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"There's rules. You give life, you gotta take it from somewhere else. Could be an acre of wheat. Could be Walter's old bird dog, Jim. Could be that little girl you brought in here."
Directed by: Rodrigo Garcia
Written by: Henry Bromell: Teleplay by Daniel Knauf
Summary
As the carnival caravan drives through the town of Tipton, a dusty wind lashes a gaunt
group of townspeople carrying a pine coffin --an ominous start.
Things only get bleaker for the carnies as they start the set-up. After Samson sends Jonesy and Ben back to town for provisions, Lyle Donovan, an old sport, pays the carnival a visit. He's become the sheriff after moving here to tend to his sick mother. He tells Samson there will be no carnival in Tipton. He won't allow his people who barely have a "pocket to turn out," to be shook down.
On the way to town, Jonesy informs Ben that everything is falling apart: Now it's town by town, it's catch-as-catch can, that ain't hardly nothing since you showed up." As Ben absorbs the stricken scene in town, he is amazed to see the truck that appears in the photo he found of his mother."Big Sky Farms" is painted on the side. But as he crosses over to investigate, Ben is loudly identified by the mother of the girl he healed in Milfoy, and is soon swarmed by townspeople desperate for more miracles.
Across the country in Mintern, Brother Justin's transformation of Chin's from house of ill
repute to house of worship is joyously underway as the migrants sing hymnals and carpenters work. But the renovations have also caught the eye of the City Council, and it's not long before two of them inform Brother Justin that they're
demolishing the block-and his new ministry-and want him to move to a new spot on the outskirts of town. Outraged that the hateful men would deny God's will, Brother Justin reacts angrily,
much to the detriment of one of the Councilmen.
Upon their return, Jonesy immediately tells Samson of Ben's effect on the poor folk of
Tipton, and hatches a plan to save the carnival's nut. The Carnivale act will be rechristened as an old-time tent revival show, with Ben as the headliner.
With the backing of the local reverend-who is receiving 50 % of the gate-and to the
outrage of Sheriff Lyle, the carnies put on a spirited and successful evangelical
performance. All dressed up in a tuxedo, a sweaty and reluctant Ben "heals" Ruthie in the first show.
In between revival shows, Ben gets Sophie to drive him out to the house of Mrs. Donovan, whom, he has learned, is the owner of the Big Sky Farms truck from his photograph. Dying from "A shovelful of dust in her lungs," Mrs. Donovan has been expecting Ben, who she knows intimately from her dreams. She tells him she was a close friend of Scudder, the man from Ben's own visions, and she knows that Ben, too, has "the gift." She explains to Ben that there are rules "There's rules. You give life, you gotta take it from somewhere else." He is eager to learn more, but the conversation is suddenly interrupted when Sheriff Lyle-Mrs. Donovan's son, throws him out.
Arguing with Sophie, Ben is late for the next show, and the tent now swollen with hundreds of the ailing believers. As his stand-in prepares to heal a disguised Dora Mae Dreyfus, Sheriff Lyle bursts in, cradling his near-dead mother and demanding the healer save her. Ben arrives, and, desperate to learn what she knows, prepares to take his chances and lay his hands on her. With the entire crowd tensely watching, Mrs. Donovan
stops him. Realizing that she is close to the end, Ben asks her where Scudder went when
he left her. Her last breath leaving her, Mrs. Donovan rasps: "Babylon."
As the Carnivale packs up, Ben's risky ad-libbing has landed him on latrine duty. "No more headlining for you, kid," Samson says, before climbing in the truck and giving Jonesy directions for their destination. "It's gonna take us awful close to Babylon," Jonesy says. "No it's gonna take us to Babylon," replies Samson. When he realizes where Samson is taking them, it dawns on the shocked Jones: Bad as things are, they are going to get much worse.
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Carnival Fact
Sideshow performer Stanley Berent, A.K.A. Sealo the Seal Boy, was afflicted with phocomelia, which caused his hands to grow directly from his shoulders.
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