This actually makes sense, given that Ben’s murdering of Management, a major development that would typically go down right in the middle of a season occurs not in episode 6, but 7 in season 2.

I think the first HBO pilot was based on a later version. The “villain” was Justin Crowe, the backstory probably not too different from the final one. But Justin was much further along in his ministry and development as an “evil” character than in the subsequent, revised version.

Re: LeBlanc and Lucius Crowe… as I recall, in the backstory from the original pilot, LeBlanc was “Management” (and Ben’s father), and Lucius Crowe was actually Justin’s real name… he had been Management’s adversary, rather than Ben’s, and his daughter, Sofie, was actually intended to be Ben’s opposite. 

This was changed in order to set Justin back in his evolution and make him more of a central character in the series, so Scudder was created to fill the void left by Justin’s “re-imagining.”  As to why the relationships between the characters were switched around (Management becoming Justin’s father, Ben’s dad being a creature of darkness and so on), I would guess it was just to add an extra layer of intrigue to the proceedings.

We know Mr. Knauf wanted some standalone episodes that wouldn’t have tied in to the main story. The Evander Geddes episode–including Ben, of course–was originally meant to be one of them, and there would have been another in which Ben would meet a barnstorming pilot who’d turn out to be a ghost. Were there standalone episodes planned for Justin as well?

2. Did Justin in Season 1 remember raping Apollonia, or was that something he made himself forget, like the man he killed as a kid? If he did remember, were any of his actions in the first season influenced by what he did?

3. Finally, do you know if there are any plans for a future Blu-ray release? 

Thanks, I loved Carnivale. It was by far the best show on television in my opinion.

And if perhaps Dan Knauf could discuss what changes to the series’ mythology occurred from pilot to series, other than the addition of Iris Crowe and the regression of Justin’s character?
For example, Henry Scudder  was originally named Thomas LeBlanc, while Lucius Belyakov was Lucius Crowe, names that suggest that Ben’s father was a prophet of light and Justin’s conversely – the prophet of darkness. Was the backstory altered considerably?