Carnivale Premiere

[quesarah]

Wow. What a mindfuck. Management forces Ben into action, then shows him a vision of nuclear apocalypse. Justin sees a vision of The Tree and knows he is to build his cathedral there. Sophie is rescued from the burning caravan. She hears her mother telepathically screaming, and instead of saying "Somebody save her" her reaction is "Just die!" Telling.

Scudder was called The Prophet, who was made into something more than human when he took the life of the man who'd been Prophet before him. Brother Justin learns this, and is told that in order to receive the power he must kill Scudder. Then Justin will become The Usher.

So. Justin isn't some destroyer or bringer of death; he's merely the usher who will bring that into place. Ben's fate is to stop that from happening, just as Management's was to stop Scudder. What strikes me is that, though we know Scudder is Ben's father the two men men are on opposite sides of the struggle. (or so it seems now) That makes me wonder if Management is Justin and Iris' father, and if he tried to kill them when they were children because he knew what they were. I also wonder about Sophie's role in everything. It seems to me that Justin and Ben are adversaries struggling to control or contain some terrible destructive power. From the dreams both men had, I'm led to believe that the Tattooed Man was that destructive power in the previous generation. This time, I wonder if it's Sophie. She's the Tattooed Man's daughter (so we're led to believe) and her base nature is to destroy and hurt those around her, whether it's Libby, Jonesy, or her mother. Maybe that's why Appolonia started the fire; she knew what Sophie would become.

All in all, gorgeous amazing intense television. I can't wait for next week. :)