His Dark Materials Season 3 Fully Beats 1 Problem That Killed The Movie

His Dark Materials has made an essential fix from its movie counterpart, The Golden Compass, which is finally completed for good in season 3.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for His Dark Materials season 3.

His Dark Materials season 3 definitively lays to rest a problem that destroyed its movie counterpart, The Golden Compass. Both adaptations are based on the epic fantasy book trilogy His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman, the first book of which is The Golden Compass. His Dark Materials has been a huge success for HBO as a high-budget fantasy series to complement the Game of Thrones franchise and the subsequent increased interest in the genre it created.

His Dark Materials has been more successful than The Golden Compass in large part because it has not shied away from the religious themes that are central in the book series the way that The Golden Compass did. His Dark Materials sternly warns against the dangers of organized religion with total control, something The Golden Compass largely avoids. Season 3 has boldly confirmed these themes and dives deeper than ever with Lord Asriel’s return. His Dark Materials season 3 is notably more pointed when expressing the book series’ religious themes, in part because the story demands it, and potentially as the show runners are more confident it will be understood.

Related: His Dark Materials Season 2 Ending & Post-Credits Scene Explained

Why The Golden Compass Movie Toned Down His Dark Materials’ Religion Story

One reason that The Golden Compass probably toned down the religion story is that the producers were not confident they could make the themes clear in the limited time frame of a movie. Critiquing organized religion the way Pullman’s His Dark Materials does requires great care and thought. The producers of The Golden Compass may have felt that they would do better to avoid any controversy that might come from under developing a critique of religious power, and just take the action from the books. Unfortunately for the movie, the themes it lacks are central to the story and the world built around it, and the movie suffers without them.

His Dark Materials Season 3 Completes The Show’s Movie Fix

Will and Lyra return in season 3 for the completion of the show’s movie fix. His Dark Materials season 3 solidified its willingness to explore the religious themes from Philip Pullman’s books, thereby avoiding The Golden Compass‘s biggest mistake. Right off the bat in season 3, episode 1, there is a scene detailing how the Authority dominates the Kingdom of Heaven and oppresses other angels for control. The entire plot of season 3 seems to be shaping up for Lord Asriel’s battle for The Kingdom of Heaven and the fight to destroy the Authority. If His Dark Materials was shying away from any religious themes before, it certainly isn’t anymore.

His Dark Materials was already better than its movie counterpart – however, the movie’s lack of major religious themes from the book series killed any chance the movie had to compete with His Dark Materials season 3. The TV series has now put to rest any fear of it making a late fall to the same fate. Season 3 is already as good as the first two, and it has finalized any concerns about the show going the route of The Golden Compass.

Next: What Happens To Will’s Knife In His Dark Materials & Why It’s So Crucial