‘Lodge 49’ Recap: ‘Sunday’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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Sometimes, a television show packs in so many plot points and important moments in a particular episode, that I straight up don’t have the time to talk about other surprises that came about within the framework of a particular tale in a recap and well, that’s something that happened to me when it comes to Lodge 49. Because the last episode had so many wonderful moments to chew upon that we didn’t even get to discuss the ending of said episode, wherein Dud and Ernie found a secret room in the Lodge that just so happened to house a mummified corpse and well, it’s a good thing in the end that the episode ended there and that said moment was overshadowed, because it allowed for ‘Sunday’ to explore this incredibly important discovery, and so much more.
 
Because finding the body of Wallace Smith, the Sovereign Protector of the Lodge from 1959-1962, allowed for some important thematic concepts to return to the forefront of this tale, since fate and destiny were suddenly on Dud’s mind and with good reason. After all, he was the one to find Wallace’s body and that kind of coincidence is something that cannot be ignored and the mystery surrounding Wallace’s self-imposed death motivated Dud, and eventually Ernie to try and find Larry to get some answers and well, this impromptu road trip through their own home town, ended up leading to some fascinating observations about life and how to enjoy it since both Ernie and Dud opened up to one another as they searched for Larry.
 
If anything, it would seem that Ernie and Dud can and should learn from one another since Ernie was able to express to Dud the importance of appreciating the moment, since it will never come again and Dud was able to show Ernie how awesome it is to actually live in said moment and that’s just simply brilliant writing because it’s a subtle nod to fate and destiny since the Lodge brought them together and it’s also just outright a beautiful part of life to explore and as an added bonus, this search also served as a jump off point to explore Dud’s respective trauma since he actually opened up to Ernie out of the blue to talk about his fear of death and his fear of what awaits us in the great beyond and that’s important because…it’s about damn time Dud acknowledged his emotions and that he can indeed contribute to this world. 

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​Yet, as this series is wont to do, it wasn’t quite done with exploring our character’s emotions and their painful experiences in life and Liz helped continue said exploration since in this episode we came to learn that she is also reeling badly from the loss of her father, to the point where she’s terrified to be alone with her thoughts. And this issue is crippling enough that she straight up went into work on her day off to try and get a shift, and ended up staying the entire day to snack, and drink and reflect upon moments she’d rather not care to, which motivated Liz to get drunker and party harder and well, this was heartbreaking in its own right to watch because it’s obvious she needs help as well, but as Liz put it, seeking out help is something she simply can’t afford right now and well, once again this show finds a way to hit close to home for so many of us, since we’ve either been in Liz’s shoes, or know someone who has.
 
However, what I appreciated most about this particular episode was its subtlety storytelling wise. Because everything that it introduced here was done in the smoothest of fashion, allowing for it to seem more like a road trip story when it is in fact a beautiful parable about life, and what it can mean to us and well, I have to admit that this one left me with plenty more to chew on when all is said and done because this one was supremely philosophical to say the least and I really am appreciating the fact that the overall story continues to tie into fate and destiny since the Lodge continues to be at the center of everything. 
 
But all thoughtful and beautiful moments aside, we do need to take a moment and appreciate how this episode broke up the heavier moments with some top-notch comedy. Because everything involving the corpse, or mummy, which is all a matter of perspective apparently, was downright hilarious and only a show as quirky as this can make a room full of boy scouts, playing with a dead body, a rip roaringly funny moment and really, when all is said and done, I truly am enjoying every single second of this show. It just offers so much more than traditional television and I love that no two episodes are the same, and that it can become incredibly intelligent on a moment’s notice and I definitely need more of this beautiful series, so on that note, it’s time to return to my AMC app, and enjoy another brainy adventure in the Lodge. Until next time.

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