In the fourth episode of the series, “Carnival Row” Season 2, we witnessed how a little miscommunication was widening the rift between Philo and Vignette. Philo was trying to save the ravens from their own doom, but his actions were being perceived in a wrong way. Kaine was adamant about killing Dombey and exacting revenge for Oona’s death, and Philo was determined to prevent it at all costs because he knew the end result wouldn’t be as satisfying as they expected. Imogen and Agreus were still stuck in Ragusa, and Leonora, the leader of the rebel forces, had no plans of releasing them. So, let’s see if Rycroft Philostrate was able to convince Vignette that he didn’t have any malicious intent and if Imogen and Agreus are able to make peace with their reality and decide what’s best for them.
Spoilers Ahead
Imogen Has A Change Of Mind
Agreus had started getting nightmares of late, and he was feeling restless. He knew that he and Imogen were not safe in the port of Ragusa. He knew what the soldiers and their communist leader, Leonora, were capable of, and he had gotten an idea of the same when he had witnessed them shooting people and killing them. Agreus was fortunate enough to survive, and he knew that he wouldn’t be that lucky each time. Leonora and her people called themselves liberators, but they ruled by fear and force, and Agreus had witnessed many times how they resorted to extreme measures if they felt that other people’s ideologies were not aligning with theirs. They told Agreus that his crew served the system that made slaves of people but that was not reason enough to take their lives. Castello, the block leader, told Agreus and Imogen that both of them had to work if they wanted to stay in Ragusa. Imogen came from a very affluent background, and the drawback of it was that she was so pampered and privileged that she didn’t have to work for even a single day in her entire life.
Agreus told Castello that he would work for both of them, but Castello had a torturous way of forcing the people into doing what he wanted them to. He gave only a single serving of food during lunchtime, and Agreus gave that to his beloved Imogen. Imogen, after seeing that she didn’t have much of an option, decided to work alongside Agreus.
Leonora met Imogen in person, and she asked her how her stay had been so far in her port city. She told Imogen that Ragusa was the only place where she could freely choose what she did with her life. She made her aware that no matter how civilized The Burgue had been, a human living with a male faun would still not be accepted at any cost. Leonora realized that for a woman like Imogen, it was not an easy task to stay in a place where she necessarily had to work and where she couldn’t enjoy her riches just like she did back home. But then, the biggest perk was that nobody questioned her and Agreus, and people were not opposed to the idea of them having a life together.
When Imogen went back to Agreus that day, something had changed inside her. She felt assured after talking to Leonora that Ragusa was actually the best place for them as of now, as they could at least live there peacefully. But Agreus saw a very different reality, and his perspective was in stark contrast to that of Imogen. He was of the opinion that New Dawn was standing on a fragile foundation that would collapse at any moment. He had witnessed the hypocrisy of the people in charge, and he knew that the day he did something that irked them, they wouldn’t even bat an eye before taking his life. He was afraid for Imogen because he knew she was easily manipulated and didn’t understand the nitty-gritties of this cruel world.
Season 2, Episode 4: Ending, Explained Why Did Philos Save Sergeant Dombey?
Philo was well aware that Kaine and Vignette would go to any lengths to kill Dombey in order to even the score. As a last resort, he decided to warn him about his impending doom. Philo was not only doing it to save Dombey, but he also knew that if a copper was killed, the Burgue would wreak havoc in the Row and wouldn’t stop unless and until they found and killed all the members of Black Raven. Philo took Darius with him, who was hiding in Tourmaline’s place, and they reached Dombey’s house directly, as time was of the essence. Dombey got irked when he saw Darius and Philo, and he told them that coming to his house and threatening him in front of his family was going beyond the limits.
Philo told Dombey that he knew that the latter hadn’t killed Dahlia and Bolero, though Vignette and Kaine didn’t believe that. While they were having a conversation, Darius smelled the Fae folks around them. Philo went to buy them some time so that, until the time he engaged Vignette in a conversation, Dombey and Darius were able to escape. Philo knew that there was a chance of him being followed, but he had taken the risk because he wanted to inform Dombey before it was too late. Philo was probably tired trying to make Vignette understand that the coppers were far greater in number as compared to the ravens, and if she went against them, they would definitely make sure that no raven saw the light of day. But Vignette had already made up her mind, and for her, what Philo had done was nothing short of betrayal. Vignette realized that he was just trying to distract them, and she and Kaine flew to grab hold of Dombey and take their revenge.
The five of them were on a wild goose chase, but somehow Darius and Philo were able to save Dombey. Darius had transformed into a werewolf completely and taken down a Fae, while Philo stopped Kaine and helped Dombey successfully escape. The police came and arrested Philo, but Dombey repaid his debt by letting him go free. Dombey pretended he was letting him go because he knew where he could find him, and he was already keeping tabs on him.
Philo and Vignette met in a bar later and came to the conclusion that they had no other option but to go their separate ways. Vignette still believed that Philo had broken their trust and shown his true colors. She felt like she had been delusional all this time to think that they could have had a future together. In the end, the coppers conducted a raid in the Row to arrest the person who had tried attacking their officer, and they started plundering the property and torturing the people. Vignette surrendered herself and told the police that she was the one who had tried to kill Dombey. She knew that if she did not do that, the cops would have taken a lot of innocent lives.
Tourmaline told Mima that she had seen her own death, and the latter knew that it was not a very good sign. Tourmaline was given a recipe by Mima Blodwen to cure the evil inside her. She needed ingredients like fresh mandrake to summon the light and purge the darkness. Mima was not sure if it would cure her or not, but she felt that it was worth giving it a shot. Mima knew that she was dealing with a weak spirit, and she had to hope for a miracle to get rid of it. In the next episodes of “Carnival Row” Season 2, we will learn if Tourmaline is able to kill the evil that exists inside her or not. We know Philo would do everything he could to get Vignette out of police custody, even though he knew it would be a difficult task.
