CARNIVALE: "Lincoln Highway"

By Jason Davis     March 06, 2005

Just when we thought all the cards were on the table, Knauf and his writers start shuffling the deck and strange relations are born in even stranger places. As Ben Hawkins found a partner in Samson after saving the Ferris wheel victim, so Brother Justin has earned a similar acolyte, and the identity of that disciple will send ripples through the audience as, for the first time, the two disparate ends of the CARNIVALE narrative finally meet in the flesh.

Meanwhile, Hawkins grows ever more confident in his abilities. He demonstrates astral projection and employs his healing abilities with the assuredness of a doctor practicing medicine, and every time he takes life from one for another, Brother Justin convulses in contrast. It's one of these fits that begins to stir dissension in Justin's camp when Eleanor, his oldest disciple, begins to doubt his godliness. While Eleanor frets over the demon she imagines within her shepherd, Justin's sister Iris tries to comfort her, only to find that Eleanor might be a problem if left unchecked. While the preacher endorses his congressional candidate in a rally that would make Joe McCarthy proud, a man bereft of movement sets upon an unthinkable scheme that will lead to one of the strangest alliances yet witnessed in this tale. And as two unite against Justin, a third kneels with him in prayer.

Mirroring the carnie justice inflicted upon Babylon, TX last season, the carnies get some of their own medicine as the families of those killed by the collapsing Ferris wheel hunt down one of their number as a lesson to the freaks. A sequence as brutal as anything witnessed on the series results in what will likely be the seed of a new partnership as Ben is once again forced to use his powers to heal one of his adopted family. This time, there are more witnesses than Samson, and Ben is likely to find himself with disciples of his own if things keep going.

Meanwhile, the ghost of Ernst Lodz pays another visit to the dreams of the woman who shares his life force, leaving a cryptic message that is unlikely to find its way to someone who can make use of it before it's too late. Somehow, Lila suspects what's happening with Ruthie but is unable to get the latter to open up. Where this will end is anyone's guess, but the "omega" in Lodz's message would suggest a good place to start looking.

Ben's journey toward his destiny has suffered a setback as Stroud and his charge fly ever further west, and Hawkins has tough choices to make when the lives of those he cares about get in the way of his quest. With only three episodes remaining in the season, it's likely that personal complications will continue to delay Ben until Brother Justin receives his boon, and then the two will meet on equal footing...well, it would be equal footing...if Brother Justin didn't have Sofie.