Warning: Contains SPOILERS for His Dark Materials season 3, episodes 1 and 2, "The Enchanted Sleeper" and "The Break," as well as for Philip Pullman's book The Amber Spyglass.His Dark Materials season 3, episode 2's ending reunites Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry, sending them off to a new world but with some big twists. Much of His Dark Materials season 3's two-part premiere concerns Will's efforts to find Lyra, who was taken away by Mrs. Coulter in season 2's finale. Lyra remains drugged and unable to escape from her mother, but is the target of several forces attempting to find her for varying reasons, including the villainous Magisterium.
Luckily, it's Will who is able to take Lyra away to safety in His Dark Materials season 3, episode 2's ending, although not without issue. Firstly, Will has broken the Æsahættr, or subtle knife, when trying to open up a window to another world. And secondly, one of Lord Asriel's Gallivespian spies - the tiny humanoids who work for him - is able to follow them through, ensuring there's no true escape just yet. With all that, His Dark Materials season 3's premiere nicely sets the stage for what's to come in the show's final run of episodes.
How The Subtle Knife Is Fixed After His Dark Materials Season 3, Episode 2
The subtle knife breaks when Will is distracted by Mrs. Coulter while trying to open a window; because he can't clear his mind and give it his full focus, the blade ends up shattering. Luckily Will's knife can be fixed, although His Dark Materials season 3, episode 2's ending means it may be a little while. In The Amber Spyglass, the book His Dark Materials adapts in season 3, the knife is fixed by Iorek Byrnison, who is able to work with just about any metal. That gives the knife a slightly ironic twist, given it was already used by Will to easily break part of Iorek's sky-iron armor.
In The Amber Spyglass, fixing the Æsahættr is doable, but not easy. It requires Lyra finding and holding stones that will emit a gas, keeping air away from the metal; Iorek must toll away over a furnace, hammering the shards of blade with a great stone hammer; Will using all his energy to mentally hold the blade in place. But fixed it is, and that will be important, because the subtle knife is crucial to His Dark Materials' story. Its name Æsahættr translates to "God-Destroyer," and it will be used by Will in the final battle against the Authority.
Where Lyra & Will Are Going After His Dark Materials Season 3 Ep 2's Ending
Will Parry and Lyra Belacqua's first port of call, after resting, will be to find Iorek so he can fix the knife. However, he's currently separated from Will and Lyra - he fights off the soldiers allowing them to pass through the window to another world, but they close it behind them. In The Amber Spyglass, they leave and return through the same window, but that's not an option here. It means there must be another window - perhaps the one Will cut into the house where Lyra was being held - but it adds a new wrinkle to the story.
After Iorek has fixed the knife, then Will and Lyra - accompanied by the Gallivespians who have followed them - will journey to the land of the dead. Ever since His Dark Materials season 2's post-credits scene, Lyra has been having dreams or visions of her friend, Roger, who died in season 1's finale. Roger is crying out for Lyra's help, and so she will go to him. The land of the dead is unsurprisingly a dark place, where daemons cannot enter - going through will prove to be one of the biggest tests yet of Lyra's life.
What Happens Next To Lord Asriel & Mrs. Coulter
Lord Asriel arrived too late in His Dark Materials season 3, episode 2's ending, meaning Lyra's parents are reunited but without her. That sets up their future storyline, as both work to their own agendas to defeat the Magisterium. Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter engage one another in a battle of wits following Lyra's escape, with a difference of opinion: Asriel shows little care for his daughter, whereas Mrs. Coulter displays surprising amount of it. He brings her into his council, albeit as a captive, but she herself escape using one of Asriel's intention crafts.
That is rather deliberate on the part of Lord Asriel though. Mrs. Coulter heads to the Magisterium's Consistorial Court, where she will spy for Asriel. While Lyra's two parents couldn't be more different in many ways, they are bound together not only by their daughter, but by their desires - for different reasons - to defeat the Authority. By bringing them back together at this stage, His Dark Materials proves they can't truly escape one another, and highlights how their fates are very much entwined.
Metatron & The Authority: His Dark Materials Season 3's Villains Explained
His Dark Materials season 3 reveals another villain: the Authority's regent, Metatron, who is currently ruling the Kingdom of Heaven. Metatron is the brother of the angel Baruch, one of the two who was helping Will on his own journey. Although it's true that Metatron was made the Authority's regent, this is not exactly the case by the time Lord Asriel learns of his existence. In truth, Metatron has grown more powerful than the Authority, and has taken rule of Heaven from him, imprisoning his fellow angel.
The Authority himself is one of the great lies in His Dark Materials' world. He is no true God, but rather the first angel. After forming from Dust, he convinced the angels who followed that he was their creator, and became worshiped as such across multiple worlds. The Authority is far less powerful in His Dark Materials season 3's timeline than he once was, having been weakened by his long imprisonment. Nonetheless, the Authority and Metatron must both be defeated in Lord Asriel's final battle against the Kingdom of Heaven.
His Dark Materials season 3 releases new episodes Mondays on HBO.