‘Lodge 49’ Recap: ‘DisOrientation’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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If there is one universal truth, I’ve come to learn in regard to television shows and how a season in structured, it’s that transitional episodes are a scary and shaky venture when all is said and done. Because if they’re not done properly, the story in question is downright forgettable and boring in its own right and sadly, most episodes that work in this particular arena tend to fail at keeping our attention as the story shifts gears into new territory. Which is why it’s important to recognize and celebrate any series that figures out how to handle this style of story in classy and fascinating fashion and that is precisely why Lodge 49 deserves our applause today. Because last night’s episode, ‘DisOrientation’, was indeed a transitional tale, one designed to set up some supremely important plot points for the future, but it certainly didn’t seem like that in the slightest.

For this story offered up more of the ‘slice of life’ moments that it excels at week after week and those moments in turn allowed for a grand examination of two key notions. The first one involved the fact that regardless of where are at recovery wise, when it comes to tough times, the world still keeps on, keepin’ on and we still have to function within its framework since we still need to eat and pay the rent and that was explored by way of Liz’s journey in this tale. Because she’s still working on herself, but she understands the need for a paycheck and returned to the workforce by joining her old crew at their new restaurant, Hanging Steaks, and that beautifully punny place allowed for some endearing and funny moments to play out as Liz seemingly came to learn that we are not our jobs, and that it is okay to leave the day behind in order to work on self-improvement.

As for the other notion, well that one was a little heavier in nature. Because the story felt the need to return to a key element that’s always been central to this story, specifically death and how we deal with it and what it dove into here, was unique in its own right. For there are few stories out there that remotely bother to point out that sometimes while we grieve and deal with loss that it can strike again at any moment and that was hammered home for Ernie when Speedy passed away the order desk, since he’s been battling his emotions on the loss of Larr for some now, and the show had other elements when it comes to death to dive into as well. Because it also took the time to look at how hard it is to face one’s end, courtesy of Connie and her confession to Melinda about the fear she’s currently experiencing in regard to that, and it also lightly touched base with how we don’t quite know everything about a person until they are gone since Liz came to discover her father had a lover, potentially when he was married to Liz and Dud’s mom. 

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Yet, while that was a lot to chew upon in its own right, I made mention of the fact that this episode took the time to set up a lot of plot points for the future and now seems like a good time to dive into those. Because clearly, what Liz just uncovered is going to be a big deal in the coming days since it sheds new light upon her father and his life. But, while I loved the character moments present in this tale, what made this episode and this push toward bigger plot points so supremely fascinating, was the decision to put the Scrolls directly into the spotlight. Because they rarely take the center stage since their mystique is essential to the magic of the story in general, but a look back at Ernie’s failed mission to Mexico with El Confidente made it clear exactly how they engender desire in others since it was revealed during that opening segment, that someone is willing to kill to get their hands on the Scrolls and there are plenty of other people looking for them as well.
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After all, this is the episode that finally revealed to Dud what every last one of us knew; that his ‘lawyer’ is a fraud and is up to something and it just so happens, that she’s working with Avery and wants to get her hands on the Scrolls as well. But thankfully, she’s taking a far more open approach on the matter, since she was honest with Dud and explained how the Scrolls could potentially make everyone rich beyond their wildest dreams by way of Bitcoin, and it should be interesting to see how the heck that works out in the end. But what matters more, is that it would seem the hunt for the Scrolls is going to resume regardless of Ernie’s warnings on the matter, since El Confidente has returned to the Lodge, mainly because Ernie has his truck. But once he gets that back, it’s only a matter of time before it’s off to Mexico to retrieve this incredible treasure.

If anything, this really was quite the impressive episode when all is said and done, simply because it packed so much stuff into a single hour and I love that this story was able to start moving the show’s biggest mystery forward without compromising everything that makes it great. Because the character explorations were genuinely powerful and fascinating for certain, and they truly drew me into the moment, making everything that happened with the scrolls pay off in magnificent fashion and if anything, this episode left me hungry for more. Because there’s some serious adventure brewing and now the story is moving to help us truly understand the mysteries of the One True Lodge and the Scrolls and everything in between and dang it, now I have to wait another week to see where this and the lives of these dynamic characters are going and that means it is time to once again watch the clock, and count down the minutes until next Monday.

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