I didn't mind the pace. In fact, I quite enjoyed it. I liked the characters. I enjoyed the production values despite that one could tell that the budget was fairly modest. My issue with Lodge 49 is that it portended to have a depth that was not forthcoming. There are "alchemic" elements to the Lodge's mythology, and while there were several allusions during the course of the ten-episode season to mysteries and secrets suggesting an origin far more profound than a drinking lodge, those elements were poorly devised and not entrenched in a well-thought out narrative. Periodically, a character would talk about the "Real lodge" or something alchemic, but other than some gross nods in that direction and some forced threads that tied together, I am not confident that there is more to that aspect of the show (or more that was already devised as subtext for the show before it was written) than what was revealed. It felt like throwing crumbs to the pigeons. We, as the audience, are pushed to believe that there is something deeper and mystical going on, but the story as it unfolds is mostly carried by the meandering and laid-back tone. And I liked it. But after ten hours of watching, I'm not sure it paid off. If there were more grounding mythology and if the writers really knew where they were going with these mythical and mystical elements, the show would have been so much better. Instead, it's a character study - which in theory is great - except that a lot of quirky characters appear who have nothing to offer other than their quirk. How does it all fit together? It doesn't. If there were deeper analogues, the audience would be able to make parallels - right or wrong - and debate the meanings and the purpose. I just didn't see it here. Don't get me wrong: I liked it. But I think it's a lot more superficial than it hoped to be. It reminded me of a book I read almost thirty years ago called The Tao of Physics. From the title, I expected the author to fuse and inform spirituality and science. Instead, it was 99% science with a paragraph or two at the end of each chapter bringing in some spiritual themes generically. The dryness of the writing and the topics betrayed the brilliance of the book's title. Here, I felt it was kind of the same thing: it wanted to have more, but the "more" was plot-driven, not thematic. Movies like (the first) Matrix or HBO's Westworld (Season 1) are modern day parables about life, God, spirituality, purpose, and place. After ten episodes of Lodge 49 (watched over three days), there is nothing to talk about. That speaks volumes. Lodge 49 poses more than delivers. Not satisfied. Not unsatisfied.
I'd consider watching Season 2, but if the writers don't up their game or have any idea what the foundation of this story really is (re: the Lodge and its origin myths), then Season 2 will fall apart pretty quickly.
Great tone; compromised execution of an underdeveloped concept.
I'd consider watching Season 2, but if the writers don't up their game or have any idea what the foundation of this story really is (re: the Lodge and its origin myths), then Season 2 will fall apart pretty quickly.
Great tone; compromised execution of an underdeveloped concept.