The entire series is excellent, but it is NOT for everyone. If you want to be spoon fed your answers week by week, and dislike deep thought, don't waste your time. A T.V.Guide review said this quote as a fabulous warning in a review. "The perfect show for those who thought Twin Peaks was too accessible". When I read this, I knew it was a show I needed to see! Not that I enjoyed Twin Peaks as a whole, but I did enjoy that it was not within the norm. If you find Honey Boo Boo the height of wit, please do not consider this a show you will be entertained by. You need some relative knowledge in history, the dust bowl era, secret societies, and especially biblical and gnostic gospels to know what is going on in the big picture. Lingo of the 1930's is helpful for the humor of the show, and you will be more endeared to their trials and tribulations if you understand all I've mentioned above, as well as knowing the history of the 20th century evolution of the carnival.
Now that I've sold you the snake oil for your hard earned five cents, lets go into the 10 in 1 (10 in 1 is a freak show term for 10 freaks in one tent, and you can still see some to this day on rare circuits, however, they are self modified or trained freaks like the glass eater or the sword swallower or contortionist ..the rare exception to the rule of no natural freaks are the few left like Lobster Boy, who has an interesting legacy to check out that goes way back, including a murder in the "Lobster" family),and we can see what all the fuss is about!
In the second episode we begin with a very surreal scene that involves four men. A preacher, a pauper, a rich man, and a soldier. There are many things never explained, but many theories as to what they represent. An important line is spoken by the waitress. Pay attention to everything in this episode, there are many clues that WILL make sense later. If you do not follow the clues, the show will become depressing, instead of endearing to many who watch it. Not that it's a happy show, however, the depression was a bleak time for most folks (hence the name). It was also the last age of innocence. We still believed as a country (and most of the world over) in mysticism and blind faith in magic, religion, politicians, and more than anything else ..the power of prayer and faith to solve anything! We were a world without doubt in higher powers, and it's shown masterfully through this episode. It also shows that people can abuse that blind faith in a position of power, especially in desperate times. People need something to cling to, someone to trust. That can fall into the wrong hands and this episode really is the beginning of all that.
In summation, this episode will make you feel lost more than give you any true clarity, but it will all come out in the end (well.. more or less) and after all, you only have 22 more episodes to go! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
