Lodge 49 Review: Zugzwang (Season 2 Episode 8)
Put aside that losing position in life and choose adventure, as Lodge 49 Season 2 Episode 8, “Zugzwang,” teaches us.
The sense of opportunity, doing right by friends, and seizing the day have been mostly absent throughout the second season, the characters of Lodge 49 feeling a little stuck in the mud as they wonder about the future and what could possibly bring them happiness one day as the past eats away at them.
It’s what makes this episode something special, as they break free of their shackled lives and take to the open road.
Dud and Ernie settling into complacency does allow for some much needed time of being best friends again, the fun of them working together providing some of the more comical moments with Dud’s absolute happiness at working at West Coast Super Sales. Wyatt Russell’s excitability in the role makes for beautiful chemistry with Brian Doyle-Murray, who may be the best boss ever.
The addition of Paul Giamatti as L. Marvin Metz proves to be a shot of adrenaline, both as a catalyst for the story and as a source of pure excitement. His lofty opinion of himself and his way with words make for some wonderfully pithy lines of dialogue, but soon it becomes clear he is just like everyone else on the show. He’s lost that pull, and his run-in with Dud and Ernie looks to be the thing to pull him back in.
Dud and Ernie’s fanboy mentality toward Metz is so great to watch, their love of his work (Dud really needs to read in order, though) clouding the worrying hollow earth theory and lack of release, replacing it with guarded optimism. He’s just as flawed as they are, and they accept him despite the oddness. It’s the kind of thing Lodge 49 does so well: no one is a misfit in a band of misfits.
But the most important message of the episode comes in making the journey to Mexico not about getting rich: it’s about doing right by Blaise. His hard times can’t be for nothing, and so the journey being a redemption for him after Lodge 49 Season 2 Episode 7, “Exile,” where his life comes apart, is such a sweet message to cap the episode off with.
It also proves to be the thing to bring Blaise enough peace to sleep again, and so it’s positive vibes all around.
This episode is full of those positive vibes and a genuine charm that makes every single scene an absolute joy. Most of the season has been spent with everyone questioning what comes next for them, and so suddenly letting themselves get caught up in optimism and letting life guide them sets off this electricity that Lodge 49 needed.
The leaning toward nostalgia and the past during previous episodes does provide wonderful moments, but there’s something about the blind optimism that makes this show rocket into the stratosphere. A similar thing happened during season one, where Captain (Bruce Campbell) brings enthusiasm at just the right moment to launch characters into a call to action. It proves just as successful the second time.
Liz’s journey finally fulfills one of my wishes, where she joins up with the lodge crew in some form. But the little hints of Janet slowly bringing Liz further into her web of corruption is one of the more subtler bits of comedy for the episode. Liz’s confusion at being labelled CFO (Chief Financial Officer) becomes clear once Janet mentions she intended Liz to be the fall person.
But now that Liz and Janet bond somewhat and hear Dud’s plans, it’s a fantastic turn to bring them into the trip to Mexico.
Plus, it finally shows how the Omni mascot costume and jet become involved from the opening of Lodge 49 Season 2 Episode 1, “All Circles Vanish,” making it all the more curious how half the characters don’t end up on the jet, and also how it all goes badly. Will Janet betray them all in the hopes of solving her problems with the bitcoin formula, or is she the one on fire under that mascot head?
Liz’s admission that she has never gone beyond California, especially when her dream is to explore, is another tale from Lodge 49 where no one ever ends up where they intended. It’s also another comment on how she always runs from her problems. Liz also omits the time frame of her two-day adventure, that her running away is likely when the family suffers a tragedy with her and Dud’s mother.
Liz has run from things for so long, placing so much of her effort into protecting and helping others, that turning it into a net positive of supporting Dud on his quest is perhaps a turning point where she will find something of her own along the way. Leaving the only place she’s known has potential for opening her eyes to more.
Scott’s aimless wandering is poetic behind its literal meaning, his literal aimlessness a sign of his being lost of what comes next for him. It’s invigorating that he allows himself to be taken along with Connie and Clara, getting wrapped in something he has scoffed at before. But when life starts to grow stale, perhaps that shot in the arm of doing something crazy is exactly what’s needed to get back on track.
Lodge 49 Season 2 Episode 8, “Zugzwang,” does a remarkable job at taking all of the hardships of the season and turning them into a learning experience. Though some characters learned hard lessons, it’s through those lessons that the positivity on display here can be all the more rewarding.
The journey to Mexico is less about the scrolls and more about the idea of the scrolls, something everyone is banding together to strive for: the pursuit of happiness. Together, the lodge can find that happiness, and it just so happens to accompany a nice little trip to Mexico in the process.
But from how the events seemingly close out, with jumping out of a crashing jet, these events may prove a little too complicated for Dud, Ernie, and company.
What did you think of this episode of Lodge 49? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Lodge 49 airs Mondays at 10/9c on AMC.
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Kevin Lever
Kevin Lever has been following television closely for most of his life, but in starting to cover it, he has grown a further appreciation. He strives to give the blockbusters their due, and give the lesser known shows a spotlight to find more fans.