Carnivale: "Outside New Canaan" Mar 20 (speculation from preview)

[lazarus]

I'm adding in my own speculation, completely spoiler free:

When Samson announces the carnival's next stop, Lila challenges his authority;

In the preview, she finally confronts Samson about covering up Lodz' murder, so it has something to do with that.

Stumpy and Rita fear dark days to come;

For this family? What a shock! :D

and Libby urges Jones to reveal a secret to the troupe.

Primarily to defend Samson, I imagine. Or just to get her Ma to shut up.

As Justin baptizes his converts, a new tragedy rises to the surface;

Hmm. Did Iris just sink Eleanor in the lake?

Ben volunteers to stack firewood;

:shrug:

Sofie sees a face from her past;

That would be Ben's mask, we saw that in the preview.

Iris welcomes a chance to sponsor some fun;

:shrug: Maybe she welcomes the Carnivale to the camp?

and Justin is startled by a development in the migrant camp.

During the preview, we hear a voice talking about how surprising it is that so many people want to see Bro. Justin dead.

[OKNancy]

1. I'm actually getting excited.

In just a little over an hour...the story unfolds. I swear, I've never been so enthralled with a television show.

[NashVegas]

2. Scenes I'd Like To See

Lila (to group): Ben Hawkins killed Lods, and that midget covered it up!

Samson: Hey Lila - why would Ben want to kill Lods?

The more noise she makes, she's going to end up implicating herself sooner or later as accessory to Ruthie's murder. You'd think.


As for this episode, I wasn't in love with it. I would have liked to have been shown a little more of Iris's and Norman's reaction to Ben's presence. Justin going after Sophie was a creep out.

[Torgo Johnson]

4. Actually, Lila has no idea Lodz "killed" Ruthie

He sent her away before he bought the snake in Mexico, and Ruthie actually gave Lila her clothes to wash, and before Lila gave the clothes back to Ruthie, Lodz put the snake in the laundry bag.


Lodz did not want Lila to know what he was doing because she and Ruthie were actually friends last season.

[NashVegas]

5. You Sure About That?

Lila's not that dumb. She knew he was up to something.

[robbedvoter]

3. Pretty good, except for the last one - spoiler follows:

It was obviously the last scene
*
*
*
*
the Carnivale that Iris hired to please him - that was the best twist of tonight's story. Everything else was a bit predictable - but still enjoyable.

[trotsky]

6. Great episode, but not a lot of "meat".

Basically just putting all the pieces into place for the season finale. I was very glad that Sofie figured out Justin's true nature, though. And Iris, while almost thoroughly evil herself (quite the mass murderer), is clearly ending up on the side of good to have brought the Carnivale in. She really does want to see Justin stopped.

I hope Ben heals Norman - he would be a great ally. He could remain in his chair, pretending to still be incapacitated, but could provide help at a crucial time.

[robbedvoter]

7. A running commentary and a first impressions comment from the yahoo group

http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/CarnivaleHBO/message/16222
and
http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/CarnivaleHBO/message/16229

They are both worth a read. The first is very funny, the second insightful and well written.

[liberalnurse]

12. I seek out Beth's

messages. She has a close grip on the show. The running commentary is almost a retake of me while I watched the show.

I can't believe it is time for the Season Finale!

Has anyone sent in postcards to support Season Three?

[Mabus]

8. Where do I begin

I loved the atmosphere. The color of the sky, the weather, shadows and light. It reminded me of when Lodz and Ben were in the shack during the dust storm. The reddish hues reminded me of Appy's burning trailer and the background of Demon Justin and Wilford fighting in front of the tree.

The weather. Remember when Ben and Sofie made love in the car and it started raining? What a contrast to Justin and Sofie's encounter when the weather just remained tumultuous.

I thought I was going to laugh out loud when Eleanor popped up and started floating towards the baptism area. I thought it was funny because when Ben healed Gabriel's arm it was in a small pond and all the fishes floated to the top. When Justin "healed" Sofie's spirt the only fish to pop up was Eleanor (who was definitely swimming around in the company of a strange gene pool). When I saw Eleanor floating by I thought about the contrast between Ben's healing touch with Gabe and Justin's bringing Sofie to the light and chuckled.

I noticed that the hatchet seemed to have a flatten head so it reminded me of a roofing hammer (see http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6163739448#ebayphotohosting for an example). That made me smile too. Afterall, Ben's there to knockdown Justin's house (a sort of "The Fall of the House of Usher?" so to speak).

I know Norman is getting better, almost strong enough to feed himself, but he seemed more willing to physically communicate to both Ben and Sofie than he ever has Iris. When Iris talks to him he controls his reactions more. You know, he seems guarded. When Sofie suggested that watching her baptism might perk him up Norman recoiled. When Ben came in, Norman looked at him saw the knife and then directed Ben upstairs. In contrast, when Iris gave him a mouthful of food and then washed his face he seemed stiff. I don't think he trusts Iris.

About Lila. She's been on Samson's ass ever since Lodz got bumped and Samson took his place as Management's confidant. She conspired with Lodz to lure Ruthie out of her trailer so Lodz could sneak in and get a peek at Ben's dreams. Lila was also with Lodz when he bought the snake that killed Ruthie. It looks like her constant drumbeat of dissent against Ben, Samson and Management almost paid off. Couple her persistent whining about her missing Lodz with what the carnies already know about Ben because of the cop/sheriff that was showing the "wanted for murder" poster of Ben around the Carnivale last season. (Remember when Management had Samson show the sheriff Appy's bones and told him to claim it was Ben?) Then there was the heat and the lack of food that added brush to Lila's fire.

Oops. Gotta go back to work. I've got some thoughts about Carnivale coming to Justin that I'd like to share but it looks like it will be later.

[lazarus]

9. Some potentially good news

After a couple of weeks of promos saying "only X episodes left," and calling this coming episode the "Finale", they're now calling it the "season finale".

Bodes well for another season, I hope.

[imenja]

10. there is no way that story can be resolved in one episode

The trailer for next week said it's "the beginning" of the war between good and evil. If some of Management's prophecies are to come true, Justin needs to get to a position where he has influence over government and the bomb. My guess: Justin will win the first of the battles. Next seasons will play out a continuation of the fight between good and evil and Ben will have to refortify himself to eventually defeat darkness. It's also possible that Ben will die and that Sophie's baby will become the new child of light.

[Mabus]

11. I did my part

I e-mailed HBO (http://www.hbo.com/apps/submitinfo/contactus/submit.do?title=Carnivale%20&questiontype=HBOcarnivale) and asked them to renew Carnivale. I even told them there was a weekly thread on DU about it. I gave them a link to last week's show (since it was the most current one at the time) so they could check it out. I know others are doing it and I don't think it is a bad idea. I've got a friend who doesn't have HBO but has been watching the first season DVDs. He e-mailed HBO asking them to renew it too. He also mentioned that his wife has gotten hooked and has agreed that they can add HBO to their cable.

I too was so happy when I saw the words "season finale" instead of just "finale" these past few days. I hope it means there will be another season.

[imenja]

13. there will be another season

there has to be.

[robbedvoter]

14. The decision will be made in June - untill then, pushing may help