Tamal Kundu
Portrayed by Indira Varma, Piety Breakspear is an important character in Prime Video’s ‘Carnival Row.’ She is the wife of Absalom Breakspear (Jared Harris), the Chancellor of the Republic of The Burgue, and the mother of Jonah Breakspear (Arty Froushan). Piety hails from a noble family from the nation of Leonice. It is implied that her father wasn’t in favor of the match between her and Absalom until he learned about the prophecy made by Haruspex Aoife Tsigani (Alice Krige). She is a socialite, whose power and influence mostly seemingly derive from her husband’s position. She is driven, obsessive, and ruthless — traits which ultimately prove to be her undoing. If you are wondering about Piety’s absence in season 2, we got you covered. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Piety Breakspear Faces Her End
Yes, Piety Breakspear is dead. In the course of the first season, she is revealed to be its primary antagonist. Since she was a child, she has been close to Aoife, who told her that Absalom would one day become an immensely successful man and his son would exceed even his father. She subsequently became obsessed with marrying Absalom so she could one day become the mother of the child of the prophecy. However, she got pregnant during her relationship with Ritter Longerbane (Ronan Vibert), Absalom’s political rival. After Piety and Absalom married, the former let the world believe that the latter was Jonah’s father.
Absalom knows the truth but still loves Jonah as if he was his own. At the start of season 1, Piety orchestrates her son’s abduction to force him to mend his self-destructive ways. She later poisons Ritter to hide the truth. It is eventually revealed that she is behind the gruesome killings of fae singer Aisling Querelle, Headmaster Finch, and Dr. Morange.
Before the start of the series, Piety received a letter from Ritter’s daughter, Sophie (Caroline Ford), who made the older woman believe that Aisling had written it to her, telling her about her past relationship with Absalom and the child who was the result of it. Thinking that Jonah’s future as the child of the prophecy is in jeopardy, Piety created the golem-like creature called the Darkasher and killed Aisling, Finch, and Morange. The latter two helped Aisling hide the child after his birth. However, Piety failed to learn that the child was Inspector Rycroft “Philo” Philostrate (Orlando Bloom).
Piety devoted her entire life to actualizing her ambition and left insurmountable damage in the pursuit of it. Ironically, her own life falls apart at the altar of another woman’s ambition. Because of Sophie’s letter, Piety kills not only Aisling, Finch, and Morange but also Aoife. She even kills her own husband after learning that he knows the truth about the things she has done.
Piety takes Philo’s fae lover, Vignette Stonemoss (Cara Delevingne), hostage to force him to come to her rescue and be killed by the Darksher. She nearly succeeds, but Vignette stabs her through the back, killing her and deactivating the Darksher. It is implied that Philo and Vignette subsequently get rid of the body, as Jonah mentions in season 2 that Piety hasn’t been found and has been presumed dead. Despite knowing that they are innocent, Jonah executes several members of a faun cult on the charges of murdering his parents.
Indira Varma Has Likely Left Carnival Row
With her character dead, it’s likely safe to assume that Varma will not appear in the second and final season of ‘Carnival Row.’ ”‘Carnival Row’ discusses immigration under the guise of a thriller. The world that it’s in is a human world invaded by mythological immigrant creatures who are all outsiders,” she told Vogue India while explaining the show’s premise. “We’re discussing issues people might not be interested in reading about in the papers, like immigration—maybe they’re fed up or have latent prejudices. So, discussing it in an entertaining way is key.”
Since her appearance in ‘Carnival Row,’ Varma has played various characters in projects such as ‘For Life,’ ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi,’ and ‘The Legend of Vox Machina.’ Some of her upcoming projects are ’Damage,’ ‘Dune: The Sisterhood,’ and ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One.’
Read More: Is Absalom Breakspear Dead? Did Jared Harris Leave Carnival Row?
