The series, which stars Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne, presents as a period drama with plenty of political unrest and brutal class divides. But it presents all that with the twist of magical creatures living with humans in a steampunk city, using the presence of these fae to tell some uncomfortably realistic tales of xenophobia and corruption. After season 1 ended with a pretty massive cliffhanger, viewers have been anxiously awaiting the follow-up. But will this final season adequately wrap up the various stories?
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Carnival Row is set in the grungy London-inspired city of the Burgue, which consists of a rather extreme class divide between the humans of the richer neighborhoods and the magical creatures living in the slums dubbed “Carnival Row” by anti-fae humans. It stars Delevigne as Vignette Stonemoss, a fae who struggles with living in the Burgue after attempting to help her kin escape from their war-torn homeland. She eventually ends up joining a radical group dedicated to fighting back against the oppression of the fae by any means necessary.
Bloom, meanwhile, plays Rycroft “Philo” Philostrate, a half-fae passing as a human who serves as an Inspector in the Burgue Constabulary. While a similar situation to the Netflix movie Bright, Carnival Row handles this in a much different way. He and Vignette were former lovers before the war left her believing he had died, and his pro-fae views earned him the ire of many colleagues and other humans, resulting in plenty of friction. The series also stars Arty Froushan, Caroline Ford, Karla Crome, Andrew Gower, Tamzin Merchant, and David Gyasi in its impressive ensemble cast.
Carnival Row offers an interesting look at current tensions involving racial diversity and social issues in the real world through the lens of a brutal fantasy setting. While not all critics seemed to vibe with it, there’s a lot to love about this series. It’s possible that the series will be able to end things on its own terms due to the timing of this announcement, but fans will have to wait until February to see how things ultimately shake out.
Carnival Row season 2 will premiere on February 17th, 2023 on Prime Video.
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