1. Carnivàle
Carnivàle
Premiere September 14, 2003
Finale March 27, 2005
Airs
Creator Daniel Knauf
Network HBO
Style 60-minute fantasy drama
Company Home Box Office
Episodes 24
Seasons 2
Origin USA
Carnivàle follows a traveling carnival as it wends its way across the
Dust Bowl, focusing on Ben Hawkins, a mysterious 18-year-old fugitive
with hidden talents who is taken in by the carnival, and Brother Justin,
the charismatic, shadowy evangelist who will ultimately cross his path.
The series takes place at a time of worldwide unrest, with evil on the
rise around the globe and the Great Depression wreaking economic
and social havoc here at home.

2. To each generation is born a creature of light and a creature of
darkness. This is about all Carnivale is willing to give us. The rest, we
sort of have to pick up on our own. Here's what we know. Every
generation produces two Avatars: one light and one dark. Neither are
bound to act according to their avataric designation, but both are driven
by dreams and visions which guide them along their path.
Ben Hawkins and Justin Crowe are the current generation's avatars.
Ben, the Avatar of Light, resides in Oklahoma until he is picked up by a
traveling carnival heading south, and Justin, the Avatar of Dark, lives in
the town of Mintern, California. Both men possess avataric powers,
including, but not limited to: healing, telepathy, telekinesis,
psychometry, illusion, and more. While Ben is more inclined to heal
others, Justin embraces his darkner nature and uses his abilities to
acquire power and control over others.
The two other key players in the mix are Sofie Bojakshiya and
the Tattooed Man. Sophie is the daughter of Apollonia Bojakshiya, and
has spent her youth and her adolescence vocalizing her mother's tarot
card readings to their clients. Sophie is very closely bound to Apollonia,
due mostly to her mother's comatose state. The younger girl is her
mother's only caretaker and, from what we see, the only one aside
from Professor Lodz and perhaps a few other gifted individuals, who
can hear her mother's thoughts. But Sofie is far more than a simple
carnie girl. She is the Omega, a mysterious role which was left
unexplained at the close of the second season.
The Tattooed Man, on the other hand, is an entity known as the Usher
of Destruction. His motives remain murky and unclear, but he is a
powerful, otherworldly force that may assume physical form only once

3. in the course of human history. Unsurprisingly, the Usher ties himself to
Brother Justin, augmenting the preacher's power and setting him on a
very special trajectory. Unfortunately, the true purpose of the Usher,
and his role in the Trinity detonation, remain a mystery.
Season 1 establishes that the current age is the last age of avatars.
Mankind will "forever trade away wonder for reason" with the
detonation of the atom bomb. Thus, the show starts in 1934 and the
final event takes place in 1945. Since, during various visions and
dreams, we have seen Ben, Justin and Sofie all present at the
detonation, we can assume that the three of them will, in some form or
another, survive until 1945. What we don't know is how they get there
or what they do once they're there.
Contents
[hide]
• 1 Cast
• 2 Seasons
• 3 In-Depth
• 4 DVD
Releases
• 5 Soundtrac
k Releases
• 6 External
Sites
Cast
Actor Character Duration
Main Cast
Michael J. Anderson Edgar "Samson" Leonhardt 1 2
Adrienne Barbeau Ruthie 1 2
Patrick Bauchau Ernst Lodz 1 2
Clancy Brown Justin Crowe 1 2
Debra Christofferson Lila Villanueva 1 2

4. Tim DeKay Clayton "Jonesy" Jones 1 2
Clea DuVall Sofie Bojakshiya 1 2
Cynthia Ettinger Rita Sue Dreifuss 1 2
John Fleck Gecko 1
Carla Gallo Libby Dreifuss 1 2
Toby Huss Felix "Stumpy" Dreifuss 1 2
Amy Madigan Iris Crowe 1 2
Diane Salinger Apollonia Bojakshiya 1 2
Nick Stahl Ben Hawkins 1 2
Karyne Steben Alexandria Potter 1
Sarah Steben Caladonia Potter 1
Brian Turk Gabriel 1 2
Ralph Waite Norman Balthus 1 2
Season numbers in red indicate a recurring or guest role in that season.
Supporting/Recurring Cast
K Callan Eleanor McGill 1 2
Robert Knepper Tommy Dolan 1 2
Scott MacDonald Burley 1 2
Bill Moseley Possum 1 2
John Savage Henry "Hack" Scudder 1 2
Blake Shields Osgood 1 2
Don Swayze The Usher of Destruction 1 2
Amanda Aday Dora Mae Dreifuss 1
Daniel Browning Smith Rollo the Rubberboy 2
John Carroll Lynch Varlyn Stroud 2
Seasons
Season Premiere Finale #
HBO
Season One September 14, 2003 November 30, 2003 12
Season Two September 1, 2005 March 27, 2005 12

5. In-Depth
• At a Glance: Additional information about the series
DVD Releases
Title Release Date #
Season Sets
The Complete First Season December 7, 2004 1 purchase
The Complete Second Season July 18, 2006 1 purchase
Carnivàle/Justin Crowe
< Carnivàle
Justin Crowe/Alexei Belyakov
Carnivàle
Actor Clancy Brown
First Appearance 1x01 - Milfay
Last Appearance 2x12 - New Canaan, CA
Series Billing Main Cast
Episode Count 24
Notable Episodes

6. Contents
[hide]
• 1 Basic
Information
• 2 Character
History
• 2.1 Season 1
• 2.2 Season 2
• 3 Memorable
Moments
• 4 Trivia
• 5 Quotes
Basic Information
Character History
Season 1
The current generation'sAvatar of Dark. Born Alexei Belyakov in
Russia, Justin and his sister, Irina (Iris), fled to North America with their
mother, Plemina Belyakov, in order to escape their father. Consider the
eventual revelation of the identity of Justin's father, it seems much more
likely that Plemina went insane after Justin's birth and fled from her
husband in a fit of psychosis, telling the children that their father was
a "bad man." Justin and his sister were the only survivors of a train
crash in the California Sierras which killed their mother, presumably
orphaning them. During their time in the wilderness after the crash,
they were located by a man who had been sent, presumably by their
father, to find them. In order to protect his sister, a young
Justin snapped the man's neck. Both he and his sister repressed any
memory of the incident, although it becomes clear that while Justin had
forgotten it, Iris had not. Eventually, they were found by Reverend
Norman Balthus, a Methodist minister who would become their
surrogate father.

7. Justin took after his adoptive parent and joined the clergy. Iris remained
extremely involved in his life, and in 1934, due to an influx of
immigrants to Mintern, the two siblings took it upon themselves to
provide a church for them. Justin believed that he was acting under the
will of God, due to one of thevisions he'd had as a result of his Avataric
heritage. The church, which doubled as a children's ward, burned
down, killing the children and sending Justin on a journey into the
wilderness. During this time, Justin regained his memoriesfrom the
night of the train crash and learned to harness his telepathy during a
stay at a mental institution.
Upon his return to Mintern, he found a reporter, Tommy Dolan,
accusing him of burning down the church, only to learn that it was Iris
who set the fire. Finally, after confronting Norman concerning the older
man's fears that Justin had become possessed, Justin acknowledged
that "there is no demon in me: the demon is me."
Season 2
Season 2 picks up right where 1 left off: Justin is in the middle of his
sermon, preaching apocalypse, while Ben is killing Lodz. As Ben
chokes the life out of the professor and resurrects Ruthie, Justin
doubles over in pain, somehow psychically affected by Ben's use of his
powers. This is not the last time that Justin will be able to sense when
Ben is using his abilities.
At the same time that Justin is struck, Norman Balthus collapses on the
stairs outside the Methodist ministry. This is possibly Justin's doing,
worried that Norman will reveal his true nature, and possibly just
psychic backlash from Ben's resurrection of Ruthie. Either way, it
plunges Norman into a comatose state, similar to Apollonia's. As his

8. surrogate son, Justin is given control of Norman and has Iris care for
him in their home.
Justin's Tree
More pressing on Justin's mind, however, is what is revealed to him
by Wilfred Talbot Smith, an occultist who chanced upon Justin's identity
as the Avatar of Dark. Smith informs Justin of the nature ofavataric
bloodlines and tells him that he must seek out Scudder in order to
become the Prophet. Roughly around the same time, Justin finds the
actual tree he's been seeing on the Tattooed Man's chest in his visions.
He realizes that the tree is where he will build his temple, his New
Canaan. This temple features many radio antennas, heavy
foreshadowing of the fact that Justin is now able to use the radio to
subliminally control others.
The Gospel of Mathias

9. Also at roughly the same time, Justin, during one of his radio sermons
(thanks to Dolan's help), calls out to an incarcerated convict, Varlyn
Stroud, helps him escape from prison, and sets him on the task of
tracking down Scudder's whereabouts. While Stroud is on his search,
Justin moves closer to accepting his avataric mantle. He has the
stylized tree tattooed on his chest, marking him as the vessel for
theUsher of Destruction.
Justin's Tattoo
Perhaps as a result of this, or perhaps just because he is growing more
accustomed to his heritage, Justin starts down an extremely dark path.
Beginning with the psychic seduction and mental and physical rape of
his maid, Justin develops a voracious appetite for destruction, rapine,
and wantonness. Iris, who cleans up his messes, implies that Justin
has always been possessed by such appetites, and recalls an incident
in St. Paul when Justin raped a young gypsy girl named Apollonia.
After a while, Stroud manages to locate Scudder, and Justin gets a
glimpse of Ben's face, via the death mask sent to him by Evander
Geddes (also a radio conscript of Justin's). Moreover, Sofie deserts the
carnival and makes her way to Justin's house as his new maid.
Following a close escape attempt, Justin decapitates Scudder and

10. receives his boon. He is now aware that a carnival hides his foe, and
due to a growing infatuation with Sofie, he is eventually able to discover
her carnie heritage.
Justin remains unaware of Sofie's acquaintance with Ben until Sofie
happens to see him barechested one morning. Recognizing the tree
tattoo from the vision of her mother's rape, Sofie belies her awareness
of Justin's identity and her connection to Ben. Meanwhile, Iris, in an
effort to curtail her brother's destiny, has manoeuvered the carnival into
New Canaan. Justin is aware of hers and Norman's planned betrayal,
but forges ahead regardless. He marches boldy into the carnival,
cognizant of the fact that a trap has been planned, and mounts the
ferris wheel. As Ben siphons the life from him, Justin is driven into a
frenzy by the strain, and halts the ferris wheel with his mind to seek out
his foe.
The two play cat and mouse in a stormy cornfield until Justin deals Ben
a seemingly fatal stomach wound. Ben manages to recover enough to
stab Justin with his army knife. The blade, however, breaks from the hilt
and Justin is not wounded. Reveling in his triumph, Justin is about to
finish Ben when Ben remembers Management's words: "Behold, the
Usher, a dark heart dwells where the branches meet. Anointed dagger,
plunge thee deep." While Justin is gloating, Ben grabs the broken blade
and plunges it into the center of Justin's tree tattoo. The wound is fatal,
and both men collapse.
The next morning, Sofie, now acting as the Omega, drains the life from
the cornfield to resurrect Justin.

11. Memorable Moments
Trivia
Quotes
Category: Carnivàle/Characters
Carnivàle/Mythology
< Carnivàle
Contents
[hide]
• 1 The Alpha
• 2 The
Avatara
• 2.1 Prophets
and Princes:
Avataric
bloodlines
• 2.2 Avataric
powers
• 3 The
Omega
• 4 The Usher
of
Destruction
The Alpha
In the Age of Wonder, first there was the Alpha, the first female
Prophet. She lived before the Flood. Her story is now lost with the
destruction of the Royal Library of Alexandria. From her, to every
generation is born a Creature of Light and a Creature of Dark, which

12. implies that she contained both light and dark within her. These
Creatures are known as Avatara, manifestations of some higher power.
Other than the Alpha, they have always been male.
The Avatara
•While the moral defect (i.e. Light or Dark) is randomly assigned to an
Avatar upon birth, it will also play against their basic human nature that
can be good or evil. When Avataric and human natures coincide, the
Avatar will work well towards the goal of his House. When they are in
opposition, the opposite is likely to happen (like with Scudder).
•The avataric blood travels within families forming a dynasty. The first
born son of an Avatar is himself the Avatar of a new generation.
Whether the new Avatar is Light or Dark is chance. All that matters is
that there is one of each per generation.
•Any other children to an Avatar other than the eldest male is a
Vectorus. The Vectori are those with avataric blood who are not
themselves Avatara. They are not uncommon and are usually female.
They cannot become Avatara, as that mantle is only conveyed upon
birth. They can exhibit some minor powers and are often crazy in some
way.
•A woman who gives birth to an Avatar is stricken barren and insane.
Before that time, she can give birth to unlimited females from an Avatar.
Prophets and Princes: Avataric bloodlines
•The eldest Avatar within a House is called the Prophet and has blue
blood. The next in line is the Prince. The Prophet always seems to
know his Prince even if he is in a different family.
•If the Prince dies before the Prophet, a dynasty ends and the first male
child born elsewhere in the world with the most avataric blood is the

13. new Prince unless the Prince had a son in which case the son will raise
to Prince. If the Prince loses his son while the Prophet still lives, no
new Avatar is born until the Prince rises to Prophet then a new Prince
will be born elsewhere in the world starting a new dynasty. A dynasty
usually lasts about 3 generations.
•When a Prophet dies while a Prince also lives, one of two things
happens. If the Prophet dies at the hands of his Prince, the Prince will
gain the mantle of Prophet with an extra boon. This boon is likely
additional powers and knowledge not otherwise gained. If a Prophet
dies in any other way, the Prince will be automatically raised to Prophet
in his stead.
Avataric powers
•All Avatara draw from the same pool of powers. It is only in how they
are used that differs. Imagine there is a toolbox with a knife. Both the
Avatar of Light and the Avatar of Dark can use the knife. Whereas the
AoL might use the knife to help someone else, the AoD will likely use
the knife to kill someone. On an individual basis, there is nothing to
prevent an AoD from also healing someone, or from an AoL killing
someone, it is only on the large scale average that the general trend
can be seen.
•Healing someone in body requires the transfer of energy from
elsewhere. To bring someone back from death requires the Avatar to
consciously completely remove the life from someone else and
"transfer" it. This resurrection may form a connection between the two
individuals, as with Ruthie and Lodz. Healing someone in spirit, on the
other hand, requires no such transfer in energy and is unlimited in
scope.
•Other types of powers, like astral projection, are trying on the Avatar

14. and may cause him damage. Thus, an Avatar is still mortal even if they
are more resilient. Anybody can kill a normal Avatar.
•Avatars exert a degree of control over dreams. Both Scudder and
Belyakov were adept at manipulating the dreams of those they
employed (mainly Ben, although Scudder sent dreams to other
individuals as well). Avatars also seem to be present in each other's
dreams, though they are often unaware of it (Justin was present in
many of Ben's dreams, but while Ben remembered his face, Justin was
clueless as to what Ben looked like untilmidway through the second
season).
•Finally, an Avatar can grant some small measure of his power to a
mortal. This does not make the mortal of the avataric blood, but does
give them additional powers. Lodz is an example of this. Scudder gifted
him with his mentalist abilities and his psychometry, but also took
Lodz's sight in the process. As a result of the transaction, Lodz is able
to sense where Scudder is.
The Omega
The final part of the equation is the Omega. It has been assumed by
occult scholars that the Omega and the Usher are one and the same.
This is not the case. The Omega is the last Prophet. She is also a
female, the bookend to the Alpha. As the Omega, she will be ruled by
the principle of the three selves of the Gospel of Thomas. The fixed
hidden self is likely Dark, the varying hidden self is likely Light and the
varying visible self is a mix of the two, varying between both extremes
yet tending to Dark.
Once again, the Omega's role in these matters is unknown.

15. The Usher of Destruction
The Usher of Destruction is a unique creature. He has been prophesied
throughout the ages but can only be manifest once. In visions, he is
seen as the Tattooed Man. He can only be killed by an anointed blade
thrust into the bough of his tree tattoo where the dark heart dwells. We
can assume that the blade must also be whole, since Ben's broken
dagger was not enough to permanently kill Justin. Regardless, the
Usher's motives are also unknown, but we can assume they involve
"destruction."
Category:Carnivàle/Episodes
List of Carnivàle episodes.

16. Pages in category "Carnivàle/Episodes"
The following 26 pages are in this category, out of 26 total.
*
• Carnivàle/Season Two
• Carnivàle/Season One
A
• Carnivàle/After the Ball
Is Over
• Carnivàle/Alamogordo,
NM
B
• Carnivàle/Babylon
• Carnivàle/Black Blizzard
C
• Carnivàle/Cheyenne, WY
• Carnivàle/Creed, OK
D
• Carnivàle/Damascus, NE
D cont.
• Carnivàle/The Day That
Was the Day
• Carnivàle/Day of the Dead
H
• Carnivàle/Hot and
Bothered
I
• Carnivàle/Ingram, TX
• Carnivàle/Insomnia
L
• Carnivàle/Lincoln Highway
• Carnivàle/Lonnigan, Texas
• Carnivàle/Los Moscos
M
• Carnivàle/Milfay
N
• Carnivàle/New Canaan,
CA
O
• Carnivàle/Old Cherry
Blossom Road
• Carnivàle/Outside New
Canaan
• Carnivàle/Outskirts,
Damascus, NE
P
• Carnivàle/Pick a Number
R
• Carnivàle/The River
• Carnivàle/The Road to
Damascus
T
• Carnivàle/Tipton