Carnival Row is an American neo-noir fantasy series that was created by Rene Echevarria and Travis Beachman. It follows a human detective (Orlando Bloom) and a fairy (Cara Delevingne) as they try to make their way in a Victorian fantasy world where the city’s uneasy truce between fairies and humans is fractured by a string of murders. And, it seems, something much darker is lurking under the town.
In The Beginning
The series aired on August 30 and is already making waves in the fantasy world. The first episode, “Some Dark God Wakes,” was absolutely wonderful and drew me right in. If you are looking for a show immersed in the fantasy world and is a little dark and a whole lot sexy, Carnival Row is perfect for you.
In the first episode, “Some Dark God Wakes,” we are sent on a roller coaster of a ride from the very start. We learn how the Burgue had been sent to try and help the fae fight against The Pact, but in the end, the Burgue abandoned them. Which left the fae to suffer a horrible fate and leaving Vignette believing she had lost the love of her life.
The series consists of conflicts between the humans and fairie folk which is in every part of the society. The fae may have escaped from the torture that is going on in their homelands, but in the Burgue, things are not much better for them. Carnival Row added some layers of subtext that deals with racism, immigration and colonialism, which will no doubt hit viewers pretty hard and is very relatable to our current world. This is just another reason that I find the show to be fascinating on several levels.
Seven Years
Seven years after the Burgue left in retreat, Vignette (Delevingne) is working to help save her fellow fae while Philo (Bloom) is on the hunt for an assailant who has a massive grudge against the fae. Little do these two know that they are about to be thrown back together again, whether they like it or not. And, with Vignette believing that Philo died in the war, their meeting is nothing if not disastrous.
Philo seems to be the only one who cares about saving and protecting the fae. He is constantly having to overcome hurdles in order to make headway in finding the assailant. Philo is a hard man, but we also see he is caring. I definitely love the character and I think Bloom did a fantastic job. He is a force to be reckoned with and has no desire to sit on the sidelines, watching the horrible treatment of the fae.
Vignette is another fantastic character and I love what a bad-ass she is. And, can I just say that the wings are glorious! She is a freedom fighter, trying to save her fellow fae and earn her freedom. Vignette believes that the man she fell in love with, died during the war, but she soon finds out that she had been lied too. Tensions are high as Vignette and Philo come face to face, but it is also very clear that their love for each other still runs strong. So far, she is by far my favorite character in Carnival Row and I look forward to seeing how she transforms in the rest of the series.
Final Thoughts
Now, let’s chat a bit about thoughts and whether you should watch this series. There is no doubt in my mind that Carnival Row is your next binge-worthy series. It’s a magical world where fae and humans are thrown together and must find a way to survive. The world of fantasy is an amazing thing and this gives us another way to immerse ourselves into it. Carnival Row is also very sensual with quite a few sex scenes in it, so be prepared for that as well. Overall, the series is off to a great start and I can’t wait to see what will happen next.
With danger lurking around every corner and love waiting to be found, this is the perfect fantasy series and you need to watch it! All 8 episodes are now streaming on Amazon Prime, so hop to it!
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