Man I really needed to gather my thoughts before writing a review on this. This series is incredible, I cannot stress enough how different the experience of reading it now that I’m older is. There is so much nuance and deep religious critique that I would not have been able to understand as a kid. As someone who was raised Catholic, the satirical depiction of murderous priests and bishops and the training of people to not ask questions hits pretty close to home. It’s an exaggeration, but very much based in truth. Many Catholics leave the church in search of a way to build Lyra’s republic of heaven themselves. Also the character of Mrs. Coulter is truly incredible. Throughout the series she went from being evil incarnate to actually being one of my favourite characters. My heart breaks for her, I hope she found peace and a sense of redemption or absolved the guilt she felt by being able to sacrifice herself for Lyra.