I love a bad dad. They are my favorite archetype, and Lord Asriel is pretty high up on that list. A character who masquerades as Lyra’s uncle at the start of HBO’s His Dark Materials series and then is revealed to be her father, he’s someone that we know we can’t trust. He did kill her best friend, after all.
But now as we head into season 3, we’re seeing Lyra and Will come to terms with their emotional arcs of both their journeys with their fathers, and this trailer sets up a beautiful look into what is likely the last season of the series. And it also has a lot of Asriel looking hot and can you blame me? For many of us millennials, we’ve been in the James McAvoy boat since 2005. That’s seventeen years!
So anytime we see him in something, whether he’s a sort-of villain or Professor X, we tend to love him. And Lord Asriel is certainly going through it with his man bun.
Don’t trust Lord Asriel
I spoke with McAvoy about the upcoming season of the show, and he talked a lot about reading the books three times and loving Asriel, and what is so fascinating about his journey in His Dark Materials is that he is very much a figure who flutters in and out of the series, and we get brief moments with him—which is probably why he’s so interesting.
He is trying to destroy false gods and he’s willing to do whatever it takes to get there, including killing whoever is in his way, but he’s still the kind of character who is interesting to break down. And sure, if it wasn’t McAvoy we might not feel the way we do, but god, this trailer was a lot to unpack and I am going to struggle with this look on Lord Asriel this season. A sweater and a bun?! A crime!
(featured image: HBO)
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