Carnival Row

This year's series ride continues, and Carnival Row is another new favourite. The series is set in Victorian times with a detective, fantasy and horror elements and is filmed entirely in Prague. It deals with the rather topical subject of immigration, where mythical creatures (fairies, fauns) are considered migrants and inferior society, and I have to say that this interestingly imagined world caught my eye immediately. Orlando Bloom as the detective is perfect and I enjoyed Cara Delevingne as a fairy, but Jared Harris (Chernobyl), as the Chancellor of Parliament, and David Gyasi, a Faun who comes to town as the only one with great wealth, are also impressive. Apart from the superb production design and the brilliantly imagined world, the horror elements impress, especially the central monster called the Night Butcher (a creature made up of dead body parts) is one of the best ever, and there are werewolves too! Of course there is also raw gore, perfect dialogues (a joy to listen to), beautiful costumes and in the last two episodes there is such a load of twists and turns that your brain will boil. Watched with bated breath and even though the series is not exactly action packed, it is attractive and smart enough to keep my attention. There are already 4 seasons announced, so big plans. Recommended. 90% (2019.09.26)

Carnival Row returns with its second and final season and it's once again accomplished and brutal fantasy that's properly dark and raw. The fantasy genre itself is quite rare and usually comes out in pg-13 rating, but the R-rating adds to the revving up and that's what I enjoyed most about the series. The big asset is again the setting, filmed in Prague, the cast (Orlando Bloom is great, Cara Delevingne however annoyed me a bit with her indecisiveness), the supporting characters are fun too, I enjoy the segregation of all sorts, the politicking and interesting musings. There's plenty of action too, there's something going on in every episode, you don't wait much for guts and the monster that shows up in the 5th episode rivals Alien (a really beautiful and original creature!). I felt that the Faunus and Werewolf races were slightly neglected, though, the series focuses a lot on fairies, humans and a new race, but it doesn't matter that much. There are two story-lines, one takes place in the Row, which is the most interesting, the other is in New Dawn, which is more like a concentration camp, but I didn't mind it. The best episode is #5, which had quite a few interesting twists and turns, as well as the introduction of the main villain, whose entrance was properly epic. Then of course the finale, with a decent carnage on the streets of the Row. It just couldn't have been done without the battle Satisfaction for me. From the costumes, to the makeup, to the brutality, to the politicking and the action itself, Carnival Row is definitely a success in this regard. (2023.04.02)