History Series / CarnivalRow

The first season of eight episodes premiered on August 30 2019, and a second and final season will be released on February 17, 2023. Two {{Prequel}} ComicBook one-shots, ''Carnival Row: From The Dark'' and ''Carnival Row: Sparrowhawk'' were also published in August 2019 by Legendary Comics. These one-shots, along with several other stories, will be printed in a collection titled ''Tales of Carnival Row,'' scheduled for release in January 2023.

** The Fae are looked down upon and forced into lower positions in Burgue society, with many laws restricting them. A whole political party advocates for them all being expelled, and one human takes it so far as to attack random Fae with a clawhammer. Philo's lover Portia is disgusted when he reveals that he's half Fae, ordering him to {{get out}} of the boarding house she runs where he'd been staying. His colleagues are also outraged when they find out, considering it a disgrace, and think that he's behind a string of murders to conceal the secret, beating him up after he's arrested, then put him in with the human suspects for more (however, he fends them off). The topic of fantastic racism is explicitly contrasted with human racism when Sophie notes that humans have moved beyond prejudices over skin color (however this isn't entirely true-her own father disparaged her mother for having Pharaonic ancestry), but the differences between humans and Fae are more than just "skin deep".

** Burgish people follow a man called "the Martyr" whom they frequently invoke (who's depicted as hanged) and seems pretty similar to Jesus. Faerie meanwhile have a "Saint Titania", who shares the name of a mythical fairy queen (plus the idea of saints may mean it's similar to Christianity as well). The place Ritter Longerbane is laid in state seems very much like a church, and there is organ music in the background. There also seems to be the concept of Heaven, Hell, angels and demons, as Agreus and Imogen discuss the symbolism in a painting he's recently purchased.

** Romantic or sexual relationships between humans and Fae are treated this way by many Burgish people. After he finds out [[spoiler: Imogen and Agreus]] are lovers, [[spoiler: Ezra]] goes in with a gun to shoot the latter, calling his sister a whore. Philo's parents also had a secret relationship in the backstory. He keeps his marriage with Vignette secret from most humans for this reason as well.
** Additionally, same-sex relationships are taboo, as the coroner must pretend that his lover was a stranger even while he's performing his autopsy.

** Philo's favorite book before the war, ''Kingdoms of the Moon'', and the Fae story it seems to be based on, tells the story of [[StarcrossedLovers a human colonist who falls in love with an exotic woman from the moon]], and all this essentially foreshadows Philo and Vignette's love. [[spoiler:Specifically, the plot-twist in the story that its actually narrated by the daughter of this coupling, who is trying to reconnect with her heritage, while the original Fae story has the son of the Starcrossed Lovers do the same. It foretells TheReveal that Philo ''isn't'' a colonist GoingNative, he's the product of an InterspeciesRomance and is the son reconnecting with the homeland he descends from.]]

** Breakspear notes that his son always took after his mother, and that she always wished it was the other way 'round.
** Very early on, Longerbane taunts Chancellor Breakspear about illicit sexual relations between humans and Fae. At the time, you think he's just referring to his son's habit of visiting the brothel in Carnival Row. [[spoiler: At the end of season 1, Sophie explicitly states that this accusation was really about her father telling the older Breakspear that he knew about his youthful affair with Philo's mother. And her frustration about the fact that he wasn't going to do more with that politically ruinous blackmail material is what got the entire murder spree going.]]

* HalfBreedDiscrimination: Half-bloods have a hard time in the city and many don't make it to adulthood. That's why [[spoiler: Philo tried his utmost to keep his DarkSecret hidden from everyone.]]
* HarmonyVersusDiscipline: The main difference between the fae and the humans of the Burgue. The Burgue is all about industry, social order and strict religious morality (or at least the carefully cultivated appearance thereof). The fae are all about freedom, sensuality and beauty. Philo at one point claims that the reason why they are less technologically advanced despite having existed for longer is that they have had other priorities from the humans, implying this trope.

* InterspeciesRomance: The one between Philo (a human) and Vignette (a faerie) is the core romance of the show, albeit very much 'off' for most of the first season. Philo is also the product of one himself. [[spoiler:Imogen and Agreus also end up falling in love and running away together at the end of the season one finale.]]

* LikeFatherLikeSon: Both Philo and [[spoiler: Absalom]] found Faerie women attractive. In the latter's case, this led to the former's conception.

* PassFail: It's a crime in the Republic for Fae and half-breeds to pass themselves off as human. In an early scene, a half-faun's shoe slips off, revealing his hoof, provoking the police to arrest him. [[spoiler:Philo, who's half Faerie, passed as wholly human for most of his life. It's revealed his Faerie mother insured this by having his wings surgically removed when he was an infant. After he discloses this to his lover Portia, she throws him out in disgust, and soon his life falls apart when his police colleagues find out, since it's a crime, while suspecting him of murdering people to conceal it as a result]].

* WorldOfJerkass: It's a rare human in the Burgue who can go two seconds without spewing a classist, sexist or racist tirade. The fae are somewhat better on the whole, but most of the ones we get to know are still selfish and spiteful at heart. There are only a few people, like Philo and Vignette, who actively seem to be trying to be halfway decent and even they [[HeroWithAnFInGood don't succeed more than some of the time.]]

* DidntThinkThisThrough: In the backstory, [[spoiler: Piety Breakspear married Absalom in order to be the mother of his son, who would be greater than him -- while ''also'' carrying on an affair with his greatest rival. Surprise surprise, the latter turns out to be the biological father of her son, which makes her exceptionally paranoid and eventually willing to carry out multiple murders.]]

The first season of eight episodes premiered on August 30 2019, and a second and final season will be released in 2023. Two {{Prequel}} ComicBook one-shots, ''Carnival Row: From The Dark'' and ''Carnival Row: Sparrowhawk'' were also published in August 2019 by Legendary Comics. These one-shots, along with several other stories, will be printed in a collection titled ''Tales of Carnival Row,'' scheduled for release in January 2023.

The first season of eight episodes premiered on August 30 2019, and a second season has been shot and ought to be released later in 2022 or 2023. Two {{Prequel}} ComicBook one-shots, ''Carnival Row: From The Dark'' and ''Carnival Row: Sparrowhawk'' were also published in August 2019 by Legendary Comics. These one-shots, along with several other stories, will be printed in a collection titled ''Tales of Carnival Row,'' scheduled for release in January 2023.

The first season of eight episodes premiered on August 30 2019, and a second season has been shot and ought to be released later in 2022. Two {{Prequel}} ComicBook one-shots, ''Carnival Row: From The Dark'' and ''Carnival Row: Sparrowhawk'' were also published in August 2019 by Legendary Comics.

* BountyHunter: "Skipjacks" who hunt down indentured servants who'd broken a contract through leaving service are mentioned, and Agreus was once one.

The first season of eight episodes premiered on August 30 2019, and a second season has been shot and ought to be releases later in 2022. Two {{Prequel}} ComicBook one-shots, ''Carnival Row: From The Dark'' and ''Carnival Row: Sparrowhawk'' were also published in August 2019 by Legendary Comics.

The first season of eight episodes premiered on August 30 2019, and a second season has been greenlit. Two {{Prequel}} ComicBook one-shots, ''Carnival Row: From The Dark'' and ''Carnival Row: Sparrowhawk'' were also published in August 2019 by Legendary Comics.

* WingedHumanoid: Faeries here are indistinguishable from humans except for their wings, and even can [[spoiler:Have children with them]].

* ButNotTooBi: Vignette and Tourmaline were once lovers, but are only seen with men or interested by them in the present (they kiss once and Tourmaline would like a relationship again, but Vignette turns her down).

** The Republic of the Burgue is clearly inspired heavily by London in the Victorian period, from clothing to technology. Being a republic, it's governed by a parliament very similar to a unified version of the UK's Parliament. The Burguish flag looks similar to the Union Jack, albeit in darker colors. Philo even reads a "[[ScienceFiction scientific romance]]" about people going to the moon, something that grew prominent in the late 1800s with books like ''Literature/FromTheEarthToTheMoon''.

* BigDamnHeroes: Philo's fight with [[spoiler: the darkasher]] ends this way when [[spoiler: Vignette]] stabs [[spoiler: Piety through the back of the head]].

* DirtyCop: Most cops in the Burgue are rather thuggish and not shy about using their authority to beat on people they don't like. Sergeant Dombey advocates for assassinating a suspect in police custody. Constable Berwick is about the only one who goes against the grain.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything:
** The situation the Fae experience; leaving their war-torn land, immigrating to a city were they face prejudice and bigotry mirrors many real-life immigrant experiences throughout history, in particular UsefulNotes/TheIrishDiaspora, including the Fae having similar accents and names.
** Agreus is a rich Fae, who moves into the rich neighborhood otherwise populated entirely by humans. Despite his wealth, they still look down on him and feel he doesn't deserve to live on their pedestal. Added to that there's some subtext-Agreus is played by a black actor while (most) of the human swells are played by white actors, helping to paint a reminder for the viewer. His human neighbors are aghast to learn there's no law against it.

* FantasticRacism: The Fae are looked down upon and forced into lower positions in Burgue society, with many laws restricting them. A whole political party advocates for them all being expelled, and one human takes it so far as to attack random Fae with a clawhammer. Philo's lover Portia is disgusted when he reveals that he's half Fae, ordering him to {{get out}} of the boarding house she runs where he'd been staying. His colleagues are also outraged when they find out, considering it a disgrace, and think that he's behind a string of murders to conceal the secret, beating him up after he's arrested, then put him in with the human suspects for more (however, he fends them off). The topic of fantastic racism is explicitly contrasted with human racism when Sophie notes that humans have moved beyond prejudices over skin color (however this isn't entirely true-her own father disparaged her mother for having Pharaonic ancestry), but the differences between humans and Fae are more than just "skin deep".

*** The most obvious inspiration is Irish. Fae speak with an Irish accent, and they're based in part on Irish folklore. The influx of Fae immigrants and refugees into the Burgue is based in part on the Irish Diaspora as well as Roma and Jews who fled pogroms in Europe during the Victorian era.

* FromBadToWorse: The state of the Burgue by the end of season one. [[spoiler:The darkasher and its master are dead, but Absalom Breakspear, one of the few human advocates for human/fae coexistence, is murdered by Piety, leaving Jonah and Sophie in an alliance of questionable morality to establish a ruling dynasty over the entire city. Breakspear's death results in the ghettoization of ''all'' the Burgue's fae in Carnival Row. Imogen and Agreus flee, but Ezra is on their trail.]]

* AttemptedRape: Ezra tries to rape Vignette, then claims he caught her stealing after she fights him off before running away.

* BloodOnTheDebateFloor: Absalom Breakspear attacks his political rival Ritter Longerbane in Parliament after publicly claiming he's behind his son's abduction.

* GetOut: Aside from the one mentioned under FantasticRacism above, there's a lovely moment where Portia is told by a tenant that if she doesn't stop carrying on with Philo, he'll terminate his lease: she walks over to a small till, takes out his rent money, and hands it to him, telling him to be gone by the end of the day.

* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: Absalom Breakspear tries to beat Ritter Longerbane into giving up Jonah's location, since he's sure Longerbane is behind kidnapping him. He's innocent, however, so this doesn't work. Piety Breakspear poisons Longerbane, then claims he'd told her the location before he died, because she's the one who had ''really'' gotten Jonah abducted.

* MakingLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: Jonah and Sophie had sex in a carriage.

* MistakenForServant: Agreus repeatedly endures this as a guest of Imogen, since many Fauns are employed by rich humans (including the Spurnroses' housekeeper).
* OfCorsetHurts: Imogen sighs in relief after removing her corset while undressing.

* PerfectPoison: [[spoiler:Piety Breakspear poisons Ritter Longerbane with poison that he cannot taste and kills him almost instantly]].
* PlayingPossum: Vignette pretends she hanged herself in the holding cell to escape when the police open it. She then tries to flee, but is caught.

* TheReveal:
** [[spoiler: Philo]] is really the son of [[spoiler: Absalom Breakspear]].
** [[spoiler: Piety Breakspear]] is the serial killer [[TwistEnding but]] [[spoiler: Sophie Longerbane]] is actually the one who started the whole ball rolling.
** [[spoiler: Jonah]] is really the son of [[spoiler:Ritter Longerbane]] by blood, due to his mother's affair. Therefore, he is also [[spoiler:Sophie's]] half-brother. She drops the bombshell ''after'' [[SurpriseIncest they had sex]], to his shock.

* SurpriseIncest: [[spoiler:Jonah]] is shocked to learn [[spoiler:Sophie]] is his sister, as they share a father, after they've had sex. She already knew and didn't care, invoking her Pharaonic ancestry, since the Pharaohs often married their sisters. He comes around after this, and they stay together, with her even proposing they marry as well.

* UseYourHead:
** When confronted with a need to quickly knock someone unconscious, Agreus headbutts him, certainly a fitting way for a member of a half-goat species to conduct himself.
** Philo headbutts an attacker while his hands are bound.
* WallBangHer:
** Portia and Phila have sex up against (and on) her dresser.
** [[spoiler: Agreus]] has sex with [[spoiler: Imogen]] up against the wall the first time.

* ZeroGSpot: Jonah engages in something similar with Tourmaline, who's a Faerie. As the two have sex, she bats her wings to lift both of them off the bed. This experience seems to be a part of the appeal Faerie prostitutes have, since they also fly down to be viewed by potential clients.

* {{Cthulhumanoid}}: The darkasher has a tentacled head, reminiscent of Cthulhu.

* FleshGolem: The darkasher is explicitly described as such.

* KickTheDog: While at first seeming to be a fairly harmless UpperClassTwit, Ezra reveals his true colors when he tries to rape Vignette.

* NouveauRiche: Agreus is a wealthy Satyr trying to get accepted into the aristocracy of the Republic. He wears impeccable fashion, with a NiceHat angled across his horns and a walking stick topped with a silver ram's head at his side. He displays some ConspicuousConsumption when he purchases a painting at auction for an extravagant sum just to show off and thumb his nose at a blue blood.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Absalom Breakspear, Chancellor of the Republic, takes a moderate approach to the Fae and in general is open to reason.

* ScarSurvey: Philo, many times.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/carnival_row.png]]

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/crow_19.jpg]]

But even in darkness, hope lives, as a human detective, Rycroft Philostrate, and a refugee faerie named Vignette Stonemoss rekindle a dangerous affair despite an increasingly intolerant society. Vignette harbors a secret that endangers Philo’s standing during his most important case yet: a string of gruesome murders threatening the uneasy peace of the Row. As Philo investigates, he reveals a monster no one could imagine lurks in the depths of The Burgue.

''Carnival Row'' is a web television series released exclusively on Creator/PrimeVideo. It stars Creator/OrlandoBloom (who is also a producer) and Creator/CaraDelevingne in the leading roles, and was also produced by René Echevarria, Travis Beacham, Marc Guggenheim and Jon Amiel.

** [[spoiler: Piety Breakspear]] turns out to be one.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/crow_19.jpg]]

** The situation the Fae experience; leaving their war-torn land, immigrating to a city were they face prejudice and bigotry mirrors many real-life immigrant experiences throughout history, in particular the UsefulNotes/TheIrishDiaspora, including the Fae having similar accents and names.

** The situation the Fae experience; leaving their war-torn land, immigrating to a city were they face prejudice and bigotry mirrors many real-life immigrant experiences (also very reminiscent of the UsefulNotes/TheIrishDiaspora, including similar accents and names).