The arrival of the beast called Sparas in the previous episode of “Carnival Row” Season 2, made matters worse. The entire political setup had been upended, and an interim government had been formed to look into matters of state. Philo was put in prison, though Kaine managed to escape from the Bleakness Keep. Tourmaline was trying to keep herself calm amidst all those dastardly visions, and Darius was providing her with all the support that he could. The Burgue was in a huge crisis, and things were about to get even worse. So, let’s see what happened in the sixth episode of the series “Carnival Row” Season 2 and if the people were able to collect any more information about the Sparas.
Spoilers Ahead
Agreus And Imogen Make An Escape Plan
In the sixth episode of “Carnival Row” Season 2, we saw that Agreus was willing to understand Imogen’s perspective because he didn’t like it when they fought with each other. It was an inevitable fact that their lives were in danger as long as they lived in Ragusa, but Imogen said that she trusted Leonora, as she was right when she said that Ragusa was the only place where a human and a faun could live in peace. Imogen knew that she might not be able to afford the same luxuries that she once enjoyed in Burgue, but the fact that she could live with Agreus superseded everything else for her. Agreus told her that she was wrong if she felt that they were free to do anything they wished in Ragusa. They still had to act according to the whims and fancies of Leonora, and any departure from the established code of conduct could lead to them losing their lives. Imogen told Agreus that if he kept resisting the way he was, very soon Leonora would kill her. Imogen said that in her last meeting with the supremo of Ragusa, she had told her that if Agreus cannot be convinced to accept the life he has, he will have to be killed, as they perceive him as a potential threat. Imogen had hidden this fact from Agreus because she didn’t want him to get worried about it. Agreus said that in Ragusa, freedom was a pseudo-concept, and though they were given the impression that they were free, in reality, their lives were still controlled. Imogen lived in a patriarchal society, and she was forced to act and behave in a particular manner. It frustrated her that she couldn’t do what she felt like doing because she was bound by tradition and custom. She felt that Ragusa was an honest place, which at least gave the people the option to be themselves unabashedly. It was the biggest perk for Imogen, and that is why she was inclined to stay there.
Agreus agreed that he would try to be happy and, for once, try to look through Imogen’s eyes. Agreus communicated the same to Kastor, whom they met at the breakfast table. Kastor was undoubtedly happy at what he heard, and it made him open up a bit, and he told them it was the anniversary of their revolution. He gave them a green book that was like the manifesto of the revolution, written by Comrade Leonora herself while she was in prison. Kastor told them that Leonora had been sent to prison for stealing food off her master’s table. He told Agreus and Imogen about how, while serving her sentence, she had a change of mind when she saw weed growing in a barren land. Kastor said that from day one, she decided to work for the poor and powerless. Agreus was an intelligent man, and he knew that it was just a propaganda story to portray Leonora as a messiah who had gotten a revelation and came down to save the helpless and the needy.
Imogen and Agreus had just been playing along all this while, and they had made up their minds to escape from Ragusa. Agreus might have reasons to believe that people were overhearing their conversation, which they were having inside their room. In the sixth episode of “Carnival Row” Season 2, it dawned upon Imogen that Leonora was a compelling force of nature but, at the same time, pretty dangerous and that they could never be safe until she was around. Agreus had talked to Ivor, who worked with them in the factory, to make the arrangements for them to leave. Ivor told Agreus to slip away during the party and meet him at the docks. Agreus became apprehensive because Ivor was asking him to escape in broad daylight, but he had a reason for doing so. A ship was going to leave at that time, and Ivor knew that if they missed it, they might have to wait for weeks before the next one came.
Lt. Stanislaus came and informed Agreus that Leonora was calling him urgently, and Agreus felt scared as he didn’t know what the reason behind her wanting to meet him was. Once he went there, he realized that Ezra Spurnrose was in Leonora’s captivity, and she gave Agreus the freedom to do as he wished with him. Ezra hated Agreus, and given the option, he would have killed him, but Agreus acted magnanimously and spared his life. Ezra finally met his sister, Imogen, and they had a heated argument. Imogen told him that she had been controlled by men all her life, but now she would do as she wished. She threatened him that if he didn’t stay in line, she wouldn’t bat an eye before killing him.
Imogen was very sure about the fact that they were not taking her brother with them, but Agreus tried to make Imogen understand that she would be guilt-ridden her entire life if she did that. Imogen left without saying anything, and Agreus went and told Ezra about their plan. Agreus wanted Ezra to know that if he tried to do something foolish, he would kill his sister, though we know that he said that only to keep him in check, and in reality, Agreus couldn’t do anything like that. We would get to know in the subsequent episodes of the series, “Carnival Row” Season 2, whether Agreus, Imogen, and Ezra were able to make a successful escape or if Leonora got the better of them.
What Did Philo Know About The Sparas?
The Burguish armies were fighting the Pact seven years ago, during what later came to be known as the fall of Tirnanoc, when suddenly a monster emerged out of nowhere in the woods and started wreaking havoc on all the men. The creature was called a Sparas, and it spared the life of Philo because he was half Fae and half human. Philo couldn’t tell this to Lt. Quintrell, who was his commanding officer, as he wanted to hide among the humans and not reveal his identity because he knew that it would have an adverse impact on his life. Quintrell asked him to burn the entire area down, so the Pact was not able to make any progress. Both Philo and his colleague, Galloway, were not sure about doing so because it meant that they would have to kill the entire Sparas species too. The Sparas were a species that was believed to have gone extinct centuries ago, and their sudden sighting shocked people. Philo proposed a plan where he would go and talk to the Sparas and convince them to fight from their side, but Lt. Quintrell couldn’t understand why any Sparas would agree to fight from the side of the humans. What Philo needed to tell them was that he could win over their trust as he was not entirely human, but he refrained from divulging his secret, which thereby led the Leituinent to pass the order to burn the entire area down.
Philo had blamed himself since that time for the death of the Sparas, and now that one had appeared inside the Burgue, he couldn’t help but think that it was all his doing. His guilt had taken over his conscience, and he was facing an internal conflict where he didn’t know what to do or what not to do.
Season 2, Episode 6: Ending Explained – What Did Tourmaline See In Her Vision? What Deal Did Philo Make With Dombey?
Millworthy was called by Fletcher and Winetrout, and he was asked to be a part of the interim government that was being formed to look after the state till the time they chose the next chancellor. Ambassador Anrep and Mikulas Vir were also present on the scene when they were having this conversation. Millworthy had just had a near-death experience, and he was not in a state of mind to talk politics and think about the wellbeing of the Burgue. He wanted to get away from all that was happening and have a moment or two for himself, but Mikulas Vir didn’t give him that option. He came and told Millworthy that the Pact and the Burgue, too, needed his expertise. He said that he was a man of integrity in a nest of vipers that were ready to latch on to any opportunity and disturb the delicate power dynamics. He told Millworthy that things do not go well for any nation when good men just stand by and do nothing. Mikulas said that the Pact was already engaged in a civil war, and they didn’t want their strongest ally to commit the same mistake.
Tourmaline was reunited with Vignette, and they both talked about how their lives had changed over time. Vignette told Tourmaline that she had made the mistake of leaving her for Philo and that she regretted it now that she had seen the real faces of people. Vignette had no clue that Philo had risked his life in order to save her, and Tourmaline told her that he was not a bad man after all. Tourmaline got a vision when she got the news that Sparas had returned, probably to take revenge on humans. Tourmaline saw that the Sparas would come for her eventually and try to kill her. Vignette told her that her vision could also be wrong, but Tourmaline knew deep down that whatever she saw was nothing but the truth. Kaine and Pheadra came to take Vignette with them, but she decided that she would stay back and help Tourmaline escape her doom. Vignette had realized that they couldn’t just sit around waiting for the Sparas to attack. She had seen the beast from close up, which is why she knew they had to make a move immediately.
Berwick had come to meet Philo in prison, and he told him that there was a pattern that the Sparas had and that it had a secret motive that the people were not able to see. According to Berwick, the Sparas was trying to create a conflict between the Faes and the humans. It was killing members of one species and then making it look like it was the other’s fault. The blame for killing Bolero and Dahlia had been put on Dombey and his men, and the same had been repeated when the humans held Faes responsible for the death of Chancellor Jonah. Dombey gave Philo the option of being released from prison if he agreed to help them catch the Critch Monster. Philo realized that Dombey had no clue what the creature was or what it was capable of. Philo let his conniving side prevail over his conscience, and he decided to play along while keeping it a secret that he had encountered such a beast once before.
In the upcoming episodes of “Carnival Row” Season 2, we will also get to know for how long Philo could keep it from others that he felt that he was the reason the Sparas had decided to come back and wreak havoc on the entire country. Vignette had promised that she would save Tourmaline at all costs, and she would know very soon if she was able to stand by her word. From Imogen and Agreus to Philo and Vignette, everybody was standing on thin ice, and they knew that one wrong move could become the reason for their own downfall.
