Like most episodes in Carnivàle, “Insomnia” is not especially satisfying. Indeed, by the time the episode ends, it’s hard to pinpoint reasons for enjoying it. And yet … and yet, it still, somehow, manages to be engaging and compelling. It’s quite clear that this series is not going to have a universal appeal – either you buy into it or you don’t. But even if you do buy into it, there hasn’t been a whole lot to go on from episode to episode. However, “Insomnia” does begin to provide some more meat to the story.

The episode “Insomnia” takes its name from Ben Hawkins’ continued attempts to avoid sleep in order to stave off the disturbing nightmares he has been having. He believes that as long as he stays awake, he can prevent the dreams from returning. Of course, this will eventually be a losing proposition. But for now, we get to see the repercussions of Hawkins’ attempts.

For starters, his actions draw the continued very close scrutiny from Lodz. Indeed, Lodz continues to press his case with Hawkins – confronting the young man once again about using his powers. Lodz also continues to enjoy the favor of Management – at the expense of Samson. For his part, Samson also confronts Hawkins and asks about the Templar ring Hawkins stole from Boffo in the last episode. There is only one revelation: that Hank Scudder is, likely, Ben Hawkins’ father.

But aside from that, these scenes provide very little revelations about the story. At best, we get a somewhat stronger emphasis on the importance of the Templar, and a greater focus on those in the carnival who are interested in Ben Hawkins – namely Appolonia, Lodz and Management … and now Samson, too. Samson gives Hawkins one further revelation: the carnival’s recruitment of Hawkins was not coincidental.

The other story of weight comes from Brother Justin, who continues his stay in the asylum. While there, Brother Justin hears a radio broadcast in which his sister and Tommy Dolan once again ask, “Where are you Brother Justin?” Along the way, Justin continues to become more composed and he continues to exert influence over the inmates. And, by the end of the episode, he has been set free. Why? We’re not given any explicit reason. But Just is given a portfolio from the psychiatric physician, titled “Acts of Redemption, by Brother Justin Crowe.”

Back at the carnival, the show is in full swing. During the night’s proceedings, we’re given a truly remarkable display from Lodz. During his “performance” in which he takes objects from the audience and explains their significance, Samson decides to play a trick on Lodz. Samson gives Lodz the item that once belonged to Scudder – the one containing the same Templar insignia as Boffo’s ring. When Lodz receives the item, he is thrown into a fit of violent seizures – and he sees very strange visions. That alone would have been interesting enough. But when Lodz starts speaking Latin, Hawkins is suddenly repeats the words … in English: “By this sign, we conquer.”

There’s one last revelation from the episode. When Sofie tried returning to her mother’s trailer, she witnessed a disturbing vision of her mother being raped – by a tattooed man, the same man who haunts Hawkins’ dreams. Otherwise, the episode is filled with the goings-on of the carnies – including Jonesy and Rita Sue continuing their escapades, despite the fact they tried to stop them.

Overall Grade: B-

Once again, “Insomnia” proves why Carnivàle is such a difficult show to access. The pace of the storytelling is very, very slow. And yet … each episode provides enough to keep the story moving forward, and enough to allow viewers to accept and absorb the few revelations that are made. With the first season drawing to a close, I expect that the pace will likely quicken. It’ll be interesting to see how the series handles a faster pace.

Filed under: Carnivàle

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