“Carnival Row” Review by Melissa Sloter
September 18, 2019 4:36 am |
When Carnival Row was first announced by Amazon Prime video, it checked all of the boxes for genre and prestige television fans alike; extravagant world building with production value to match, a big name cast, and the promise of gritty mysteries and political intrigue to unravel. The original IP, created by Travis Beacham and René Echevarria, delivers on these promises, to varying degrees, and more by interweaving topical ideas about immigration and racism through every facet of the sprawling drama.
The intricate production design of Carnival Row brings to life an alternative universe Victorian England that makes the human and faery characters alike feel pulled directly from the 19th Century, even as the show itself takes place in this fantasy land’s 7th Century. The non-human citizens of this world, derogatorily referred to as ‘Critch’, are developed with the same care as the human characters with the added bonus of building from previously existing mythology despite Carnival Row being a completely original IP. For example, the explained definition of Unseelie meaning ‘hateful’ in the faerie tongue is developed from fae lore in which the Unseelie Court is generally comprised of malevolent faeries.
Orlando Bloom is the shining star of this series. While he’s not unfamiliar with turning in great performances in high fantasy roles (see: Lord of the Rings) it does feel like he’s grown into his acting in a way that a character like Rycroft Philostrate demands. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Cara Delevigne. While there are a few shining moments in her performance, a lot of the nuance is lost to plot machination and we don’t get to know Vignette Stonemoss in the way I would have preferred. Two surprising performances come from David Gyasi (Agreus Astrayon) and Karla Crome (Tourmaline Larou) who both play supporting characters with important roles and emotional heavy lifting that is done to great effect and seemingly with ease. Not surprising, however, is the wonderful gravitas Jared Harris brings to the character of Absalom Breakspear.
Carnival Row is crowded with mysteries and conspiracies both political and of the murder-type. While the back half of the season does the work to tie the strings together, not every reveal is smooth with its revelations. The interpersonal mysteries connecting the characters work to a certain degree but are crowded with the overlap of paternity and prophecy. The season’s final twist, the true reveal of who put Carnival Row’s events into motion, comes out of left-field and is explained by unsatisfactory character motivations. Despite these issues the upcoming second season seems ripe for more salient immigration commentary, more faeries to get to know, and hopefully, a story that now has room to stretch its legs and balance the plot reveals with character development.
PCL Rating: High Taste It
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: FRESH 🍅
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Tags: Carnival Row, Carnival Row Amazon 2019, Melissa Sloter, pop culture leftovers
Categorised in: Television Reviews
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