"... So it was that the fate of mankind came to rest on the trembling shoulders of the most reluctant of saviors."

Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with my opinion of the first two episodes of CARNIVALE Season 2. The first episode is called Los Moscos and takes place just where the season finale left off.

The above quote is from Samson (Michael J. Anderson) and is the prologue to this episode, much like his speech before the first episode of the first season. They are clearly setting this series up to be a massive collision between Ben Hawkins (Nick Stahl) and Brother Justin (the awesome Clancy Brown).

So, the fire rages and if you've seen the trailer for Season Two, you know that Clea DuVall (Sophie) makes it out. Her unfortunate, silent and super-psychic mother does not... Although there is a scene later in the next episode that shows she might not be 100% gone.

So, Stahl succeeds in bringing Adrienne Barbeau (Ruthie) back to life, but only by murdering Lodz (Patrick Bauchau). "A life for a life." We've seen that part, but like I said above, the new season starts off without missing a beat. Newly murdered, Lodz lies dead on the floor of Management's trailer. At this point, Management and Ben Hawkins have a little talk where much is revealed, including Management's identity. That's right, we don't see behind the curtain, but we now know who Management is. I won't give it away, but I will say that you've seen Management's face before in Season 1.

It's also set up that Brother Justin and Ben Hawkins are both searching for Scudder, who seems to be integral to either side winning. Hawkins is searching for him through info he gets at the Templars ("Don't tell him you got it from me! He ain't human! He ain't human!") and Brother Justin gets set on the path by a satanist/occultist listener who heard him speaking on the radio and recognized him for what he was. Speaking of, Brother Justin is gathering a bit of a following due to his radio access. Much like Randall Flagg in THE STAND, he's drawing like minds to him as the pieces start moving in the battle between Dark and Light. It also ends with one of the coolest effects of the series... think POLTERGEIST.

Episode 2.2 is called Alamogordo, NM and has Ben Hawkins finding the man who painted the mural up at the Templar offices, you know... the one of tattooed man in the cornfield. The artist is a priest who is confined in some priest sanctuary/nuthouse, surrounded by his sketches of the man with the tattoos. He's also stuck repeating the same prayer while quickly crossing himself over and over and over again.

All the while, Brother Justin is busy setting up Temple Jericho, his main base of operations (spot picked because of a twisted tree we've seen before in visions). The reporter traveling with Brother Justin suspects Irene in the orphanage fire (that we know she did start) and begins asking questions. Might not work out too well for him, methinks, but he's doin' the asking.

Ruthie (Barbeau) is seeing people from her past, who turn out to be dead... I'm not sure where they're going with this, but her more than near death experience is probably catching up with her. Oh, and Libby and her mom put on another Cooch show, which is good news for us. Damn if that Carla Gallo isn't cute as a button.

Meanwhile, Brother Justin has a rather odd experience with a half-naked asian woman as his body is... altered. But I'll let you see that scene for yourself.

Without giving away every single beat of both episodes I better stop here. But Management's revelation of who the tattooed man is and what he means is a great ender to the second episode! I can't wait to see just how and when Brother Justin and Ben Hawkins meet and what'll happen when they do. Looks like we CARNIVALE fans are in for a helluva ride. Look to HBO this Sunday, January 9th, for your first new CARNIVALE of the year!!!

I got lots of cool stuff coming up, squirts! Keep your eye on the site!

-Quint