(Season 1, Episodes 8-9)
After taking some time to really dive into to some of the characters of Carnivale, including the Dreifuss family and Brother Justin, some of the mystery and intrigue of the series returned to the forefront in these two episodes.
I’m still really enjoying Carnivale. The mood and setting are definitely very interesting, and the production value is very good. Some of the acting is still a bit subpar, in my opinion, but the supernatural intrigue and strong characters definitely make up for any trivial shortcomings on the show.
“Lonnigan, Texas”
The big story from this episode was that we finally got a little hint about Management. At the end of the episode, the audience was treated to a scene of Lodz speaking with the mysterious figure and we actually heard Management’s voice. Not a huge reveal, but at least we know that Management is now an actual entity, insofar as much as he can speak. Beyond that, I really don’t have a clue. Not yet, anyway.
Samson was clearly pissed that Management was having a discussion with Lodz. I was surprised to see it myself, as I had assumed that Samson was the only person who had contact with Management (kind of like Ben and Jacob, from Lost).
There were other interesting things going on in this episode, including more visions for Ben. In this episode he was a vision of a bunch of knights, surrounded by a whole lot of blood, gore, and body parts. Ben also saw himself as a soldier in world war one, missing his limbs. I’m assuming that these are visions of people who came before him with the same powers that he now has.
I can’t leave out brother Justin, who wound up in a mental institution after his incident at the river. He seemed to be embracing his powers, messing around with many of the inmates and doctors at the hospital. I’m curious to see if he continues to reject God and become even more dark as the series moves forward.
“Insomnia”
There was a lot of relationship craziness happening in this installment. In the last episode Jonesy and Rita Sue had a true moment of intimacy and clearly made a deep connection. Things got a little more complicated when Jonesy finally got some attention from Sophie, who he clearly had his eye on for a while. Rita Sue also reconnected with Stumpy and it looked like things were going to end for Jonesy and Rita Sue before they really began. They just couldn’t deny chemistry, though, and ended up back in each other’s arms. To be honest, these relationship stories are not really capturing my interest like some of the other events happening, but they aren’t bothering me either.
Samson pushed Ben pretty hard in this episode, trying to get the young man to open up to him with his secrets. It seemed like nothing but a power play on Samson’s part — a way to beat Lodz and get back into Management’s good graces. Regardless of the motivations, there were some interesting revelations, including Samson telling Ben that Henry Scudder was most likely his father.
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Oct 28, 2009 @ 10:00 EST5EDT
Has anyone noticed how much this season’s Heroes is a lot like Carnivale? Is the show’s writers paying homage, or are they just ripping off the concept? Every episode of Heroes this year, I’m expecting to see Sampson come out and say, “Because Management said so, that’s why.”