Carnival Row Season 2 Episode 8 Recap – why did the Black Raven attack the ships?

We recap the Prime Video series Carnival Row Season 2 Episode 8, “Facta non Verba,” which contains spoilers.

We find out if Agreus (David Gyasi) and Imogen managed to get out of Ragusa with Tamzin Merchant giving an Emmy-worthy performance. Philo (Orlando Bloom) and Vignette (Cara Delevingne) learn why the Black Ravens attacked the ship and the reason behind all the Sparas’ attacks. It’s becoming clear the New Dawn is not just a threat to the Pact; they’ve set their sights much higher. 

Carnival Row Season 2 Episode 8 Recap

Following the Black Raven and the Sparas’ attack on the ship, a devastated Philo decides to finally assist with the investigation. Vignette is angry at the Ravens’ betrayal and seeks them out to try and stop whatever they have planned. 

In the affluent side of the city, two neighborhood gossips notice police are stationed outside the Spurnrose home. The two can’t help themselves from trying to find out if Ezra’s trip to rescue his sister from Ragusa was successful. To everyone’s surprise, Agreus answers the door looking as dashing as ever. 

Imogen, Agreus, and Ezra go for a hike

Most of “Facta non Verba” occurs in Ragusa after the Pact’s attack on the New Dawn. Imogen, Agreus, and Ezra manage to escape the fighting with their lives. Unfortunately, the crewman helping them wasn’t so lucky. Ezra suggests they surrender to Pact soldiers as their two countries are now allied, but Imogen rejects his proposal because it’s risking Agreus’s life. 

The three decide to hike across the Pact’s country and try to cross the border into the Burgue by land. During the long hike under the scorching sun, the two star-crossed lovers learn much about each other. 

READ: Carnival Row Season 2 Review

Ezra tells Agreus the real reason why Imogen wasn’t married when they met, despite her beauty. Miss Spurnrose gained a villainous reputation after constantly making lies about her brother to chase away his potential brides. Agreus’s secret is even worse; he made his fortune by working as a bounty hunter. He would track down and capture fellow Fae folk that were trying to escape slavery contracts. On some occasions, he even used lethal force on those he was chasing. 

After hearing Agreus’s confession, Ezra concludes that his sister and the Faun deserve each other. 

How does Ezra die?

There’s little time for the three to argue as they hear an approaching unit of Pact soldiers. Ezra pulls out a gun and tries forcing his sister and her lover to surrender to the Pact, but Agreus overpowers and pins him down. Wanting to keep her brother quiet, Imogen covers his mouth. But then makes a split-second decision to cover his nose as well. And that’s how Ezra Spurnrose dies, smothered by his sister while being held down by a Puck—a pathetic death for a pathetic little man. 

Unsurprisingly, Imogen’s in shock after murdering her brother. In one of the most compelling scenes of the season, she tells Agreus how much she values her freedom and that she’ll never allow him or any other man to claim ownership of her the way Ezra did. By the time she’s done talking, the quarreling lovers notice they’ve been surrounded by New Dawn soldiers. 

Kastor greets his former comrades and tells them he probably wouldn’t have found them had they not left poor Ezra’s dead body behind. We learn that the New Dawn won the battle against the Pact. By nightfall, the captured couple arrive at what can only be described as a sea of dead bodies. Kastor orders Imogen to place her brother among them as well. 

When Leonora joins the group, she explains that all the corpses belong to Ragusa’s aristocracy. She and her cause killed anyone who refused to join and be re-educated. Leonora has a way of speaking that makes her actions seem less despicable than they truly are. Claiming that every single victim refused to adapt is a hard sell; many small children are visible among the dead. 

Why are Imogen and Agreus in the Burgue?

Imogen and Agreus aren’t convinced of Leonora’s nobility either, so they ask her to shoot them and end their ordeal. Instead, Leonora decides to send them both and Kastor to The Burgue as her emissaries. She wants Imogen and Agreus to present a peace treaty to the Burgue’s Parliament on behalf of the New Dawn. 

Upon their arrival, they’re met by Millworthy and two other Burgue MPs. While the MPs are not interested in listening to what New Dawn representatives say, Imogen makes it clear they have no choice in the matter. She’s a Burguish citizen of good standing and property, so according to the law, Parliament has to hear her out (Which explains why Leonora tried to groom her and why she was sent back). 

The events in Ragusa seem to have happened before the action we’ve seen so far in the Burgue. We then cut back to the two neighbors, surprised to see Agreus answering the Spurnrose door. Imogen also comes to the door, dressed to the nines. 

She tells her gossipy friends about Ezra’s death but refuses to go into details. When the two ask her who’s taking care of her, Agreus takes her hand and kisses it. While their little act of defiance in front of the neighbors was deliciously indulgent, it’s clear that the relationship between Imogen and Agreus is icy at best. 

Carnival Row Season 2 Episode 8 Ending Explained

Why did the Black Raven attack the ships?

Vignette and Philo separately find out the real reason for the Black Raven attack. Philo and Dumbey uncover hundreds of dead soldiers. They were killed when the Black Raven attacked the ship because they were hiding on the ship. When Philo confronts Millworthy, the old man confesses that the Burgue was sending its army to retake Tirnanoc. They wanted to take advantage of the Pact’s retreat. The supposed ships to freedom were a Trojan horse. 

When Vignette meets up with Kaine, he tries to explain, but she’s not listening. So the Black Ravens are forced to restrain her. When Vignette hears there was an army on the ships, she’s angry and apologizes to the Black Ravens for doubting them. 

Then Leonora shows her face. That’s right, the New Dawn leader is in The Burgue, and she’s recruited the Black Raven for her plan and wants Vignette to lead them. It’s probably safe to assume the New Dawn was behind all the Sparas attacks meant to create friction between Fae and humans. As Philo notes, “If the New Dawn are here, it’s not peace they’re after. They’re bringing a revolution.”

What did you think of Carnival Row Season 2 Episode 8? Comment below.

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