Amazon Goes to the CARNIVAL

Article first published as CARNIVAL ROW Review on Seat42F.

WARNING: This review contains spoilers for the pilot, but only the pilot.

With Game of Thrones over, a slew of fantasy shows will surely be trying to capture that audience. Amazon’s entry into the race is CARNIVAL ROW, a dark drama that merges magic and the real world into a steampunk, war-torn, fictional version of Britain. While Game of Thrones, it is not, CARNIVAL ROW does have some intriguing elements.

The story begins with fae Vignette Stonemoss (Cara Delevingne, Suicide Squad) fleeing her home. With her brethren strung up or shot down around her, she somehow dodges bullets and barely makes it to a sailing ship off the coast. But that is only the beginning of her troubles as she makes her way to the heart of the Burge, a stand-in for London, England.

The other lead is Vignette’s missing lover whom she assumes dead, human Rycroft “Philo” Philostrate (Orlando Bloom, Pirates of the Caribbean, Lord of the Rings). Philo is working as an inspector for the local constabulary, trying to find whoever is beating up the fairy folk refugees, also called Pix. Philo, having fought alongside them in the war with the mysterious Pact, feels respect and decency towards the fairies who have had to flee their home, which is not a sentiment shared by all of his kinfolk.

The political and racial themes are many and central. In a city populated mostly by humans, but with a decent among of fairies and Pucks, the tensions are rife. This should be familiar territory for showrunner Rene Echevarria, one of the writers for former series Star Trek: Deep Space 9, who is used to handling such stories. The relationships between the races at large and the individuals specifically are complex and dense, something only glimpsed at as the show begins, and with plenty of room to delve deeper. They feel familiar to the real world, but also appear to be pretty solidly laid out in their fictional version.

Design is one of the strongest elements of the series, aside from a small handful of weak spots in the CGI. It’s easy to see the influence of Guillermo del Toro, who was involved in the development, but also is more grounded than some of his work. The steampunk sensibility is in vogue, rightly so, but the production also has enough originality in the details to avoid just ripping off an existing style. Mixing something akin to magic into this sensibility is pleasing and feels natural.

Bloom is excellent, as one might expect, and Delevingne is coming along as an actress, not quite matching his level, but close enough for a starting point. I expect she’ll improve the series progresses, and she does project a tone that fits the world well. They are joined by Jared Harris (Mad Men), Indira Varma (Game of Thrones), Tamzin Merchant (The Tudors), David Gyasi (Interstellar), Simon McBurney (The Borgias), Andrew Gower (Outlander), and many lesser known, but talented, performers. I have no complaints about the cast, many of whom have fine experience in genre programs.

Great production design, a good cast, and thorough world building are all terrific elements to have, but don’t guarantee an overall success. CARNIVAL ROW feels very near to a great series, but there’s something just a little off to keep it from getting up to that top tier. It’s hard to put a finger on just why that is. Perhaps it’s a little slow, and isn’t quite as compelling as it needs to be to pull that off. Or maybe it’s just a hair darker than necessary. It’s fine, to be sure, but lacking some ineffable quality at the moment. It may gain this in time, but just doesn’t quite have it yet. It’s good enough to give it a chance, but I’m not sure at present if it’ll be worth seeing through.

To judge for yourself, check out all eight episodes of CARNIVAL ROW, now available on Amazon Prime.

Take it EASY

Article first published as EASY Review on Seat42F.

NETFLIX is making your viewing decisions EASY this weekend (excuse the pun). It’s new eight-episode anthology series, EASY, which follows a diverse group of people in modern Chicago, dropped this morning. I’ve watched the first two half-hour installments, and my early impression is that it’s neat, authentic, well cast, and has something very relatable and very interesting to say.

The first episode is titled “The F**king Study,” which should tell you right away that the content is for mature audiences. Title stars aside, nudity and swearing are not bleeped in the show, though I will say the main characters are treated with dignity and realism, which means their bodies are only shown sparingly, not gratuitously. Usually, they are wearing something as they get it on.

Anyway, the plot of this first episode, to give you a taste of what EASY is, begins at a party where a study is being discussed. Apparently, it has been found that couples who stick to traditional gender norms have more and better sex. This greatly worries a husband (Michael Chernus, Orange Is the New Black) who stays home to write plays and take care of the kids. Although she plays it off, his wife (Elizabeth Reaser, Twilight), is also bothered, although she handles it differently.

What follows is a portrayal of two people who have been in a marriage a long time, do love each other, but aren’t sure what that means any more. We’ve seen couples struggle to maintain that intimacy and love before (HBO’s Togetherness springs to mind), and I won’t say EASY is entirely breaking new ground here. But what it does, it does very well. I fully believe these two actors, and can easily empathize with them, getting into their heads and understanding where they are coming from. Sure, it’s a bit depressing, especially for someone approaching who is that point in their own life (full disclosure: I am). However, as young people so often fail to understand, there’s no blueprint for any phase of life, and all we can do is figure it out as we go along, which is something that must be learned in of itself.

The second episode jumps to the very beginning of a relationship, as a woman (Kiersey Clemons, Transparent) questioning her sexuality (and everything else about herself) meets her “Vegan Cinderella” (Jacqueline Toboni, Grimm). It’s obviously quite a different take than the first episode, and yet it feels consistent in tone and style, even if the point of view shifts dramatically. Quality is maintained, and there are some fun little connections, the protagonist for installment two being the babysitter from episode one.

I’m not sure all the episodes will be so focused on love and sex, as the series description also mentions navigating technology and culture. In general, though, I think it’s safe to assume that it’s a brief circle through many perspectives, with an indie-movie feel and some genuine characters. Again, this is not a totally new concept, but it’s one that I dig when well executed, as it certainly is with EASY.

Television is entertainment, yes, but the best of it is meant to give us insight into our world and ourselves. That’s not as lofty a goal as it might sound, with the earliest examples of theatre seeking to do just that. EASY holds a mirror up, and maybe we don’t see our reflection every time, but it keeps turning that mirror until we do identify something looking back at us, or at a friend or family. It’s feel-good without being soapy, and drama without being dramatic. It’s comfortable, enjoyable, and I still come out of it feeling like I learned something about life. I can totally get behind this.

EASY is now available on Netflix streaming.