Orlando Bloom Seems to Be The Only Person Who Loved Carnival Row's Series Finale
"Hollywood ending" is just another name for the good old "happily ever after". This sort of ending has become so common in the past decades that when a movie or a show doesn't have it, the audience is genuinely surprised.
These days, everyone expects the exact same thing to happen in the end: the good guys win, the protagonist and their love interest get together, the evil is defeated, and the people are happy and relieved.
While it's nice to see good things happen, this default Hollywood ending has become way too cliché.
This is why from time to time, it's so nice to see a different kind of ending — say, a dark or an open one. It feels refreshing and leaves a more lasting impression.
Carnival Row definitely decided to take this route. In the season 2 grand finale, the viewers never received either a happy or even a bittersweet ending: instead, they got something bleak, open, and borderline depressing.
After the final clash with the New Dawn and the death of the antagonist, things go the opposite of what you'd expect. Vignette doesn't stay and get together with Philo; instead, she returns home.
Philo finds no happiness or relief; instead, he's left alone in The Borgue, feeling lost and empty. He now knows too much about the dark reality of The Borgue, and he's supposed to live with it.
In Carnival Row's finale, there's nothing positive or hopeful: it's painstakingly similar to what would've happened in real life under such circumstances.
And of course, the fans were left with mixed feelings. Carnival Row's been way too unique, massive, and original to end like this, as many of them claim; also, Philo definitely deserved better than being left alone with no love and no life to come back to.
However, Orlando Bloom, who played Philo, is totally excited and happy with the ending. If you look closely, he loves it — try not to miss it!
"It's so true to life and honest, and I love it. <...> The ending is so beautifully honest, and I love it. There's no Hollywood ending, and I love that about it. I love the social commentary aspect, in the way that we wrap it up," said Bloom in his interview with Collider.
Well, there's at least one person who really enjoyed Philo's rather bitter ending, it seems.
But honestly, if Philo himself thinks that it's the true and honest ending, who are we to argue? He's been there, after all.