Twilight of the Gods

"In Lyra's heart, revulsion struggled with compassion, and compassion won."

Little grocery shops and bakeries stood between jewelers and bead-curtained doors opening into private houses, where wrought-iron balconies thick with flowers overhung the narrow pavement, and where the silence, being enclosed, was even more profound. The streets were leading downward, and before very long they opened out onto a broad avenue where more palm trees reached high into the air, the underside of their leaves glowing in the streetlights. On the other side of the avenue was the sea.

protagonists are a young girl and a black teenage boy

several prominent male characters cry on screen

both protagonists are guided by their own goodness, and it is for this reason that they are the focus of the narrative

seeing the perspective of a child's view of the world vs the adults that disregard their voices

women in science

discussion of the morality of science co-existing with religion

female antagonists

teenage characters are played by teenagers of the same age

kids defeat evil through methods only children would use (snowball fights, screaming, hiding, running)

several black characters have a large role in the story, many in positions of authority and with independent character arcs

family is chosen but biological family can be just as powerful

very good casting/acting of family members down to certain mannerisms being mirrored by parents and children

solid good vs evil narrative but also everyone is morally ambiguous

it's a denouncement of organised religion while highlighting the value of faith

freedom of thought! truth! building paradise where you already are!

the title sequence goes incredibly hard

a love letter to the power of kindness and stories

chaos family + the amber spyglass/ series parallels

Lord Asriel and Stelmaria

Mrs. Coulter and the golden monkey

HDM alphabet series → A is for Alethiometer