In this age of an increasingly fractured viewing audience, it’s unlikely that a TV show will reach the heights of Game of Thrones, but HBO does seem to be intentionally courting the same fantasy-loving audience with His Dark Materials. So far, it doesn’t seem to be working, and there are many, many differences between the two series that could explain U.S. viewers’ hesitance to tune into the Philip Pullman adaptation. That being said, with the His Dark Materials Season 2 premiere, the two HBO fantasy dramas do have one very explicit thing in common: actress Bella Ramsey. While many British audiences may recognize Ramsey from children’s show The Worst Witch, Ramsey became a Game of Thrones fan favorite in later seasons for her performance as Lyanna Mormont, the zombie giant-killing noblewoman who never met a conversation she couldn’t tell the truth in. In the His Dark Materials Season 2 premiere, which aired in the U.K. last week and in the U.S. this week, Ramsey makes a memorable appearance as Angelica, one of the few remaining people left in Cittàgazze, the Spectres-haunted city first glimpsed by Asriel in the Northern Lights where Will and Lyra find temporary refuge. And, honestly, Ramsey is killing it in this series, as well. Prior to the season launching, Den of Geek chatted with Dafne Keen (Lyra) and Amir Wilson (Will) about filming with the actress. Wilson, who says he has just started watching Game of Thrones (“I haven’t come across Bella yet, but can’t wait til I do.”), added that Ramsey is “really humble and genuine.” “I remember one time we went out to Pizza Express,” recounts Wilson, “and we’re eating and these kids had obviously seen Bella and recognized her and they kind of asked for a photo and she went over and she talked them and you can tell it just made their day.”
