Ranking Every Major Performance In Carnival Row

Speaking of Absalom, Jared Harris takes his spot just above on screen wife Indira Varma. He’s another hugely talented actor, one who if his entire career was being weighed up, would probably be top of the pile. Carnival Row though is no Chernobyl, and it doesn’t afford Harris the spotlight of the Soviet cover up either.

Absalom Breakspear is Chancellor of the Burge, but the political angle is there to inform the context of Carnival Row’s melting pot more than anything else. There is a storyline there, but the crux of it is not on Absalom and his rival Longerbane, as is initially presented, but their children Jonah and Sophie.

This means that while Harris is in the show throughout, his influence is sapped the longer the series goes on.

Unlike on screen son Jonah though, Harris is more than prepared to ham things up at times. That said, it’s in the decidedly unhammy, more subtle moments where glimmers of Harris’ talent shines through. When he threatens Philo and his deathbed conversations with Jonah rank amongst the show’s best. It’s a bit of a pity we don’t get to see more of them.