delivers an infant to what appears to be a college. The man is Lord Asriel, and the baby is Lyra Belacqua, his niece. Twelve years later, we see Lyra running along the rooftops of Jordan College in Oxford, England, and she appears to be a happy girl being raised by the scholars. Asriel ventures to the far north to take images of the sky. He returns to Jordan College to meet with the scholars to seek funding to continue his explorations into a substance called Dust. Before the meeting, Lyra sees the Master of Jordan College putting poison into a decanter of Tokaj, and she prevents Asriel from drinking it. Lyra hides while Asriel makes his presentation to the scholars, and she sees images of Dust and a city in the sky which Asriel believes is in another universe. Funding secured, Asriel leaves a tearful Lyra. A woman names Marissa Coulter visits Jordan College, and she takes an interest in Lyra. In London, two men in the Magisterium discuss Asriel’s activities. Meanwhile, children are disappearing, particularly in the river-faring Gyptian community led by John Faa. Mrs. Coulter offers to take Lyra on as an assistant, and Lyra insists her best friend Roger join her. Mrs. Coulter agrees, but Roger is kidnapped immediately after. Lyra leaves with Mrs. Coulter by airship for London. Roger is revealed to be trapped in a cage, screaming!

After our episode breakdown, we get some terrific feedback from you guys.  Then for all the book readers we have our Bridge to the Stars segment, which is chock full of spoilers and speculation so spoilerphobes beware!

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