WiC Watches: Carnival Row season 1
EPISODE 103: “KINGDOMS OF THE MOON”
Once, as a Burguish soldier, Philo was tasked with protecting a Faerish mimasery. While the Pact bears down on them, Philo meets Vignette and finds love in the most unlikely of places.
What Happened?
“Kingdoms of the Moon” gives us our first look, albeit in flashback, of the Fae land of Tirnanoc, specifically the wintry Tiranese Highlands in the Kingdom of Anoun. Sergeant Philo and Corporal Darius are NCOs in a column of Burguish infantrymen (the 13th Light Dragoons) tasked to quarter themselves in a Fae holy mimasery. The matron Badria Timimi (Mima Roosan) and the faeries eye the soldiers with distrust, while the Dragoon commander Winshaw (Roger Barclay) fears there could be pro-Pact guerillas amid the Fae refugees.
While reconnoitering the labyrinthine grottoes and passageways of the ancient Fae monastery, Philo runs afoul of the angry Vignette, a sentinel tasked with the protection of the holy library, and she runs him off at the end of her dagger. When Philo and Darius lead a risky repair detachment to repair a failed telegraph line, they draft Vignette to help them string the wire across a gorge.
Philo and his soldiers are attacked by vicious Pact were-hounds. Only Philo and Darius survive, with Philo being saved by Vignette and her dagger. Philo realizes the Pact is turning their soldiers into the were-monsters by using a serum called “wolf’s curse.” Vignette takes Philo on a tour of the fabled library where they share their affection for books and stories, and soon their wing-sparkling love affair begins.
Vignette and Philo Carnival Row S1 Ep 3 Photo Amazon Prime Jan Thijs
The Philo-Vignette attraction kick-starts over a discussion about a novel he likes: Kingdoms of the Moon, a story that hints at some deep-rooted mysteries (and earlier human interaction with the Fae) in the show’s mythology. We see Philo duck away when the Burgue soldiers at the mimasery are called to give blood to send to wounded combatants — is the hero hiding the true nature of his bloodline? Yup. Later, Vignette sees the scars on Philo’s back where his wings had been removed as an infant. He’s a half-breed, and he’s hidden it all his life.
Darius was bitten by a were-hound during the ambush, and Philo sees him transform at the first full moon. Philo swears to protect Darius, who is aware of his relationship with the “Pix.” Fae refugees arrive at the mimasery, including Vignette’s former lover, Tourmaline. The Pact is winning the war and the Burguish forces are ordered to evacuate. Tourmaline warns Philo that Vignette won’t leave him and will likely be killed as a result. The Pact airships arrive to attack the Fae. In order to protect Vignette, Philo has Timimi tell her that he is dead; with her heart broken, Vignette collapses, unaware that Philo has chosen to abandon her in Tirnanoc.
Was it good?
It was … fantastic, like eating all the chocolate chip cookies you want fantastic.
We get our first look at Tirnanoc and witness the genesis of the Philo/Vignette love affair. It’s a lush, textured installment with a heavy focus on the love story, and it’s magnetic. The landscapes of the Tiranese Highlands are as wonderfully realized as the ghettos of the Burgue. The final siege, with Philo and Vignette separating as the Fae are overwhelmed by the steampunk/dieselpunk Pact airships, is everything I wanted from a show like this.
Carnival Row Orlando Bloom as Philo
Bloom and Delevingne handle the cute fits and starts of their characters’ attractions with appropriate playfulness, and for a while we forget about what becomes of them later in the Burgue. TV shows usually dribble out their characters’ backstories over time, savoring the reveals, but Carnival Row serves up the history of Philo and Vignette as a main course, and it’s a lot of fun. They’re a fantasy version of Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund in Casablanca, and I’m ready for more.
It was refreshing to experience an installment of the series that wasn’t weighed down by an excess of characters and sprawling story threads, and I hope as the introductions conclude we get more streamlined episodes like this.
If the fabulous fantasy, potboiler romance and heartfelt drama of “Kingdoms of the Moon” aren’t enough to pull you into Carnival Row, then perhaps it just isn’t the show for you.