Lodge 49 (TV Series) Full Fathom Five (2018) User Reviews

You Need To Get Back In the Water

[matthewjmiles · 8/10 · 18 June 2019]

The finale to the debut season of Jim Gavin's Lodge 49 caps off this interesting show, on the surface about life's monotonous struggle and lost hope, yet beneath about meaningful human connection and the mysteries of the world. As a disclaimer and nod of appreciation to the other review of this episode, I have no knowledge of the real life environments and communities that might have inspired the fictional Lynx, I am merely a Brit who stumbled upon this show through my liking Paul Giamatti, and I am pleasantly invested in a great new show as a result. Having mentioned Giamatti, the fact that I know him best from his more unusual or weirder roles, made me expect the man himself to show up in Lodge 49, as opposed to a much more 'grounded in reality' show, Billions, that I started watching at a similar time. It's obviously his life, and I absolutely love his character in Billions, but I think Lodge 49 could become even better if they found some way to include him in the second season.

This quirky, sun-bleached tone that the show cultivates is perfectly matched for the actor they did get to star in it, Wyatt Russell. From the few performances I've seen from him, like Ingrid Goes West, Overlord and that Black Mirror episode, I could tell that he was a rising star capable of playing a range of characters, but I think everyone can agree that he suits Dud, in appearance and manner. The rest of the characters are viewed through Dud as a POV character, and one of the best things about the writing is the character relationships and the realistic way in which they're portrayed. The brother/sister dynamic between Dud and Liz is effectively touched upon in a variety of ways throughout the season, while their personal subplots run in conjunction. The rest of the cast make up the eccentric order of the Lynx and the residents of the town, and though we don't see far into their personal lives they provide a good deal of the comedy and build up the world the show exists in. I won't spoil the finale, so I'll just give my testament that the finale rounded the season off well, it focused on the right stuff and provided satisfying conclusions to a lot of the story arcs. The stakes for the second season are set up, along with the implication that Adam Godley and Cheech from Cheech and Chong will be promoted to the main cast. My only disappointment was not seeing a greater role for the incomparable Bruce Campbell, but the quality was great besides and we could still see him return.

This brings an end to my thoughts, really. I would recommend Lodge 49 to anyone looking for a poignant drama by the sea in a difficult but magical world, or something to that effect.

delightful yet realistic. gritty yet hopeful

[WoodyGuthriesGhost · 10/10 · 12 October 2018]

Delightful. That's all I can say about the entire season of LODGE 49.

For the uninitiated, Lodge 49 is a lodge of a fraternal order, similar to the Elks, in Long Beach CA. But the CA it inhabits is not the glitzy reality of shallow, Hollywood shows, like BEVERLY HILLS, 90201. Instead, it inhabits what I called when I, a transplanted Rustbelt lad, lived in LA: "the city under The City." Which is to say, not Hollywood, not Burbank, not TV, records, movies. Disney or video games. Instead, LODGE 49 inhabits the world of salespeople, cops. shoe-leather journalists, waitresses and others who are just getting by.

And for all that, it's not oppressive. Because, well, this is life. Sure its hard. But deep, human connection are what pull us through.

This episode's plot, like much in the show, bucks what you think. Like many AMC ventures. But unlike some if its more comic book fare -- THE WALKING DEAD, PREACHER. etc. -- LODGE 49 seems more Pynchon to me.

The series' main character is an injured surfer unable to surf, Dud, who's simple and open and accepting and expecting a mystery to unfold at any second. Even when his dreams are dashed, and the world reveals itself as more mundane than magical, his faith burns, He's paired with a twin sister Liz who seems his opposite: driven, she works her tail off to repay the debt their deceased father saddled her with. And yet, when she lets down her hair, he's so spunky and quirky that she's every bit as off-the-beaten-path as Dud. Indeed, I found her story-line the most captivating, perhaps because it more resembles mine as a one-time corporate middle manager who "dropped out" to devote time to writing. salesman. This all seems very Pynchon. From the name (an obvious allusion the THE CRYING OF LOT 49) to the characters, to the "twinning" of opposites. To the "secret" society of the Lynx. Which Dud joins, taking out a $2,000 title loan from a seedy pawnbroker and placing his sole possession, his car, at risk. All because he believes that the lodge will not only reveal to him the mysteries of the universe via the alchemical texts the lodge is "based" upon -- at least in theory -- but a rock-bottom belief in Ernie, a new friend that Dud has absolute faith in. Despite Ernie, for all his warmth and decency, being nothing but an everyman plumbing salesman.

The plot inhabits the gritty world 99% of Americans live. It's hard. But it also reveals a truth: the magic happens, not when we post crap online using post-industrial web 2.0 nonsense (like, sad to say, the IMDB). Not when we fall in with a tribe of like-thinkers, another danger that the web presents us. Those "communities" the show tells us, and for most of us reality has show, are fool's gold. Because the real gold comes when we connect with others. Like Dud and Ernie due via the lodge.

Which, in a truly remarkable fit of fancy, turns out to be nothing but a social club where people drink beer and host pancake breakfasts. And support each other through layoffs, plant closings and the loneliness that accompanies old age and illness.

But these seemingly mundane connections reveal magic. Which, int the LODGE 49 universe, can be quite bizarre.

Highly recommended. It's the most delightful yet realistic. gritty yet hopeful show I've watched for a long time.