Carnival Row – New Dawn

By starrymag | February 24, 2023

By: Dawn Inchaurregui-Miller

 

 

Agreus Astrayon (David Gyasi) and Imogen Spurnrose (Tamzin Merchant) follow the airship that seems to belong to The Pact towards the shore and talk in their private chambers. 

Imogen is worried but Agreus passively insists they are in no danger as The Pact are civilised and civilisation hinges on money of which he has enough to buy their freedom if need be. Imogen is not so sure of this for herself as she is Burguish, who were previously at war with The Pact. 

When one of Agreus’ men arrives informing them they are making port at Ragusa, he is relieved as he has local connections. However, as they row into shore they pass through skeletons of previous ships and buildings. 

They are taken to a holding area and their possessions taken aboard are sorted through for “redistribution” as Imogen is called her majesty and told she is to be taken to someone expecting her. Agreus is beaten down by the guards while trying to reach for her. 

Philo (Orlando Bloom) and Vignette (Cara Delevingne) discuss the recent murder together in their home. Philo says it’s unlikely a human could have gotten the body up there. Although many have reason to, Vignette considers that maybe the police were attempting to set them up and she is certain that a Pix did not commit the murder, as she saved the murdered police officer herself during the train robbery. She says maybe it was someone he used to work with pinning it on them but while he agrees that is something they would do, it would have been easier just to come after them and hang them all for the train robbery. 

He then brings up the plan he’s been hatching for the Chancellor’s Banquet to let everyone know that he is actually the official the next in line, but Vignette is extremely worried and wants him to keep it quiet. His mind is made up and she finds it mirrors his actions when he made a decision himself and left her the first time. He leaves her with a warning to tell her friends to lay low. 

Imogen is taken through a door into a market where there is a peaceful community made up of humans and Fae alike. She is led inside a house and meets a Puck called Leonora (Joanne Whalley) who is cooking dinner and asks her to help if she also plans on eating. Imogen is confused as she was taught that The Pact were the opposite of what she sees around her and Leonora explains that the people revolted and The Pact and they are all but gone. Imogen is curious where the lords of The Pact are but Leonora avoids the question. She asks Imogen if she cares so much about people thinking less of her for helping servants, why take a risk being with Puck. Imogen heatedly defends her partner and Leonora seems oddly satisfied with the answer. 

Agreus is still being held as the soldiers continue to bring his belongings ashore and catalogue them, his officers are taken away and the rest of his crew told they are free and released from their employment contracts. Agreus is called a class traitor and that the blood of hundreds are on his hands, before being dragged outside and placed against a wall with his officers. They are all shot one by one, but the bullets stop short of him and he looks up to see a servant seemingly telling off the soldiers about to kill him. 

Jonah Breakspear (Arty Froushan) walks through a parade of soldiers presenting arms and standing to attention as he greets the Ambassador of The Pact, Anrep (Karet Dobrŷ). Inside a hall a meeting is being held between the representatives of the pact and several other government officials for the Burgue. 

Anrep, the Ambassador for The Pact, talks of the unnatural mixed community of Critch and humans, calling themselves “The New Dawn.” He tells the room that it stands to reason that they will next come for the Burgue next. They then state the reason for the meeting, that they wish to acquire arms that will show that the Burguish people and that of The Pact are aligned together against The New Dawn. While the meeting continues, Runyon Millworthy (Simon McBurney) seeing an opportunity talks privately to Mikulas Vir (Andrew Buchan) whom he previously recognizes but introduces himself as though he does not and asks frankly that the borrowing of arms is not symbolic but is because they are in desperate need of them. Mikulas attempts to politely exit the conversation and leave, but Runyon cleverly gets him to open up that they need the Burguish weapons as they had proven better than their own at long range in order to defeat The New Dawn.

Jonah and Sophie Longerbane (Caroline Ford) discuss the meeting and the obvious desperation The Pact are obviously in. Sophie thinks that symbolically joining with The Pact could be good for them and that it would solidify him as Chancellor. 

She then says that if they arm both The Pact and The New Dawn that they could take Tirnanoc back for themselves while the two armies wipe each other out. Jonah points out that her party in parliament opposes war, but she says not to underestimate her. Before leaving with a smirk she tells him he could decide against it and wait to see if he wins the next election but that he might lose. 

Philo goes to see if Boz Ghaidos (Stewart Scudamore) has kept his word. He is there waiting and gives him a key, informing him the accommodations are temporary and he finds his friend Darius Prowell (Ariyon Bakare) already in his alternate Marrok form, inside a cage. 

Vignette and Kaine (Jay Ali) sit at a bar talking about Philo’s plans and try to think of something else they can do to unseat Jonah Breakspear without Philo jeopardising his life. The talk then turns to the body of the soldier and whether or not Dahlia (Chloe Pirrie) could have murdered him in an attempt to frame vignette. 

Sophie Longerbane sneaks through staircases unseen until she reaches a hidden attic door, which she unlocks and is greeted by Jenila (Sinead Phelps), her Puck maid who she has been hiding and bringing food for. They discuss how much money she has left and laugh together as Jenila begins to do her hair. Sophie tells her she has been asking about her brother on the Row and makes promises that it will soon be over.

Philo sits with Darius who is angry that Philo came forward about being half Fae as he was the only reason Darius was being kept alive and that he had been beaten, starved and left freezing. He tells Philo that they had experimented on him when they realised it was a Pact Weapon Marrok that had bit him and they would force him to attack and eat other soldiers. Philo begins to tell Darius his plan. 

Sophie is sat taking tea with Mr. Marlowe (Shane Attwooll), Erasmus Fletcher (Fraser James) and other party members and they tell her that under the new Chancellor’s leadership, all of their respective businesses have had to shut down due to the loss of cheap critch labour. Sophie argues that it may be so, but at least the world is safer than the fae being out in the world with them. She then hands them one by one, contracts to increase her shares in their companies and factories which would in turn give her higher ownership stakes. They say they can never pay her back, but she has an idea how to mutually benefit. Sophie tells them she believes she can persuade the Chancellor to agree to send arms to The Pact and if so, they would need their industrial factories to build the weapons quickly. She believes they would get passes for the skilled Fae labourers and that’s when her party members and she would make a fortune.

Mr. Fletcher raises the point that her father stood against The Pact and she informs him that she is not her father and one after another, they sign the contracts. 

Vignette stands crushing herbs to help with the sick pix that surround her in their deathbeds and she slowly takes a look around the room and hopelessly sits down. She watches Kaine speak lovingly to his partner Oona (Anna Koval) as she coughs and moves in discomfort showing clear signs of her disease fatally progressing. Vignette hears Kaine say he will never leave her side and wishes he could die in her place and she begins to form an idea. She goes to them and asks them to join her in a counter plan she has for the banquet with The Pact Ambassador. 

Tourmaline stumbles, walking through the street looking troubled and falls to the ground. She hears whispers around her and looks up to find the streets empty. Her eyes light blue as her head is thrown back and chanting words fall from her mouth, echoing through the empty streets. 

She sees through the eyes of someone flying and hears the Black Raven leader Dahlia angrily discussing the humans with Bolero (Anthony Kaye). The unknown creature lands in the bell tower where they stand and begins to attack the two of them. As quickly as she fell into it, Tourmaline comes back to herself with a jump this time in the abandoned home of the deceased Haruspex, Aoife Tsigani (Alice Krige), with blood on her hands and a dead rabbit gutted behind her. She turns, hearing a noise behind her, and lets out a scream when she sees the jar containing the Darkasher that is forever tied to Philo’s lifeline and runs out into the street.

Imogen is taken by guards through a large garden leading to a beautiful house. She passes humans and fae working side by side, who stop and watch her as she passes and enters the building. Inside Agreus is still visibly shaking, tormented by the memory of his workers being shot down in front of him. He turns when he hears Imogen’s voice and the two now reunited, hold each other as Agreus tells her they are to stay there and share the home with two other families. He tells her he will try and have his money sent in order to have them released and when Imogen reminds him of his crew, he pauses before deciding not to tell her of their fate. She then tells him of her strange encounter with a woman named Leonora and Agreus, recognising the name takes her to a picture to confirm the mysterious woman’s identity. 

Tourmaline is sat in the street speaking to a woman called Mima Blodwen (Jacqueline Boatswain) who is experienced in the spiritual and tells her about the visions and about Haruspex Aoife Tsigani breathing something into her. Tourmaline believes herself to be mad, but Mima tells her it’s possibly worse. The power of the Haruspex comes from death and that there were rumours of mind control where she was paid to make people do evil things. 

After touching her, Mima sees the connection Aoife has with Tourmaline and informs her that the Haruspex’s power has been passed to her. Tourmaline tells her she doesn’t want the power to which Mima responds that she hopes not, for her sake. 

Vignette tells the Black Ravens of her plans, telling them that a dying Oona, Kaine and Phaedra (Eve Ponsonby) are willing to risk their lives for it and asks Dahlia if she will allow them to follow through with it. Dahlia gives a powerful speech and, feeling challenged by her, decides she will be the one who will join the others in Vignette’s place in the raid. 

Philo meets with Runyon who upon letting him out to make their way to the banquet, tells him his mother and father would be proud of him. He says there are witnesses that will be able to confirm his identity and an inquiry in parliament would at least have to be made, but he still checks that Philo wants to risk what they are about to do and Philo replies that he has to do it. 

Vignette goes back to the home she shares with Philo and clutches his hat with tears rolling down her face, no longer able to carry out the plan herself that she made in order to save Philo before he risks his life. 

Runyon helps Philo get ready as they travel by carriage, dressing him for the occasion and then they make their way through the rich upper class men of the Burgue, Philo taking to the stairs so he can get ready to address the party from the balcony above. 

On the ground Ezra Spurnrose (Andrew Gower) talks to a rich husband and wife who enquire after his sister. Ezra claims she was abducted by a Faun who had earned wealth by tracking down workers of his own race and keeps evading justice. 

They empathise telling him the faefolk should have been locked up sooner. 

The current chancellor, Jonah and Sophie Longerbane enter arm in arm and he seats her next to himself as the Ambassador for The Pact takes his seat the other side of him. The accompanying military and political leaders follow suit and seat themselves along the central table. 

Philo stands in the balcony one level up, opposite where Jonah and Sophie are seated ready to declare his challenge to the chancellorship and as he begins to speak, he is interrupted by several members of the Black Ravens bursting through the skylight above the banquet hall. Dahlia begins to speak and sets out to remind the rich people eating the banquet, of the starvation and disease rife in the Ghetto that was once Carnival Row after years of servitude to them all. Kaine helps Oona take off her cloak and the room gasps as her diseased form is revealed to them. Explaining she and countless others are dying of the Bas Dubh – the Black Death – due to being left in squalor, she demands they take a good look at her and acknowledge it. Kaine encourages Oona to step forward and as she attempts to fly, her rotted wings won’t lift her from the ground. Sargent Dombey then steps forward and shoots a bullet into the chest of the sickly Fae and as her partner, Kaine lunges forward, the room breaks into screams and disarray with the humans fleeing in terror. Mikulas, the member of The Pact military, who Runyan had spoken to earlier in the day, spots Philo on the balcony making eye contact with Runyan and seems to notice something of interest. 

Kaine says his goodbye to his murdered love and takes flight with Dahlia. 

Vignette paces, hearing noise off in the distance and moves worried to the window but turns when she hears the door open. Seeing Philo alive in their home she runs to him. He asks if she knew of the plan and she tells him it was her plan and realising she had instigated it to save him, they kiss and hold each other. 

Later that night, as they lay in bed together, Philo tenderly touches the brand on her neck, but the moment is interrupted by the sound of fists pounding on the door. Kaine tells them they need to follow him and leads them to the gate of the Row where the heads of Dahlia and Bolero sit on spikes.