REVIEW: ‘Carnival Row’ Season 2 Hits More Than A Few Roadblocks

Carnival Row Season 2 is finally here – but the wait may not have been worth it. The show picks up after the events of Season One, where faeries and other mystical creatures have been sequestered in the titular Carnival Row. This includes former Inspector Rycroft Philostrate (Orlando Bloom) and his lover Vignette Stonemoss (Cara Delevingne). But Rycroft is soon brought back to the Burgue in order to investigate yet another series of brutal murders. This time, they’re tied to the Black Raven – a group of faerie freedom fighters that Vignette has joined. This leads to a divide between the two.

Meanwhile, faun Agreus Astrayon (David Gyasi) and his newfound lover Imogen Spurnrose (Tamzin Merchant) are on the run from Imogen’s brother Ezra (Andrew Gower). Their travels bring them to a land that has been overrun by the Burgue’s mortal enemies the Pact – ironically putting Agreus and Imogen in even more danger. And Jonah Breakspear (Arty Froushan) continues to grab political power, but soon learns that he may not be as great a leader as his late father Absalom.

If all that sounds familiar, it’s because Season 2 more or less hits the same beats as Season 1. There’s a season-long mystery that features Rycroft and Vignette at its center. There’s a political uproar over human/fae relations, as the latter are treated like second-class citizens. And there’s plenty of blood spilled and skin revealed. While many shows have recurring elements throughout their runs, it’s rare that a show just outright repeats the same story as its debut season. What makes it even more disheartening is that the show went through a number of creative changes over the past few years. There was COVID interfering with production, co-creator/former showrunner Travis Beacham departed the show, and Prime Video, more or less, filled in the gap between seasons with other fantasy shows.

Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of Season 2 is how hard it works to drive a wedge between Rycroft and Vignette. After a whole season of them reconciling over past mistakes and reconnecting, we’re right back to square one. And in record time too – the second episode has them arguing about taking risks, rather than realizing that they’re both trying to help out the fae people. They’re just going about it in different ways. Vignette feels as though the Black Raven is doing the right thing, even as they grow suspicious of her. And Rycroft is torn between staying with the fae and using his position as Absalom’s heir to make genuine change. It feels as though the writers couldn’t think of any genuine way to generate interesting conflict, and I don’t think Bloom or Delevingne were fans of the creative decisions either. You can pause any given episode and see befuddlement – or irritation – stamped on their faces.

Where Carnival Row does shine is when it shifts to Agreus and Imogen’s storyline. They both learn that just because you have all the money and prestige in the world, it won’t save you in certain situations. The Pact is also fleshed out as well; rather than the faceless opposition they were depicted as in Season One, they’re reworked to be more tragic figures. It’s also where the show’s political aspirations are the strongest, as Gyasi gives the season’s best performance. He taps into Agreus’ innate loneliness, peeling back layer after layer to reveal a man who just wants to find his place in the world – even if the world doesn’t want him. By the time the season ended, I wished that the entire show had focused on Agreus because he’s the most interesting character in the show.

Agreus’ plight also lends some much-needed weight to the metaphor of the oppressed that runs throughout Carnival Row. Using mystical or superhuman beings as a stand-in for the oppressed is a double-edged sword: you can tell powerful tales, but more often than not these stories focus on the plight of white, straight, and moderately attractive people. With Agreus, it feels genuine because Gyasi plays him as both a Black man and a mythical creature – adding layers of subtext to every interaction he has. This is a decidedly marked contrast to Rycroft, whose fae background is barely touched upon. Honestly, it was one of the elements of Season One that felt rather tacked on, and the attempts to give it gravity are groan-worthy. When Rycroft says that he knows what Vignette has to deal with, I almost screamed, “No, you don’t!” at the screen. She literally had to leave her home, and he has nearly carte blanche freedom during his investigation. Not the same at all.

Carnival Row Season 2 more or less hits the same beats as Season 1, resulting in a lackluster viewing experience. It’s extremely disappointing because the first season showed an immense amount of promise and could have thrived in the landscape of fantasy television The cast and crew deserved a better sendoff, and hopefully whatever new projects they’re a part of won’t suffer the same fate.

The first two episodes of Carnival Row Season 2 will premiere on Prime Video on February 17. New episodes will air on Fridays.