How An Abandoned Episode Of His Dark Materials Influenced The Show's Third Season [Exclusive]

Much like Philip Pullman's original novel trilogy, "His Dark Materials" started off playing things close to the vest, so far as it concerns Lord Asriel (James McAvoy) and his endgame. Come season 3, however, the show is done hiding Asriel's true mission and its actual plot behind vaguely religious metaphors. Lyra's bad dad is on a mission to literally slay God in a retelling of John Milton's "Paradise Lost" that features angels, weapons capable of cutting the very fabric of reality, and, most importantly of all, talking polar bears.

Initially, the plan was to bring viewers up to speed on Asriel's doings since the season 1 finale — you know, that whole thing where he sacrificed Lyra's poor friend Roger to create a bridge to another world — with an episode centered on the character in season 2. This one-off outing was penned by head writer Jack Thorne and would've included brand-new plot stuff created specifically for the series, with Pullman's blessing. Alas, the pandemic struck before filming could be completed and we were cruelly denied an hour of McAvoy chewing the scenery as Asriel spouts self-aggrandizing rhetoric about the monumental nature of his quest.

In an interview with /Film's Jamie Gerber, "His Dark Materials" season 3 showrunners Jane Tranter and Dan McCulloch confirmed that the material from this episode was "entirely omitted" rather than integrated into the series' third and final chapter. "Asriel is only referred to in the second book somewhat," McCulloch noted, explaining that the episode was "very much designed to work as a standalone piece." Even so, it still had a significant impact on the way season 3 kicks off in terms of Asriel's storyline.

"His Dark Materials" season 3 begins with Lord Asriel meeting Commander Ogunwe (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), a rebel from another world with visible scars and marks from his years of fighting some unseen enemy. Never one to beat around the bush, Asriel barely pauses before trying to recruit the seasoned soldier to his cause, telling him all about the infinite other worlds, angels, and his intention to win the war for free will by taking down the Creator. All things considered, Ogunwe takes these mind-blowing revelations remarkably in stride.

Commenting on this, Jane Tranter noted that by scrapping Asriel's solo episode, the series' creatives were able to give Ogunwe a bigger role to play:

"But actually the loss of that episode did have some influence on what we did, how we positioned Asriel in the opening of season 3, where we see Asriel go and recruit Commander Ogunwe in a different world because if we'd had that episode, we would've been able to explain more what Asriel was doing, what his point and purpose is, what he hoped to achieve, what his war was. And the idea is that he was going to talk to the head of the guild in Cittàgazze, and actually, it was good in the end because it gave us a chance to expand the role of Commander Ogunwe, and actually see Asriel recruit him."

Asriel's meeting with Ogunwe even manages to slip in some subtle character development by showing Asriel visibly pondering Ogunwe's open affection for his daughters. (Actually caring for your kids? What a concept!) All in all, the show seems more confident than ever heading into its final hours, despite not having that intriguing abandoned episode to help fill in the gaps.

"His Dark Materials" is streaming on HBO Max.