Does [SPOILER] Die in the Season 2 Finale of 'His Dark Materials'?

[Warning: Major spoilers ahead]

The Season 2 finale of HBO Max's His Dark Materials, based on the book series by Philip Pullman, ended on a major cliffhanger for fans. Lyra (Dafne Keen) is currently at the mercy of her mother Mrs. Coulter (Ruth Wilson) and Will (Amir Wilson) on a quest to reunite with his new best friend and find Lord Asriel (James McAvoy) to relay his dying father's final message, which sets up the storyline for Season 3. 

But as many fans of the book series know, Season 2 saw the end of one beloved character, Lee Scoresby (Lin-Manuel Miranda).

Our favorite gun-slinging hero finally fell at the hands of Magisterium troops. While Lee and Jopari (Andrew Scott) continued on their journey to find Lyra and the knife-bearer, the aeronaut's balloon craft was shot down. While attempting to escape, Lee was sadly hit with gunfire. In an emotional scene, he bids farewell to Jopari and stays behind to allow him to escape and continue his mission. 

Though Lee and his daemon Hester (Cristela Alonzo) have been shot multiple times, he continues to take down as many troops as possible. In one final attempt to save himself, he calls on the witch Serafina for help... but she's too late. Lee and Hester succumb to their injuries and he dies.

"It’s a beautiful thing. The arc of Lee is someone who is kind of a drifter, who finds a sense of purpose through his love for this kid [Lyra], who he sees a bit of himself in," Lin-Manuel Miranda told Variety. "This is a really bright kid who has been dealt a bad hand in the parent department, and he’s just going to do everything he can so that she can go forward."

So, is Lee really dead? Fans of the books know that Lee and his daemon are dead, but the pair do return in ghost form in the land of the dead to help Will and Lyra fight the Spectres. When asked by Variety if the actor has any plans of returning for Season 3, he said, "Nothing has been written in stone or finalized, but I’ve always told them this is enormous fun for me and I serve at the pleasure of Bad Wolf Productions."

He continued, "If they see fit for Lee and Hester to return in corporeal or non-corporeal form, I’ll answer the call. But they just got the green light, so I don’t even know how much exists and is written yet." 

You can now stream Season 2 of His Dark Materials on HBO Max.