REVIEWED: SEASON 1 (EPISODES 1 – 4) | WHERE TO WATCH: AMAZON PRIME VIDEO
Carnival Row is a big-budget TV show which blends all the pageantry of period drama with the grim-dark fantasy-style brought into vogue thanks to Game of Thrones. (Amazon insists on calling this ‘fantasy-noir’, but we know grim-dark when we see it.) It’s basically all the fun of a Victorian-era murder mystery, with some sexy faeries and hunky fauns mixed in with a plethora of decidedly dodgy Irish and English accents.
Much of the drama takes place in Burque, a country-sized city-state that asks the question ‘What if Victorian London was an entire nation?’. The show opens with Vignette Stonemoss (Cara Delevingne) running for her life from ‘The Pact’, a shadowy nation of conquerors. Vignette is a faery; she has very pretty wings that allow her to fly. Alas, this special power is not much use against cannons. Vignette, being a grim-dark hero, is helping smuggle her fellow country-fae out of her war-torn homeland of Tir-Na-Nog, but for a fee, of course. Meanwhile, back in Burque, Rycroft ‘Philo’ Philostrate (Orlando Bloom) is a tough detective, on the trail of a gruesome murderer called Jack, who specialises in mutilating female faeries.
Bloom and Delevingne make for extremely pretty yet not terribly charismatic leads. However, the story leans into this quite well. Both characters are ‘tough-but-kind’ types, trying to do good in a world of prejudice, weirdness, and blood sacrifice. Bloom is particularly good as a gruff copper type, though it helps that the story gives him plenty of material to work with. Every possible fantasy trope is on display here, and yet it’s charming thanks to how engaging the world-building is.
Carnival Row shines with its supporting cast. All the petty rivalries, obvious nicknames, and casual prejudice build a very believable world. One of the more interesting b-plots involves a rich Fawn called Mr Agreus (David Gyasi) who has begun to move in high society circles. His neighbours are scandalised and Tamzin Merchant is electrifying as the snobby society girl, Imogen. It’s a show that is filled with little throwaway lines that build up to something more interesting.
The show is also not afraid to take the time to explore its own back story. One of the episodes out of the four we saw is entirely flashback, and it stacks mystery upon mystery while seemingly unveiling some gritty truths. It’s gently done, and when coupled with the show’s spectacular visual effects, really works. Minor details (such as how one walks when one has wings) have been nailed down, and this makes the whole thing believable. If a little bit silly.
Its broader message is one that’s both timeless and modern; we should care for others, no matter how strange or foreign they may be, and be mindful of our own bigotries. At least we think it’s that. It’s hard to tell with all the violence and nudity. Carnival Row may surprise you with its depth, and is well worth a look.
