It's been a long time since I've read the books, so having none of this seem too familiar wasn't exactly surprising. But the characters I do remember, as well as the setting, and neither of those matched what I imagined all those years ago. Some parts were also altered or removed altogether, for reasons I suspect would make it hard to provide context in moments requiring a narrator to describe something you wouldn't be able to understand by simply watching. Standard book-to-film adaptation stuff.
But none of that matters. They took this story and made it their own. You can see the care for pacing and thoughtfulness in nearly every scene. After the 2007 film this was such a nice thing to experience. The sheer acting talent from the cast doesn't hurt, either, with high points being some of the best I've ever seen anywhere. Ruth Wilson in particular. She really is something else. Formidable. Terrifying. Sad. Simultaneously a monster and a tragic figure. An entire character arc eventually satisfied. James McAvoy, too. He's able to communicate so much with the most subtle expressions on his face. Actors like him elevate the people they work with, and the rest of the cast also did a great job. The only exception to this being Amir Wilson. To be clear, he's not bad. His portrayal of Will was good, initially. It just didn't really work because he's pretty much the same person all the way through. The developing affection for Lyra was also somewhat unconvincing. That's a problem considering how central this is to the actual story. As a result we're not 100% sold on what they mean to each other, which ends up taking us out of it.
Iorek Byrnison needs to be mentioned. This is arguably the coolest character in the story, and while most of how he's portrayed is good they did kind of stumble which made him inconsistent. Trimmed a bit of what should have been given more attention, and some actors interacting with the visual effects didn't sell it. For instance, Lyra would turn away too early in conversation and it would diminish him actually being there. Or critical points felt like they were "good enough" to move forward with so they put the scene together without the emphasis. These were significant events in the actual books that left a real lasting impression, but here you'll see it play out, then wonder why it didn't hit as hard compared to having read it. I can only imagine working with these kinds of special effects presented unexpected challenges. None of the other characters felt this way. Only scenes with the bear, which is a real shame because he had such presence in the source material. This one detail really stood out to me.
Overall, this is a great show. If you're a fan of the trilogy it's a good watch. If you're coming in fresh it may take a few episodes to settle in.
