In the first episode of “Carnival Row” Season 2, we saw how the non-human species were forced to live in extremely despicable circumstances where they had to fight each and every day for their survival. Jonah and Sophie wanted to strengthen their position, and they were ready to live a lie if it fulfilled their purpose. Jonah, at times, did feel that he was doing something wrong, but Sophie was quite headstrong, and she made sure that her partner acted the way she wanted him to. Imogen’s fear had taken over her, and she didn’t want her brother, Ezra, to find her and Argeus at any cost. So let’s see what the second episode, titled New Dawn, has in store for us and what change it brings about in the lives of the people and how their actions determine the fate of the Republic of Burgue.
Spoilers Ahead
Sophie Becomes The Kingmaker
The Pact had arrived at the Burgue, and as a symbolic gesture to show the solidarity and renewed trust between the two forces, they entered a contract where the Pact bought ammunition from the Burgue. Runyan Millworthy knew very well that it was not just a gesture and that the Pact actually needed the ammunition in the war against the revolutionary forces called the New Dawn, which had been causing problems of late. Major Mikulas Vir, the Pact’s second-in-command, confirmed Millworthy’s claims and informed him that they did, in fact, require weapons, having discovered that Burguish rifles were far superior to country-produced rifles in the long range.
It might have felt like the Chancellor, i.e., Jonah Breakspear, was spearheading the delegation, but in reality, it was the leader of the opposition, Sophie Longerbane, who was actually pulling the strings from behind. There were two plans that Sophie proposed, which showed her political acumen and strategy building. The first thing she told Jonah was that if they provided ammunition to both the Pact and the New Dawn forces, then it would keep the armies engaged with each other, giving them the opportunity to take over Tirnanoc. According to her speculations, she thought that Jonah actually had a chance to create an empire, something his father had always wanted to accomplish. She also desired to increase industry revenue and establish a true capitalist society in which the regime benefited the most. Most of the industries were on the verge of shutting down as there was no availability of cheap labor after the regime waged open war and ostracized the so-called critche. So she called a meeting with all of the city’s prominent businessmen and told them that she would give them a loan to get their businesses back on track, as well as make exceptions so that there would be no shortage of skilled labor. The catch was that she increased the profit margin of the state, and though the businessmen didn’t feel comfortable with it, they had to accept it as they had no other choice left with them.
Imogen And Agreus Land In Trouble
Agreus had decided that he would stop at the Port of Ragusa and try to cut a deal with the natives. He knew a few people there, because of which he was confident that he and Imogen would be safe. But instead of a warm welcome, they met a hostile army led by a man named Lieutenant Stanislaus, who captured them and took their belongings. Imogen was sent inside the secured zone, whereas Agreus was kept outside while the soldiers stole all that he had on the ship. Agreus kept shouting that he knew people and that he could pay for his release, but the soldiers were in no mood to enter into any sort of plea bargain. Agreus told them that they were in violation of every maritime convention and that they would have to pay for their deeds once his influential contact arrived, but what he didn’t know was that the Pact no longer ruled those lands.
Imogen was taken inside a house, where she met a woman named Leonora. Imogen had a million questions about what was happening to her, but Leonora was answering in a very abstract manner, which was making Imogen very frustrated. Leonora told Imogen that the feudal state she once knew had given way to an egalitarian society where everybody existed peacefully, and there was no class conflict and oppression. Leonora said that their revolution had brought a new dawn and told Imogen that the parasitic government that once seemed invincible was brought down by the very people who were oppressed by it. People fighting for their rights and taking on the establishment were such a rare occurrence that Imogen couldn’t believe it when Leonara told her about it. Oppression had become the way of life, and people had become so accustomed to being mistreated that they had forgotten what it meant to be free. The New Dawn Revolution was a reminder that a man is not meant to be in a cage and that everybody deserves to be treated equally.
Agreus told the lieutenant that he owned Swan and the company behind it and asked him to apologize to him. But Agreus was labeled a class traitor and was sentenced to death with others, but just at the right moment, a woman appeared and revealed something to the soldiers, who stopped short of killing Agreus and sent him to meet Imogen. What that woman said to the soldier is still unknown, though it probably had something to do with Leonara, as it felt like she and Agreus knew each other from before. Even when Imogen told Agreus about Leonara, he recognized her immediately, though how he knew her is something that we would get to know in the subsequent episodes of “Carnival Row” Season 2.
Season 2, Episode 2: Ending Explained – Was Rycroft Able To Reveal His Identity In Front Of The Ambassador?
Vignette didn’t want Rycroft to take the risk of revealing his identity in front of the ambassador. She believed that it was a suicide mission and that the risk was too great to take. Rycroft told her that they always knew that a time would come when they would have to do that, and now that they had exhausted all their options, he had to play that card as it was his last hope to mend things. Rycroft apologized to her and told her that he didn’t want to tell her like that, but since all the arrangements had been made, he had to go ahead with the plan. Vignette didn’t realize how the Burgue soldier was found dead on the train when clearly, she had told Phaedra not to kill him. Kaine told her that he had his suspicions about their own chief, Dahlia, but didn’t have any incriminating evidence to prove it. Vignette had the spirit of a rebel, and she often had problems blindly following orders, which is why Dahlia always harbored a feeling that she wanted to replace her as the chief of the Black Raven. But that was not true, and Vignette didn’t have any such intentions; she was doing everything merely for the welfare of her clan.
We came to know about the special favor that Rycroft wanted from the bookie, Boz Ghaidos. He was trying to get his friend and confidant, Darius, released from prison, as after he stopped serving in the Burguish police force, he found it very hard to get to him. Darius was angry at Rycroft for taking so much time, as he had to go through all sorts of torture.
Vignette came up with a plan to expose the hypocrisy of the Chancellor and the regime, and she knew the coming of the ambassador of the Pact could serve as a blessing in disguise. Dahlia accepted the proposal, but she told Vignette very clearly that she was going to lead the Black Raven to the Balefire Hall and not her. Meanwhile, Rycroft was able to enter the building with Millworthy’s help, and he stood on the balcony of the banquet hall, waiting for the opportune moment to give his speech. Just as he was about to speak, the roof broke, and the Black Ravens made a dramatic entry. Vignette and her people thought that if they took Oona with them, they would be able to expose the hypocrisy of the regime and embarrass them in front of their new allies. But that didn’t happen, and their plan backfired terribly. Sergeant Dombey shot Oona and killed her on the spot. Kaine wanted to retaliate, but he was stopped because indulging in violence was not something that they had planned to do. Rycroft had to exit before anyone knew about his presence, though Mikulas Vir saw him making eye contact with Millworthy. The Black Raven came back to their camps and found out that Dahlia and another member named Bolero had been killed by the Burguish forces, who wanted to make them aware of the consequences of trying to go against the regime.
Tourmaline Larou got to know from Mima Blodwen that Haruspex Tsimani had somehow transferred her psychic powers to her before dying. Tourmaline was terrified when she learned about it, but apparently, she couldn’t do anything now. Mima told her that having “sight” like Tsimani was no less than a curse, as to see evil meant that one had to let evil take over them. In the upcoming episodes of “Carnival Row” Season 2, we will get to know if Rycroft is able to bring about a change in the socio-political dynamic of the country or if the state gets to know about his intentions and spoils his plans. Tourmaline Larou will definitely have an important role to play in the scheme of things, and now with her newfound sinister power, we will witness her change the course of things for better or worse.
See More: ‘Carnival Row’ Season 2, Episode 3: Recap And Ending Explained: What Was Runyan Millworthy’s Plan?
