Lyra's Quest: Retrieving Pan

In the third season of the HBO series *His Dark Materials*, Lyra Belacqua and her daemon, Pan, are separated when Lyra travels to the Land of the Dead. This is a significant moment in their relationship, as daemons are a physical manifestation of a person's soul, and their separation is described as feeling like an iron hand pulling one's heart out between one's ribs.

After reuniting, Lyra and Pan's relationship is strained, and they continue to argue and be at odds with each other in the sequel book, *The Secret Commonwealth*, which is set ten years after the end of *His Dark Materials*. However, it is implied that they get back on good terms, as they go on another adventure together, as teased in the final moments of the show's third season.

Lyra and Pan's relationship in Lyra's Oxford

Lyra and Pan's relationship in 'Lyra's Oxford' is strained, to say the least. The novella is set a few years after the events of 'His Dark Materials', when Lyra is 15. Although Lyra and Pan have reunited and are on good terms with each other, they cannot forget or get over the fact that they were separated when Lyra travelled to the Land of the Dead, leaving Pan behind. This pivotal moment in their relationship will forever affect their dynamic.

In 'Lyra's Oxford', Lyra and Pan's relationship continues from where it ended in 'His Dark Materials'. Their bond has deteriorated, and they are more divided than ever, constantly arguing and never agreeing on anything. Despite this, their relationship is not beyond repair, and they are able to forgive each other. In the final moments of the series finale, Pan takes the form of a European pine marten, which some believe to be his final, settled form.

Lyra and Pan's relationship in The Secret Commonwealth

Lyra and her daemon, Pantalaimon (Pan), have a strained relationship in 'The Secret Commonwealth'. Lyra is now an adult, and her once-infallible relationship with Pan has become difficult. They quarrel frequently and no longer like each other very much. Pan thinks that Lyra's interest in the writings of Ayn Rand-ian philosophers and pseudo-rational scholars has changed her, and made her lose her imagination. Pan leaves Lyra, breaking her heart, and goes in search of her imagination. This separation drives the narrative tension in the novel, as Lyra sets off on a quest to find and reunite with Pan.

Lyra is depressed, and her quarrel with Pan is akin to a romantic betrayal. She feels that she has abandoned him, as she had to separate from him to journey into the land of the dead. Pan tells her that this was the worst thing she ever did, and Lyra agrees.

Lyra is also dealing with the loss of her first love, Will Parry. Although she thinks about him all the time, she has begun to move on and has a new love interest, Malcolm Polstead, who was her rescuer in 'La Belle Sauvage' and is now an academic. Their relationship is complicated by the age difference and the power dynamics between them.

Lyra and Pan's separation in the Land of the Dead

Lyra and her daemon, Pantalaimon (or Pan, for short), are forced to separate in His Dark Materials season 3, episode 4, "Lyra and Her Death", as she travels to the Land of the Dead. This separation is particularly painful, as Lyra and Pan have been shown to be extremely close, and daemons are a manifestation of a person's soul.

Lyra is determined to reach the Land of the Dead to rescue her friend Roger Parslow, who was killed by her father, Lord Asriel. Overtaken by guilt, she is willing to do whatever it takes to get there, even if that means leaving Pan behind. The boatman who takes the deceased across the water to the Land of the Dead refuses to let Pan come aboard, insisting that it is an unbreakable rule that daemons cannot accompany humans to the afterlife.

The separation of Lyra and Pan is not a true severing of their bond, as seen in the case of Roger, who was separated from his daemon by Lord Asriel, resulting in his death. Instead, their separation is more akin to what the witches undergo when they are young. Witches partake in a trial that involves visiting a land their daemons cannot enter, allowing their daemons to travel great distances from them, which is why they always settle as birds. While Pan is not a bird, the separation still leaves a permanent mark on their relationship.

After freeing the ghosts in the Land of the Dead, Lyra and Pan are eventually reunited. Pan escapes on his own by jumping through windows and finds Lyra in the mulefa world. Although they are drawn back together, their relationship has changed, and they continue to argue and be at odds with each other. In the book "The Secret Commonwealth", set ten years after the events of "His Dark Materials", Lyra and Pan are shown to be increasingly irritated with each other, indicating that their separation in the Land of the Dead has had long-lasting effects on their dynamic.

Lyra and Pan's reunion in the mulefa world

In the mulefa world, Lyra and Pan are reunited after Pan escapes from the land of the dead by jumping through windows. Initially, he keeps his distance from Lyra, remaining out of sight as a form of punishment. However, they are ultimately drawn back together.

In the mulefa world, Lyra and Will release the ghosts from their misery in the Land of the Dead, allowing them to pass through a window and vanish into the ether, finally finding peace.

Lyra and Will's reunion in the mulefa world is bittersweet. Although they are happy to be back together, they know that they will have to separate again soon. They agree to meet for an hour on the same bench in their Oxford's Botanical Gardens every year at midday on midsummer's day, each in their respective world.

Lyra and Pan's relationship is strained after their separation in the Land of the Dead. In the mulefa world, they are drawn back together, but things feel different. In the book 'The Secret Commonwealth', set ten years after the separation, their relationship is described as increasingly irritable and fraught with arguments.

Lyra and Pan's next great adventure

Lyra and Pan's relationship has been forever changed by their separation in the Land of the Dead. Although they reunite and are on good terms, they are constantly arguing and never seem to agree on anything. In The Secret Commonwealth, the pair appear to be at odds more than ever and even have a big falling out, resulting in Pan leaving Lyra for the rest of the book.

Despite their differences, Lyra and Pan embark on another adventure together, which is teased in the final moments of the His Dark Materials TV adaptation. After saving the multiverse, Lyra and Will are forced to separate and return to their respective worlds, agreeing to meet on the same bench in their Oxford's Botanical Gardens every year at midday on Midsummer's Day. The finale shows a montage of these meetings as the pair grow from teenagers into their early twenties. Lyra becomes a scholar at St Sophia's College in Oxford, where she relearns how to read the alethiometer, a skill that will come in useful for her and Pan's next great adventure.

Frequently asked questions