How Carnival Row Combines Fantasy, Drama, and Detective

One of the most anticipated new series, the fantasy detective Carnival Row, has been released on Amazon Prime. The project attracted a lot of attention: Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne were invited to the main roles. The trailers looked very intriguing, promising a noir detective set in a dark fantasy setting. In addition, the studio reported that the series was extended for a second season even before the release of the first, which means the creators are confident of success.

The action takes place in the Victorian city of Burg. In the past, its rulers got involved in a war with a hostile state in the territory of the fairies. After the defeat, a stream of representatives of unusual races poured into the Burg - refugees fleeing from the invaders.

In the center of the plot is Police Inspector Rycroft Philostrate (Orlando Bloom). Once he took part in the war, where he met the fairy Vignette Stonemoss (Cara Delevingne). Fate brings them together again already in Burg, but the circumstances are not developing in the best way: a supernatural killer appears in the city.

The authors managed to interestingly mix fantasy, detective, drama and even political thriller.

But in the end, after the release of all eight episodes, we can say that "Carnival Row" was far from perfect. The world of fairies, fauns and other unusual creatures is spelled out here superficially, some moments and storylines are too drawn out, while others, on the contrary, are only outlined.

Still, the show is worth watching. Primarily because of the acting of the central actors and the excellent dramatic line, which resembles classic novels.

Mediocre for a high-budget fantasy …

After the Game of Thrones finale, everyone is eagerly awaiting new fantasy projects: the Witcher from Netflix and Dark Beginnings from the BBC and HBO are coming soon, followed by The Lord of the Rings, The Dark Tower and much more. And in this regard, Amazon Prime is slightly ahead of its competitors.

But for those who wanted to see the fantastic worlds in the first place, Carnival Row may be disappointing. The past of fairies, fauns, and other fabulous races has received very little attention.

Viewers are simply asked to accept the idea that there is a certain area inhabited by fairies, for which two states are fighting. Their origin, life and many other subtleties remain behind the scenes.

The situation is even worse with other races - practically nothing is known about them. Only the history of Agros, the first faun, who decided to break into the upper circles of society and settled in a prestigious area, is separately analyzed. And in the background some kind of cult flickers, which has decided to overthrow the government. Werewolves generally appear in a particular episode, only to explain one of the plot twists.

At first, it may even seem that the project is based on some more complete book, and some of the lines simply did not fit into the first season. In fact, the opposite is true: one of the creators of the series Travis Beecham wrote a script for the film back in the early 2000s, but they decided to implement it only now. And, apparently, various details were added under the multi-part format, but superficially.

… but good for social drama

However, "Carnival Row", it seems, does not aim to immerse the viewer in the world of fantasy. Here, unusual races are more likely to look like an allegory. And it is quite logical that the series appeared right now, in the midst of political disputes about refugees.

Moreover, the plot can be perceived in two ways. On the one hand, allegories to the events of the past are clearly visible: colonial wars, transportation of blacks as slaves, racial segregation in society. On the other hand, in the series, you can also find a reflection of the present day: representatives of other races who escaped from the battles live in the ghetto, they are despised by the locals, and crime is rampant in the area.

Sometimes the authors of "Carnival Row" talk about this too bluntly, turning the words of the characters into poster slogans. But it is the unrealism of what is happening that saves. Moreover, the writers cannot be denied wit. What is the scene where the dark-skinned representatives of the aristocracy argue about the superiority of man over fairies and fauns.

Even more interesting is the idea of half-breeds - half humans, half fairies. They feel cut off from both worlds and are forced to hide their secret in order to exist normally in society.

But in the end, the main theme is raised, which completely relates not only to fantasy, but also to our ordinary life: the most important thing is to accept yourself and understand your past.

Predictable for a true detective …

The plot of the series is divided into four lines. One of the secondary ones tells about the communication of the already mentioned faun Agros with his new neighbors - a brother and sister of high descent, but found themselves on the verge of ruin.

Also, part of the time is devoted to the family of Chancellor Absalom Brixpeare, the kidnapping of his son and political intrigues.

The main two are directly related to the main characters. Bloom's character is trying to figure out his relationship with Vignette, and at the same time he is investigating the brutal murders taking place in the Burg.

In addition to the first, all the storylines have a good detective component. And here the authors are interestingly balancing on the verge of logic and predictability. It seems that everything is built according to the principles of a classic detective story: any phrase, action and hint after a while turns out to be important and allows you to assemble a whole picture from scattered pieces.

But sometimes such moments slip into perfect evidence: almost every second plot twist can be predicted. And some of the secrets of Philostrate himself have been brought up for so long that the intrigue turns into boredom.

But the political thriller, which is given little time, looks really unexpected. And even more unpredictably, all the storylines end up linking to each other. Therefore, the last episodes are not even spoiled by the abundance of too "soapy" scenes, there is something to be surprised at.

… but perfect for a classic novel

And yet the most important virtue of the series "Carnival Row" can be seen not immediately. Indeed, under the cover of fantasy and detective story lies a plot, much like the novel "Howards End" and other classic stories.

If you disassemble the action in parts, you can find all the main components: love during the war, which ended in a tragic separation, the proximity of representatives of different classes, intrigues of the upper strata of society, betrayal and betrayal of those closest to you.

Everything that readers loved so much in the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries migrated to screens. But the ideas remained the same.

Therefore, I want to still worry about the relationship of the main characters and believe that sincere feelings can overcome racial prejudices. And then even overly drawn coincidences do not seem so critical - the genre fully admits this. And the future of the central characters is completely intriguing. The authors are not in vain confident in the continuation: the open finale makes you wait for the second season.

"Carnival Row" can be criticized for imperfect graphics - expensive HBO and Netflix projects have spoiled the viewer too much. They will pick on him because of too tearful moments and an unreasonably prolonged intrigue.

But I want to do all this only when watching a couple of the first episodes or after the whole season. Because thanks to the performance of Orlando Bloom, Chernobyl star Jared Harris and other great actors, the characters look alive and touching.

The plot twists and turns become interesting precisely because of the disclosure of the characters in difficult situations, and some plot twists make you rejoice at the level of the script. And so "Carnival Row" turns out to be just a good eight-hour drama with elements of detective and fantasy.