Written by John Edward Betancourt How ‘Circles’ Explores the Sacrifices We Make in Life ‘It’s me and Larry, against the world.’ At some point, every single young television series out there, gives its audience a solid idea of what kind of incredible storytelling it is truly capable of, and this is both a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing simply because the longer said show is on the air, the more often we will see this brilliant brand of storytelling, to the point where we will straight up make time to watch this series live, because we know it is going to provide us with something supremely special. But the curse side of this equation is a difficult one to endure. Because if the series leaves the airwaves ahead of its time, we lament the fact that we never got to see the show in question, reach its full potential. Sadly, we are going to talk about that latter element today. For we have come to a crucial and poignant episode in our Lodge 49 Rewatch. For the time has come to enjoy ‘Circles’ once again, which is hands down the finest episode this short series ever offered up. For this is a tale that stepped away from the healing theme present in this series, to provide the audience with an episode that was so moving and so powerful with what it had to offer, that it definitely is a stinging reminder that Lodge 49 left the airwaves far too soon, and it would have told breathtaking stories had it enjoyed a few more seasons on the air. But alas, there’s nothing that will change the fact that this brilliant series is gone, and all we can do in the meantime is celebrate a story that quite frankly takes the time to explore how we make some incredible sacrifices in our lives. But not the big kind that immediately come to mind when we think of that word. No instead, this particular tale looks at the more intimate sacrifices we make in life to keep others happy, or to just flat out deal with the grind of daily life and those are honestly topics that are rarely covered in film and television. But this episode does a phenomenal job of exploring them here in subtle and brilliant fashion by way of Liz and Jackie Loomis. For in this particular tale we see Liz come to realize that the sacrifice she often makes, involves putting others before herself. And doing that on such a consistent basis is one of the big reasons that she now feels so lost. Because she’s never accomplished something that is truly her own. Granted yeah, she paid off all that debt in bold fashion, but it was never hers. It was a burden from her father. And of course, as Champ so eloquently points out, Janice has stolen her story and her experiences and Liz has been okay with all of that. But by the end of the episode, it seems she’s come to realize that such acts need to come to an end so that she can grow and feel fulfillment and her low-key arc here is just magnificent to watch. But of course, the true centerpiece of this tale is Jackie Loomis’ journey. Because she is a woman that made incredible self-sacrifices in order to get along in this world. For she pushed her intelligence below the surface to please her darling Wallace and later her boss at Orbis. And she constantly catered to the whims of these insignificant men in the hopes of finding some semblance of personal value. Which may seem cliché or dated, but it was a different world that Jackie lived in, and sadly there are people who made that sacrifice then, and still make this sacrifice now in the hopes of finding fulfillment. But the true wonder of her journey is that somewhere along the line she too finally said enough, and she found ways to fill the parts of her soul that she gave away and that makes her downright inspiring. If anything, this is a story that still moves one to tears. Because you can feel how lost both of these women are, and how desperate they are to find meaning in life and that’s something that all of us can share in, because we’ve likely experienced it. Which truly speaks volumes to the acting skills of both Sonya Cassidy and Cara Mantella, who play Liz and Jackie respectively. Because they sold every powerful moment, and endless emotions with a single glance and in the end, this really is my favorite episode of this short-lived masterpiece. Because this one genuinely captures the gravity of a dark aspect of the human condition, and what makes it so worthwhile, is that we never see Liz or Jackie give up on leaving that darkness behind and that leaves one feeling inspired and hopeful once the end credits of this unique story come to a close. Until next time.
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