RELATED: 'His Dark Materials' Season 3: James McAvoy Reveals Whether Asriel Actually Loves His Daughter Without any flashbacks to the past, it's still quite clear what attracted these two brilliant-if-Machiavellian people together. If you were ever curious about what these two are like beyond their brief encounter at the end of Season 1, Season 3 delivers boatloads of exciting scenes. The crackling chemistry between McAvoy and Ruth Wilson makes them a joy to watch on screen, heightening the dynamics we see playing out between them.

Coulter are given more room to breathe in the final season, expanding on their roles both as former lovers, parents of Lyra, and scientists questioning the role of the Authority. Complicated characters like Asriel and Mrs. With so much new material being thrown at you, the series' solid casting is doing a lot of the emotional lifting for the series. The series is at its best in the quiet moments between two characters, whether that be between James McAvoy's Lord Asriel and Ruth Wilson's Marisa Coulter, or between Amir Wilson's Will Parry and Dafne Keen's Lyra Belacqua. And yet, even with all of its complicated multi-world building, Season 3 does not lose the essence of The Amber Spyglass, though it sometimes indulges in spectacle that feels epic but also off-brand for the show. If you're going to understand why the Authority is kind of god, but not really, and how it's actually not about fighting the Authority but actually about a guy named Metatron, you're going to need to pay attention. By no means is this show the kind that you casually put on and listen to in the background.

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