His Dark Materials' Dafne Keen And Amir Wilson On Episode 4's Heartbreaking Moment [Exclusive Interview]

This post contains spoilers for "His Dark Materials" season 3.  

"His Dark Materials" hasn't wasted any time getting to the meat of the last book in Philip Pullman's trilogy, "The Amber Spyglass." The plot has only thickened in episodes 3 and 4 of the show's third and final season, with Will (Amir Wilson) and Lyra (Dafne Keen) entering the Land of the Dead to rescue her friend Roger. In order to do that, they first need to restore the subtle knife, which was broken in episode 2. Luckily, they know just the bear for the job.

Of course, a living person can't just head into the afterlife without suffering any consequences, and for Lyra, the price is indeed a steep one. In order to make the trip, she must part with her daemon, Pan. Anyone familiar with "His Dark Materials" knows that this is tantamount to being separated from your soul, and the scene is absolutely heartbreaking.

I recently interviewed Keen and Wilson on "His Dark Materials" season 3 and the discussion eventually turned to pivotal moments in episodes 3 and 4. Keen spoke of the specifics of this gut-wrenching scene and Wilson talked about the difficulties of depicting the use of the subtle knife onscreen, particularly when it came to repairing the blade.

The scene in which Pan and Lyra are parted in episode 4, "Lyra and Her Death," broke my whole entire heart, so I had to ask Keen how she was able to reach such a difficult emotional place. She attributed much of the scene's greatness to Kit Connor, who voices Lyra's beloved Pantalaimon. Keen explained:

"Honestly, through the help of the wonderful Kit Connor. He was on set with me and it was just really ... I'm really grateful he was there for that, because I don't know if I would've been able to do it. I just literally ... I don't know, just sympathize with the character and kind of try to imagine what that would feel like. And I had, like I said, the wonderful talented Kit Connor guiding me through that. I had a good script that is just ... if you have a good script, it's just about imagination. And I just imagined what it would feel like and then just did my best."

Lyra must get herself into a trance-like state in order to read the alethiometer and Will needs to do something similar to properly wield the subtle knife. I asked Wilson if that was challenging to portray onscreen. The actor went on to describe the scene in which Iorek helps Will to repair the blade in episode 3, "The Intention Craft." Wilson and Keen then proceeded to have a fun exchange about each of them having their time to scream on the show:

Wilson: Yeah, I guess so. I mean, I remember on the day I was just kind of tensing loads and I actually ended up busting up my neck because I'd fallen onto the ground, I fall onto my side. The water sprayed on me, and I think ... obviously I was cold ... I was warm, but there was cold water being sprayed on me. I ended up messing up my neck, which is annoying.

But look, it was fun to have an afternoon of screaming and shouting. It's kind of just a relief just to be able to shout, even. And it was fun. Charles Martin, who directed those episodes, just was really good guiding me in the right direction, you know?

Keen: I got to watch it. It was great.

Wilson: She got to watch me scream all day, but it was –

Keen: I got to just run over and be like, "Are you okay?"

Wilson: And then it was your turn to scream in the Pan scene, so I was kind of just like –

Keen: Yeah, Amir was so sick of me. He was like, "You're literally busting my ear."

Wilson: Yeah, like, "Can you scream a bit lower, please?"

Keen: "Can you just scream in the other direction?"

These two young actors have quite literally grown up playing Lyra and Will. "His Dark Materials" began shooting in 2018. Keen and Wilson are 17 and 18, respectively, so they were quite young at the start of filming. Although Keen had already wowed audiences with her turn as Laura in "Logan" in 2017, she has only become a better performer as this show has progressed. Same with Wilson. Both actors have really come into their own over the course of the series, which is vital, considering all the difficulties that still lie ahead for Will and Lyra. We are, after all, only halfway through the season.

Both actors have to portray a tremendous range of emotions, and often times, they need to do so opposite CGI characters. Yet, scenes with Irorek (Joe Tandberg) or Pan still come off as quite believable, which is a testament not only to the VFX department, but to all the performers involved.

"His Dark Materials" is an epic journey that is anchored by the performances of its two young stars, so if Keen and Wilson weren't up to the task, the show simply would not work. These two are probably only just getting started. Most recently, Wilson appeared in a fantasy film called "The Magic Flute," and Keen has been cast in the upcoming Disney+ "Star Wars" series "The Acolyte."