William Parry

William "Will" Parry is one of the main protagonists of the book trilogy His Dark Materials. He is the human partner of a daemon named Kirjava.
In the 2019 TV Series adaptation, he was portrayed by .
== Biography ==
Will lives in a multiverse that has many worlds. He lives in an ordinary world without magic.
=== The Subtle Knife ===
From an early age, Will had to take care of his insane mother. His father embarked on an expedition from which he never returned.
When Will was twelve, agents broke into his house. However, Will was able to flee with his mother and bring her to safety. When he returned to his house, however, he surprised the agents there. One of them attacked Will, who accidentally pushed him down the stairs, killing the agent. Will had to flee and soon found a window into another world.
He reached the world of Cittagazze, where he stayed for a few days before meeting Lyra Silvertongue. Lyra attacked him first because she thought he was a monster since he didn't have a daemon. After the two stopped fighting, Lyra realized that Will had to come from a different world than hers. She informed him that she was looking for scholars and he offered to show her the window to his world.
At first, Will and Lyra didn't like each other and disputed several times. But finally they decided to join forces. Will showed Lyra the window into his world. In the world of Cittagazze they met some children who told them about the terrible spectres that attacked and killed the adults while sparing children and were even invisible to the children.
When Will brought Lyra into his world, she was almost run over. He furiously realized that she would not find her way there and that he had to accompany her for a while so that she could find scholars. He took them to Oxford, where they briefly separated. When they meet again, Lyra saves Will from two police officers, but there is a dispute between the two. But as soon as they have returned to the world of Cittagazze, they see how some children abuse a cat and save the animal. The children realize that Will and Lyra could not come from their world.
The next morning Lyra returned to the world of Will and met Mary Malone again. But she was caught by two agents and was barely able to escape them. Lord Boreal helped her escape, but stole the alethiometer. When she met Will again, he helped her go to Lord Boreal and get the alethiometer back. The latter only agreed to return it if they brought him a magic knife from the world of Cittagazze.
In the world of Cittagazze, they broke into a tower where a young man named Tullio had tied and mistreated the bearer of the subtle knife. He had taken the knife from him but could not use it. Will and Lyra fought against him and were finally able to defeat him and put him to flight. However, Will lost two fingers in the fight and passed out from the loss of blood. Lyra watched the spectres kill Tullio and his younger siblings could not help him. They swore to avenge their brother and kill Will and Lyra.
The bearer of the subtle knife, a man named Giacomo, explained to Will that it had chosen him as his new bearer and that he was the only person who could operate it. He taught Will how to use this knife to cut windows into other worlds and then close them again. Giacomo also warned him not to give this knife to Lord Boreal because he would use it for evil purposes.
When Lyra and Will broke up with Giacomo, they decided to simply steal Lyra's alethiometer. The same evening they broke into Lord Boreal's house and the Alethiometer came back into Lyra's possession.
But the next morning they were back in the house in Cittagazze where they were hiding. Suddenly fifty children attacked, who wanted to kill Lyra and Will out of revenge. Because Will was still very weak, they could not escape. They were hiding in a tower. But when the children attacked them, Serafina Pekkala and other witches came to the rescue and saved them.
After Will's wound was healed by the witches, he and Lyra made friends. Both told of what had happened to them. Both decided to look for Will's father, as the alethiometer Lyra had said. That night Lyra slept next to Will to be close to him and because she already trusted him so much.
Will left the camp at night. Outside the camp, he was attacked by a strange man, but both quickly gave up the fight. The man, realizing that Will was the new bearer of the subtle knife, said that it would oblige him to join Lord Asriel's army and support him in his war against The Authority. Will didn't want to, but the man found that Will had now become a fighter and warrior, and that he couldn't deny his own nature. When the man finally pulled out a lantern to recognize Will, they both realized that they were father and son. A moment later, Will's father was shot with a bow and arrow by one of the witches.
Will finally returned to the camp, but the witches there had already been killed by spectres and Lyra was gone.
=== The Amber Spyglass ===
Will was still wandering through the camp when two angels met him there. These had also recognized him as the bearer of the subtle knife and also asked him to go to Lord Asriel. Will didn't want to go without Lyra, however, and told the angels to help him find them. After a while they found a window in Lyra's world.
As soon as they had passed through, the two angels were attacked by an evil and powerful angel. They called Will to flee, but he struggled to help them. With the subtle knife he killed the angel and then brought the two good angels to safety. After wandering around Lyra's world for a while, Will asked one of the angels to take the shape of a bird and stay close so it looked like he was his daemon.
One of the angels finally separated from Will and the other angel to go to Lord Asriel and tell them about the subtle knife. The other angel and Will went on through Lyra's world. There they came across a boat full of panserbjorne, which was just fighting humans. Will had an idea how to end the fight. He challenged the leader of the bears, Iorek Byrnison. However, when he saw how powerful Will's knife was, he immediately gave up the fight. Both continued on a boat, and finally to the cave where Lyra was held.
On the way to the cave, they were attacked by Magisterial agents. Will, the angel and Iorek Byrnison were able to defeat them. However, this angel also left Will shortly afterwards. Will broke into the cave and saved Lyra, but because he had to think of his mother while fleeing and love is the only thing the subtle knife couldn't cut, the knife's blade broke. Still, Will and Lyra managed to escape and they went to Iorek Byrnison to have the subtle knife repaired.
Shortly afterwards, Lyra told Will about the dreams she had had during her drug sleep. She told him to go to the world of the dead because there was an important job for both of them. There she met Lyra's friend Roger and Will's father John Parry again. Will and Lyra negotiated with the harpies to release the spirits of the dead if they told them the story of their lives. Shortly thereafter, Will cut a window into the world of the dead, and the first spirits could be free again and become one with the multiverse.
And shortly after their adventure in the world of the dead, Will and Lyra traveled the world in which Lord Asriel and his army fought against The Authority's army. Only this army was led by Metatron, The Authority was old and weak and locked up in a cage. Will cut the cage with the subtle knife, thereby killing The Authority. Shortly thereafter, they traveled to the world of Mulefa, where they met Mary Malone again.
Finally, Pantalaimon returned to Lyra and brought another daemon, Will's. And his daemon was called Kirjava.
At that point, Will and Lyra had agreed that the other was the best friend they ever had. Mary Malone shared her past and how she fell in love for the first time. At that moment Will and Lyra realized that they had fallen in love. Lyra said it first, but Will admitted his feelings towards her as well.
After spending a few wonderful days as lovers, some angels came to them. They said that each of them had to return to their home world. In addition, all windows that led to other worlds had to be closed, and the subtle knife also had to be destroyed because its use would create more and more of these spectres.
It was terrible news for Lyra and Will because they had finally found their true love. They both agreed to sit on a park bench in the Oxford Botanic Garden each year on a specific day, which existed in both worlds to feel close again. They also promised themselves that one day they would see each other again in the world of the dead, and would then never have to part again.
Will and Lyra said goodbye to each other, and Will closed the window between their worlds. Then he broke the blade of the subtle knife again. Shortly afterwards he accompanied Mary Malone, who assured him that she had found a friend in her with whom he could talk about anything at any time.
== Personality ==
Will was mature and responsible early on, and had a strong sense of morality. He was practical and sensible, and was calm, serious, and polite most of the time.
He is also mysterious and thoughtful, and very independent. At first, he was reluctant to accept help from others. He is confident, even if he doesn't like to fight. Nevertheless, he is always ready to stand up for himself and what is important to him.
Will is brave, but is perceived by other characters as violent and intimidating. While he is strong on the outside, he is vulnerable on the inside and often feels guilty.
At first he had massive tantrums, but as the character development progressed he became calmer. He was also used to dominating a situation and giving orders at first. However, Lyra's influence makes him a little softer.
== Powers and Abilities ==
As the carrier chosen by the subtle knife, he was the only person in the entire multiverse who could carry this knife. With the subtle knife, he was able to cut through any material with ease, as well as cut windows into other worlds. Finally, however, he destroyed the subtle knife. Will also has a strong intuition.
With autodictatic impulses, he won several street fights and gained experience. This ultimately made him a good fighter who shouldn't be underestimated by an adult man either.
== Relationships ==
=== Lyra Silvertongue ===
When Will first met Lyra, they didn't like each other very much. They agree that he shows her a window to his world and then part ways. However, Will has to help Lyra find his way around his world and is forced to stay close to her. After learning about her alethiometer, he demands that she only use it if he agrees. Lyra only agrees because the alethiometer told her to help Will find his father.
After their first adventure, which consists of fighting Tullio and Lord Boreal, and during which Will becomes the new bearer of the subtle knife, they gain affection for one another. Relying on each other and standing up for each other increased their mutual sympathy. After all, they tell each other about their life and their deeds.
Later, Lyra sincerely takes care of Will. And when Lyra is kidnapped by Mrs. Coulter, there is nothing more important for Will than to free her. Will and Lyra meet again, concluding that the other is the best friend they have ever had.
During their later adventures in the world of the dead, they touch each other several times in a way that requires a great deal of familiarity. But only when they meet Mary Malone again in the world of Mulefa, do they realize that they have fallen in love. They touch each other's daemons so that they get their true shape.
They see each other as true love, and it is terrible for them that the angels require them to separate. The only consolation they have is that one day they will meet again in the world of the dead. Until then, they want to sit on a parl bench in the Oxford Botanic Garden on a certain day each year, which exists in both worlds to feel close again.
Finally Will breaks the subtle knife. The first time it broke because he had to think of his mother, but this time the love for her is not enough to break the subtle knife again. Only his love for Lyra, which is much stronger, can break it.
During a later adventure, Lyra says Will is still the center of her life and thinks of him every day.
== Trivia ==
* The alethiometer told Lyra that Will was a murderer because he killed one of the agents who broke into his home. In fact, Will had no intention of murder, and the agent's death was a terrible accident. In the worst case, it was involuntary manslaughter. However, in the course of his adventures, he directly and indirectly kills other humans and creatures, in Tullio's case together with Lyra.
* Although Will was not born in Lyra's world, but one where there are no daemons, he also receives a daemon named Kirjava during his adventures.
* Many readers had the impression that Will and Lyra had sexual intercourse with each other. There are actually some formulations and hints in the text that, if someone exclude sexual interactions, make no other sense. While some fans liked it, many readers also responded with criticism. However, the author Pullman explained in later interviews that he only described how the two kiss. All other interpretations are only in the imagination of the reader.
* Will is explicitly described as dark-haired, but he has light brown hair on the US cover and even red hair on the Spanish cover. He is also described in the books as clearly Caucasian, while his actor in the TV series is dark-skinned.
* The tragic romance of the two was so popular with some fans that they drove to the real Oxford Botanic Garden and used graffiti to paint Lyra x Will on the benches.
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