‘Lodge 49’ Recap: ‘All Circles Vanish’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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It’s rare in this day and age to find television shows that outright speak to one’s soul because T.V. as a whole, is a tricky venture anymore. After all, it takes time for a new series to find its voice and grow and the days of giving a show several seasons to do just that are more or less over. Because now it’s about gimmicks and big hooks and big names in a series, which in a way removes the human element as to why we watch in the first place. But from time to time, there are shows that pop up that capture the human condition in its purest form, and last year, a series debuted on AMC that pulled this feat off in the most spectacular of fashion in Lodge 49.
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For this particular series, wasted no time in presenting us with a world that was in essence our own, since it was populated by characters that quite frankly we either know or resemble in some form or fashion. Because Dud and his friends are simply trying to get by in life, and they’re struggling to pay their bills or deal with the pain in their hearts and all of those elements resonated with me the instant I settled in to watch this magnificent series. And I love how it never lost sight of what it stands for as season one rolled on and that it found ways to make me smile and laugh and care and that made the inaugural season of this series supremely special in its own right and I know I was over the moon when AMC announced that a second season was in the cards.

But I have to admit that the prospect of another year of adventures at the Lodge left me a little nervous. Mostly for the reasons I outlined a little bit ago. Because you just never know when it comes to television, and all it takes is a single suggestion in a production meeting to change the course of a series forever. But clearly, everyone involved with this show didn’t think that altering the direction of this show was a good idea in the slightest. Instead, the season two premiere of this series, ‘All Circles Vanish’, made it clear that it is going to be business as usual for Lodge 49, with an added benefit in that, these dynamic characters are going to grow and find new challenges to face since it would seem that year two is going to dive into the question, ‘what comes next?’

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I say that, simply because, Liz and Ernie and Dud actually managed to handle some of their problems in season one. For Liz finally stood up for herself and managed to get out of debt, and Ernie finally went all-in on saving the Lodge and honoring his friend and mentor and Dud, well he seemingly made peace with his father’s passing and those are big things to overcome. But normally in film and T.V., when that happens it’s just a happy ending and the story immediately moves onto the next big thing. In reality however, it’s not quite like that. Life goes on, not everything is flawless in a single moment and sometimes there is genuine fallout from our actions and for proof, look no further than Ernie. Because the confident man we met, the one with nothing to lose, was reeling from failure in this tale. For clearly his mission with El Confidente went south, the whole mess with Captain is hanging over his head and at this point, it’s hard to say how Ernie will get back on track when he’s concerned with the past over anything else.
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Yet what’s amazing, is that the story wasn’t quite done with exploring how tomorrow isn’t always rosy when we accomplish a goal since Liz found herself stuck, despite her wins. Which speaks to the fact that financial gain and freedom isn’t always the answer to our problems and the deep-rooted stuff has to be dealt with before we can feel whole again and that is likely what her journey will entail this year. However, not everyone was struggling to find peace in this particular tale since Dud served as the anthesis to everyone’s internal battles. For he felt more alive than ever and was as hopeful as can be when it comes to what the future holds, and this was quite the dynamic turnaround for this character since he was stuck in the thick of trauma and loss last year. But now, he’s set on getting back into pool cleaning and keeping his dad’s legacy alive and it’s just wonderful to see Dud find a direction to hold onto and work toward it for a change, rather than just let the currents take him and it’s equally as magical to see him try and lift his friends and his family up and spread the proverbial joy that now resides within his heart.

If anything, it’s just wonderful to have this magnificent series back on the air, and I love that this premiere simply didn’t skip a beat, because the journey that everyone is going upon in this sweeping story is unique and intimate and just so supremely different from anything out there right now. It’s just genuine and free from gimmicks and to top it all off, the show is still a hilarious delight, and it is still filled with wonder since there are still questions surrounding alchemy and the all-important scrolls. Plus, I also enjoyed how this premiere set up this year’s twists and turns in unique fashion since that dream sequence and guest spot from Paul Giamatti was ominous and fascinating all at once, and speaking of cameos, the one from Bronson Pinchot was pretty epic in its own right. But I digress, because what matters the most is that this brilliant series has come back to all of us and I am more than ready to see where Dud’s adventures will take him and his friends as season two rolls on. Until next time. 

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