New Canaan, CA (27 Mar. 2005)

In the cliff-hanging season final, 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. ... See full summary »

Director:

Scott Winant

Writers:

Daniel Knauf (creator), Daniel Knauf (teleplay),

Stars:

Michael J. Anderson, Adrienne Barbeau, Clancy Brown

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Michael J. Anderson	...	Samson
Adrienne Barbeau	...	Ruthie
Clancy Brown	...	Brother Justin Crowe
Debra Christofferson	...	Lila
Tim DeKay	...	Clayton 'Jonesy' Jones
Clea DuVall	...	Sofie
Cynthia Ettinger	...	Rita Sue Dreifuss
Carla Gallo	...	Libby Dreifuss
Toby Huss	...	Felix 'Stumpy' Dreifuss
Amy Madigan	...	Iris Crowe
Diane Salinger	...	Apollonia
Nick Stahl	...	Ben Hawkins
Brian Turk	...	Gabriel
Ralph Waite	...	Reverend Norman Balthus
Patrick Bauchau	...	Professor Ernst Lodz

Storyline

In the cliff-hanging season final, 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 becoming full circle. At the same time, Joney sets...

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Plot Keywords:

loyalty | trap | scheming | plan | fear of heights | 

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 March 2005 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Big Sky Ranch - 4927 Bennett Road, Simi Valley, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

3 Arts Entertainment, Home Box Office (HBO)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

52 min 60 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Last show of the series.

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Quotes

Samson: When it comes to living, dying is the easy part!

User Reviews

Fascinating look into a troubled time fraught with mythology.

Carnivàle was not widely advertised or promoted, yet it gathered an enormous cult following through word of mouth.

It is a dark look at a time when Americans were desperately searching for miracles, and in Carnivàle, miracles are found, basically through two of the actors. One is a Creature of Darkness and one is a Creature of Light. Their awareness of one another evolves slowly, through dreams, visions and contact with other strange... 'presences.'

With a cast of characters such as never been seen together before on the same view screen, you will never be bored, and often fascinated as characters seek to avoid or to further their destinies while barely aware that behind the scenes lurks a presence and the possibility of a fate which exceeds the darkest dreams of this dark time.