WiC Watches: Carnival Row season 1
EPISODE 104: “THE JOINING OF UNLIKE THINGS”
Philo investigates the murder of his childhood headmaster. Vignette ingratiates herself into the Black Raven. Imogen hatches a plan to help her brother. Breakspear goes on the offensive with Longerbane.
What happened?
Philo is called in to investigate the grisly murder of the headmaster (John Malafronte) of the Light of the Martyr Foundling Home. Following beastly hoof prints in the pouring rain, Philo descends into the sewers to confront a giant, ghastly beast that eludes him despite being struck by a number of bullets.
Now a member of the Black Raven underground army, Vignette is paired up with fellow Fae Oona (Anna Koval) while the leader Dahila hunts for an informer.
In full conniving mode, Imogen Spurnrose invites the new neighbor Agreus to her home, thinking the society-climbing puck a better mark for a loan than the banks awaiting her brother.
Philo visits the faery holy woman Mima Sawsaan (Mina Andala), who tells him about a fabled monster called the Darkasher, a golem “fashioned from the limbs of the dead.”
Absalom Breakspear has men watching his political opponent, Ritter Longerbane, believing he is the one who has abducted his son. Meanwhile, Piety weeps crocodile tears. Breakspear falls into a rage in Parliament, accusing Longerbane (Ronan Vibert) of the vile act. Later, encouraged by Piety, he has him arrested. Absalom has Longerbane brutalized in prison, and the duplicitous Piety poisons him, claiming he’s revealed the location of Jonah. The police recover Jonah, who recognizes Piety as one of his captors.
After a chance meeting with Vignette, Philo visits the Haruspex witch to try to get some information on the Darkasher, and ends up in a bizarre seduction ritual.
Vignette gets into trouble with Dahlia after she’s seen with Philo, and has to prove herself by learning the identity of the Fae informant by nightfall. The Black Raven informer turns out to be Hamlyn (Dejan Bucin), who’s working for Philo.
Agreus Carnival Row S1 104 Amazon Prime
Agreus learns that Imogen needs money, and they table a tentative agreement. Dahlia forces Vignette to execute Hamlyn, but Philo has to rescue her when she fails. With any hope for reconciliation in ruins, Philo and Vignette turn to others.
Was it good?
Returning to the familiar grimy cityscapes of the Burgue after a journey into the misty moors of Tirnanoc, “The Joining of Unlike Things” immediately jumps back into murder mystery mode. Carnival Row‘s story excels when things are dark and dirty, and the scenes involving Philo’s investigation in the Row and Vignette’s problems with the Black Raven are engaging.
Once the episode hops into parlors and parliament, however, things get less exciting. The Spurnrose/Agreus story has potential, but so far it’s suffering from Imogen’s cloying obviousness and a lack of screentime to develop any dramatic tension. The wealthy Breakspear storyline stumbles flat, with the experienced politician Absalom’s sudden outburst on the Parliament floor coming off as uncharacteristic. Both stories do get some attention in the second half of the episode and they pick up a little momentum, so let’s hope they can catch up with the rest of the show.
Carnival Row might struggle with too many storylines, and sometimes the dialogue, especially between Philo and Vignette, can fall into a sticky wicket of cliche, but it hits home runs with atmospherics and emotional punch. In the final scenes of “The Joining of Unlike things,” the two hurting lead characters realize they have to move on with their lives. Philo’s elegantly melancholy dinner with the vulnerable Portia and Vignette’s breakdown in Tourmaline’s arms are powerhouse moments. It’s stuff like this that keeps us coming back for more.