“The Day of the Dead” is Season one’s penultimate episode. As such, the episode is charged with bringing the overall story to the point where a riveting season finale can be shown. In that sense, there’s a lot of buildup in the episode. But it also manages to move the story forward on its own merits. And like most Carnivàle episodes, “The Day of the Dead” isn’t a self-contained narrative – rather it serves to both offer some new answers and also provide a few new questions. The result is about the same as you might expect – worth watching, but not exactly satisfying, either.

The Brother Justin story gets a rather unexpected twist. As the episode unfolds, we get hints that, perhaps, Brother Justin was involved in the arson of his own ministry. Tommy Dolan presses Justin’s friend for answers. And the friend, in turn, questions Iris. But the real revelation is that Iris is the one responsible for burning down the ministry – and for the deaths of the children, which she called a “sacrifice.”

It’s been interesting to watch Iris’ evolution over the course of the series thus far. She began as a meek, almost subservient character – content to simply walk in the shadow of her brother. But beginning with the events of “Hot and Bothered,” we have begun to see that there is another side to her – one that is much stronger and more willful than she has let on. In “The Day of the Dead” her admission completes the transformation, showing her to be a singularly ambitious person, willing to let her brother forge the path toward his own destiny, but also unafraid to take matters into her own hands if need be.

That she and her brother share a passionate kiss after her admission only reinforces the bizarre nature of their relationship.

Back at the carnival, much time is spent on the interrelated interactions of Jonesy, Sofie, Rita Sue, Stumpy, Libby, and Catalina. Take a deep breath, because it’s a complex set of character relationships: J Jonesy wants to accept Sofie’s advances, but needs to first break off his affair with Rita Sue. Libby, who knows about Rita Sue and Jonesy, warns Sofie to be careful. Libby and Sofie are close to acting on their attraction for one another – until Sofie’s mother, Appollonia intervenes. Rita Sue, furious at having been rejected by Jonesy, becomes even more jealous when she sees how her husband, Stumpy, is smitten with the dancing of Catalina – so she upstages the younger dancer. Catalina expresses her affections for Stumpy, who admits his own confusion. So Catalina takes Stumpy to Appollonia and Sofie for a tarot card reading – which reveals to both Sofie and Stumpy the affair between Jonesy and Rita Sue.

Take a breath.

There’s actually quite a bit going on beneath the surface of these stories. Though they seem to be rather petty interrelationships (well, some of them are petty) many of them represent common archetypes. Rita Sue, for example, represents the archetype of the “alpha” female – who has the need to be the center of attention. When she is rejected and/or upstaged, she lashes out. She also represents a woman, no longer youthful, but who knows how to use her experience. It’s no wonder, then, that the (relatively innocent) youthful Catalina is threatening to her. I’ll save a deeper exploration of character archetypes for later in the series – as these characters continue to evolve.

Ben Hawkins’ story is a bit less focused throughout most of the episode. Early on, he’s in town to watch a local festival, and he sees a young boy running around with a tree painted on his body – much like the Tattooed Man. But unlike the Tattooed man, the tree on the boy is white, instead of black. Later, Hawkins decides to trust Samson – who is unable to provide very many answers. But Samson does say, ominously, that a great storm is coming. Finally, Lodz and Management contrive to force Ben to use his powers. In a very obvious sequence, Lodz purchases a poisonous snake and sets it in a bag on the steps to Ruthie’s trailer. Predictably, she opens the bag, gets bitten, and Hawkins is forced to try and save her life by using his power.

The episode ends before we find out if his efforts were successful.

Overall Grade: B -

The cliffhanger sets up the season finale (obviously) in the sense that we don’t rightly know whether or not Hawkins will be successful in his efforts. And if so, from where will he take the life force to save Ruthie? Will it come from one of the carnies? And how will the continued exploits of Brother Justin continue to unfold?

One thing’s for sure: the season finale will give us some answers … and then ask even more questions …

Filed under: Carnivàle

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