Modern television – especially in the age of streaming – moves at such a pace that seasons arriving 42 months apart is borderline insanity, but at least the lengthy delay hasn’t stopped the second and final run of Carnival Row from reaching the summit of the viewership charts.
Per FlixPatrol, the grand finale of the frustratingly underwhelming epic has become the number one top-viewed TV series on Prime Video since premiering last Friday, with the cavernous gap between the first and second chapter clearly having no effect on subscribers from immediately re-immersing themselves in the captivating world of The Burgue.
When it comes to world-building, production design, and sheer eye-popping splendor, then it wouldn’t be out of the realms of possibility to call Carnival Row one of the finest examples we’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, it’s the storytelling that let it down on both occasions, so maybe it’s for the best that the sophomore adventures of the wondrously-named inhabitants was announced as the end before the axe inevitably fell.
Cracking the Top 10 in well over 100 nations worldwide is an impressive start under any circumstances, but a 38 percent Rotten Tomatoes score hammers home that no matter how stunning something is to look at on a technical level, there’s always going to be a lingering feeling of emptiness if the narrative isn’t anywhere close to engaging enough.
Maybe in the future Carnival Row will find cult favorite status and undergo a reappraisal, but for now, it’s got to rank as one of Amazon’s biggest episodic missed opportunities.