[Editor’s note: The following contains some spoilers for Season 2 of Carnival Row.]In the second and final season of the fantasy series Carnival Row, former police inspector Rycroft “Philo” Philostrate (Orlando Bloom) is drawn back in when a series of gruesome murders leads to more questions than answers, as they try to discover who and what is responsible. In a world where humans and creatures already clash, the tension is at an all-time high and Vignette Stonemoss (Cara Delevingne) wants to hold someone responsible, as revolution seems inevitable.

During this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, Delevingne talked about why this is the perfect ending for the series, emulating some of Vignette’s attributes in her own life, whether her character finds happiness, the little details in the sets and costumes, what she took home from the set, and what she’s most enjoyed about spending two seasons in this world.

Collider: Did you know, going into the season, that this would be the final season of the show, or is that something you found out, along the way? As an actor, do you want to mentally prepare for that, or would you rather not know?

CARA DELEVINGNE: No, I think it was always the intention to end with Season 2 and the way it was headed. A lot of shows drag out seasons and it gets a bit boring and monotonous and repetitive. And the way that this show works is that it’s intense and it’s extreme and it’s honest, so the way that it ends is perfect. If you drag it out, you wouldn’t really know where the story goes, and it ends in such a perfect way. I think fans will be very, very excited to see that.

With COVID, you probably wondered if you were ever going to be able to go back and actually finish. What is that like to wrap your head around, as an actor? Is it hard to take that break from the character, and then go back, or was it more exciting to actually get back on set and be doing something you love again?

DELEVINGNE: As you said, we didn’t know what was gonna happen. I remember when COVID had just started, and we were out there in masks and we had all these procedures, but it just got worse and worse. And then, one day, we woke up and they were like, “You’ve gotta go. We’ve gotta get out of here now because everything is closing down and we don’t know what’s happening.” It was scary, but going back was so important. We worked so hard. We were just about halfway through, and it was sad. We were sad about what was going on in the world. The funny part was that we usually film in very cold settings, wearing winter clothes, and it’s always cold in the Row, but we came back and it was the height of summer. We were wearing winter clothes in summer, doing these stunts, and it was rough. I had to have ice in my underwear. It was so hot, all the time. It was pretty wild. But returning to Vignette is always special for me. I’ll never not love that character and love the accent. There are so many attributes of Vignette that I try to emulate in my life now, so I really love that character so much.

When I had spoken to show creator Travis Beacham and executive producer Marc Guggenheim for Season 1, they had said that they knew what Season 2 would be and that they had outlined Seasons 3 and 4, and that they had this wish list of all the things they wanted to do. Did they ever share with you what those things would be? Does it feel like this is a complete version of what you thought the show would end up being?

DELEVINGNE: Yeah. This show never had an outline. It’s not taken from a book. It’s not coming from a world that’s already been made. There were a couple of ideas, but there were never any full out ideas because you could go in any direction, really. And then, when (showrunner) Erik [Oleson] came along, it was just perfect. Things just made sense, for the rate at which the show was going. There are so many ways in which it could have gone, but for me, this ending is perfect. I really wouldn’t change it.

Without spoilers, once you learned what the end would be and how Vignette would end up, what did you think? I love the fact that, with these two characters, Vignette seems like the character that has a very clear vision of her life and her future, whereas Philo is uncertain and doesn’t really know. That feels true and honest for these characters.

DELEVINGNE: The thing about Vignette is that she’s hopeful. She’s always hopeful, no matter how much she faces, and she faces a lot more adversity than Philo does. I think this ending is not what Vignette thought, but it’s actually what she truly wanted, if that makes sense. It’s not the idea that she planned because, in life, you can’t plan your future. You can do things every day to work towards a goal or something that you want, but you never know what’s gonna happen. I think she finally ends up happy. This is the ending I wanted her to get.

Are there any specific details with these sets, or even with your wardrobe and the props, that we might not be able to see or notice from watching, but that really helped you, in bringing her to life?

DELEVINGNE: There were so many details, down to the way that I laced my boots, every morning. They were laced up to my knee with the harnesses. I would have darts in my little pocket, knives could fit in my sleeves, and there was the braid. On set, every drawer you would open, would have stuff in it. Every surface was covered with something that was realistic for that time. The crew worked tirelessly to make this show what it is, and I’m so thankful for that because, as an actor, it was the biggest dream to be able to work in that situation.

Was there anything that you wanted to take from this production? Was there anything that you were able to keep?

DELEVINGNE: I was able to take a couple of things in my pocket. I did ask for some stuff, like little matchboxes, little tickets, my knives. I have a jacket, a tiny little skull, and random stuff like that. But honestly, I just want the memories of the show. I wanted to take the whole show with me, but I couldn’t do that. It was so sad knowing that set that they built, that was a whole city that they built outside at the studio, was gone.

When you originally signed on to do this series, what was the initial draw of the character and of the story for you, and do you feel like you satisfied everything that you had hoped it would be?

DELEVINGNE: Good question. Vignette, for me, was a character that I never wanted to leave. I love playing a strong female role. In terms of adversity and that in terms of her fire, Vignette just does not give up. She’s the biggest warrior, but she never gives up hope. Even with all the pain and destruction, there’s always love. She always manages to find that love and hope, which I think is such a good message for the world. And in terms of the story, it was unbelievable to be able to explore that social commentary through a fantasy lens. There’s no fantasy show like this, especially with how you can relate so much to the different characters. A lot of people who watch fantasy can see storylines, which they wouldn’t normally. It’s just really beautiful and educational, in that way, or at least it’s entertaining and it starts conversations that people maybe find hard to have. It’s talking about oppression, and all of these other things, which is just so brilliant. Even just the sickness that’s in Season 2 and doing that while COVID is happening, the weird thing was that, when we started Season 1, it was just this thing called a plague. And then, cut to COVID and this show was predicting everything that was happening.

There are also some really brutal episodes moments and some serious fight scenes in Season 2. Was there anything that you found most challenging or most difficult to pull off, in that regard?

DELEVINGNE: There’s a lot more conflict and it’s a lot darker, but I loved that. Vignette becomes a leader. She becomes a bit darker because she has to. It’s not like she can always take the high road, and other people take the low road. She has to get dirty in this season, to do what she needs to do. There were a couple of bits where I got injured in the show, and it was quite interesting and difficult. There’s a lot of blood in this. With anything like that, you have to figure out what the physicality of it is gonna be.

How do the wings affect things? Do you always have to be aware of how having the wings would change that physicality and movement?

DELEVINGNE: Yeah, you always had to remember that. Fairies feel so much with their wings. When there’s something uncomfortable or dodgy happening, their wings prick up. There are all these little details. The way they portrayed fairies in this, I’ve never seen anything like that before. And there are new creatures in this season, which I think is so fun. When you’d be walking in the Row, there were just so many more creatures that you’d never seen before. That was just phenomenal. I think people will be really excited to see that.

The first season of this show felt like we were just starting to live in this world, and the second season really feels like these characters are put into positions where they have to fight for their world. Do you feel like Vignette was ready for this fight? Is this something she’s capable of, or does she surprise herself, with how far she’s willing to go?

DELEVINGNE: I don’t think she had any idea. When it comes to your rights being taken away and fighting for the ones you love, there is no ready. You either just have to do, or you don’t. You either get crushed, or you get turned into a diamond. There’s nothing in between. I think she does surprise herself. At the end of the day, if you’re a person who’s willing to fight and die for the people you love, you’re gonna do anything it takes to do that, and that is so incredible.

After you do something that’s this all-encompassing, how do you figure out what you want to do next? Is it hard to find another character that will live up to fulfilling all of that for you?

DELEVINGNE: It’s never been about the next thing. It’s always different. I try not to compare it. This show taught me a lot about acting, especially in terms of the amount and the intensity of the emotion that I was going through, to make it a reality. Now, I just wanna be a bit more still in a character. Usually with a show like this, when you have more of a fantasy element, you do less acting, but this was so much of both. It really taught me so much, for sure.

Are you someone who has a wish list of things that you want to do, or are you someone who just takes what comes your way and sees how you feel when you read a script?

DELEVINGNE: I just do what I love. When I’m reading a script, I don’t have any expectations. I’m not looking for anything specific. It’s either, I like it or don’t, and I go with my gut when it comes to that. I don’t wish for things. I say, “That’s gonna happen.” Obviously, I don’t go, “I’m gonna be a Nobel Peace Prize winner.” I just try to take it day by day, and live in the moment.

Would you like to do more comedy and do something lighter?

DELEVINGNE: Oh, yeah. Doing Only Murders in the Building after this was a dream. I have Planet Sex. I do love to do different things. I’m not sure if I’d go straight onto another fantasy, but even if it is the same genre, it’s still so vastly different. The people you work with, the story, and the character changes so much, from project to project. It’s the opposite of an office job.

What did you most enjoy about getting to play Vignette over these two seasons?

DELEVINGNE: I just liked getting to see how she ended up. Honestly, I was always looking forward with her, wanting to know what was gonna happen, especially with reading the scripts, as they came out. Vignette deals with so much that I couldn’t even imagine the adversity that she comes up against, but the way she handles everything and the way that she’s just a leader and a warrior and is unstoppable, I love. She just always thinks that she’s gonna do it. She doesn’t ever doubt herself. don’t know that I’ve seen a character that’s stayed this true to herself, as much as she does, and I love that.

Carnival Row is available to stream at Prime Video.