We fade up on Ben, tossing and turning on his little mattress underneath the truck. An unfortunate close-up allows us to see that the dirt particles have set up little swimming pools, complete with diving boards, lifeguards, and muddy fat guys wearing Speedos, in some of his larger and greasier facial pores. I'm pretty sure I spotted a lichen doing the backstroke, but the camera pulls back before I can be absolutely positive. And then Ben reaches up and starts rubbing his face in an effort to stay awake, and I actually had to run upstairs and grab some Clearasil pads to wipe off my screen. Ew. Eventually, he clambers to his feet and lights up a cigarette. Once again, don't mind if I do. Flickahh.
Also awake at this hour is Sofie, who is filling a water jug from a nearby keg. Perhaps tellingly, she walks right past Ben without saying a single word. Upon returning to her trailer, however, she suddenly hears screaming and the sounds of a nasty struggle coming from inside. Uh oh. Sounds like Mommatose needs another Ex-Lax. Sofie rushes to help, but unfortunately she's also managed to somehow lock herself out of the trailer. Instead of calling AAA, she decides to utilize the significantly more expedient solution of smashing open a window with a nearby chair. Once inside, she's horrified to discover that her dear sainted mother is being raped by Creepy Ugly Naked Tattooed Guy, who is just as ugly, creepy, naked, and tattooed as we remember him. Hi, Creepy Ugly Naked Tattooed Guy! We've missed you so much that we still haven't been able to come up with a decent nickname for you! Now, I went through this scene frame-by-frame on pause (which ranks third on the list of The Most Disgusting Things I've Ever Had To Do For You People, behind Mind of the Married Man and that time I had to freeze-frame Robson's hemi-penis on Oz), and it does appear that Creepy Ugly Naked Tattooed Guy is replaced by Brother Justin for at least five or six frames. You can tell because Clancy Brown is wearing a white shirt in the shot, and it was also clearly filmed someplace that Diane Salinger wasn't. If you're a Limpie in search of a little variety, the image of Clancy Brown thrusting repeatedly into mid-air will no doubt cleanse the jiggling from your perverted mental palate. Also of note is the fact that Mommatose's eyes seem to go black towards the end of the scene, but that could just be an artifact of the trailer's lighting scheme. It's also odd that Sofie went to all that effort to smash her way into the trailer, but once there, she ends up just standing by and watching the whole scene unfold. Mommatose would have been better off with a whistle and a can of mace.
“ Um, not to rain on the logic parade or anything, but who the hell do those kids belong to? Are there female random rousties that we've just never seen? Is Roustie π a secret single dad? ”
Or perhaps not, because we immediately cut back to Sofie, standing outside the now silent trailer. She runs inside a second time, passing through the now unlocked door, and finds Mommatose alone in her bed. Sofie tries to ask about the vision she just witnessed, but Mommatose (apparently) can't stop screaming, and even sheds a little tear as Sofie tries to console her. I was going to do a "convorsation" here, but the scene doesn't really lend itself to whimsical flights of scatological fancy, so instead I'll just offer props to both Clea Duvall, who did a great job of looking horrified here, and also Diane Salinger, who actually got to emote for the first time in Carnivàle history. Nice work, ladies.
Morning in Carnieland. Rousties engage in various morning rituals, which include emptying out buckets of water, and also pissing into the wind. Literally. Ben, however, just sits there looking dirty. And speaking of "dirty," Lodz and Lila are spying on the boy from inside Lodz's trailer. Well, actually, it's just Lila who's doing the spying, because Lodz is playing up the whole "blind" thing again this week. "He's sitting right where he was last night," reports Lila. "Beat to the sock, but wide awake." Ew. "Beat to the sock"? So that's what he was doing all night. time just use a Kleenex like everyone else. Lodz explains that this means Ben is staying awake in order to hide from his dreams (would those be wet dreams, then?), which further means that he "can't be reached." Also preventing him from being reached are the force-field-strength stink waves which are emanating from every inch of his body. Lila remains convinced that the kid will have to sleep sometime, and then moves to her Blind Boy Toy and offers to do whatever she can to make him feel better. Still disgusted by the unwarranted Kleenex imagery, Lodz is forced to turn down her generous offer. Outside, meanwhile, Ben shudders against the tire he's sitting astride, but his hands are unfortunately out of frame, which just makes it look like he's beating into the sock again. Sigh.
Breakfast is served. And there's even a guy banging on a triangle to summon all the carnies. Aww. That's so cute. Samson makes his way across Carnieland, bitching at every Random Roustie he passes, and then knocks on Lodz's door to summon him to a meeting with Management. "I'll be out in a minute," smarms Lodz. That'll be mildly important in about thirty-five minutes, which is also when this episode will be ending.
Cut to Samson, leading Lodz back to Management's office. Once again, Lodz is going to great lengths to act blind, primarily so that Samson can facetiously warn his colleague to "watch [his] step" as he makes his way up and into the trailer. Samson, of course, is forced to wait outside, which actually turns out to be beneficial to our plot development, because he spots a pair of little girls pushing a plastic baby doll in a carriage while he's standing there. Um, not to rain on the logic parade or anything, but who the hell do those kids belong to? Are there female random rousties that we've just never seen? Is Roustie π a secret single dad? And furthermore, why not just use The Twins, who could easily be into dolls, and who have also been criminally under-utilized to this point?