‘Lodge 49’ Recap: ‘Estrella y Mar’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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Whether we like it or not, at some point or another in our lives we are going to make some serious mistakes. The kind that fill us with regret and make us feel sheepish and small and quite frankly, dumb. But mistakes are simply a part of life and when we make one, we are in essence presented with two choices. Either we own up to our silly goof and learn from it and live with it, or we let it consume us and fill us with fear and utter regret and it just so happens that how we handle mistakes, is something that served as the focus of last night’s episode of Lodge 49, since a glaring mistake hung heavy over this particular tale.
 
After all, ‘Estrella y Mar’ took place shortly after Dud and Beth’s impromptu nuptials and it didn’t take long for the audience and the newlyweds to realize that tying the knot, because you once had a thing for one another in high school, is a terrible idea. But rather than dive into notions of regret and see Beth and Dud succumb to negativity, something that just doesn’t happen on this series, the story instead opted to offer up a unique exploration on how we deal with mistakes. For sometimes, when we make a gross misstep, we don’t fall into despair, we instead double down and try to make this work for us and that’s precisely what Dud and Beth did in this story. Because clearly, they both realized they acted on pure impulse, and Dud thought that perhaps their rekindled desire for one another would grow into something more.
 
If anything, it was just so sweet to see Dud try and make this work, when it was quickly becoming apparent that these two had nothing in common, especially when one considers the fact that Beth is a type-A personality and Dud is about as chill as they come. But as for Beth, well she was clearly upset with herself for making this decision and realized that she had caused hurt and harm to Tim and her family by making this wild choice. But rather than back away and admit failure, she also stuck to it and also tried to make it work despite her growing frustration, that is until Blaise’s temper tantrum put a nail in her hand, since that helped her to realize that maybe Tim deserved another shot. But what matters more here is that a television series about the ups and downs of life found a way to look at a potentially dark situation and turn it into something palatable and positive and that’s just brilliant when all is said and done 

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But I made mention of the fact that some people outright embrace and learn from their missteps, and that’s something that was explored by way of Liz’s journey in this tale. For this episode saw her and Lenore’s relationship reach its breaking point, shortly after Lenore admitted to lying and hustling her way into Liz’s life in a desperate attempt to reminisce over old times, and this nasty little moment, that occurred at the track, was something that Liz needed. Because this taught her a great lesson about the past and about trauma, since she came to realize that one cannot bury their emotions. One needs to feel them and acknowledge them and quite frankly, embrace them and in doing so, one can start to make peace with their past and their pain, and move forward. Otherwise, she runs the risk of becoming a burn out, old biddy just like Lenore.
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Yet while all of this was fascinating to watch in its own right, this episode also took the time to address and progress some lingering plot lines that have been steadily brewing in the background of this season, such as Connie’s push to find physical and mental peace. And it was wonderful to learn that she’s growing as well since she took the time to address her love of both Scott and Ernie in this tale and demand better of both of them and herself and it should be interesting to see where this quest takes her and her loves in the weeks to come since both Ernie and Scott were transformed in a good way by her return. Plus, the whole piece with Blaise and his quest to finish the Magnum Opus out of fear was just fascinating to watch since he’s truly buried himself in a notion to find some reason to go on as his life collapses around him and I am dying to know as to whether or not he completed the Opus as Dud suggested he did, or if he found a new place to hide from the sense of failure that seems to hang over his head.
 
In the end however, this really was a beautiful tale about growth. Because every single character in this particular tale had to take the time to reflect upon what’s brought them to this current moment in their life and what it will take to move them forward, and while the growth in question wasn’t massive in its own right, baby steps did happen, as is the case in real life. For change takes time and trial and error and it’s always lovely to see these gentle lessons about our world and our experiences play out in this series. But outside of that, I also have to admit that I am quite excited to see what comes next for Dud. Because it cannot be coincidence that the author he went to meet is the man we saw in the Flash Forward in the season premiere and hey, he might find love after all since Emily from the library is clearly interested in him and thinking about him and well, I do hope all these little moments and steps toward growth give Dud the happiness and peace he so desperately craves. Until next time.    

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