The Devil’s Carnival

In Heaven's workshop, God paints a doll's face but botches the eyebrows and tosses the imperfect figure into a bin labeled Broken. He starts work on another doll, unconcerned by the discarded failure. The Broken doll's fate foreshadows the collision between heaven and hell that will follow.

On Earth, John, Ms. Merrywood, and Tamara each meet death on the same night. John kills himself from grief after losing his son Daniel; Ms. Merrywood is killed after a shootout with police; Tamara is slain by her jealous boyfriend. All three awaken to Hell, greeted by its denizens as they arrive.

The newly dead awaken in a carnival underworld and receive envelopes inviting them inside. In a big-top tent, the Ticket Keeper gathers the carnies who will perform for the newcomers: Painted Doll, Twin, Hobo Clown, and Scorpion. The Magician protests his exclusion and is warned by the Ticket Keeper of Lucifer's wrath.

The Ticket Keeper recites the Carnival's 666 laws, establishing order and the rules of the show. The selected performers meet the crowd, while the Magician remains outspoken but is ignored. The tension hints at power struggles beneath the spectacle.

Tamara roams the back of the Carnival and frees the Scorpion from a cage. The Scorpion, posing as a bad boy, woos her with his deadly knife-throw act. She is drawn into his dangerous world as the encounter pulls her toward the wheel of fate.

John searches for Daniel in the Big-Top while Wick and the Woe-Maidens torment him as the Hellharmonic plays. Painted Doll offers to reveal Daniel's location in exchange for a kiss, a deal that ends with her biting his ear off, an injury that seems to reappear later.

Merrywood follows a pamphlet toward a display of diamonds, but she drops litter and is pursued by the carnies' enforcer, the Tamer. The Twin, wielding the large diamond, morphs into Merrywood herself, causing Merrywood to fail the reflected-face game. She is whipped as the Hobo Clown sings a meta-like tale of the fable.

Lucifer continues reading Daniel fables, this time The Scorpion and The Frog, which lures Tamara to a tent where a knife-throwing wheel has been set up. The Scorpion and Painted Doll kiss, triggering Tamara to confront trust and fear. He straps her to the wheel and fires three knives, missing, then drives a final blade into her heart, killing her.

Lucifer closes with The Devil and His Due, a twist on grief and what is owed. John is drawn to a bathroom replica where Daniel morphs into the Fool, and Lucifer taunts him about his access to Heaven. Realizing he cannot bargain with Heaven, John resolves to let go of his grief and accept a path toward Heaven.

With John’s fate decided, Lucifer rallies the carnies and announces a grand plan to offer redemption to condemned souls and access to Heaven. The carnies celebrate, singing about Grace for Sale and Off to Hell We Go as they prepare for a coming confrontation with Heaven.

John crawls out of God's Broken bin, surprising God and reclaiming his belief that Heaven is within reach. He decides to abandon his grief and accept a place in Heaven, stepping away from his torment at the loss of Daniel.

The carnies' plot to topple Heaven intensifies as Lucifer's redemption rhetoric reshapes the underworld into a weapon. The carnival revelry swells as preparations for a dawn confrontation with Heaven take shape.

In the post-credits scene, Tamara encounters Lucifer in the big-top and blindly trusts him once more. He seduces her, and she repeats the sin that first cast her into Hell, sealing her fate in a cycle of temptation.