Carnival Row episode 7 review: A shocking ending sets the stage for the season finale

The penultimate episode of Carnival Row offers a shocking twist that no one saw coming, and a long-simmering romance takes off.

The first season of Carnival Row has been rather meandering at times, particularly in its earliest installments, and that episode where we had to watch Philo mope in his former school for orphans dorm room for the better part of an hour.  Had its initial episodes been a bit more balanced, the events of “The World to Come” might not have felt quite so rushed, and a few of its key moments a bit more earned.

That said, this episode is also deeply satisfying, as it drops a massive twist in our proverbial laps in its final moments and pays off a romantic connection that’s been building all season long. Where the story goes in the season’s final episode, now that it seems highly likely that Absalom Breakspear is maybe Philo’s father and also possibly a murderer, is anyone’s guess. But it seems likely to be a wild ride.

First, let’s take a second and pour one out for my heart, which is still contending with this deeply unsettling Absalom reveal. (Maybe there’s a reason the fae witches paired him with the scheming Piety all those years ago, after all.) It’s not entirely clear how the timing of all this could work, given the relative ages of everyone involved, but it’s an intriguing notion, one that would firmly tie Philo into the overall canvas in ways that don’t involve Vignette, explain Absalom’s general soft-heartedness toward fae in general, since he seems to have loved one at some point, and give the character some interesting new layers.

There’s something that makes a lot of sense in the idea that Absalom would be so desperate to find the son he never knew that he would turn to dark fae magic to do so. Of course, if that’s true it also means that he would be responsible for a series of increasingly violent and gruesome murders and is a monster underneath his adorable #1 Dad and Politician!!! persona. Ugh. Don’t do this to me, show.

In other disappointing revelations courtesy of this episode, the Burgh constabulary is completely staffed by trash men. (And it’s only just occurred to me there seem to be no women at all involved in the world of policing here, in another example of this show’s truly incongruous and bizarre stance on gender roles.) It’s horrifying how quickly nearly everyone turns on Philo once the truth of his half-fae heritage is revealed.

In the space of what feels like seconds he goes from a talented detective and trusted partner to literal monster and a murder suspect so vile he apparently doesn’t even deserve the benefit of a trial. (Even though it’s questionable as to whether or not anyone actually thinks Philo did any murdering, and may just want to kill him to cover up the fact that they worked with someone who was part fae. Gross.)

At least Philo’s jail time gives him a chance to reconnect with Vignette, as she’s conveniently hanging out in the cell next door thanks to her attack on a bunch of humans exhibiting items from her faery homeland in a tacky museum display. This is all extremely convenient, of course, but it’s oddly nice to see them interact in a way that doesn’t involve them fighting or blaming one another or anything, and it’s as genuine a conversation as they’ve ever had during the present-day timeline of the show.

One gets the sense that we’re supposed to applaud Philo’s decision to claim his faery mother and fae heritage, but his big gesture – rejecting the chance to go free by refusing to lie about who he is – manages to feel a little flat. After all, Philo didn’t just discover he was part fae. He’s clearly known about his heritage for all his life, and has made deliberate choices to both reject and cover up that side of himself. Despite all the murders going on  – and yes one of the victims was his own mother, which obviously matters – we don’t really get a clear window into this thinking in order to understand why that changed. Is it just that his mother died? Is it seeing Vignette again? Is it trying – and failing – to make a go of it with Portia?

Speaking of rushed stories, the Imogen and Agreus ship train has officially left the station!

Don’t get me wrong, these two characters are wonderful together and their arc is probably the best on the show. It’s been lovely to see Imogen realize that her preconceptions about the world, and about fae in particular, are wrong. Her slow steps toward defying societal expectation and coming to truly enjoy Agreus for his own sake have been fantastic to watch, as has his understanding that this seemingly shallow society woman has strength and layers. But boy does this episode jump things from zero to sixty for this duo!

In the same hour that Imogen finally admits she enjoys Agreus’ company, the two share a close romantic moment over a seemingly magical invention, share their first kiss and then have sex against a door in Agreus’ house. Talk about escalating quickly. It’s not even that I mind so much that these two gave into their attraction to each other, it’s that I feel like there should have been an episode in between Imogen realizing how much she’s come to care about Agreus and the two of them undressing each other in his sitting room. But, at least one romance on Carnival Row seems to be thriving, so that’s got to count for something.

All episodes of Carnival Row are now streaming on Amazon.