Carnival Row
I finished watching season 1 of Carnival Row.
Spoilers behind cut.
I thought it was really good. World-building, acting etc were great, the plot was very interesting too, and it looked fantastic - very steampunk.
Lots of real world comparisons you can make- in particular with the politics of the series- not all of them that obvious. Also, despite the fairy wings and cloven hooves, the magical element was kept very low key, which is a good thing, I think, as it made it all seem a lot more grounded.
I liked all of the characters (which is never something I thought I'd say about a character played by Orlando Bloom, but there it is) and am glad that most of them have survived the season so we get to see them again - though I sort of hope we won't see more of Imogen and Agreus. I found parts of their story quite painful to watch (likewise the scene where Philo told Portia about his true nature and she turned on him) and desperately want them to have a happy ending and just be gone. However, I suspect they will be back, and I'll spend all of season 2 on tenterhooks too, waiting for something awful to happen to them.
Indira Verma's Lady Piety made a pretty good villain - certainly a lot better than her lame-as-lame character in Game of Thrones - that is, until you realised she wasn't really the villain at all. It remains to be seen whether Jonah Brakespear can- or even wants - to stand up to Sophie Longerbane, but I suspect she's going to run rings around him and either kill him or dump him. The only tiny chink of light in the ghastly Jonah/Sophie nexus is Jonah's decision to take on Millworthy as a special adviser, but I can't see Sophie putting up with that for long.
As for Philo's decision to admit to his mixed heritage and join Vignette in the ghetto Row, I think it was a big mistake, even if it was a nice romantic gesture. He probably could have done more to help her on the outside (assuming he could avoid the police - I'm sort of sad he doesn't get to be a policeman any more) but now they're all trapped in there. I also wonder what's happened to the Black Raven. It's hard to believe they'd get caught in the dragnet, but I suppose we'll find out next season. I hope we also find out what's happened to Darius. He told Philo that he was only alive because of him, but with Philo disgraced that wouldn't be the case any more. On the other hand, I don't think they would just kill him off screen, so we'll see. Hopefully.
I'll definitely watch the series again, but season 4 of The Expanse is coming soon and I'm wondering whether I should re-watch the previous seasons of that beforehand. Hmmm.
This entry was originally posted at https://shapinglight.dreamwidth.org/3795676.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
Spoilers behind cut.
I thought it was really good. World-building, acting etc were great, the plot was very interesting too, and it looked fantastic - very steampunk.
Lots of real world comparisons you can make- in particular with the politics of the series- not all of them that obvious. Also, despite the fairy wings and cloven hooves, the magical element was kept very low key, which is a good thing, I think, as it made it all seem a lot more grounded.
I liked all of the characters (which is never something I thought I'd say about a character played by Orlando Bloom, but there it is) and am glad that most of them have survived the season so we get to see them again - though I sort of hope we won't see more of Imogen and Agreus. I found parts of their story quite painful to watch (likewise the scene where Philo told Portia about his true nature and she turned on him) and desperately want them to have a happy ending and just be gone. However, I suspect they will be back, and I'll spend all of season 2 on tenterhooks too, waiting for something awful to happen to them.
Indira Verma's Lady Piety made a pretty good villain - certainly a lot better than her lame-as-lame character in Game of Thrones - that is, until you realised she wasn't really the villain at all. It remains to be seen whether Jonah Brakespear can- or even wants - to stand up to Sophie Longerbane, but I suspect she's going to run rings around him and either kill him or dump him. The only tiny chink of light in the ghastly Jonah/Sophie nexus is Jonah's decision to take on Millworthy as a special adviser, but I can't see Sophie putting up with that for long.
As for Philo's decision to admit to his mixed heritage and join Vignette in the ghetto Row, I think it was a big mistake, even if it was a nice romantic gesture. He probably could have done more to help her on the outside (assuming he could avoid the police - I'm sort of sad he doesn't get to be a policeman any more) but now they're all trapped in there. I also wonder what's happened to the Black Raven. It's hard to believe they'd get caught in the dragnet, but I suppose we'll find out next season. I hope we also find out what's happened to Darius. He told Philo that he was only alive because of him, but with Philo disgraced that wouldn't be the case any more. On the other hand, I don't think they would just kill him off screen, so we'll see. Hopefully.
I'll definitely watch the series again, but season 4 of The Expanse is coming soon and I'm wondering whether I should re-watch the previous seasons of that beforehand. Hmmm.
This entry was originally posted at https://shapinglight.dreamwidth.org/3795676.html. Please comment there using OpenID.