‘Lodge 49’ Rewatch: Life Goes On

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

The Struggle of Juggling Everyday Life and Pain in ‘Moments of Truth in Service’ 

‘I don’t need help! I took responsibility like an adult!’
- Liz Dudley

When someone we care about deeply, fades away from this life, it truly feels as though our world has come to an end. We can’t eat, we can’t sleep, and the tears seemingly don’t stop coming. It’s difficult to get out of bed and we find very little joy in the things that we used to do, simply because we believe that life isn’t quite the same without those we love. But while we like to think that time can slow down for us, so that we can take a minute to get the pain out of our hearts and finally heal in proper fashion, that particular wish is never granted. Because life goes on. We still have bills to pay, commitments to honor and a job to go to and it is up to us to figure out how juggle our pain in a world that never takes a day off.
 
Which quite frankly, is something that is rarely explored in cinema and television and any story that features loss and trauma. Because at some point, someone behind the scenes points out, that audiences likely don’t want to see people struggle in that manner. In fact, the characters that go through this shouldn’t cry, and they shouldn’t feel fear. They should be heroes and they should immediately get to work on healing from this mess and inspire others along the way. But the fact of the matter is, grieving is not an easy process and we go through hell when it hits and that’s why I found a second viewing of the next episode of Lodge 49, so refreshing and wonderful. For ‘Moments of Truth in Service’, takes the time to examine how tough it is to juggle everyday life and the pain in our souls, along with the importance of having something to work toward as we try to make sense of everything that’s happened to us.
 
Yet what I found truly fascinating about this particular tale; is how it conducted this exploration. For the true juggling act was handled by Liz. Because she too is facing some incredible challenges at this particular point in the story. After all, she’s got her father’s debt looming large over her head, and while she knows that her job is there to pay the bills, she simply cannot stand it in the slightest and to top it all off, she’s trying to be the strong one and having mixed results at maintaining that façade. Because the death of her dad is eating at her, and it was heartbreaking to see her listen to his voicemail in the hopes of just hearing his voice once again and well, juggling frustration and pain and everything in between is her life at the moment and there’s really nothing she can do about it.

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​If anything, this exploration was brilliant simply because, it’s about as real as it gets. Because really, when the pain is fresh and the world demands so much of you, you simply slip into survival mode and do what you need to in order to get by, and that’s exactly what we see here. It’s just Liz, going through the motions and putting on that smile at work and around her friends and family so that no one has to worry about her problems. After all, they’ve got their own, right? Yet what I truly appreciated about this particular part of the story, is that it also took the time to remind us that staying the course and staying strong isn’t always sustainable. Sometimes the world will push us, and we’ll have a moment where our pain and our frustrations shine right through, as evidenced by Liz’s blowup at the idiot vape maestro who kept blasting his horn at her.
 
But while Liz’s journey is fascinating in its own right, I made mention of the fact that this episode also took the time to explore how a sense of purpose can help us focus in a time of crisis, and Dud is the one who handled that particular examination. For in this tale, the discovery of the Lodge and everything it represents puts him back on track. In fact, he suddenly feels as though perhaps he can start to heal, and eventually leave behind the ache in his heart, if he can spend more time in the Lodge and soak up its proverbial vibe. And it was fascinating to see him absolve Ernie of his sin by having that money poured into the next ten years of membership fees and the thought of having stability in that manner, did indeed allow him to start to shed some of his more negative habits and well the lesson is obvious here. In that, when we find something positive to latch onto when we’re down like this, stick with it as long as you can, provided it is healthy of course, because it will help us heal.
 
However, what I appreciated the most about this episode, is that it offered no answers or direction when it comes to survival mode. It simply let us know that it exists and that sometimes it is an outright necessity and once again, I’m thoroughly impressed with the frank nature in how this series portrays trauma and everything that comes with it. But while this episode featured lots of heavy concepts, it also needs to be praised for finding ways to make us laugh in the middle of the tough stuff. Because there are some genuinely funny moments to be found here, and this story does feature the beginning of the mystical stuff surrounding the Lodge and well, when all is said and done, this kind of wonderful balance really is a rare treat in television and a fine reminder of the brilliance of this series. And once again, I’m eager to continue the journey simply because this show is still finding new ways to move me. Until next time.  

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