I thought it was a beautifully told if simple story... I’ve been reading critics reviews and am wondering why some people even bother if they’re going to compare everything to GoT, and then complain because the show isn’t a perfect season.
I think it’s as good a first season as anyone can expect from any show that’s not Battlestar Galactica.
The costume design was impeccable, the set design so wonderfully rich, which is impressive considering there is so much grey. Whoever was responsible for the lighting did an amazing job of giving it a complete personality in this narrative.
The performances were a little uneven here and there, but what first season has a perfect possession of every character? None, that’s how many.
All in all it’s a glorious entry, and I love the way The Fae are presented, and as gritty the allegories are with Nazism and the nascent authoritarianism and white nationalism on the loose in the U.S., I appreciate the tone and structure of the politics and how it’s played out from the top down.
I enjoyed this tremendously and am looking forward to more yarn for this story...
#CarnivalRow #FaeForever #FaeUnity #FaeOfTheWorldUnite
I watched the first three episodes, and quite frankly this show is a complete mess.
It can't decide whether it wants to be a period drama, a detective show, urban fantasy, a war story... The dichotomies between these genres are too big, and the writer makes a crap job of marrying them together. They're not mixed well enough for the flow of the story to be smooth. It's like watching a show with multiple personalities disorder.
The dialogue isn't all that great, the timeframe of events is unclear, and there's no spark between the lead couple in the slightest. They have some type of chemistry, but it is definitely not of the romantic kind. Also the pacing is all wrong. There are way too many scenes so unnecessarily long. It made for a very boring watching experience.
As for the cast, they're not the best of actors, but they're not the worst either. However, I need Cara to just pick a freking accent and stick to it. I've seen her in interviews and I know that's not what she sounds like, so why have an Irish accent for some scenes and not for others? The accent wasn't necessary in the slightest. So why even add it if you're not gonna be great at it? So pointless.
If you wanna watch an Amazon Prime show about a wartime love story with fantasy elements, just go watch The Man in the High Castle. The first season is infinitely better, I promise.
Much better than expected. Large in scope and ‘world size’, beautiful cinematography, and decent acting.
And the romantic elements are actually reigned in at appropriate times, which keeps up the fast pace (well, so far; I am on Episode 3, though tempted to keep binging.)
Yes, there are some very obvious allegorical plot devices and links to “current affairs” straight out of the gate, but they’re balanced with the fantasy elements and help flesh out the alternate world.
.. P.S. Amazon’s teaser for this wasn’t very good or striking, but the show has turned out to be intriguing.
Edit - after finishing the first season, it lacked the anticipated depth I first thought I gleaned. To me, it was more visually appealing than anything else.
This one has a straight, linear storyline. There are no hidden agendas, other than one at the very end, maybe because someone else raised the point that I am harping on about.
The bad guy is revealed at the very end, and is mostly kept out of the action for the rest of the season, just for the big reveal at the end. But there is no soul in the series. The actors just strut around, uttering their lines and going about their ways.
Cara Delevingne should really sit down with someone and learn some acting. Orlando Bloom is his same wooden self. The rest of the actors are never really given a chance to shine. Jared Harris and Indira Verma are examples of wasted talent.
I was drawn to this show due to its premise, and the fact that I am a sucker for science-fiction and fantasy. This show could have been so, so much better.
Really, just a wasted opportunity.
Amazon Studios has a fantasy problem.
On three separate occasions, they have churned out visually stunning television shows, filled with fantastic sets, costumes, and VFX. Carnival Row, The Rings of Power, and The Wheel of Time are all shows that had limitless potential, and it's clear that Amazon has been desperate for them all to be big hits (just look at how big the budgets are for these shows). The problem is, in spite of being technical and visual behemoths, each of these three shows is soulless; they are bland, and they are boring. These shows lack charm, they lack joy, and they lack any sort of hook that makes me eager to keep on watching.
It's difficult for me to call any of these shows 'bad', because honestly, I don't think they really are 'bad'. When I watch an episode of any of these shows I've mentioned, I don't see anything 'bad' on screen. There are almost no technical issues, no awful visuals, and no bad acting. The dialogue is fine, and the plot is just fine too. Yet, despite nothing being bad, I can't help but find it an utter chore to watch an entire episode of any of these shows. They genuinely sap me of my energy, making me feel like I'd rather be doing anything else, or maybe even having a snooze.
Amazon is churning out some of the most boring, generic fantasy television I've ever seen, but people seem to be eating it up based on visuals, cast, and technical achievement. That stuff is all cool if what you're interested in is taking some screenshots and getting a nice desktop wallpaper; but if you're interested in engaging television, it's simply not enough. Amazon NEEDS to do better. I no longer have any faith in them to produce fantasy content.
Overall, I like it.
The cast is very hit and miss. Delevingne couldn't act even if her life depended on it. Bloom is a little too old for the part and there is no chemistry between them. Delevingne had always impeccable hair and makeup. She didn't look as a refugee or an impoverished immigrant for one bit.
The last episode is full soap opera with some revelations, it was really bad.
The music was a nice touch but it lacked the epicness of a Max Richter or a Ramin Djawadi.
I thought they didn't explore the universe or second plotlines enough. Because of the focus on a single story, it was very stretched especially with the flashbacks.
Season 1 was good. But the director/writer in season 1. Only did 1 episode in season 2. That explains the 2nd season sucking. The story is all over the place. To many characters to care what the heck is going on. They went cheaper/less CGI on season 2 as well. That was a strong point in season 1. I am not even gonna bother finishing this season.
I decided to quit after the first season. I never got into it, it was just so painfully slow moving. This was content for maybe three episodes or even a two hour movie. But every other scene is stretched out to the limit until it becomes boring. Then they throw in some heartbraking music to evoke an emotinal reaction from the viewer. Didn't happen with me. I found the characters utterly dull and the story was very plain. There was nothing really genius about it, it was just the setting that made it different.
The production itself wasn't bad in terms of sets and costumes. But it was too dark. You literally have to sit in a completely darkened room to see anything most of the times.
Can't like them all.
I appreciate the effort that went into visuals(except the lighting - half of the series so far is near pitch black), this must be at the top of the fantasy genre in this regard, but I strongly suspect that you have to be a #1 fantasy fan to sit through this.
It's just so incredibly boring. Just get to the point, holy hell.
I must have only dropped a show mid-season one or two times in my life(I have a lot of spare time to watch even the worst lol), but I am 3 episodes in and I am strongly considering not wasting any more of my non-precious time on this.
UPDATE: I just finished season two and I think it was even more captivating than Season One. I give the whole series a 10 (captivating) out of 10.
[Season One] Initially, I abandoned the series 3/4 of the way through the first episode. Cable and streaming services have fallen into a habit of front loading their series with salacious content and unnecessary nudity to grab an audience rather than relying on their audiences' higher functions to engage with their premise for a story. This definitely did the former. However, three months later, I decided to push past the inauspicious beginning to see if there was anything worthy of attention. I'm pleased to say I found it. Fantasy is a favourite genre of mine and this series has great world building using some archetypes from folk lore. The characters were interesting. I don't agree with the reviews that say Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne gave poor performances. I believe that the intensity they brought to their characters was confused with wooden portrayals. These character had internal motivation to be intense. The social commentary is obviously paralleled to prejudices, pitfalls and conflicts of the socio-political climate of our day and our history. No matter whether you agree with the views of the writers, it open a point of comparison. The CGI and ambient effects were captivating. Prague brought all the right architectural undertones to house the series. The mystery was intriguing. The production was well resourced. I give this series a 9 (superb) out of 10 and can't wait for the next season. [Fantasy, Steampunk, Crime, Thriller]
okay so lets say that this is a show thats like an adult bedtime story type of thing there is fariys werewolves and all sorts of stuff like that though be warned its entirely for adults only theres plenty of sex and swearing even gore so if your looking for a nice exscape from the rest of the world then defintely try this one out
I really like the story, characters, relationships and themes in this show. My only problem: how are the fae not tactically superior to human beings? I mean they can fly! This was my first thought during the opening scene. It made the rest of the story a little hard to swallow for me.
I quickly forgave this detail, however, as the show unfolded because it is truly a great story. There are lots of parallels with the politics and prejudices of today's society. I am really enjoying the many backstories, well fleshed out characters as well as Shakespearean, Celtic and steampunk references. It explores colonialism, bigotry, society, love, ambition and has a nice little murder mystery thrown in to boot. Kudos to the writers of this amazing tale!
This wasn't such a bad show people make out to be. I binged it and season 1 was better than S2, but it still had a decent ending. The production was amazing, and the story wasn't that bad so give it a go when you're down on fantasy shows to watch.
S01: Quite the mix of genres here. Some work, some don't, but glad to see a weird show like this getting the green light!
S02: Has an ending and lots of blood! Did not really break new ground, just kind of went in circles until the end.
Decent enough show.
I very much enjoyed the start of season 1. It was interesting and I found it to be a nice fantasy world that was in the process of being created. And then............ it became all about how the white man is a terrible oppressor of anyone different and lack of rights and blablabla insert woke stuff here. Season 2 brought that into an overdrive. Thank goodness that at least there was a somewhat voice of reason that violence is not solving everything, but at the same time it is too much calling for voilence to get your point through to force change. I am still keeping it to a 7 out of 10 overall evaluation, but that is really only because of the great setup of the whole reality and the stunning acting of the main characters.
Season 2 is too much rushed, especially Vignette her motivations of going from left to extreme right to even extremer left wing terrorism - are difficult to understand. Covid-19 pulled a number on this series, which most likely could have been much better, though I strongly feel that the call of using violence to get what you want, is not ok.
[Prime Video] After so long since Season 1, the premiere of the last season causes a similar attraction, but soon ends up remembering why the first one was a failed proposal. Actually, it is an interesting proposal that builds an attractive and dark world, with successful visual effects. But all the aesthetics ends up being buried by the most absolute tedium through a convoluted story in which it is not clear which side the characters are placed on and with too weak leading performances.
A straightforward story in a fantastic fantasy world. If I had to criticize something, it would probably be the ending, especially Philo's statement: "She deserves better than me." No hate against Vignette, but she didn't learn anything repeatedly. Many times in the story, she chooses the radical foefolk side and regrets it afterward. Also, she often doesn't even talk to people on the other side, although they are friends from her past. She contradicts the classic behavior of foefolk; if you believe another statement of Philo, which reads: "We (foefolk) are people who know how to change." Incidentally, I was sympathetic to Vignette overall, and only there were inconsistencies here and there. I wish both of them to see each other again in their lives, even if we never get to see the reunion (there will be no season 3 :cry:).
While the first season was not bad, the second one was an aimless mess.
The first season did a good job in world building and ultimately bringing different sub-plots together in the final episode. However, it already had the problems, that would taint the second one.
Those are pointless sex-scenes, solely to display some boobs, constant on-off relationships between the characters, the love relationships between women and men at least twice their age, too much Orlando Bloom and the lack of a compelling story.
The ending of the series was not believable at all, but at least the showrunners took the opportunity to finish in an ending without cliff hangers.
It's rare that I feel satisfied after a show I've enjoyed has ended, and even more so when a show has ended after only two seasons. There are some stories that require several seasons and big budgets to convey an idea and adequately represent the whole of the story by the time it is to wrap, often either being cancelled, which often results in an unfinished story leaving the viewers with the dissatisfaction that anything unfinished might cause, or running the course of the originally planned seasons and extending a show far past its time to end simply to make more money. Carnival Row is one of the few shows I've seen that was ended because the story was told in the allotted timeframe leaving me with a feeling of satisfaction of watching an idea brought forth with a beginning, middle, and end tying up loose ends to make a well rounded conclusion. I, for one, have always been against bigotry and prejudice (not sure if this is a spoiler, but didn't want to blow it for anyone in case it is) so I really enjoyed the closing scene of Fae and Humans alike, sharing drink, music, and The Row leaving the human's sordid past behind. Even though it seemed that everyone found a way to get along so well overnight instead of the generations that it would have more realistically taken to heal and get past the years of oppression, it was still a nice conclusion of the story. The amount of time it would have taken to heal would have just been a pretty boring story in comparison, as growth of the human spirit is usually a slow process. For that, I liked the story ending on how it should be, which always leaves us with hope for the future, or at least mankind's part in making it.
decent first season, second season meh! wouldn't be surprised if it gets cancelled
It could be that there was so much of a wait between the last two seasons. But the last season seemed to be quite hard to follow. It felt more political too, about the fascism on minority groups. Not a fan of relaxing by escaping into political propoganda. Brilliant concept, standard delivery.
Without a doubt, the final episodes were the best. Can't wait for the second season.
I'm eagerly waiting for more, I don't think it's reached its potential yet.
Excellent. We'll thought out . Good suspense and Drama. Things fit together bit by bit. Last episode explains everything. Would like a season 2.:thumbsup:
Very good fantasy and suspense series. The story of Philo and Vignette hooked me. It left me wanting to see more chapters.
Very good fantasy and suspense series. The story of Philo and Vignette hooked me. It left me wanting to see more chapters.
Very good fantasy and suspense series. The story of Philo and Vignette hooked me. It left me wanting to see more chapters.
I was really surprised to find out this show was NOT based on a series of books. Its world seemed so rich in details and history. 10/10 would recommend. An interesting and entertaining watch that constantly leaves you wanting more. I started it and couldn't stop until it was over.
I loved the elevated steam tram and alternative culture, a good start.
been a minute since i had such a good binge. 2 nights, lopsided @ the first. pacing tight as can be and everything that comes with that
orlando & cara! everything tht comes with that
I think the show is absolutely amazing
Thought this would be good, but Matt recommended against it. Said it was all about sets and atmosphere and no plot
Beautifully filmed, well acted but very derivative and everything is a metaphor for our times. Still enjoying it.
Is a very good show. :sparkling_heart:ensemble! Great Chemistry!!
This is an enjoyable show. The worldbuilding is great; which ended up taking me by surprise when I began watching the show. The appearances of the non-human species are pretty nice and very well done. The story was a bit iffy at times, and the political aspect of things while necessary given the context of the show can get tiring; and boring. Other than that, an enjoyable show to anyone who doesn't think too unnecessarily hard into it.
Was Bad but not feeling the Supernatural side too much just mostly drama and politics... like where is the magic and don't give me the BS voodoo Sh!+ you got fairies for heavens sake... Good touch with the [Werewolves] i must say a pleasant surprise there. I do hope the Season 2 brings more to the table so i can recommend others to watch this world of Magical Mystery.
Shout by SoLo Q8 (Abdullah)BlockedParent2019-07-20T08:37:33Z
I'm excited for this show. Waiting :heart: