Carnival Row Season 2 finale ending explained: Does New Dawn take over?

The Carnival Row Season 2 finale brought us a war between Row and humans. How did it all end? Did New Dawn and the Sparas win?

There was a lot going on in the lead up to the Carnival Row Season 2 finale. New Dawn had made it from The Pact to The Burgue. Humans and fae kept turning on each other. It looked like The Row would burn.

To kick off the finale, Leonora put together a plan to take down those who wanted to kill all fae. Let them come into the Row, but make sure they are killed off. Vignette and Kane agreed to be the way to lure them into the Row, but would it all play out the way Leonora wanted?

Carnival Row Season 2 finale: Did New Dawn win?

Leonora stated that the Sparas would not come to help them. How would she know this? Well, the Sparas was pretending to be a human in the government. Fortunately, Philo figured that out.

As the plan for the Row looked like it was working—albeit with some fae losing wings and horns—the Sparas arrived. Vignette was about to leave, but Kane put up a fight to keep her there. That was when the fight started to go the wrong. Kane was killed preventing Vignette from being shot.

Vignette needed to get to Tourmaline. She knew the Sparas coming meant Tourmaline’s death, and she wasn’t going to allow that. Tourmaline had decided to use her dark magic in an attempt to kill the Sparas. It ended up taking Vignette and Philo to kill the Sparas for good.

There was a cost here. Darius, who has turned into a Marrok, had been injured by the Sparas. At the end of the fight, Darius becomes human and has Tourmaline and Philo there so he can pass with friends around them.

Philo takes the body of the Sparas to the middle of the Row to show that it’s done. The Council is safe from this threat. It stops the fight, and now New Dawn knows that the battle right now is done. That doesn’t mean the war has to be over. Agreus, who manages to get out of his chains, stops Leonora and calls on the cops to take her. She kills herself before that can happen, but not without the warning that she has planted the seed of revolution.

Does Philo become Chancellor in the Carnival Row series finale?

There was always this hope that Philo would end up becoming Chancellor. After all, he is Breakspear’s son. That is his rightful spot.

The bad news is Philo is shot in the back as the fighting stops. Dombey does shoot the man who shoots Philo, but it looks like the end to Philo’s chance to bring change comes to an end. That is until we find out that Philo survived being shot.

He stands up in front of the government and makes it clear that he will not accept the position. He believes it’s time for someone with wings or horns to take the spot. Of course, the humans do not agree with that, but Philo walks away saying his piece.

What’s next for him? That’s something Millworthy wants to know, but Philo doesn’t know.

Do Vignette and Philo end up together?

Of course, Carnival Row has had this big story about Philo and Vignette. Would they find their way back to each other in the finale?

Not at all, but not because of their political differences. Vignette admits that she has always loved Tourmaline. Philo’s love for Vignette isn’t enough.

At the end, we see Vignette and Tourmaline in what looks to be a fae handfasting ceremony. We can believe the two have gone off to live together in peace and harmony, away from The Burgue.

What did you think of the Carnival Row series finale? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Carnival Row is available to stream on Prime Video.