Carnivale review

[brigdh]

Carnivale (there should be an accent thingy over the second 'a', but it's been too long since I took a French class, and I forget how to do that) Season Two started last night. I adore Carnivale. It's beautifully shot, but more than that, the concept hits nearly every single one of my story kinks: traveling circus, epic battle of good vs evil, confusion over what constitutes good and evil, creepy priest, canon femslash, strippers, a freak show, baddirtywrong incest, a historical setting with neat, little-known details, ghosts, characters refusing to accept destiny, backstories of tremendous angst, slowly building romances, snake charming... everything. If it had a manic depressive, self-sacrificing hero with short-tempered but protective friend, I would never watch anything else.

Which is my long way of saying that, if you aren't already watching it, you totally should be.



Quick notes:
Wow. We actually learn things in this episode! Is that allowed?
Sophie yelling about being able to hear her mother screaming in the fire: so very, very creepy.
Why does Management's voice sound like an old woman's?
Justin in China Town is going to be something other than the obvious. I'm calling it right now- he's not whoring around, he's, I don't know, eating babies and starting an opium drug ring.
Ben's new shirt makes him look pretty damn hot. And hello, lesbian saying this. Although maybe it's just the relief of not seeing him encrusted in dirt.
What's with the blue ink instead of blood? Is that some sort of symbol I didn't get?

Longer things:
So... if the Russian and Scudder are the previous generation's Ben and Justin, and Scudder is Ben's father, and Management is the Russian (Christ, this show is confusing)... do we think Management might be Justin's father? Justin and Iris are Russian, after all, and we've never seen them mention their father. Just that their mother was killed in that train crash. *shrugs* It's my new theory for the season, anyway, though I'm probably wrong.

The show seems to be pretty clearly presenting Justin as the bad guy in this episode. I'm a bit disappointed; I was still rooting for him to be the good guy. Though from the plot and the information we know, I think it still makes logical sense for him to be good, the show's used such creepy music and imagery to accompany him that it'd feel too much like a cheap trick if he wasn't bad. However, I think a cool twist would be to have Justin as a bad guy, but doing God's work, while Ben, even though good, does Satan's. And it seems like that might be where the show is going; when Ben has the dream/hallucination/vision of the nuclear bomb, Justin says, "Ye offspring of serpents, who ordered ye to flee from the wrath to come?" Serpents, I'm sure I need to tell no one, are not generally used as a symbol for all that's good and true and sweet. It's an interesting line: if God for some reason wanted nuclear weapons to be developed, obviously it would be in the Devil's interest to subvert that plan, just like Management is trying to convince Ben to do. Although I'm not sure how the writers plan on presenting a God that supports atom bombs. I can come up with a few things: a situation in which the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few (ie, if it stopped the war, it doesn't matter how many people were killed), or a reasoning along the lines of "God gave man brains in order to use them", and this is just the latest in a long line of scientific discoveries. *bounces* I can't wait to see how this plays out.

Another line that I thought was curious was "By the hand of the prince the prophet dies. Upon his death the prince shall rise" which supposedly is a quote from 'the Gospel of Matthias'. Now, Justin and the scholar guy both believe that this applies to Justin and Scudder, but what if it doesn't? In the final last season, Lodz called Management 'my prince'. And then Lodz, who can read people's mind and arguably could be called a prophet, gets killed by the actions of Management. And, judging from next week's preview, Management will soon walk again. So I think it's not about Justin at all.

Tee. I adore this show.

Comments

[bloodlikerain.livejournal.com]

I adore this show also.!!!!! I have hbo on demand, and i watch it ALLLLL the time!

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Hee, cool!

[bloodlikerain.livejournal.com]

if you go to the webiste you can download the nifty screen saver

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Really? Thanks for letting me know. ^^

[lucifrix.livejournal.com]

I watched the first couple eps but could never get into it. I wanted to, because I got the feeling it was something I was "supposed" to think was brilliant. I was all over that hot daddy priest, though. I'd watch the Hot Daddy Priest show.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

*laughs* The Hot Daddy Priest show would rock.

But I know how you feel; I keep thinking I really should like Desperate Housewives, but I just never got into it.

[lucifrix.livejournal.com]

I've heard that called a guilty displeasure. I keep meaning to post about that...thanks for the idea....

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

No worries. That's a neat term, though; I like it.

[p-zeitgeist.livejournal.com]

For what little it may be worth? I suspect that this is one of those rare shows that's actually easier to get into if you jump in toward the end of season one, and then go backward once it's caught your interest. At least, I did it that way inadvertently; and since then I've talked to a few people who tried to watch from the beginning and were put off by the pacing.

I don't know whether I think it's brilliant yet, but I have to say: Best opening credits *ever.*

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

*nods* I could understand that. I worked for me simply because I'm fascinated by traveling circuses (I wanted to run away and join one as a kid so badly, despite the fact that I have no amazing, circus-like talents), and that one aspect was enough to hold my attention until the show itself started to take off, but I can see why other people would have gotten bored.

And I do so love the credits. Even if the baby KKK gives me chills every time.

[lucifrix.livejournal.com]

I think that's sensible. In a show like this, the first eps are a lot of setup, but not much in the way of action. There's nothing yet that makes you want to keep up with the characters.

On a shallow level, I gotta also say I SO do not get Clea DuVal. Just don't, never did.

[threewalls]

We're just watching Season 1 here, to the point that Justin's in hospital and Libby and Sophie are very bitterly-sweet cute. I agree it's a fascinating show.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Ah, cool. It really takes off when you hit the finale the episode directly before it. Everything starts coming together at once.

And I do like Libby and Sophie. They'd make such a cool couple.