Carnivàle/The Day That Was the Day

The Day That Was the Day
Season 1, Episode 12
Airdate	November 30, 2003
Production Number	112
Written by	Ronald D. Moore
Directed by	Rodrigo Garcia
← 1x11 Day of the Dead	2x01 → Los Moscos
Carnivàle — Season One

The Day That Was the Day is the twelfth episode of the first season of Carnivàle, and the twelfth episode overall.

Guest-Starring:

Co-Starring:

Featuring:

Plot Overview

The show picks up immediately where the last episode left off. Gabe is waiting outside Ruthie's trailer, and Ben pulls up in the pickup with Ruthie's body. He instructs Gabe to put Ruthie inside and make sure no one comes in. Ben heads to Lodz's trailer, demanding help with Ruthie, and Lodz takes him to see Management. Management reiterates the rules of Ben's powers, and explains that in order for him to resurrect a person, Ben must take a life. Management sends Ben out, but not before implying that he and Ben are more alike than Ben realizes. Unwilling to commit murder, Ben heads to a cemetery and cuts his own throat. Before he dies, however, Scudder appears, heals his wound, and tells Ben that he must make his choice.

Sofie is packing up her things in preparation of leaving the carnival. She arranges a date with Jonesy after the carnival is over, which he agrees to unaware that Sofie knows about him and Rita Sue. Sofie also makes a similar date with Libby, who is similarly unaware that Sofie knew about how she saw Jonesy and Rita Sue together. Later, Libby meets up with Sofie. Soon after, Jonesy arrives for his meeting with Sofie, only to find her in the back of a truck making out with Libby. Sofie berates the both of them for lying to her, then storms off.

Tommy Dolan comes to the Crowe house to confront Justin about burning down the Dignity Ministry. Justin is one step ahead of him, and makes a deal: Dolan keeps quiet for now and helps Justin use the radio to spread his message in exchange for Dolan getting the exclusive rights to Justin's story. Justin proceeds to confront Norman concerning the latter's greatest sin. He is shocked to discover that Norman's greatest sin was taking and raising Justin as his own son. Due to this, Justin realizes that "there is no demon in me, the demon IS me" and begs Norman to kill him. Norman cannot, and flees.

While Justin begins a sermon on the apocalypse, Sofie returns to her trailer to prepare to leave and Ben arrives at Management's trailer to tell him that he won't commit murder. Before Sofie can leave, she hears Apollonia whisper her name. Shocked, Sofie is caught off-guard as Apollonia grabs her wrist, and telekinetically slams the trailer door and knocks over a lamp, setting the entire trailer on fire with the two of them trapped inside. Ben is chastised by Management, who reveals that it was Lodz who murdered Ruthie. Ben knocks away Lodz's glasses to see Lodz's restored eyes, and begins choking the professor. Jonesy arrives at Sofie's trailer, and rushes inside to rescue her. Ben chokes Lodz to death. Justin concludes his sermon, and in her trailer Ruthie sits up and gasps for air.

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• Apollonia summons Lodz to her trailer, distraught over Sofie's impending departure. She reveals to Lodz what she knows about Sofie, which Lodz deems "madness", causing him to storm out of the trailer. This is presumably Apollonia's awareness of Sofie's status as the Omega.
• A cop visits the carnival searching for Ben. Samson manages to conceal Ben until the cop leaves.
• Ben scrawls the TARAVATARA that he saw in the Babylon mine on the gravestone in his blood, and edits it so it reads AVATAR.

Characters

• Stumpy and Rita sort out their marital problems, though there is the implication that Stumpy was considering murdering his wife. Stumpy also extracts $40 from Jonesy in reparations.

Referbacks

• Ben's line of "God takes what's his, man don't take it back" refers to his mother speaking the same line in the first episode.

Trivia

Allusions and References

• There is strong implication that Dolan was being mentally controlled by Justin to set the reporter up as a scapegoat for the Dignity Ministry arson. Justin must have engineered his visit, since Dolan professed to have no real knowledge as to why he was visiting the Crowes, though Justin knew exactly what he wanted from the reporter. It's likely that this is when Justin began planning to frame Dolan.
• During Justin's sermon, the line "The worm reveals himself in many guises across this once great land" is played over a scene of Sofie in her trailer, presumably referencing the fact that Sofie is the herald of the end of magic and the beginning of the age of reason.
• Also during the speech, Justin notes that the "Son of Darkness walks among us" while Ben is onscreen, a reference to Ben's father being the previous Avatar of Darkness.

Quotes

• Sofie: This is what it feels like to be betrayed by someone you love.
• Ben: God takes what's his, and man don't take it back.
• Management: It appears we are of ilk nature after all.