‘Lodge 49’ Recap: ‘Apogee’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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There comes a point in all of our lives, where we encounter something that seems to be too damn good to be true. Everything in our fiber tells us the deal or the opportunity is wrong, but at the same time, part of us wonders what would happen if by chance our gut is the one that’s wrong. Because if it is, spoils and riches untold await us, and we go for it in the hopes that this is it, this is our shot at fame, or fortune and glory and well…the disappointment is quite real when it turns out that the ol’ gut was right after all and it just so happens, that this particular little conundrum was the focal point of the next episode of Lodge 49.
 
Because ‘Apogee’ featured a storyline where everything wonderful that had been introduced in the past episode came crashing down around everyone for various reasons, leaving the overall story in quite the uncertain place and well, how it unraveled before our eyes was eerie to say the least because for the most part every single scenario in this particular tale felt slightly familiar, as if we’ve all been there before and perhaps the most relatable scenario for the audience to grab on to in this tale came by way of Liz’s journey since the big Omni mingle aboard a boat and all the hollowness that came with it, prompted Liz to make another important and rash decision. 
 
For she more or less abandoned her brand new gig as a corporate executive, despite the fact that the CEO of Omni loved everything about Liz, even going so far as to gush about Liz’s unique perspective on life and the job she was about to undertake and while her decision to walk away, again, seemed shocking at first since she was in fact doing so well at the mingle, it makes sense in the end. Because Liz did get a first-hand look at how Janet really wasn’t, the independent free-thinker and renegade she made herself out to be. She was there to serve ad nauseum and potentially becoming that, was more than she could bear. Sure, she wants more out of life, but on her own terms, and how she quit the job is equally as of note since she jumped off the boat and just swam for the harbor without giving it a second thought. 

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​If anything, we’ve all been in Liz’s shoes and either started a job or nearly took one where we got the same feeling this wasn’t quite for us, or that we didn’t belong in this position and the relatability found in this episode didn’t end there. For Dud and Ernie’s journey brought the whole ‘too good to be true’ notion to bear since they began to have some odd suspicions about the whole deal with Captain, to the point where they were able to do some digging on their own when they accidentally ran over the geologist that Ernie met at the Kaplan meeting and well, he offered up some devastating news in that…there was no oil under Orbis, just toxins and dirt and that…completely and utterly shattered their hopes and their world.
 
Because no oil meant no deal, and in turn, no money to save the Lodge and well, you really felt for these guys since it truly seemed as though Gary knew what he was talking about, and for a moment there it really did seem as though Ernie and Dud had fallen victim to another one of his cons. But, the truth is we may never know if Gary was being honest with them or not, because the big moment when Ernie and Dud confronted him took a turn for the weird since they discovered that Avery snuck into Captain’s house earlier in the day and tied Gary up as part of a plan to figure out what the trio were up to and well, eventually Captain got free of his ropes and injured himself badly in the most freakish way imaginable, since his use of a harpoon to teach Avery a lesson cost him an eye and put him a coma since the firing of said Harpoon propelled him onto a Narwhal statue in his pool.
 
So, yeah. That wild ending puts everything up in the air when it comes to everyone’s future now. Because now Liz is without a job and Ernie and Dud’s deal is basically dead with Captain in the hospital and who knows if the Lodge can recover since there’s no way it can meet its financial obligations and well, while this ends in dreary fashion, I have to give credit to the boldness of this particular episode since it was so supremely relatable. This really was…a slice of life, and a difficult one at that, and I loved it and I have to know how this season is going to end, regardless of whether it wraps up in good or sad fashion and on that note, it’s time to hit play on my AMC app one more time…

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