His Dark Materials' Season 2 finale neatly wrapped up the season with some uncomfortable alliances and sacrifices, as well as the return of the show's original characters from Season 1. Not only that, but it also brought its prime world to the brink of war -- one between the Magisterium and all those who oppose their tyranny. But most importantly, it revealed the prophecy including Lyra's true name and purpose.
Here's everything we know about Lyra Belacqua/Silvertongue and the prophecy that would bring upon the end of destiny.
The prophecy is mentioned many times throughout the series, mostly by witches. In His Dark Materials Season 2 Episode 5, Kaisa, Serafina Pekkala's daemon talks about it.
Witches hear the immortal whispers of those who pass between worlds. They speak of a child who is destined to bring the end of destiny. If told what she must do, she will fail. But she won’t walk alone. There is a boy whose fate is bound with hers. Together, they will change everything.
Whenever it has been spoken about on the show, it has vaguely conveyed the same information: a child will save the world but must do so according to her own will. The witches had been able to keep this information to themselves until the last episode of Season 2 where the Magisterium found out Lyra's true name. As it is in the books, Lyra becomes His Dark Materials' biblical re-imagination of "Eve."
Like the biblical character Eve, Lyra will be tempted to do as the serpent tells her, causing mankind's fall -- or at least that's what the Magisterium and Mrs. Coulter think. Author Philip Pullman wrote the story as a re-invention of Paradise Lost but turned it on its head. So, it all comes down to how the characters perceive Dust; is it good or evil?
Dust is the elementary particles that are only found in adults. It surrounds people when they grow up and their daemons settle. So the Magisterium sees it as desire, a sin that needs to be eradicated by violence, if necessary. That's why Mrs. Coulter had been separating children from their daemons. On the other hand, Lord Asriel -- along with the witches and many others -- feel that dust is what gives human beings free will. And it's this proverbial apple that Eve must choose to eat to end the tyranny of the Magisterium.
Meanwhile, Dr. Mary Malone was asked to be the serpent to Lyra's Eve. During the time Lyra spent with her in the laboratory, she seemed to be quite taken by the intellectual freedom Dr. Malone allowed. Being of curious nature and coming from the world that she did, Lyra seemed quite taken by Dr. Malone's interest in Dust. In fact, she seemed surprised that women were allowed to pursue careers at all. That is the seduction His Dark Materials has prophesied.
However, Mrs. Coulter kidnaps Lyra with the intent to stop her from fulfilling the prophecy. In the books, her reason for doing all she did was Lyra's safety. She was afraid that if the church found out who Lyra was and what she was capable of, they would kill her:
Lyra will somehow, sometime soon, be tempted as Eve was – that’s what they say. … And now that the church knows that, too, they’ll kill her. … Killing is not difficult for them … they’d kill her with pomp and ceremonial and prayers and lamentations and psalms and hymns, but they would kill her.
Although her methods are questionable, she has been trying to keep the Magisterium off Lyra's scent. It appears she kidnapped Lyra to stop her from fulfilling the prophecy.
One area the show differs from the book is the role of Will Parry. While the books take their time getting Will into the game, the show introduces him fairly quickly to get the ball rolling. This pretty much makes him His Dark Materials' version of the biblical Adam. The prophecy predicts that Lyra will fulfill her destiny in a world far away and he has just the weapon to help her do it.
His Dark Materials Season 2 stars Dafne Keen as Lyra, Amir Wilson as Will Parry, Ruth Wilson as Marisa Coulter, Lin-Manuel Miranda as Lee Scoresby, and Andrew Scott as John Parry. The complete season is available on HBO Max.