Carnivale season 2 | notes

It has come to my attention that the original attribution for Carnivale was four to six seasons depending on popularity, and that funding was pulled without warning at episode six of the second season. This probably explains why episode six was so outstanding, and everything following it was not up to the standard of the show up until that point. I suppose it is a lot to ask of writers to totally change everything they had planned and wrap something up in six episodes that they originally had mapped out for at least another thirty or so. The last six episodes of season two really did seem like a mad rush to get to one of the foreshadowed conclusions regarding Ben and Alexi, and there are many moments where things are explained away with dialogue rather than played out; the early cancellation of the production really does show.

In light of this new information, I’m willing to give season 2 a little grace. If the writers had known at the beginning of principal photography, they may well have had a good chance at making something better of the closing chapter, but given the circumstances they seem to have done the best they could have.