Carnivàle/Lucius Belyakov

Lucius "Management" Belyakov
Carnivàle
Actor	Michael Massee
First Appearance	[1x01] Milfay
Last Appearance	[2x08] Outskirts, Damascus, NE
Series Billing	Main Cast
Episode Count	10

Season 1

Management is the man behind the curtain. He remains off-screen for all of season 1, and has only a handful of lines. However, he is the driving force behind the carnival. We know little of him in season 1, save that he purchased the Hyde and Teller Company, that he had a falling-out with Lodz in St. Louis, and that something terrible happened between him and Scudder during World War 1 and he's been searching for Scudder ever since. He resides in a small, curtained-off puppet stage in an upscale animal trailer. Regardless, he seems to be gifted with numerous powers, including healing, clairvoyance, telekinesis, telepathy, invisibility, and the ability to create solid objects out of air.

His motivations remain as shadowy as he is, unfortunately, and we are not entirely sure just what he intends. He employs Lodz to try to teach Ben how to harness the gift of healing, but Ben rebuffs Lodz's attempts. Sensing that Ben will refuse to give in otherwise, Management orders Lodz to kill Ruthie in order to provoke Ben into acting. The plan succeeds, and Ben goes to Management for advice, unaware of Management's complicity in the deed. Management informs Ben that to heal Ruthie, Ben must consciously take a life in her place. During his talk with Ben, Management drops many clues concerning his identity, claiming that he and Ben are not so different, and that he, like Ben, understands what it's like to choose one life over another. Frustrated, Ben eventually returns to Management to reject his advice. Management plays his ace, and reveals to Ben that it was Lodz who murdered Ruthie. Furious, Ben murders Lodz and resurrects Ruthie, prompting Management to point out to Ben that "perhaps we are of ilk nature after all."

Season 2

Minutes after Ben has murdered Lodz, Management exposits that his true name is Lucius Belyakov and that he was the Russian soldier Ben saw in his dreams. Belyakov was the previous generation's Avatar of Light, and after winding up an amputee due to an encounter with Lodz's bear, he spent the rest of his life tracking down Ben and Scudder. Belyakov also reveals to Ben the nature of the Tattooed Man: the Usher of Destruction. Ben is drawn into a vision of himself standing at the Trinity test site for the atom bomb. The bomb detonates, and Ben sees Brother Justin crouched amid the shockwaves. Once the vision ends, Management tries to convince Ben to prevent these events, but Ben is overwhelmed and flees.

Belyakov remains taciturn until Ben discovers Scudder's whereabouts. After retrieving him, Ben brings Scudder to Management, ignoring Scudder's fear that Belyakov will attack him. When Scudder is brought before Management, he reveals the name of Ben's counterpart: Brother Justin, Belyakov's son. Enraged and caught off guard, Lucius attacks Scudder, only to be killed by Ben. As it turns out, it had been Belyakov's plan all along to manipulate Ben into killing him. Scudder was the only incentive (aside from Sophie, perhaps) that would cause Ben to kill Management. Since Belyakov died at Ben's hands, he passed his boon on, granting Ben a much wider set of knowledge and powers.

Actors

All on screen appearances of Belyakov are performed by Michael Massee

All vocal performances from behind the curtain are performed by Linda Hunt