TV
Carnival Row: Amazon’s Latest Is a Mystical Misfire
Amazon’s new fantasy series is a disappointing amalgamation of familiar elements and underwhelming storytelling.
Carnival Row, Amazon’s new foray into the supernatural, is a pastiche of elements from so many other series: at one moment, it tries to channel the Victorian gloom of Penny Dreadful, while in another, it fancies itself as an “adult” Once Upon a Time – aka, it has a penchant for fairy tits and an unusually graphic amount of bloodletting. Throw in a fully-realized world (full of real-world sociopolitical parallels) built from a wholly original concept (no, this is not an adaptation), and it might seem Carnival Row is poised to be the next great fantasy series; and yet, it is one of the most lifeless series I’ve seen in 2019, an abundantly familiar show drowned by leaden starring performances and a silly, superficial plot that more than overextends its stay during the first season’s eight-episode run.
Carnival Row is instantly forgettable, a mush of familiar concepts and ideas that never coalesce into anything truly resonant, or even mildly entertaining.
Most reviews you’ll read this week about Carnival Row will most likely lean into the very thin parallels between it and Game of Thrones: they both have elaborate mythologies, fantastical settings, and a wide array of supporting characters. But that is where the similarities end: much of Carnival Row‘s world building, as impressive as it may be in concept, just feels like world building for the sake of doing it: the many, many info dumps about a world shared by humans, faes, minotaurs, humans with ram horns, etc, etc. It’s like a highly glorified, well-budgeted fantasy cosplay convention (one that once had Guillermo del Toro attached, no less), evocative of so much familiar fiction, yet unable to tether itself to anything that feels truly original, or even worth seeing to the conclusion.
This issue of weightlessness carries through every element of the series, including the lead performances from Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne, who play former lovers and soldiers-turned detective and immigrant (respectively) when brought to the “new” world of 7th century The Burgue (which looks a lot like 19th century London, including rumors of a man named Jack running around “ripping” people’s faces off).
Bloom, as one might expect, offers no nuance to the ridiculously-named role of Rycroft Philostrate, a hard-boiled detective with a pocket full of personal regrets. It’s a two-pronged issue: the writing never asks Bloom to step outside his comfort zone of “vaguely good-looking and slightly concerned,” and Bloom never tries to push the envelope, fading indistinctly into the web of forgettable minor characters – which run the gamut from bitchy rich girl trying not to go poor, to fae prostitutes, to corrupt politicians and their wives, and the games they play for power (the lead political characters are played by Chernobyl‘s Jared Harris and Game of Thrones‘ Indira Varma, which at least inject some personality into the few scenes they’re offered each episode).
Bloom’s weak performance ultimately brings down the core elements of the series: both the murder mystery and the romance suffer from his character’s unconvincing presence in the narrative. Delevingne’s at least better casted, the scrappy action heroine chops she showed in the (otherwise disappointing) Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets proving a better foundation to build her character, the (equally) ludicrously named Vignette Stonemoss.
As Stonemoss, Delevingne is equal parts scrappy and raw, elements that come to life in the few moments when Carnival Row untethers Vignette from the collection of genre tropes it constructs its stories around. However, those moments are few and far in between, and most of Vignette’s big moments are built around her and Philo’s interactions, a chemistry-free romance that only furthers the underwhelming sense of facsimile running through the heart of the series.
That being said, Carnival Row isn’t completely and utterly void of redeeming qualities: it is a rather earnest attempt to build an intriguing, relevant world of fantasy, albeit one built on an convoluted foundation of overwrought cliches (and one of the more underwhelming central romances in recent memory). However, Carnival Row has no sense of pacing and tone, content to mash up half-baked ideas (for example, all the immigrant faes have Irish accents) and familiar tropes, all in favor of an underwhelming murder mystery and even more disappointing romance.
Knowing Marc Guggenheim was going to be the show runner for Carnival Row initially had me excited, even after watching the boring-as-nails pilot: with so many different, strange elements to pull from, it seemed a natural playground for the EP behind Legends of Tomorrow to bring that show’s trademark unhinged chaos to: and yet, Carnival Row feels a lot closer to his Green Lantern script than The CW’s signature, groundbreaking superhero series.
Carnival Row, for all its trappings, characters, and fantasy elements, is a surprisingly simple, straightforward fare: and in the end, that’s the most disappointing part of the eight-episode first season (it’s already been renewed for a second season, of course). There’s just no risks being taken, no commitment to being truly unique or meaningful – be it the writing, the performances, or the show’s lackluster sociopolitical commentary, everything on Carnival Row is just dry. And for a show that purports the depth of its own imagination so frequently with filler backstory, it makes for a rather neutered, lifeless watch.
The most fervent fans of this particular brand of fantasy might be entertained enough to make it through all eight hours – but for most, Carnival Row is instantly forgettable, a mush of concepts and ideas that never coalesce into anything truly resonant, or even mildly entertaining.
Ridley
August 30, 2019 at 4:32 am
Ultimately there are more parallels between Carnival Row and the series of Saga graphic novels by Image. Carnival Row took a lot from there – the look of the horns and winged characters, the war setting, the enemies-as-lovers and more. But Saga would have made a better live action series.
Harris Phillip Rosenbloom
September 2, 2019 at 6:17 am
I am not sure what the measure here is. there are fairies, and airships. good battle scenes, a realistic world. did you want more fantasy, or less, did you want more realistic politics or less, did you want the bitchy neighbor to stay bitchy longer and her transformation of character happened to fast? very nit picky, a broken man is sullen, kind of orlando blooms character, a traumatized person. they even make a point of mentioning a few dozen times that he is lost. you know, like a man ghost walking through his life, not sure who he is or where he belongs. and cara whathername is brilliant through the whole series, not a facial expression out of line with the character being presented. most all shows are dull, house of cards, peaky blinders, even breaking bad is tedious with its endless angry stress face acting by every fucking character in every episode. so not sure where the bar is for entertainment. i mean this show had believable fairies, airships with cool guns, and boobies.
Randy Dankievitch
September 2, 2019 at 12:40 pm
Personally, I just wanted this series to commit to having its own personality. Like you said, it repeats the exact same beats over and over again (they do mention how broken Philo is dozens of times, which is dozens of times too many), and seems satisfied to be nothing more than “airships and fairy boobies” (plus a rather thin, superficial layer of societal reflection)… which is just dramatically empty for me. The monster story line is a yawn, and the chemistry between Bloom and Delevingne (aka “Cara whathername”) is empty, which sucks any life out of the central romance (which is a predictable slog the whole way through).
But hey – that’s the beauty of subjective perspectives. What I did not enjoy, you enjoyed – turns out art is divisive, and there’s no “right” answer!
Matthew W. Hipps
September 2, 2019 at 3:16 pm
Personally, I enjoyed the show. I’m looking forward to Season 2.
It’s unfortunate but this genre has been gone over so many times it’s hard to find anything which isn’t borrowed from or reminiscent of some other material. I liked the way this was put together.
It was great how Philo progressed from a person ashamed of who he is to acceptance of himself thanks to his love for Vignette.
I was surprised how the writer revealed the thread that tied all of the seemingly unwanted story arcs together. I’m particularly interested in finding out more about the prophecy and how it comes to fruition.
I respect your opinion. I have just 1 issue with your review. Her name is Vignette Stonemoss. I remember I associated the name with the phrase ‘a rolling stone gathers no moss.’ Twice you state her surname as Stonemass.
Randy Dankievitch
September 12, 2019 at 12:11 pm
I’ll admit, had they just called this show “Airships and Boobies” I may have given it a little more credit.
James
September 5, 2019 at 9:56 am
for 1 thing anything & I mean everything Cara Delevingne is part of FLOPS.
It was a given before it aired that it would be crap just because she is in it.
Gloria
September 10, 2019 at 5:57 pm
Give the actors some credit – you can’t do anything, if you haven’t been given material to do anything with!
I personally have been bored witless by this – I wandered off to do laundry.
And Rycroft Philostrate was about right for names at the time – I have an ancestor called Theophilus Vague, and another, poor woman, called Mafeking Pretoria Candlemass – beat that!
Poor woman was named after a battle…
Jan
September 10, 2019 at 6:01 pm
I found it to be the usual immature, mediocre pap that studio execs love these days – what a waste of technical skill!
Michael Tortorete
September 12, 2019 at 1:11 am
The show was outstanding in my opinion. A mashup? Yes but of quality acting, score. Racial tension. And Fae. The haphazard “review” if you could even call it that is a repeat of the same point driven across what 10 paragraphs. The writer on this page screams I couldn’t hack it as a actual journalist but found his que in mommy’s basement clutching to the hobbit with dear life and shunning anything that has a fantasy esc plot. The owner of the site should seriously reconsider the contract for such a mediocre ‘writer’
Randy Dankievitch
September 12, 2019 at 11:10 am
How dare you slander my name like this – I have repeatedly gone on the record to state The Hobbit (and Lord of the Rings) is wack. Thanks for reading though 🙂
Bryce Carlson
September 12, 2019 at 8:02 pm
I read your review and while I feel you are entitled to your opinion I feel that you either did not pay attention to what you were watching or that you are not competent to handle layers of nuance that are built into the show. However, good you.
linda Doucett
September 26, 2019 at 12:29 am
I concur with the review…. boring and dull
very disappointing
Kate
November 16, 2019 at 11:55 am
I thought it would be good as I enjoy quirky shows. This bored me to death! Watched 3 episodes… ZZZZZ. I may finish episode 4 but not looking forward to it! Dreary, dark and depressing.
Still not sure what the plot is…..
Dominique Wheeler
September 16, 2019 at 2:23 am
I’m sorry but were we watching the same series? You are more than entitled to you opinion but everybody who I know who’s seen it ,myself included absolutely LOVED it! It was suspenseful and beautiful! The soundtrack was amazing too! Well that’s my opinion anyway..
Kate
November 16, 2019 at 12:00 pm
I have read people either love it or hate it. As a GOT fan I was hooked from the 1st espisode….. same with TWD. May watch another episode of Carnival Row in fairness maybe I’m missing something? So far “meh”.
Alan Caye
March 11, 2020 at 8:26 am
I love the show and I’m looking forward to the next season. But if Amazon releases the whole season in one dump I will force myself not to binge so I won’t have to wait forever for the next season. That’s the mistake I made with the most recent season of the expense. I look forward to that next season as well.