It’s been a long, long time between drinks, but we’re finally on the cusp of the second and final season of Carnival Row. Prime Video’s gritty, noirish and gripping tale of murder, monsters and beyond is set to come to its dramatic conclusion in 2023, a whole three-and-a-half years since we were last immersed in The Burgue.
As anyone who’s watched Carnival Row’s first season knows, Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne completely lose themselves in Philo and Vignette, and their relationship is incredibly dangerous, to say the least. Throughout the first season, both Philo and Vignette faked death, narrowly escaped death and witnessed the death of many fae around them. The two are finally together, but after that first season cliffhanger, there is a bunch of questions we have been sitting on for almost four years.
But, come February 17 and the arrival of the long-awaited final season, we can finally get some of these burning questions answered.
What Treachery Will Sophie and Jonah Inflict Upon the Fae Next?
The biggest curveball Season 1 threw at us was that of Sophie’s involvement in, or cause of, Piety Breakspear’s killing spree, which undoubtedly has set whatever takes place in Season 2 in motion. Sophie and half-brother Jonah have now united in a political and incestuous coupling that sees them form a dynasty, against the “common enemy.”
But, given Sophie’s deceptive run we’ve already seen in action, is there something even more sinister she has planned? There’s slight potential for Jonah, who has shown some semblance of being somewhat decent — a word to be used lightly — human, to leave Sophie, maybe taking the lead of Absolom Breakspear. Sophie certainly isn’t going to take that lying down, so he’d have to be smart and stealthy about it.
But regardless of whatever inner turmoil the pair may or may not have, they have to know that rebellion from the fae in internment is almost inevitable. How are they going to deal with that, and who will be left standing?
Speaking of Piety, is she really dead?
Now we all know that fantasy television is defined by the mantra ‘If you don’t see them die, they’re not really dead.’ And, in the Season 1 finale, we definitely witnessed Vignette stab Piety with a pair of shears through the back of her throat, and we saw Piety violently splat on the ground. But we can’t forget that Piety, if anyone in Carnival Row, is a master of dark magic, evidenced by her Darkasher. Could she not use some of the skill to suspend herself between life and death, like we already know Haruspex had done?
Couple that with Jonah saying that Piety’s body hadn’t been found yet, and I bet we’re yet to see the last of Piety Breakspear.
How are Philo and Vignette going to escape?
Things seem pretty doomed for The Burgue’s most vulnerable couple. Though Philo opted to stay with Vignette in internment — he had the option to leave thanks to passing as a human — what’s next remains uncertain. Given the havoc the two have caused across the republic, in the name of justice and self-defence, of course, it’s unlikely the two are going to be left to live their lives out peacefully while being locked up.
We also know that Philo is prophesied to do more and be more than his father Absalom, but how is he going to do that under such heavy restrictions? Will he bridge the divide between human and fae, or will he lead a revolutionary movement against those that oppress the fae, whatever the cost?
Can Agreus and Imogen, wherever they are, escape Ezra’s clutch?
Imogen did a full 180 throughout the first season of Carnival Row, going from abhorrence to adoration of faun Agreus. Now, the two are on the run, sailing to an, at least to us, unknown location. Where are they going? Are we finally going to see worlds beyond The Burgue?
Whether they actually make it to their destination is also unclear, because Imogen’s dimwit brother Ezra is on the hunt for them, on a dedicated mission to absolve his family’s name of any illicit (see: prejudiced, bigoted) activities. Will Ezra ever find them, and what choice will Imogen make when and if that time comes?
And what about The Pact?
A dark cloud looms over Carnival Row’s final season — The Pact. From the very little we’ve seen of them in action, we know they’re violent, ruthless and unforgiving. While they didn’t impact the events of Season 1 too much, we know that their set on invasion and colonisation, and The Burgue, now in disarray, has to be next on their list. It feels like we’re about to learn the full extent of this alliance’s power, and we fear its going to make the events of Season 1 look like child’s play.
Are we going to see even more magical creatures?
Carnival Row’s first season focuses on two Fae races — Faeries (Vignette) and Fauns (Agreus), or, in derogatory terms, Pix and Pucks respectively. We are clued into the existence of other races, like Trows, kobolds and centaurs, but none have received the spotlight that Pix and Pucks have.
We know that we’re going to see at least some of a new location if Imogen and Agreus’ voyage proves successful, so that could be the perfect opportunity to introduce us to some new Fae races. Maybe those races can help liberate the locked-up Fae back in The Burgue, including Philo and Vignette.
In any case, you’ll have to tune into Prime Video on February 17 when Carnival Row returns for its second and final season, to have all these questions, and more, answered.