Review: Carnival Row keeps up the momentum in Episodes 205 and 206
Carnival Row season 2 has been entertaining thus far, successfully splicing together elements of different storylines and keeping the action-driven melodrama at a magnetic pitch. Fans of alternate European history fused with steampunk don’t get a lot of opportunities to watch a show as good as this one.
Do Episode 205, “Reckoning,” and 206, “Original Sins,” keep up the momentum? Let’s see what Philo and Vignette are up to now. There are NO SPOILERS ahead.
Carnival Row Episode 205: “Reckoning”
“Reckoning” opens with Philo walking through the Row as the battered Fae inhabitants try to recover from the assault by the Burgue constables. Vignette stands trial in the Burgeue and Philo attempts a rescue. Tourmaline continues to contend with her vexing curse.
Carnival Row excels at atmosphere, and “Reckoning” is no slouch in that department; rain-sloshed alleys, sunlit dusky courtrooms and smoking train platforms abound. Political power players conspire against each other. Fortunately, the writers keep these many narrative threads crisp and avoid confusion.
The plot of season 2 pivots sharply in “Reckoning” with the undoing of several major character’s devious plans and the growing desperation of Philo and Tourmaline to rescue the imprisoned Vignette from the guillotine. Carnival Row never lacks for action, so once the political machinations play out, Philo’s rescue sortie runs straight into unexpected havoc in the Bleakness Keep.
Tightly designed and crackling with tension, “Reckoning” climaxes with an ending both unexpected and undeniably creepy.