Summary
Episode 7 is a powerful chapter, showing what this series can be capable of when the writers get it right.
This recap of Netflix’s Black Summer season 2, episode 7, “The Lodge,” contains major spoilers.
Read the recap of the previous chapter.
Episode 7 looks to be the standout episode — the horror is in the silence and the uncomfortableness of comfort. This is Anna’s chapter and shows how it is her time and no longer her mother’s story.
The episode opens up with Rose opening a large oven and taking out a cake. The title screen “Lodge” pops up. The chapter then flits back to Rose, Anna, and the man who led them here entering the lodge for the first time. As they enter the lodge, the man is happy and hysterically laughing. It seems way too good to be true. There’s food, water, electricity, well-lined beds — it’s the motherfucking dream in the midst of an apocalypse. But it feels weird how heavenly the place is and clean when the world has collapsed. They pick their hotel rooms to rest, and despite it being nice, you can sense that Rose and Anna are in shock, which keeps their emotions suppressed.
A hot shower and a comfy bed
The title screen “Sweet Dreams” pops up. Rose enjoys a hot, clean shower, and you can sense the relaxation oozing her. She probably hasn’t felt this freedom in a long time. Surprisingly, Anna asks her mother if they can leave the next day — she doesn’t seem to be in a rush to shower either. Rose hugs her and lets out a deep sigh — she tries to remind her when she used to lull her to sleep with songs, but Anna doesn’t want to break emotionally. Eventually, the mother and daughter have a rare laugh together. Rose tells her not to worry about the next day because they’ll get on the plane eventually. She tells her daughter to get sleep first, and she’ll take first watch, but Anna says she is not tired. She has her eyes fixed on the lodge door.
Rose reminisces about the times she used to make up stories for her at bedtime, but ironically, it makes her fall asleep, while Anna still has her eyes fixed on the door.
The distant banging noise
The title screen “Ghosts” pops up — Rose is completely asleep, but Anna is awake, still looking at the door — she isn’t used to sounds of running water and the whirring of a fridge. Her brain is engineered to survive and only survive. She hasn’t had a normal childhood. She hears banging in the distance, so she straps a weapon around her shoulder and leaves her mother in the hotel room. Anna navigates the corridors to see where the banging comes from. Eventually, she makes it to the restaurant. A door has been left open, and the wind keeps making it bang against the frame. Anna shuts it tight. And then she looks outside and sees her reflection in the window, and she screams, but silently — it’s awful seeing a young person go through this trauma.
Noises part 2
The next morning, her mother is still asleep, and Anna is extremely panicky because she believed someone tried to open their hotel room door. She knocks on the man’s (Boone) hotel room and enters — he is still asleep, so naturally, she feels someone is in the ski lodge. Anna once again finds a door that is open, smashing against the frame in the wind. She can hear zombies gnarling in one of the hotel rooms, and the sinister music starts playing.
“Sup Rose”
At the midway point, two paths merge unexpectedly, and it’s a test of character for Anna more than Rose.
The title screen “Ressurection” pops up, and Rose finally wakes up from her long sleep. It takes her a while to come round, and she takes a gulp of water. That’s when she realizes Anna is not in the hotel room. She checks to see if Boone is with her daughter, but then she hears Anna shouting for her. She runs downstairs, and Spears is there with her.
“Fuck the airstrip.”
The title screen “The Last Supper” pops up; Rose, Anna, Boone, and Spears enjoy a range of good food at the ski lodge. Boone is still excitable about the supplies they have got for a year, but the others are not impressed by his excitement. Spears is still infected and suffering as Rose eyes him up. He asks Boone if he has checked all the rooms, but Anna says he hasn’t and some infected people are here. Spears entertains Boone and says he might stay there for “all the nights” that is possible and says, “fuck the airstrip,” as he’d rather have a roof over his head and a hot plate.
You are dying
Anna asks the right question, “and then what?”, but Spears claims there is no airstrip. Boone disagrees and says the airstrip is close. Anna says they need to go to the airstrip to get on the plane, but Spears and Boone question whether they need to leave the place at all. Anna raises it’s easy for Spears to say “stay put” because she knows he is dying. Rose tries to stop her from saying it, but she says it anyway. Spears talks about when he was laid in a ditch, dying, and that he heard his mother’s voice, begging him to repent before it is too late. Anna walks off with her shotgun.
It’s interesting to see Rose very quiet throughout all this — the comfort of the ski lodge is her weakness, but she will only let her daughter’s wishes be a priority.
Rose said she has no choice
Rose tells the table that her life has one meaning, and it’s her daughter, so everyone else can “get the fuck out” as it’s probably going down. She tells Spears that she isn’t sorry for leaving him behind, as she had no choice. Spears says, “bygones,” just like Braithwaite said to him in the previous chapter. The title screen “Dessert” pops up. Rose stands outside the oven, watching the cake bake. While taking it out of the oven, she hears a gunshot — she rushes out, and Anna has killed Spears — she tells her mother, “we’re leaving. Anna is in control now.
The ending Black Summer season 2, episode 7
The title screen, “The Valley,” pops up — the trio head to the airstrip. Suddenly, Boone runs off. The title screen “Rest” pops up, and there’s a flashback. Anna walks into the restaurant in the ski lodge with her shotgun, and she asks Spears where her mother is. Spears explains that every time he closes his eyes, he feels like it will stay that way, but then he wakes up; he wonders if he’s waiting for someone.
Anna turns to him with her shotgun, and Spears is impressed with her alertness. He tells her she was right about him not having long left. Spears feels he has found a spot to rest, but then he says, “I couldn’t myself,” and grabs the pistol and puts it down — he asks her to do it for him. Anna’s eyes well up, knowing exactly what he’s asking. Spears prepares for his death and makes a joke about still looking fly. Tears flow down Anna’s face, and Spears tells her not to leave her mother and take care of her. After what feels like an eternity, Anna shoots Spears clean.
Episode 7 is a powerful chapter, showing what this series can be capable of when the writers get it right.
What did you think of Black Summer season 2, episode 7? Comment below.
