That’s the B couple, the human socialite (Imogen) and the faun (Agreus), and the lady’s brother (Ezra).
I feel like the fantasy races ultimately did not contribute anything. The writers failed to lean into the mythological implications of pixies, fae, etc., beyond humans conquering their lands which is standard.
As there is no third season planned I’m satisfied with the ending (which still leaves a tiny opening for a future project in the same universe) even if the wrap up seemed a tad bit rushed to me.
@DPRK, what would you have liked to have seen that you didn’t?
I have no fleshed-out proposal, but something to make the different peoples less interchangeable or utterly generic. What do we know about, say, the Pix, besides the fact they come from Tír na nÓg? Would it make much difference if they were extraterrestrials, or from another dimension, or merely generic refugees from anywhere? They are transparently Fantasy Irish, so, if so, why not go with that (at least as far as mining the vast and wonderful Celtic and pre-Celtic mythology, not in the sense of creating offensive caricatures or politically sensitive commentary)? One intriguing thing they put in was the fact they apparently have some kind of voodoo priestesses. Which implies there must be a whole religion there as part of their culture. Their magical/mystical powers seem to be real, too; you would think this would be a topic of interest in this weird Steampunk world. We know the Burghish worship the Martyr (i.e. Jesus), but we are never told anything about that. I am not saying religious conflict could or should be the focus of anything, but I meant it as an example of the kind of characterization that could have made the story less generic. Or, more likely, I do not even know myself what I would have liked to see.
I remember thinking Perdido Street Station was pretty cool; in retrospect the author did not skimp on the weird, or the vivid.
There were additional books in that universe - they weren’t any less weird, that’s for sure. And each one gave more and more hints of places that would have been interesting to see. High Cromlech, for example - a society ruled by and for the undead.
A problem with Carnival Row in that sense was, as a TV show, there are budgetary and time limits. China Miéville can have a train car and its passengers turn into a giant amoeba with the passengers as organelles inside the single cell that is still attached to the train it was part of by just putting words to paper (and yes, that is a thing in Iron Council) but it would be pretty costly in effects to pull that off in live action, even these days.
However, presuming you mean the Haruspex when referring to the “voodoo priestess” I disagree. A haruspex is someone practicing divination by examining entrails and has its origins either in the Etruscans, later spreading to Rome and Greece, or in the Middle East in places like Assyria, Babylon, and the Hittites. In the CR universe that is a type of power that apparently works and can be harnessed in a deliberate manner. On the other hand in our world voodoo divination does not involve gutting animals, it’s more a casting of sea shells or use of cards. Voodoo does involve animal sacrifice, but not for divination. In CR, haruspexy is apparently something that can be used by anyone with the talent/training and not tied to a particular religion, see Piety Breakspear.
The Darkasher is a flesh golem, which isn’t a voodoo thing either - that’s a mashup of the European Jewish golem and Frankenstein’s monster (which is also a flesh golem).
Not that I expect the average person to pick up on that sort of thing, but the practices of the Haruspex derive from Europe, not the New World or Africa.
CR does have different religions - clearly the Martyr is an expy of Christ, but the Fauns/Pucks have a mystery cult of some sort based on texts called “the Cyphers” and a diety called “the Hidden One” which is mysterious as heck. The Fae’s religion is not fleshed out much either, which is a shame, but I don’t see how that could have been fit into the narrative and time given.
I’d love to see more of the universe of Carnival Row, but there wasn’t time for it in the series. The ending did leave some opening for future stores/projects.