Sun, Mar 27, 2005
In the cliff-hanging season finale, Samson devises a grand plan by scheming with Ben, Jones, and the entire troupe to lure Brother Justin to Carnivale for his confrontation with Ben. Meanwhile, Stroud wants to protect Justin who correctly suspects that the carnival is setting a trap for him. Sofie finds herself locked in a dark shed after she tells Justin her conflicted thoughts about where her loyalties lay, and soon becomes terrorized by ghostly visions of her mother. Rita Sue is touched by Samson's generosity of giving her the money needed to pay off Stumpy's loan shark. Later, the final confrontation approaches when Brother Justin persuades Iris to overcome her fear of heights by riding the Carnivale Ferris Wheel where Jones traps both of them in for Ben to drain Justin's powers, and Ben performs his most important healing of Reverend Balthus, leading to Ben and Justin finally meeting face-to-face, and the visions of Ben and Justin coming full circle. At the same time, Joney sets out to rescue Sofie from Stroud, but soon realizes (way too late) that she has made her choice to which side her loyalties are.
Sun, Nov 30, 2003
Faced with a crisis of life-and-death proportions of whether or not to cure Ruthie from a snake bite, Ben turns to Lodz for advice, and he ends up talking with the mysterious and unseen entity, Management, for the first time. Meanwhile, Stumpy and Rita Sue strike a deal with each other, and Jones, to save their marriage. Samson covers for Ben when a Texas Ranger comes looking for Ben in which Samson learns that Ben is a fugitive for a murder charge which he did not commit. Sofie settles a score with Libby and Jones by seducing Libby in order for Jones to find out after learning that he's been seducing Rita Sue. But the consequences are when Sofie finds herself in the grips of Apollonia's fury for this sapphic act. In Mintern, Reverend Balthus and Brother Justin contemplate the former's "greatest evil," with the latter pondering the prospect of salvation versus damnation among his congregation.
Sun, Mar 6, 2005
While driving down a desolate highway in rural Utah on his trail of Stroud, Ben comes across Jones and Libby, the victims of a vigilante group blaming Jonesy for the Ferris wheel accident, leading Ben to try to heal Jonesy. Back at Carnivale, Ruthie has another possession by the deceased Lodz, who leaves a lipstick message that Sofie is the Omega. Lila then tries to reach the deceased Lodz. At the Canaan camp, the invalid Reverend Balthus takes a shot at Justin during his fiery political sermon, and when chaos breaks out, Justin shocks the crowd with forgiveness. Meanwhile, Iris takes Eleanor on a picnic where she makes the mistake of confiding in Iris that she suspects that Brother Justin is actually a demon, and Iris pays her back by revealing that she already knows ... and then kills her. Sofie finds salvation in her new work for Brother Justin. On the road, Stroud lets the morphine flow for the captive Scudder, while Ben tries to get a head on Stroud's whereabouts.
Sun, Feb 27, 2005
Ben and Samson have a heated argument over some bad news that Ben tells him about the death of Management, and Samson learns from Ruthie about seeing Stroud abduct Scudder. Ben suggests that they must track down Stroud at once so he will lead them to Brother Justin. Meanwhile, Iris and Justin back a local politician while Justin reveals his evil side to Reverend Balthus. Back at Carnivale, Rita Sue tries to play hardball with Bud, Stumpy's debt collector, by showing him who's the boss. Libby shocks her parents by revealing that she and Jonesy got married after a drunken night out, which prompts Stumpy to stage a dinner with them. In New Canaan, Wilfred Talbot Smith arrives with more bad news that he's interpreted a bad sign for Justin that his enemy has the power to destroy him with an anointed dagger. Lila offers to support Ruthie over her recent emotional status. At Carnivale, Jones is blamed for an accident when a car on the Ferris wheel collapses, and Ben resorts to draining the life force from a young woman to save the life of her son. At the end, Sofie finds a new job: as the new house maid for Brother Justin.
Sun, Feb 20, 2005
When Carnivale finally arrives in Damascus, Ben gets closer to finding his father when another vision of a man with the shredded face leads him to the town's seedy hotel. Ben then goes to investigate further, and finally meets his father, who is working as a clerk at the hotel. Meanwhile, Bishop McNaughton arrives at Brother Justin's new residence at the Temple of Jericho at New Canaan where he puts Justin on notice about the content of his sermons. Back at the Carnivale, Jonesy cannot get the departed Sofie out of his mind, while Libby and Rita Sue continue their war of words. With Ben unaware that Stroud is on his trail, Ben learns more about who he is when he brings Scudder to Management. He learns that Scudder is Management's evil opposite. Also, Libby and Jonesy finally 'get it on' over their growing attraction to each other.
Sun, Mar 20, 2005
When Samson announces that the carnival's next stop is the Christian camp of New Canaan, California, both Lila and Stumpy challenge his authority. Jones arrives back with the troupe and gives Samson the information that he and Ben found about Brother Justin. Meanwhile, Libby urges Jones to reveal the secret of Ben's powers to the rest of the troupe, despite Samson's protest. While Ben infiltrates Justin's ministry camp to look for him, he finds Sofie being baptized as a new convert when a new tragedy rises from the pond - in the form of the murdered Eleanor. Later, Justin is startled by a development in the migrant camp when Samson and Jones arrive and persuade Iris to let them set up shop there. That night, when Ben wants to make his move to kill Justin, Jones intervenes and urges patience.
Sun, Mar 13, 2005
Following another one of Ben's visions, he and Joney set out to find Stroud and they soon arrive in the Wyoming state capital where from a discarded newspaper in a recently vacated hotel room, they finally learn the name and location of Ben's nemesis. Back at Carnivale, Libby struggles to stick to her alibi that Jones concocts for them, but lets the story about Ben slip to her mother. Samson then has a heart-to-heart talk with Libby about Ben's magical abilities. At Justin's ministry camp, Stroud arrives and finally meets his evil master face-to-face. There, Wilfred Talbot Smith intercepts a near disaster for Justin and reneges on a deal with Scudder, who plans an escape... but Justin does a little backseat driving. Also, Iris discovers that Sofie is actually Justin's illegitimate daughter, while Stroud increases security for Justin.
Sun, Jan 9, 2005
As the spiritual powers of Ben Hawkins evolve, the entity Management reveals its identity (the Russian soldier in Ben's dreams) to Ben, and then exposes him to a vision of the cataclysmic disasters (a nuclear explosion) that awaits the world if Ben doesn't identify and conquer his nemesis: Brother Justin, the creature of darkness. In order to do this, Ben must find his father, the elusive Henry Scudder, who holds the knowledge of the preacher's identity and location. In the aftermath of the fire which killed Apollonia, Samson covers for Ben by claiming that he died in the fire to get rid of the Texas Ranger still hanging around the troupe. Samson helps Ben hide the dead body of Professor Lodz, while Lila becomes concerned for the missing Lodz' well being. A distraught Sofie runs away, leading a guilt-ridden Jonesy to assemble the carnies to go out looking for her. Meanwhile, Brother Justin's radio sermon has employed two new "apostles": an occultist named Wilfred Talbot Smith, who advises Justin that he must kill Henry Scudder to become a true immortal; and a prison inmate named Varlyn Stroud who is also "called" by the mesmerizing Justin's voice. Reporter Tommy Dolan continues to investigate the Crowe's ministry fire. Justin and his sister Iris use the radio to continue to spread the word, drawing throngs of weak and impoverished masses into their spiritual web, while Reverend Balthus suffers from a stroke.
Sun, Oct 19, 2003
Thirsty for payback after the murder of Dora Mae Dreifuss, one of the chooch dancers, Samson and the rest of the carnies, including Stumpy Dreifuss and Rita Sue, get caught up in an obscure, but fascinating phenomenon called "Carnival Justice" to root out the person responsible. Meanwhile, Ben's dark adventure in the mine shaft ends where Lodz welcomes him back into the fold. In Mintern, Brother Justin, highly distraught over the mysterious fire that destroyed Chin's and killed six homeless children, leaves the town and wanders in the wilderness, where he meets a group of hobos around a camp fire where one of them is an undercover reporter.
Sun, Feb 6, 2005
When the Carnivale stops outside Creed, Oklahoma, they receive an uninvited visitor, Varlyn Stroud, who begins asking questions to Jonesy, and later to Samson, about where to find Scudder. Meanwhile, Rita Sue bails out Stumpy for his $400 gambling debts, but he bets (and loses) all of the money on a big fight anyway. In Mintern, Justin pushes Dolan to make a decision while Iris confesses to Dolan about being the one responsible for the ministry fire. Back in Creed, Ben pays a visit to an elderly mask-maker for information about Scudder, which turns into a literal nightmare. Ruthie confides in Sofie about her visions of seeing dead people, including Lodz and Apollonia. Sofie also finally reads tarot cards for Ben who thinks he finally knows where to find Scudder. At the end, Justin receives a mysterious gift: a death mask of a young man and when he puts it on - he sees through the eyes of Ben.