TRF - first time finishing it, literally this morning, I think my opinion is different than others
Context: first time I read HDM was about 5-6 years ago, about age 30, loved it, very deep, my friend read them as a teen and recommended them.
This past year I decided to do a full re-read in the lead up to paperback TRF release.
I read OUSTITN then The Collectors, then TBS, HDM trilogy then Lyras oxford then Serpentine.
Straight into TSC - incredible book, I felt like it was a true, hurtful, beautiful sequel, that dealt alot with adulthood, the changing world and loved the further depth of the secret commonwealth and Lyra's changed personality as an adult., as well as the further exploration of Lyras world.
Then TRF - absolutely epic, touching, the whole book adds a layer of maturity and depth and understanding, the ending was a perfect mirror to the ending of HDM, even down to the last page, the last conversation Lyra and Pan have in HDM and the conversation Lyra and Olivier have (Olivier, what a character btw!).
I'm sure lots of fans have their understanding of the ending, mine is Lyra is finally who she should be, could be autobiographical in some ways to Pullman, maybe he sees himself as Lyra, like she is in someways his own daemon, but the last line, wow, tied it all together emotionally, not treating the writer to a cringey epilogue of "heres what happened next" but lets you have your own story.
I do in my head canon see Lyra and Malcolm becoming a couple, the world having a power vacuum of the Magisterium that corporations will fill, as with real life the fears of control will be there, but there will be more and more people open to hear Lyras stories that I think she will tell and write, similar to how many young people were impacted by the hyperchrosmians (itself a mirror parallel to HDM), I believe Lyras stories will travel the world, the Authority will finally lose a grasp over the souls of the world. I do think the rose trade may carry on, maybe Mustafa Bey company involved somehow.
Anyway, as with everything on reddit, just had to get my thoughts out.