Carnivale Revisited--"The Day That Was the Day"

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Episode Guide--Season 1, Episode 12: "The Day That Was the Day"


And on the fateful day that concludes the fantastic first season of Carnivale:

Ben, desperate to save the snake-bitten Ruthie, actually seeks out Prof. Lodz's help.  Lodz in turn brings Ben to Management's trailer for a meeting (albeit not one of the face-to-face variety).  Management insists that he and Ben share the same nature, and
instructs him how to tap into his healing powers in this dire case: "To restore a life, you must take a life."

Samson, no doubt chagrined to spot Ben leaving Management's trailer, nonetheless covers for him when the law comes looking for the chain-gang escapee.

The cuckolded Stumpy strikes a deal with Jonesy, as does Brother Justin with Tommy Dolan.

Apollonia summons Lodz to her trailer.  During his "conversation" with the catatonic figure, a stunned Lodz utters: "How long have you known?  It can't be her.  This is madness.  You can't do that."  Viewers, alas, will have to wait until Season 2 to learn the true significance of such cryptic comments.

Justin uses his dark powers to have Norman visit the scene of his ultimate sin, yet ironically discovers that Norman's greatest evil was rescuing Justin and Iris when the siblings were children.  Defying Norman's call for an exorcism, the distraught Justin cries: "There is no demon in me.  The demon is me."  With this, Justin drops to his knees and begs Norman to kill him.

Following a visitation by Henry Scudder, Ben finally deciphers what he saw scrawled in the mine in Babylon: "avatar."

Sofie achieves a measure of vengeance against both Jonesy and Libby. ("This is what it feels like to be betrayed by someone you love.  You fucked Rita Sue.  And you knew.")

A climactic fire engulfs one of the trailers, leaving the survival of three troupe members in doubt.


"The Day That Was the Day" is, fittingly, the strongest episode from the show's first-year run.  It offers answers and new questions, resolution and further conflict.  And the final shot of the season, involving a character's simple gasp for breath, is all the more powerful for its understated quality.


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Keep venturing back to Macabre Republic.  In the coming weeks, we'll revisit the second (and lamentably, final) season of Carnivale.