Review: Carnival Row Episodes 207 and 208 Deliver a Roar and a Whimper
As Amazon Prime’s Carnival Row fast approaches the climax of its final season, fans are surely wondering just how the producers plan to wrap up this epic story. As we arrive at Episodes 207 (“Kindred”) and 208 (“Facta Non Verba”), Philo, Vignette and the other characters are in the kind of deep trouble we’d expect them to be in as the story hurtles towards its conclusion.
Often in steampunk-fantasy-noirish shows, there isn’t much meat to the story once the glossy external veneer is peeled back and the drama has to stand on its own. That’s not a problem with Carnival Row; underneath those campy Victorian bowler hats, pixie wings and star-crossed love affairs beats a unique and powerful narrative heart. But the story does stumble from time to time, as we’ll see in the NO SPOILER REVIEWS below.
Carnival Row Episode 207: “Kindred”
In Ragusa, Imogen and Agreus’ escape attempt is foiled by a Pact airship armada attack on the city. In the Burgue, Philo continues his uneasy alliance with Sergeant Dombey, accepting a release from Bleakness prison to pursue the monster responsible for the recent high-profile murders. A movement to burn down the Row boils among the human citizens, applying more pressure to the delicate political situation.
With his relationship with Vignette in dire straits, Philo refuses to see her when he returns to the Row, despite Darius’ encouragements. “The world isn’t made for people like us (Kritch, or half-Kritch),” Philo states. As with every classic love story, our soulmates and honorable do-gooders Philo and Vignette have split over a seemingly insurmountable obstacle: choosing opposite sides in a looming civil war.
Distraught by his past, Philo embarks on a journey of self-destruction but is thwarted by Darius, who takes him to Vignette; she plans to escape the Burgue with Tourmaline and return to Tir na Nog, which is now free (abandoned by the Pact). Philo is able to arrange a mass exodus of the elated Fae.
Propelled by strong character motivations and nicely orchestrated scenes fraught with emotional tension, “Kindred” digs surprisingly deep into the show’s melodramatic soul. Bloom and Delevigne glow onscreen, as do Darius and Tourmaline; viewers expect their best-laid plans to go awry, but the narrative unspools in such an unexpected and heart-wrenching way it makes “Kindred” one of the best Carnival Row episodes so far.