Carnival Row – The Martyr’s Hand

By starrymag | March 3, 2023

By: Dawn Inchaurregui-Miller

 

 

Tourmaline (Karla Crome) walks through Carnival Row, cast in shadows and fog. She sees the heads of Dahlia (Chloe Pirrie) and Boléro (Anthony Kaye) adorned on spikes upon the front gates that keep the fae penned inside. That moment of horror is replaced when she sees two figures standing in the shadows beneath the heads and when they turn to face her she gasps in horror at the white eyed silent ghosts of Dahlia and Boléro themselves.

Terrified, she gasps in horror and backs away from them knocking over baskets outside a nearby store. She then turns and sees the blue sky above the gate, the fog gone and the other faefolk standing in mutual shock at the site of the heads. She hurries forward through the crowd and stands in front of the decapitated heads of her former friends, realizing she had been in another vision but that this was actually real. She turns and bumps her way through the crowd, knocking into Constable Berwick (Waj Ali) who changes his empathetic gaze upon her as she passes.

Vignette (Cara Delevingne) and Philo (Orlando Bloom) place wooden barricades around the crime scene in hopes to preserve it. Philo wonders aloud how the heads were placed so high and idealistically states the police will investigate, but Vignette is annoyed that he is still acting like a detective and voices her concern again of the likelihood that the police had committed these murders.

Constable Berewick approaches Philo and respectfully addresses the crime with compassion. He asks Philo for his observations of the crime, to which he responds that it happened between three and four in the morning, and that the human guards likely saw something, but will not talk to him. From behind them an authoritative voice calls out Berwick’s name. As they turn around they see the crowd pushed aside by Sergeant Dombey (Jamie Harris) and his men, asking if Berwick had caught the killer already – clearly mocking Philo’s presence.

Philo is angry that the police were called hours before to have only just arrived now and Dombey continues to make jokes about the lack of urgency or regard for the murder. Philo ignores his comments and tells him that the scene has remained intact. Dombey kicks away the wooden barricade that Philo had placed there and he smirks while telling him there was no murder as the fae that the heads belong to were not victims. He states that they were dangerous criminals that attempted to murder the chancellor.  Philo plays dumb to the news of the “attack” from the night before, but has to hold back his rage while Dombey spins his twisted version of the events, particularly justifying the murder he openly committed at the banquet on an innocent and defenceless pix, Oona (Anna Koval). As the police officers turn and walk away, they make sure the crowd hears them say the murderer did them a favor, and that the only good critch is a dead critch.

Vignette watches from the side of the crowd and catches sight of a distraught and angry Kaine (Jay Ali). Realizing his plan, she makes her way, hurrying through the crowd towards him. Vignette stops him just in time before the police can see his knife or recognize him from the night before. Kaine was hellbent on revenge on Sergeant Dombey for murdering Oona, but Vignette tries to calm him down and tells him that she  wouldn’t want him to die like this, it wasn’t the place.  Vignette turns, and one of the police officers steps forward, a glimpse of recognition on his face. Vignette returns to Philo and states that this can’t be solved by following their rules.

After a pause, Philo tells her to take the heads of her friends down from the wall and states that they deserve a proper send off. A crowd of fae respectfully stand in silence and watch as The Black Raven quietly walks through the streets of Carnival Row. Silent, but visibly enraged, they carry out a funeral march in honor of their fallen leader and their close friend. Vignette leads the funeral march and they pass all manner of fae, taking off their hats to bow and show respect. They reach a church building where only the Black Raven are welcome. They close the doors behind them to privately carry out their funeral process.

Philo turns and spots Runyon Millworthy (Simon McBurney) standing watching alone from the side. Philo walks towards him, places a protective arm around him and as he guides him aside. He warns him that as one of the chancellor’s men, he is no longer safe to be there. Millworthy goes on to say he had to take the risk as it’s urgent he speak to philo. The events of the night before had left the Chancellor humiliated, and it was likely that the Chancellor could already be on his way to being removed from office. He tells Philo that he has a new plan, but to prevent Philo from being complicit, he will keep it to himself.  Millworthy goes on to say that if his plan fails and he is arrested then he can feel free to make his lineage public, but until then he asks Philo to trust him and be patient.

Moments later the gates to Carnival Row swing open and Sophie Longerbane (Caroline Ford) walks in with a team of journalists, politicians and police officers. Sophie begins to narrate as she walks through the streets, full of fake concern for the destitute fae living in filth and squalor. She brings enough boxes of medicine with her to make it look as though they intend to help the sick fae on the Row for publicity sake, but the cautious crowd seem to see this for the publicity stunt that it clearly is. Descending a staircase down into the dark makeshift medical room, they see the horrifying conditions, as the sick and dying Pix lay on dirty beds, crammed side-by-side. A pix woman (Jessica Boone) approaches Sophie and visibly stirs up her empathy when she is handed a sick baby, crying from the pain of the illness that only they can develop and the mother begs desperately for help. Sophie holds the child and attempts to hold back tears as a photographer takes a picture.

Philo is walking through the row when Tourmaline calls him aside and asks if he has been having visions and dreams since the haruspex had passed away. When he says no he pushes her to explain what’s happening. Although she’s worried he’ll think she’s crazy, she tells him of the vision she had of Dahlia and Bolero’s murder, from the perspective of the winged attacker before it had come to pass. She also mentions the vision she had the day before where she had seen through the eyes of an assailant attacking a military man by a wall, which instantly gets Philo’s attention. She mistakes this initially for judgement, but explains he saw the murder the day before and there was no way in which Tourmaline could have heard about it. He asks her to tell him everything she saw in the vision.

Outside the embassy of The Pact we see Runyan Millworthy waits in a carriage and is met by Major Vir (Andrew Buchan) and offers to help him get the weapons The Pact requires and ensure they are made in the next few weeks, all they need to do is ask. Major Vir, surprised by his help, points out that his spies had informed him that Millworthy had been known for campaigning for the Fae to gain their rights, at which point he replies that he has no ulterior motive. Major Vir; however, looking doubtful, responds that if he wants to last in politics he should work on an ulterior motive, possibly two or three. Vir tells him he will take the offer to the ambassador but with a threatening tone, tells him not to let him down.

Boz Ghaidos (Stewart Scudamore) sits at his desk while Philo talks to him about continuing to look into the Pix murders. Boz states his respect for The Black Raven though their methods are flashy and that he is glad the two had a good send off, in regards to the funeral. Philo wants him to deliver a message to a police officer and, while saying no, he calls Philo out for still being a copper even though he may now be trapped there with the Fae. He goes on to tell Philo that he will not help him investigate and that what Dahlia did by embarrassing the chancellor was to take a huge gamble on her life as it would make him look weak and that their actions were bad for all the Fae. Philo said they were asking for help, which makes Boz call them idiots that got what was coming to them. He tells Philo to take Darius with him when he goes, though the arrangement was for him to stay there because The Black Raven had brought trouble and had now made things unsafe for everyone. Philo tells him that he will take Darius, as long as he gets a message to the police and points out that it wouldn’t be good for his business to have a marrock after him. Boz reluctantly agrees.

Philo leads Darius (Ariyon Bakare) through the row, taking him to the only safe place he can think of. While they walk, Darius asks about him and Vignette and they talk about how soldiers, orphans and fae alike, never get to settle down and find peace, as they are forced to see the world for the way it really is. Darius asked how it went with him coming out as a Breakspear at the banquet and he tells him briefly about the Black Raven getting there first and interrupting the banquet and the disaster that subsequently occurred and upon hearing it was probably Vignettes plan, Darius is impressed.

Millworthy is stopped in a hallway by the chancellor’s men who take Millworthy to him. Jonah (Arty Froushan) asks if Millworthy had anything to do with the Black Raven turning up at the banquet as he was spotted attending the funeral held for Dahlia and Boléro. But even with a pre-existing friendship with the Pix, he isn’t lying when he tells him that he had nothing to do with it. Jonah believes him and seems satisfied with the answer, as Millworthy is his most trusted advisor. He then leads him out of the room for a meeting and tells him that The Pact have made a rather rude request regarding the weapons order being fulfilled quicker.

Sophie Longerbane talks to Jonah, Millworthy and several other parliament members about The Pacts’ request for a sped up time frame in which the weapons are made for them. Sophie doesn’t think the request is too much and actually encourages the idea by suggesting that several fae are given permission to work in the factories again as cheap skilled workers. Jonah Breakspear, ever unsure of himself, looks to Millworthy who nods in agreement with Sophie’s plan, although she seems to be accidentally helping Millworthy with his own plan.

Jonah agrees as long as the wages are small and says that it could mollify the Row, and also the ambassador in the process and agrees with Sophie. Nigel Winetrout (Brian Caspe) stays to talk to Jonah after everyone leaves and attempts to warn him about Sophie, stating she is buying shares in everyone’s company’s and looks to profit hugely from the cheap fae labou, reopening the factories and building the weapons so quickly. Jonah says he doesn’t believe it and doesn’t want another word on the subject without clear evidence and says his goodbyes with a threat of calling the guards.

Ezra Spurnrose (Andrew Gower), Imogen’s brother, stands in their old family home as belongings are taken away. Two family friends arrive, Leonid Pembroke (Ross Green) and Luisa Pembroke (Issy Stewart) and ask if he is moving, to which he lying replies that he is merely removing relics. It is unclear to the extent they believe him, they move onto the reason they are there. They inform him that there has been gossip among the social elite that his sister wasn’t kidnapped but had in fact ran away to be with the puck. He becomes distressed that the news has reached the outside world and, upon asking who was spreading the rumors, finds out that it was the puck’s man himself. Ezra tries to convince them that this could never be true, that it’s scandalous and hopes they will ensure people know the “truth.” He then asks them to show themselves out, in as friendly a manner as possible, but clearly showing signs of becoming unhinged.

Philo, Tourmaline and Constable Berwick enter the tower of a church. The search is over when they spot the gargoyle that tourmaline had seen in the details of her vision. It’s then when Philo spots some crows cawing in the corner of the roof and climbs up, finding the bodies of both Dahlia and Boléro, proving the accuracy of Tourmaline’s visions and that the killer could not possibly be human.  Philo asks Tourmaline to try reading the body the way he had seen the Haruspex do by using a critter’s guts, but she initially refuses, remembering the warning that it is an evil power that there is no coming back from. So, Philo takes his knife, slices it into the body himself and pulls out the guts saying he has done the hard part for her. She touches her hands inside and instantly sees into the future, where a winged creature flys over the row while the police attack fae throughout the streets and  comes face to face with her as she exits the old Haruspex house.

The Pix are in The Black Raven meeting house, where Vignette sees Kaine doing drugs. She takes it from him saying that their dead wouldn’t want that. The Pix begin to then heatedly discuss the events of the last few days, the murders, the Burgue and begin to slightly point fingers at Vignette. True to her style, Vignette actually begins to lead them and gives a speech declaring that their methods are not extreme enough and that it’s time to stop reasoning with them. She states that the Black Raven were once warriors back in their native Tirnanoc and no one else can do what they need to do.

Tourmaline goes back to the old Haruspex house that frightens her so much and finds candles lit and hears noises coming from deeper within the house. She calls out to the dead witch that seems so set on passing on her gift and demands she show herself and tell her what she wants. She moves deeper into the house, now brandishing a knife from fear of what’s inside. Instead of a ghost she finds Darius inside a room at the back of the house with a metal door where Philo had placed him for his safety.

He and Tourmaline begin to talk and when he gets ready to leave, she tells him the house doesn’t actually belong to her and he is as welcome as she is to stay. She then offers him tea, a kindness he has not seen since before he became a marrock. Possibly even before he was a soldier and takes him by surprise. She insists for him to sit and in a passively affectionate first scene between the two, begins to get to work on the tea.

Sophie and her maid Nilly talk while hidden away in the attic room and Sophie says she will get passes for her family to work inside the factories, but her maid Nilly tells her no as she could be seen as a sympathiser. During this scene, a different side of Sophie is shown and she takes on a much more gentle demeanour and visibly feels guilty, caring deeply for what they are doing to the fae and who is possibly the victim of manipulation herself. She talks emotionally of the smell and pix disease, calling Carnival Row an open air prison and then the tiny, helpless, innocent baby that was handed to her upon her visit. She feels riddled with guilt that this is happening because of the two of them, but Nilly slaps her, calling her weak and soft. They talk of being younger and Nilly being beaten every time Sophie did something wrong (a tradition that was held by many rich families in the real world and writes perfectly into the backstory of Sophie’s character) but Nilly exclaims that Sophie was a child and each time she would comfort Nilly, it would land her a beating of her own. Their plan is then finally revealed, for Sophie to become chancellor and seek revenge on all the men that oppressed them and other women and get away with it.

Ezra waits in the shadows for Agreas’s man Fergus (Jim High) and interrupts him urinating against the wall after leaving a pub. Fergus refuses to help him initially as his loyalty lies with his employer, but Ezra manipulates him into giving information that can lead to his sister by claiming he wants to make things right between them and show his approval of her coupling with the puck if it means getting his only surviving family member back. After he hears the location of the two of them, Ragusa, he offers a reward to Fergus for helping him, but the second the money is handed over, Ezra slides a knife into him and calls him a Critch lover. He then steals his wallet and leaves his body in the street, making it look like a robbery gone wrong.

Philo goes to the Black Ravens meeting house, where Kaine stands as a guard and is unwilling to let Philo pass. Philo tells Kaine that what happened to Oona was awful and that she was brave for trying to do what she could with her last breath. He tells him he saw it happen, but he needs to talk to Vignette and will be passing with or without Kaine’s say so. Kaine lets him pass and as he enters the hall he is met with a cold reception. He attempts to reason with Vignette, who like the other members of the gang, are now out for blood, specifically from the officer that shot Oona. Philo tells Vignette to talk to her friend Tourmaline who is now having visions and that it was not a police officer who killed Dahlia or Bolero, but it falls on deaf ears and he is given an ultimatum on which side to fall in with.