Carnivale - Outskirts, Damascus, NE - 2/27
 

Well, Sophie sure made it to California fast....

Yeah, rather bizarre. I believe Ben said it would take three days to get to CA, right? She left the morning Ben went into town. At the end of the previous episode when Ben killed Management, it was night again. Then at the end of this episode the carnivale packs up and leave in the middle of the night. So assuming the scene in CA was the next morning, we're talking at most two days. And someone correct me, but she didn't exactly have a car lined up either. Nice continuity glitch.

Aside from that, another good episode. Story is finally moving ahead full steam, with Ben not only gaining a massive amount of power, but the knowledge and maturity to use them. Nicely done writing wise to hasten the story.

I've got a feeling the accident will come up again. That woman referring to Jonesy as the one she saw drink reeks of something more than a one-episode ordeal.

2 fantastic episodes in a row! If they keep this up, this might become my favorite show.

Let me leave behind this little food for thought.

What if it isn't a contiuity error?

I mean, Ben created a trailer out of thin air. Sophie getting to Cali by supernatural means isn't beyond the realm of possibility.

My eyes are just glued to the TV when this show is on.

I enjoyed this, but I thought it was a weaker episode. Mostly, I didn't buy some of the scenes between Ben and Samson.

This was an exposition episode...unfortunatly the show painted itself into a corner where Ben had to give all the expository dialog, which is kinda out of character for him

Ah Tim Hunter the Twin Peaks vet takes a "stab" at a terrific episode. I like the fact that the slow burn buildup of the first season is now paying off in spades. Good soap opera stuff w/jonesy and Libby etc... I also really liked the cinematography in this one (couple of dutch angles) plus the return of the phantom coach and the bonnie and clyde type slaying. Great episode maybe the best yet.

Well, look at the timeline for this episode:

(NIGHT) when Ben kills Management

(DAY) when Libby announces her marriage

(NIGHT) when there's the Ferris wheel accident, and the Carnivale sneaks out of town

(NIGHT) when we see Sophie at Justin's.

We don't necessarily know that we see Sophie at Justin's on that same night.

Also, Sophie could've hitched a ride with another group who was going West to Justin's. Presumably there are a lot of people all over the country doing this. And if she rode with a group, they probably took turns driving to get out there as soon as possible so they wouldn't lose any time for rest. So driving straight through from Nebraska to California wouldn't take too long.

She already had a full day's head start on Stroud, and he'll probably have to make a few rest stops along the way.

I wonder if Justin will rape Sophie, and then Sophie will be pregnant, and she won't know if it's Ben's baby or Justin's baby.

You articulated perfectly what I found unconvincing about the Ben/Samson scenes--I didn't know why I found them flat, but now I do. And there was a lot of exposition between Justin and the guy who was explaining things to him. To me, having things spelled out isn't like Carnivale.

I wondered also if Sophie will be raped and not know who the father is. Kind of hope not (though like the reporter's confession, it would be predictable but well "set up.")

we have a discussion going on in my office over Sophie, what do people think. Is she good or evil?

I think she more resembles a chimp than any woman alive

I attributed it to Ben finally having some idea what the hell was going on, he is in charge of his destiny now, so he had to start acting like it. Plus he had managements memory, or something, so he was more aware of the situation than before...

I think that honor belongs to amber benson

<img src="http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:6i_TY3DX8T8J:www.uta.fi/~hh67748/kitten.jpg">
<img src="http://demonic-creations.co.uk/Gallery/amber6_thumb.jpg">

Ben was given his Boon thusly things are clear in his mind for the first time he is evolving with his destiny.
Leave Tara and Clea alone at least they are cute chimps

(Haven't seen this ep yet, but...)

We want her to be good, of course, since they've set her up as a sympathetic character and occasional love interest. But I think it gets clearer all the time that she's on the evil side in this story and may not be redeemable. That's why she went too far in her "teach Jonesy and Libby a lesson" scenario. That's why her mother tried to kill her, why she's been used in dreams/flashcuts interchangeably with the first tree-tattooed man, why she's been drawn to California, etc.

I knew I recognized the name when I saw it. Thanks for posting this.

Agreed. As the episode began, this really annoyed me, even though I tried to let it go as Ben's obvious evolution from assuming Management's mojo, and I started to feel as I've often felt this season that she show was really losing its way. However, as the episode progressed, and the story fleshed itself out, it got significantly better and gave hope for these final episodes. The show has some direction and purpose now, and I was happy to see Knauf get in there and write us an episode with some teeth for a change.

das

Does anybody have an idea of how long this show will run? From the looks of this season, the showdown may be in the finale. Since that's the whole premise, what more could happen? It's at the point where the storylines for minor characters are progressing, and plenty of twists expected to come, with Lodz still roaming around among other things, so ending it soon would be pretty disappointing. Not that I'm certain it will. Just wondering.