Carnivale

moe.ron · #1 07-12-2004, 03:43 AM

Can anybody tell me what the hell this show is about? I've been watching it for the past 3 months now and I still have no idea what I'm watching.

BetteDavisEyes · #2 11-01-2004, 09:43 PM

I think that the whole point of the story is the battle between good & evil.

Well, we have two principal characters Ben Hawkins & Brother Justin. Justin is a minister who believes that God is helping him make the world a better place. Ben is an ex-convict who has the power to bring things & people back from the dead & healing though at a high cost (ex. he heals a little girl who's paralyzed but all the farmland surrounding her parents home is destroyed). Justin has the power to make people re-live their most evil moments (ex. he makes a rich & powerful banker/lawyer? re-live the fact that he likes to have sex with little boys). Ben is picked up by a traveling carnival that has an odd group of weirdos & characters. The leader is referred to as MANAGEMENT. No one has ever seen Management & only a few are priviledged to speak to him. There is a blind guy (who's name I've forgotten) that is trying to get Ben to use his power for his own nefarious purpose while the ringmaster is a midget who tries to give Ben a helping hand but is thwarted by Management & the blind guy. There are other sub-plots like Sofie the psychic daughter of a paraplegic who's also psychic. The two principal characters dream of each other but do not yet understand what those dreams mean or what they are foretelling. The show ended with the Snake Lady being killed by a poisonous snake. Ben makes an uneasy alliance with Management & learns that the only way to bring her back from the dead is to take the life of another. He tries to kill himself but fails. When he returns to Management, he finds that the blind guy isn't blind at all & strangles him. The Snake Lady comes back to life. Brother Justin is turned away from the church when the orphanage he founded is burned to the ground with all the children in it. His sister is the one who started the fire in order to get him to fulfill his true potential. When he tries to force his mentor to relive his sins, he finds that the ministers greatest sin was to take Justin in. He tries to get his mentor to kill him but he won't do it. We last see Justin with eyes that are all black. The show is over & then we move on to Season 2.
Read on if you want a sneak preview of Season 2.

In Carnivale Season Two, we begin the second chapter of our story. Now that the players are positioned, the game is afoot between the forces of Light and Darkness. Ben Hawkins experiences an apocalyptic vision that reveals what's at stake: The fate of the earth.

Ben initiates an uneasy apprenticeship under Management, continuing the search for his father, Henry Scudder, who holds the key to the identity of Ben's nemesis. In order to find him, Ben must confront all the demons of his past. However, Management's ultimate goal in the search is far darker and will claim a far greater price than he could have possibly predicted.

Meanwhile, as Brother Justin's dark power grows, sacrifice and penance is the order of the day, extracted from his followers and supporters a like. Through the arcane teachings of the forbidden Gospel of Matthias, he learns more about his true nature, and the terrible steps he must take to fulfill it, including the key role played by a stranger named Henry Scudder. Brother Justin then begins his own search for Scudder, putting our two principal players on a collision course which culminates in a fatal confrontation.

Jaggergirl · #3 12-06-2004, 04:50 PM

I love this show because it is so unusual. There is absolutely nothing else like it on TV right now.

I can't wait for season 2 to start up - I became a fan of Carnivale about halfway into the season.

Did you hear the first season is coming out on DVD this week? Its definitely on my Christmas list.

BetteDavisEyes · #4 12-06-2004, 08:51 PM

Definitely excited about this one. I can't wait for Season 2 & I am crazy for season 1. Fiancee is is running out to buy it for me. YAY!

Schmeer · #5 01-04-2005, 05:28 PM

bump-- cuz this season 2 starts on Sunday! woohoo! just wanted to remind everyone....

DWAlphaGam · #6 01-05-2005, 12:48 PM

I don't have HBO, so I can't watch, but I always read the TWOP recaps because I think it's such an interesting show. I'm looking forward to it being back on.

Schmeer · #7 01-07-2005, 01:42 PM

Yeah I just moved and considered slimming down my cable bill but nah...it's so, so, so, so, so worth it for to have hbo --- love their sunday night shows. I cannot wait for this sunday!

Jaggergirl · #8 01-10-2005, 02:31 PM

So who watched last night??? Holy crap so much happened in one episode that it made my head spin. We met Management, found out who died and who didn't die in the fire, and it looks like Brother Justin has found his "calling" or the location of it or something.

This was a great way to start the season!

BetteDavisEyes · #9 01-10-2005, 08:22 PM

I love it but I have found some things out that made my head spin & scream HOLY ISHT!!! Read on if you wanna know this spoiler/theory:

So Management said his name & his last name is Belyakov. He's the Russian in all the dream sequences. Well, Brother Justin's & Iris last name is Belyakov. They too are Russian. Perhaps Management is their father???
Also, in the dream sequence where Ben & Justin are in the cafe, Scudder walks in & then the Russian (aka Management) walks in & the waitress says "Every prophets in the house" She was referring to all four of them now being the good & evil.
It's all so confusing but I gotta keep watching!

Schmeer · #10 01-11-2005, 03:50 PM

I can't believe how much we learned in this episode. It's interesting how interconnected it all is -- Management v Scudder, Ben v Justin, Justin v Scudder, Management showing Ben an image of Justin, etc.

I wonder if we find out next week more about BroJo's new ministry that he plans on building at the site of that tree?

Any predictions on what is up with Sophie?