The X-Files Episode 102

Episode 102: Deep Throat 

Plot: Mulder and Scully investigate a case of a military test pilot who disappeared after experiencing a strange psychotic behavior.  When his actions start effecting his home life, his wife has doubts over whether he is really her husband.  Mulder suspects foul play from the government.  Meanwhile, a mysterious insider ("Deep Throat") approaches Mulder with some information crucial to the case.

Original Air Date: 17/09/93 

A solid building blocks episode, many of the classic elements that would become beloved by fans over the next few seasons are introduced in Deep Throat. Firstly, the idea of a government informant adding further credibility to the themes of the show.  The character opens up fresh storyline prospects, not least for the Mulder and Scully relationship, with Fox maybe desperate to believe him, and Scully suspicious of the new character's intentions.  Deep Throat is brilliantly played with icy resolved by character actor Jerry Hardin (Cujo, Big Trouble in Little China).  Appearing like a ghost in the mirror, Deep Throat passes his vague information onto a bemused Mulder, before slipping away into the shadows.  Interesting that Fox does not pass this information onto his partner until later, perhaps wanting to wait and see if there was any value to it, or maybe at this early stage Fox and Dana don't yet have the trust. 

If you want something cool and retro, check out the kitsch 90's bar the agents meet in! This breezy space is captured with a drooling sweep pan from director Daniel Sackheim, taking him time capturing the energy of the place.  The dead eyed FBI agents are very much like aliens in this yuppie environment. Of course this is another nice touch, that Mulder wants to meet Scully in an alternative place keeping information secret. One thing I did get a kick out of was the Saloon style door Mulder exits to enter the bathroom, a random choice from the production team, ha! I love the exchange between Mulder and Scully when he offers to buy her a drink, Dana points out its 2.00 clock in the afternoon, to which he wittingly replies, "Its not stopping the rest of these people." Another great exchange is when Scully questions Mulder's interest in the case, and responds "Let's just say this case has a distinct smell to it, a certain paranormal bouquet." 



This second episode also introduced the famous title theme by Mark Snow replacing the generic theme of the pilot.  It builds nicely on Mulder's suspicions of the government's influence, and their true links to UFO related activity.  Mulder's ability to think outside of the box is shown in the scene at the Budadhas house, when he poses some basic everyday questions to Robert, of which he passes, but then catches him out on a question which any military should know.  This leads to an interesting stand off between Mulder and Scully with Fox trying to convince her that the government have mysteriously re-wired Robert's brain to erase his memory of his UFO experience.  His partner stands firm on the more logical everyday reasoning and believes that Fox is crazy.  They play this back and forth dance for much of the episode.  The Budadhas' are nicely played by Gabrielle Rose (touching), and Andrew Johnson. 



Much of the episode ties into the area 66 and Roswell UFO theories.  One of its strongest features is how it brings up the issues of who can you trust (Deep Throat?). Another strand to that is the government official posing as a local journalist (another strong supporting performance from Michael Bryan French), who complicates Mulder's search for the truth.  There's a class theme running throughout the episode I think.  First of all with the idea that a washed up pilot and the lack of support for such figures once they are no longer working for the state (a very real anxiety).  Then you have the stoner kids (Lalainia Lindbjerg and a pre-Buffy Seth Green), who direct Mulder to the entrance to the crash set (that scene is quite comical), and who Scully dismisses because they are high.  Mulder trying to be down with the kids is a blast! Then there's the woman in the diner who gives Fox a picture of what she believes is UFO (again Scully is sceptical).  These characters are all outsiders of some kind (as is Mulder), who are dismissed by the people in power. This theme is built on throughout the show.  Including with another character from this season who has a bigger role. 



Deep Throat takes a sharp left turn in the second half, with Mulder being kidnapped and experiencing the same treatment as Col. Budadhas resulting in him completely forgetting the events of the episode.  The best thing about this development is how Scully goes the extra mile to rescue her partner (Anderson direct, bad ass), showing her concern. 



And the ending where Deep Throat fills Mulder in is pretty cool, and this exchange:

Mulder: "Their here aren't they?"
Deep Throat: "They've been here for a very long time"...



Verdict: A big improvement on the pilot.  Its a tighter episode, with the central pairing starting to come into their own.  It sets up many of the trademark's of the series and Deep Throat makes an impression on his debut.  Its nicely shot, with some good supporting roles, and decent suspense.  The main flaws are the generic action scenes or the heavy handed military scenes (this is one television stereotype that runs through the X-Files), and the scenes involving Mulder having his wiped look really bad.  It has its weaknesses, but does take good strides forward.

Rating: 6.5/10 

Star Trek: Discovery Episode 103

Context is for Kings



This third episode does a deck re-suffle job following the dramatic events of last week's pilot.  It suffers from some of the stumbling points from the opening two-parters (more so the second episode), however as the episode drawn on there were promising things set up for the future. 

With Michael held captive, the shuttle is intercepted by Captain Gabriel Lorrca (Jason Issacs) of the U.S.S Discovery who orders Michael to take part in the War against the Klingons. 

Michael and the Discovery Captain were the highlights of this one for me.  Setting Michael up as this darker, anti-hero I think is a brave move and opens up some promising stories for the series.  The opening scene has her sitting with other Prisioners on the Shuttle.  One of them is unaware of who she is and needs telling.  This I think goes to the idea that Michael is something of a enigma despite her high rank.  She is cold and assassin like, even in this opening scene.  One of the fellow Prisioners tells Michael that a cousin died as a result of her actions.  When the Prisioner gets the number of casualities wrong, Michael calmly, roughly proudly corrects her.  Another thing this episode does is build up her sense of belief (maybe a bit stubborn at times) that her actions are somehow justified within the action mission, but also that there is code as a Star Fleet Officer that she is proud to up hold.  Throughout the episode, we see what an isolated figure she is even on board the Discovery.  There is a heavy handed fight scene in the Cafeteia which felt a bit macho and dumbo.  Crucially, Saru has been re-appointed in the Commander position to Lorrca's Captain.  There's a very personal scene where Saru says he doesn't trust Michael and that she lacks human qualities.  A really cool shot at her is when Saru suggests that if she attempts to get in the way of the Discovery Mission that he would hope to be a better Commander to his Captain than she was to hers.  Its a powerful scene and Doug Jones once again does a great job as Saru. 

I was less sold at least at first on the relationship between Michael and room mate Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman).  Tilly says she has special needs.  Her line, "The only other girl called Michael I've heard of is Michael Burham.  Your not her are you"?  That's a pretty clunky line.  The other issue with Tilly is that at first she seemed like the quirky, nevious comic relief.  As the episode went on there was a sweeter side to their relationship, and I could see a more active side to Tilly. Issacs as you would respect is great.  He's very commanding, icy as the Captain.  The character is very hard to read.  At this point we are un-sure of his intentions.  There are political undertones to the discussions between him and Michael and him trying to presuade her to take part in the project.  The final scene with Lorrca is a hell of a hook for next week.  Another character whose debut I enjoyed was Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp).  He's a very well rounded and rich character.  His conflict over the effects of the war and the damage done to the research and the friends he lost as a result was juicy stuff.  Some of the scenes with Michael at odds with the Discovery crew was a bit bland and there are some rushed elements again.  There are some fun comedy and action moments during this episode which I think was welcome. 

Star Trek Discovery: Episode 102

Battle at the Binary Stars 


Having set the table so impressively for this chapter of Star Trek in what I thought was a near perfect first episode, this second half of the pilot felt like the calm after the storm.  The momentum and excitement of the The Vulcan Hello was replaced with self-conscious dialouge, and plodding pacing and storytelling.  Maybe the worse thing about part two is that I don't actually have much to say about it.  That is never a good sign. 

Picking up the cliff hanger ending from TVH, this episode opens with a stand-off between Captain Phillipa Georgiou and Commander Michael Burnham. Georgiou had the Commander arrested for assaulting her.  Through flash backs we get more background on Michael's Vulcan training as a youngster.  We also also jumped back seven years to when Michael first arrived on the ship and meet the crew.  One interesting thing about this scene was Michael's reaction upon first seeing Lt. Saru (Doug Jones).  Saru is of Kelpien descent, which draws a negative response from Michael.  This ties in nicely to the plot in the present of her reacting violently towards the Klingon's.  She is basically judging their intentions without getting to know them, just like the reaction she appears to have towards Saru.  I can't really say what I think about these flashback sequences until further into the series where the real purpose of them should be revealed.  I'm not always the biggest fan of flashbacks.  They tend to slow the plot down, and just feel like a clunky way to fill backstory, which could be better explained through actions in the present. If a show does use flashbacks then it is best to do so in the opening episodes rather than later on. 



The episode dives a bit deeper into the tension on the Klingon side of things.  We see a conflict over who should be leader, and we see more of the rituals of their race, some of which did feel a bit cheesy and heavy handed.  While Georgiou is trying to steady relations with the Klingon ship, a locked up Michael is visited via telepathic connection by guardian Sarek who uses his powers to help Michael bust out.  It was at this point where the episode started taking a down turn.  Michael getting locked up only to escape so quickly felt weak and pointless to me.  The interactions with Sarek were a bit unconvincing.  I have a feel that he is a character who cannot be trusted.  He was acting to very heelish.  If that proves to be true then it felt a little overly telegraphed.  I do like him using the classic line, "Live Long and Prosper." The delivery was bang on too and he gave it a more sinister air.



 Another rushed deveolpment was when Michael returns to the bridge, how quickly she convinces the Captain to forgive her actions and to go with her plan of attack (which is to kidnap the Klingon Captain T'Kuvma).  In a strange sequence the Commander and Captain beam aboard the Kingon ship and a OTT fight spills out.  The fight felt physical and was really well directed.  Yet, there was something about it which felt just a bit camp, and like the sort of battle scene you might see in the Sci-Fi adventures from past decades.  Because of that reason the scene worked for me very well.  It was like a throw back to some of the more cartoonish b-movie elements from the original show (which lets face it was a big part of its charm and each new version I think should have the odd b-movie style moments).  And of course it was there to set up a big moment.  As Burnham over powers Voq, Georgiou attempts to capture T'Kuvma, but the tables are turned and the Captain is killed.  A distressed Burnham (lets not forget Michael and Georgiou have known each other for the past seven years), kills T'Kuvma before transporting out of harms way. Vog vows to honour T'Kuvma by avenging his death. The episode ends with Burnham being sentenced to life imprisonment because of her actions. 



The double surprises of Georgiou being killed (maybe not a massive shock considering Burnham is looking very much the show's lead, though the Captain's death was effectively handled for me), and then Michael getting the life sentence, certainly made for a gut punch of a ending.  The ending had a good hook at least. There were some interesting moments, and gripping action scenes like the first part. But the pacing was off.  The sequences involving the Klingons were not as convincing as the previous episode.  Another problem was that Sonequa Martin-Green did not impress as much this time around.  The reason for this I believe might be that she is more natural when playing a cold, masculine type of character, than the emotional one seen here.  Whatever the case she's a very interesting character. If she does take the lead for the rest of the season (she is in every episode I believe) then its interesting that she has been set up from the start as a flawed character, and maybe not the most trust worthy.  One of the most interesting characters so far has been Saru and he is brilliant played by Doug Jones. He just has a wonderful energy and bemused wit to him.  One thing I don't think I commented on when reviewing the preious episode was the new title sequence.  Having seen it a second time here, have to say I'm not too impressed. It does feel like something which has been thrown together on the cheap, and telegraphs the creator's attempts to reference the old shows, but give this new one a modern feel.  Its a very cold and genric credit sequence for me. 

Taking these two parts as one whole story of the pilot, its a hit and miss start.  Still there are enough intriging elements to keep me interested in the coming episodes. 

My next Star Trek Discovery Review will be up next Monday.

Star Trek Discovery Episode 101

The Vulcan Hello


A brand new era for Gene Roddenberry's brain child gets under way with a darker and more political feel to Bryan Fuller's new show which is set a decade before the original series.  Its fitting that since the original 1960s show set new bounadries for Sci-Fi television in terms of racial deversity that this new series has set its store out at the start to update such themes once again.  Such things are not only balanced and complex, but the idenities represented are fluid.

The plot for this opening episode is that Commander Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) has a despute with Captain Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) when their Star Ship The U.S.S. Shenzhou is attacked by a crew of Klingons out of retaliation for one of their own being killed by Michael (by mistake). Michael's personal history with the Klingon's race makes her determined to that they should take action and eliminate the Klingon's, while The Captain maintains that they are no immediate threat and that the ship's resources maybe a bit limited in a battle.

The set up to the episode is a smooth piece of drama.  A dramatic battle speech from a Klingon ending with him claiming "We come in peace" is then cut to a shot of a desert and Georgiou telling Michael "We come in Peace" referring to the humans. This planted the seed from the word go that the lines are going to be blurred between good and evil.  As the episode draws on it is actually Michael who is presented as the most sinister and flawed character.  The look of the Klingons is distinct.  They are decked out in bright, striking leather coats, with gold decorations - that make a statement like royal armour.  The special effects make-up is very fleshy, balancing a human quality with an imposing Monster appearance.  It is a great look for the Kingons and prevents them from coming off as genric Creature of the Week types.  Another interesting touch was that within the Klingon group there are different and diverse races (just as if they were humans).  Probably the most interesting scene during this episode when it comes to race is when Admiral Anderson (Terry Serpico) a white man warns Michael (an African American woman) that based on assumptions made about her race that she should not assume that the Klingons are a threat.  Michael fires back with a very interesting line, "Don't confuse race with culture."



The pilot has an epic feel too.  The sweeping camera movements and rich visual colours was another highlight.  Michael beliving her and the Captain are walking around in a circle and the reveal of the ship coming down in the desert is a really iconic and cool moment.  The old Star Trek theme hitting at that point gave me the chills.  Star Trek fan or not that theme is unforgettable and it was a great moment. David Semel does an impressive job directing the action and space scenes.  Such as when Michael is sent into space to explore an unknown object and is confronted by a Klingon.  The close-up of her stunned face inside the helmet is a beautiful shot, and framed in such a powerful and rich way. There's tension througout this scene.  Like the recent Star Trek movies the design of this opening episode bright, and bold, with a great depth.  There are some exciting scenes that gripped me.



Martin-Green hit it out of the park as Micheal.  She has that classic mannered command of a leader, but with a subtle vulnerability which slowly bubbles under the surface throughout this opening episode. The conflict between Michael and Captain Georgiou was convincing too.  Michelle Yeoh as always is a commanding screen presence.  She brings a grounded, sly wit and world weary nature to Georgiou.  Her icy restraint gels nicely with the instinctive, firy aspects of Michael.  The cast is looking solid down the line, with some unknowns throw in too.  Character actor Jason Issac should make a impression as Captain Gabriel Lorca.  Maulik Pancholy best known for 30 Rock and Weeds is the sort of actor born to be in Star Trek.  There's an unpredictabilty heading into the second part of this two-parter with much set up, and some sub-plots.  Much for Trekkies (or even non-Trekkies) young and old to get excited about.


My review of Episode Two will be up over the next 24 hours.

Twin Peaks: The Return Episode 316

No Knock, No Doorbell 












Nobody shoots a car headlight at night on a road like Lynch.  It signals that we are back with the most sinister father and son duo ever Dark Cooper and Richard Horne.  Having stopped at a hill, Cooper explains to Richard that he was given three coordinates, two matched, but there was a odd one out.  As Richard is sent up the hill to check it out, right on cue Jerry stumbles out of the woods (so they must be in Twin Peaks or at least just outside).  In Classic Jerry fashion he looks for binoculars backwards!  I suspected something bad might be waiting for Richard, but wasn't sure what.  This season has been full of famous last lines, and this was no different.  As Horne steps up onto the watch he calls out, "I'm there." Before being wriped out by a electric surge, and like that Richard Horne is no more.  Unlike Jerry, Cooper takes this in his stride.  Given his character this didn't surprise me, but knowing the character like we do coupled with his reserved reaction it does bring up the question if he knew what was going to happen so sent Richard up the hill to be killed? (maybe he wanted him out the way).  Or its possible that he just sent Richard as a test before trying himself. Interesting that Richard is killed off the episode following the one in which he teamed up with Cooper. Before driving off Cooper sends a message "All"?

Meanwhile in Vegas, Chantal and Hutch are parked outside Dougie's house, as are the FBI.  Wilson gets another big telling off from his boss which is glorious! Both parties are out of luck, because following on from last week Dougie is in the hospital and in a coma (like someone else we know was/might still be?).  The Mitcham Brothers show up packing gifts which lifts Janey E's spirits. In short set up scene Gordon is shown in a room surrounded by machines and wires.  Back at the hospital Bushnell finds out the FBI are looking for Dougie.  I love his line, "What's he done now? He's in a coma."

Chantal and Hutch meet their fate in the most unexpected and oddly entertaining way.  A guy approaches their van saying their in his driveway.  Chantal bites back, "We're not even close to your driveway, go fuck yourself"! The unknown man responds by driving full steam ahead into the back of their van, this leads to all out war fare as Chantal shoots at the car, only for the man to pull out a uzi and shoot up the back of the fleeing van eventually killing both of them.  Bare in mind that Wilson has and his partner have been watching all this time and only decide to do something when its too late (they arrest the man after the event).  This was a smoothly directed, but heavy hitting action scene, dancing between action comedy, and full blown chaos.  It did remind of Richard's hit and run of the boy earlier in the season (though needless to say less tragic).  The random build up to it, and sudden twist with a random unknown character opening fire is what gave it a very real, raw and unerving tone.  The scene along side a few others like it from the season show us the built up aggression of modern life, and how crazy acts of violence can develop out of nothing.



Dougie/Cooper is visited by The One Arm Man who gives him the green ring.  Dougie asks if he has the gold seed (representing a person's essence), the reply is yes, Dougie says that he needs the One Arm Man to make another one.  Dougie awakes from the coma, or rather Special Agent Dale Cooper awakes from the coma God damn it! He's back and in control! He instructs Bushnell to give him a phone and a gun.  The doctor checks him out and confirms he is fit to leave (this is Cooper we are talking about now afterall).  Cooper calls the Mitcham Brothers and gets them to arrange a plane to Washington (Twin Peaks!).  As Cooper heads for the exit, the Twin Peaks theme music starts up, and the next exchange is pure magic!

Bushnell: "What about the FBI"?

Cooper: "I am the FBI."

So we have the line which pays everything off so beautifully, the line that has Twin Peaks and Dale Cooper fans around the world punching the air with delight.  You better believe Cooper's back in town! He even gave that cheeky little smile as he delivered it.  Such a satisfying moment.



From the light, we return to the darkness.  Diane recieves the text sent by Evil Cooper at the start of the episode.  This unnerves her, she types in a series of numbers (possibly coordinates), and has a gun in her purse.  Taking an elevator up she walks with a purpose across a corridor which is indicated by the heavy industrial drumming which was last heard back in the season opener and was used for none other than the Evil Cooper. The text, the gun, the music, it all points to Diane being on the dark half of this conflect.  Gordon invites Diane into the room before she can even knock (like he's been expecting her).  Tammy and Albert are in the room too.  Diane opens up about the night twenty six years ago that Cooper visited her house.  Getting more and more rattled she tells them how he tried to seduce her, how something went wrong and that he raped her.  This scene is given the proper weight it deserves, and is beautiful sold by Dern, who is able to switch in between gears such effectively.  We hear that Cooper took her to a old gas station.  "I'm not me. I'm not me" she repeats before reaching for her gun, but Albert and Tammy in unison shoot Diane before she can complete the action, as the bullets hit, she goes flying up into the air and away.  Tammy helping Albert to take Diane out is important, because throughout she has been like a shadow version of Diane.  She's had a nice little arc throughout the season where she has often been on the fringes, but has slowly grown in confidence and become more active in the case.  Diane ends up in the Red Room and is told by The One Arm Man that she was manifactured.  Which he told Cooper at the start of this season. Even in the Red Room, Diane gets in a "Fuck you." Her face melts away.  This is major because it hints that Diane from the very begining was a creation, assigned to Cooper and The Blue Rose.  Another ideas floating about is that is the Judy mentioned by Philip Jeffries.  Naido might have some connection to this plot too, since she was seen floating through space and was found in the woods at one of portal entrances, and also replaced someone of note this season.  Is Naido Judy? Are Naido and Diane one in the same?...




At the Casino Cooper still keeping up the Dougie pretence Janey E. and Sonny Jim, tell them that he has to go away for awhile, adding, "When I come back I'll walk through that red door and never leave." Depending on your point of view that last line could be read as a positive or negative.  I will return to it in the final questions at the end.  Janey senses that this is good bye and her behavior in begging Cooper not to leave, indicates that she knows that he's not really Dougie, Cooper insists that he must go, but they embrace as a family.  It again goes to the classy, selfless character of Cooper that he wants to protect Dougie's family from the truth and to part on good terms, giving them hope in the process.  Later in the limo Cooper explains to the Mitcham Brothers about his true idenity. Once again the Twin Peaks theme plays as the real Cooper is on his way home.



As the latest performer entertains the crowd at the Road House, Audrey and Charlie finally arrive at the venue.  At first the focus cuts back and forth between them and the stage, before settling on them.  Charlie buys them a drink and toasts to them, but Audrey's having none of it, as a fuck you back, she says "Here's to Billy." In another moment no one could have predicted, the performance ends, and the MC steps up to the mic and announces, "And now its time for Audrey's dance." At which point the crowd mysteriously move to one side of the dance floor, a spot light magically shines upon Audrey, and THAT MUSIC plays! Followed by that dance in the middle of the dance floor.  Charlie looks on and boy is he pissed... Sherilyn Fenn is clearly embracing every second of this scene as she appears in another stratosphere while performing the dance.  There's something about her easy, sexy movements, and trippy expression that says "I'm home."  But the joy can only last so long.  A bar fight breaks out, snapping Audrey out of the trance, rushing towards Charlie, she demands, "Get me outta here."  And Audrey gets her wish, the next thing she knows she awakes in a pure white room in front of mirror.  Cut to credits.  Just one other thing to note that over the end credits a band at the Road House play the Audrey theme, except backwards... Never has a scene played with our emotions so much.  First off all the appearance of Audrey and Charlie cast some doubt over the idea of Audrey being in a Coma.  Then her theme playing and the dance seem to reafirm that this was the case.  Just as we were enjoying that moment, and thinking things are set one way, the break out of violence swung us in a different direction, but as it turned out it maybe just what Audrey needed.  It was a great scene, but does bring up more pressing questions.  Is this Audrey back now? What does the pure whiteness of the room represents? It could just be a symbol of the light, or it did cross my mind that it could be some sort of heaven.  The one thing we did know is that Audrey was in a coma and now is back on track.  As is Cooper. What a way to set up a finale.



Further Questions

1. Is Cooper's line about the Red door meant to signal his death in the finale?

2. Do you think that Judy is either Diane or Naido?

3. Is Tammy being lined up to replace Diane?

4. Was the second golden seed that Cooper asked for meant for Diane (who was about to be killed), or was it intended to replace Dougie?

5. Will Audrey and Cooper get their (and our) dream ending in the finale?

Episode MVP: Special Agent Dale Cooper

Its a toss up between him and Diane, with Audrey a close third place.  Laura Dern has produced one of the best performances of the year as Diane, its been muli-layered and exciting to watch.  Cooper just pips her here, because his transformation back into the Cooper we love was just so pleasing, and a great pay-off to what many fans have been waiting all season for.  Not to mention, that how skilled his performance has been in balancing both sides of Cooper, which once again we saw here.

Verdict

Not sure I can say much more than I did in the review, but this episode was just packed with drama, unexpected twists, rich character beats, and some outstanding acting.  It had just about everything you could want from a great Twin Peaks episode.  Not to mention how it just paid off the Cooper and Audrey plots, perfectly setting up the two character's for next week's finale. The trick of the last few episodes, is that we've been hit by huge moments, and plot movement's but at the same time have been teased by fresh and exciting questions.  Chantal and Hutch have been good additions this season.  It was sad to see them go, but it was a one hell of a dramatic exit.  If I do have a nit pick, its with Richard suddenly being killed off having only being placed with his father the previous week.  The scene itself was very good, and the mystery behind Dark Coopers' intentions was interesting, however, it did feel like a bit of rushed departure.  Richard has certainly played his role in this show, and has proven another distinct Lynchian scumbag. Was his death just a twist for the sake of one? This point aside, No Knock, No Doorbell was a strong contender for the best of this season and a perfect set up what promises to be the most exciting two hours of televison this year.  "Isn't it so dreamy?...

Twin Peaks Episode 314 & 315

Episode 314: We are like the Dreamer 



We start another packed episode with the first connection between Gordon Coles (David Lynch), and Twin Peaks the town this series.  Gordon phones the Sheriff station and of course gets the ever chatty Lucy (Kimmy Robertson).  Expecting a quick catch up with Lucy (by in mind for all we know the pair haven't talked for twenty plus years), in classic Lucy fashion she sidetracks the conversation with her life story since she last spoke to Gordon.  In a smart detail, when Lucy patches Gordon through to Sheriff Truman, he is expecting his brother Harry, but of course the current Sheriff is Harry's brother Frank.  This was just a nice piece of consistency, which makes perfect sense.  Frank tells Gordon about Laura's diary pages which Hawk found.

Staying in Buckthorn, Albert explains to Tammy (and us), the back story of the blue rose cases, that the first one was in 1975 and involved a woman called Lois Duffy who was shot dead in a hotel room. Before dying, Lois said, "I'm like a blue rose." (thus how the special unit was named).  Another woman in the room also named Lois was arrested for the crime.  The arresting officers Gordon Coles and Philip Jeffries.  This is interesting, but what comes next is a bombshell.  Gordon quizzes Diane about if Cooper mentioned Major Briggs on that faithful night 26 years ago, she confirms that he did, when Albert tells her about the message on the green ring (the one about Dougie and Janey), Diane reveals that her half-sister also called Janey is married to one Douglas Jones, aka DOUGIE! The news on Diane's link to Janey and Dougie is massive and sets the mind racing.  How great would it be to have Diane and Janey together in a scene?  It bares the question, what role did Diane if any did Diane play in good Cooper taking over Dougie's body? Another intriguing part of this for me, is that we are still unsure about whose side Diane is on in this conflict or just what her motivations are.  This scene adds to that mystery, because I wonder if Albert mentioned the ring to try and trip Diane up to get such a juicy piece of information, but likewise is Diane feeding them this information for her on purposes (and Dark Cooper's?). In a priceless add-on, Gordon phones the Vegas FBI brench and tells a guy called Wilson to look up Douglas Jones.  Wilson has a job on his hands because there are 23 Douglas Jone's in the state, for which he recieves a rant from his boss who screams at Wilson, "What's wrong with you?  This is what we do in the FBI!" Just great, insane, madcap stuff! Far from being the meat of the episode, this is just the warm up act.  Next, Gordon describes a dream he had last night about Monica Bellucci (yes the actress).  At first I thought this was going to be another quirky Gordon comedy beat, it seems he has a thing for french women (like the woman he was entertaining a few episodes back), but then we enter Gordon's dream.  Its black and white (to mark it out as a dream or as something that took place at a different time).  To no one's surprise the real Monica Bellucci shows up.  On a street Bellucci tells Coles that "We all like the dreamer of dreams, and who lives inside the dreams."  Gordon looks behind him and sees himself in the past with Philip Jeffries, and we get a replay of their scene from Fire Walk with Me.  I will return to this at the end.



In a neat bait and switch scene, Frank, Hawk, Andy and Bobby set up for lunch at the station, and arrest a unexpected Chad when he shows up.  Frank says they've been watching Chad for awhile. So his inside work for Richard Horne has been expossed.  This is just another small victory for the good guys of Twin Peaks against the corrupting outside influence of someone like Chad.  Them finding Chad out is more credible, because A) Chad is an idiot, and B) If you factor in that Lucy (who seemed to suspect something was a foot when Chad was picking up the mail/intercepting Miriam's letter in a previous episode), probably played the crucial role in finding Chad out.  We arrive at their walk in the forrest and to the spot marked on the map.  The long, lingering shots of forest, are some of the most beautiful of the whole show.  At the same time we get the familiar low rumbling, hum reverberating around the forrest. Despite the beauty, there is also a haunting quality which I think is partly because of the sense of the characters searching for the spot in the wood, and us watching this, and the sense that the next important moment is about to arrive.  Finally, at Jackrabbits Place they find a nake girl with cut out eyes.  The girl in question is Naido who was last seen in episode 3, dropping through space and has now arrived on earth.  Naido is frantic and makes a bunch of noises which cannot be made out.  Frank warns the others that its 2.53, which was the important time indicated on the coordinates.

Right on cue a vortex opens in the sky and sucks Andy into the black lodge.  There he is sat across from the Giant, who says, "I am an Fireman" (keep note of this for later in the episode).  The Giant hands Andy some an object which transforms into a portal which he looks up through.  The portal plays a number of images which pretty much recap the events of the 8th episode of the season Gotta Light in Roswell, with Bob, the Woodsman, etc...  Two other images shown are of Lucy and Andy in a hall,with him warning her to stay back (this is yet to happen as far as I know?) - this could be a warning to Andy of a threat to come to his loved one.  The other image is a playback of the the telegraph mask with the number six which has appeared two previous times, one in Fire Walk with Me the other time was in episode 6 of this season after the young kid had been run over by Richard.  Back in the woods, Andy tells the others that people are after Naido and that they should lock her in a cell for safety.  Later Lucy lets Naido borrow her robe, and Chad is mouthing off from his cell, to which Andy replies, "Your a very bad man who gives the police a bad name." This is a good way to bring Andy, one of the most pure characters of the show into focus and give him responsibility in the fight against evil.  After Andy leaves, another prisioner with a beat up face makes loud animalistic noises and repeat Chad setences, Chad joins in with the noises.  This reminded me of the sounds Bobby and Mike made early in the first season at James.



Its revealed that James and his friend Freddy(first seen at the start of the season) work as security guards at the Great Northern Hotel.  James asks Freddy about his green glove, talking in a really dodgy cockney accent (the actor is actually from the UK), and cockney rhyming slag Freddy tells James a story about one drunken night he started floating in the air and was told by The Fireman (The Giant) to buy a green glove from a hardware store, and that the glove processed special powers. Freddy was instructed to take the glove with him to Twin Peaks.  Later James goes into the back of a warehouse with a torch and that familiar low rumble, electic sound can be heard.  The sub-plot with Freddy feels a bit like him being set up as a new generation of crime frighter to battle the evil forces arriving in Twin Peaks, but with a speical power to aid him.

One more big scene to come.  We return to Sarah Palmer.  She goes to a local bar (not the Road House), and orders a Bloody Mary.  A creepy looking guy tries to cosy up to her, she's clearly not interested.  At this point the man starts getting nasty, and vebally abuses Sarah in a crude, horrible, masculine, and sexist way.  It is a very uncomfortable moment.  Its been a running theme this season of ungly, and dark masclinity as part of the evil in Twin Peaks.  Things then take the most unexpected of turns.  Sarah opens up her face, revealing a dark shadow inside.  A sinister sounding voice warns, "Do you really want to fuck with this?" She then rips into his flesh killing him.  Sarah then seems to snap out of it, and is bemused, uncertain at what's happened (though think there was little hints that she was still aware).  I did enjoy the line from the bar tender, "There's someone dead at the bar!" This was a big moment.  Once again Grace Zebriskie sold it like a pro, it was very creepy and has gotten people talking about just what the creature in Sarah is? For many its a call back to episode 8 and the suggestion that the young girl in New Mexico that Babylon crawled into was a young Sarah Palmer.  Regardless, Sarah's next movements are hard to predict, but will be highly anticipated.  At the road house two girls (yes two more new characters added to the mix..), Megan and Sophie discuss Billy. Megan tells a story about Billy going nuts, running into the house bleeding badly.  At one point Sophie asks Megan "What is your Mum's name"? The answer comes, "Tina."  Billy and Tina both came up in the discussion between Audrey and Charlie.  We then get this week's guest music star, which is Lissie (probably the biggest name outside of Nine Inch Nails so far).

Further Questions:

1. Do you think Tina and Billy are real characters?

2. If no, are they meant to represent characters we already know? And who could they be?

3. Will we get a cameo from David Bowie besides the shots of him in the past in FWWM.


Episode MVP: Andy Brennan
I'm tempted to give it to Sarah Palmer because the performance from Zebriskie was just so fantastic, and it was a great scene.  But Andy's moment of being chosen by The Giant is such a important moment, and its a great thing to do with his character.

Verdict
Excellent.  The couple of weeks things have really been building to something exciting.  This is probably the best episode since Gotta Light? It was packed with juicy dramatic moments, which were unpredictable, visually exciting, but full of meaty substance and talking points.  There were some progressive plot and character moments, and some choice performances.  It felt like another game changing episode.  It showed why Twin Peaks is the most unpredictable and exciting show on television in my opinion.

Episode 315: There's Some Fear in Letting Go

And so we arrive at the saddest and most moving episode of this series so far.  This one hit home  very hard, giving us a proper mix of loveable and toucching moments, combined with the more edgy, troubling stuff.

The opening has Nadine walking with a purpose with her goldern shovel in hand.  Of all people she bumps into Ed.  Nadine opens up to her husband with a speech consistently of saying that she's been holding Ed and Norma back for years and basically gives him his freedom back, allowing him to be with Norma.  Even calling her a selfish bitch. She even goes as far as to dig out the Jacoby line claiming that she's been "Shoveling her way out of the shit." Its this great moment of libration for Nadine, and a nice payoff to the arc with her and Jacoby (I'm guessing that her and Doc are set to be a item now), one subplot which at times has felt over done.  Its also interesting that Nadine is saying that unlike other people in the town she is seeing things for what they are, and that she is the one who is free, but at the sametime she sees that Ed can be happy with Norma.  Its consistent too that Ed is the sort of guy to question this, after all he's been with Nadine so long and considering her mental state he has some doubts. Everett McGill sells this with a perfect mix of relief and bemusement.  Anyway, he heads to the Double R diner to declare his love to Norma, with a fitting upbeat love theme filling the air (the most up beat piece of music used in the return).  There is a obstacle blocking their path to true love, and that is shit head Walter! As Walter tries more of his moves on Norma both business and personally, the POV cuts between Ed with a concerned expression at the couner and Norma and Walter, the love theme plays in busts when the shots on Ed, and fades out when returning to Norma and Walter.  Not to fear, because Norma shoots the slimeball down once and for all, declaring that she will sell him the other Double Rs, but that the Twin Peaks brench is remaining under Norma's control.  This news kicks Walter to the curb, HELL YEAH NORMA!! The love theme returns, Ed and Norma get their big reunion and Shelly looks on in glee.  The love thing lifts as we get sweeping shots throughout Twin Peaks.  Its a lovely moment for two of the show's most loved characters. Good wins out over evil (yep I'm grouping that little rat Walter in with the evil side).  The audience are allowed to savour this joy.  But with this being a Lynch show, this up lifting moment is setting us up for something a bit darker and challenging.

The familar headlights shots at night mark the return of dark Cooper.  Cooper stops out a gas station and is greeted by one of the woodsmen.  He tells him that he is looking for Philip Jeffries.  As dopple Cooper is led up a starwell to the entrance of the building, the shot cuts back and foruth between the stairs and the woods, this is repeated inside as Cooper and the viewer are lead along a gothic looking corridor and up the stars.  This leads onto a outside path, where he is met by a mysterious looking woman dressed in black, she says "I will unlock the door for you." Except she says this backwards like the lodge speech.  Inside there is a electrical flash and among other images we get a shot of the Jumping Man, its the first time we have seen him since Fire Walk with Me.  Cooper gets to meet Philip Jeffries who talked through a machine with smoke coming from it. Cooper wants to know why Jeffries hired Ray to have him killed.  What's interesting here is that Philip doesn't actually confirm that he did hire Ray, just that he spoke to him on the phone.  Jeffries said he didn't call Cooper because he doesn't have his number. He then says "You are Cooper."  We never get another flashback from FWWM with Jeffries (David Bowie), with his speech, "We're not going to talk about Judy at all."  Jeffries gives Cooper a series of numbers (coordinates maybe?).  Cooper demands to know who Judy is.  Jeffries tells him that he should ask Judy herself, and that he's already met Judy.  Cooper repeats the question, but is cut off by the loud ringing of a telephone which ends the encounter and signals his exit.  Outside Richard confronts Cooper and wants to talk about him and his Mum (Audrey, it seems like Cooper was the Dad), Richard knows about Cooper (the real one) being a FBI agent.  Dark Cooper quickly knocks Richard to the ground and says they'll talk about it in the car.  Before they depart he sends a text which reads "Las Vegas"? This is likely the text Diane recieved from dopple Cooper a number of episodes back.  What's interesting here is how for throughout the scene Cooper had lost control of the situation but regained control at the end with Richard, showing him just who the big bad was.  It seems their off to Vegas. As they drive off, the building has a flash of light inside and disappears.



In a very distressing scene we see Steven with another girl (see Becky no reason to worry about his arsehole!).  Steven wants to kill himself becuase of some bad thing he's done, but the girl tries to talk him out of it.  Crucial exchange is Steven saying, "I did it." And the girl responding, "No she did it." Is she Becky? And is this thing Steven has done something we've already seen or not?  At this point a man walks past with his dog (this is a Mark Frost cameo), and gets into a heated discussion with Steven.  The girl frantically hides behind a tree (she tries to talk Steven into doing the same) we hear a gun shot.  The familiar hymming sound can be heard, the same man talks to Carl in the trailer park and points to Steven's trailer, this confirming that Steven shot himself. The actress playing the girl in the woods with Steven was a returning Alicia Witt who had a small role in the second season of Twin Peaks.  She is also known for films such as Urban Legend and Cecil B. Demented, and Lynch's Dune.  Witt had a reguglar role on the sitcom Cybill. I do have a bit of a soft spot for her, even so she does a fantastic job in this scene.  She sells the crazy, out of control tension so powerfully. Its difficult just being dropped into a short scene with no real context, but she knocked it out of the park.  I  believed in the scene because of her emotion.



The Road House get their biggest band yet, rock legends ZZ Top! They get a fancy introduction, except the band are not really there.  We hear them preform one of their big hits as the camera cuts away.  Again this is Lynch playing with the audience, and again its pretty great.  The purpose of this visit is to further the James/Renee/Freddy plot.  Renee was the girl eyeing up James during his glorious performance two episodes ago.  James unwisely confronts Chad and Renee, Chad and James gets into a fight, Freddy steps in and knocks Chad senseless with his magic glove.  So maybe James knew what he was doing after all. Renee is concerned for Chad who is a bad state.  This was a fun little scene, and adds some weight to the Freddy set up from last week.  In a couple of small scenes we first return to the Vegas cop station, and find out that Wilson has looked up the wrong Dougie Jones as he has a office full of kids who clearly don't belong to the Dougie and Janey the Vegas cops are after.  Smart visual joke.  To add to this I think the screaming kids is the sound that could be heard in the station that the dopeing cops paid no attention to a few episodes back.  Next, a mysterious woman who turns out to be Chatel kills Roger and Mr. Todd to tie up that loose end.  Its a professional and cool femme fatale style kill.  James and Freddy are arrested for the inccident at the Road House.  They are placed in the cell across from Chad.  Chad, the other guy and Naido make more noises.  Not too much to this scene, but James and Freddy being added to the mix creates a bit more interest.  It makes me wonder if their stories end here, or does Freddy have a bigger role in the final shake-up.  Post-kill Chatel enjoys a take away meal with Hutch (sorry I've been calling him Garry!).  The sole Dougie scene this week is a significent one.  Janey serves him dinner, as he enjoys the meal he flicks on the television.  A movie is playing, and credit to Pete from the Mild Fuzz network for picking up on the movie being Sunset Boulevard (1950).  The dialouge on screen, "Everything will be fine, We're getting the old team back together again.  Get me Gordon Cole."  As well as the gang reference being connected to the Twin Peaks gang of good guys and Gordon Cole being a reference to the Gordon Cole in Twin Peaks, I think there is a bit of meta commentary too, referring to the time when Lynch was off the Twin Peaks: The Return project and how Lynch (who plays Cole) is part a core part of the old gang of the TV show.  Dougie crawls over to the plug socket (not the first time he's noticed the socket), and sticks a fork into it. The power goes out.

Next we get a very special moment in the history of the show, and a beautiful send off to one of its most loved characters.  The Log Lady calls Hawk.  The first words out of her mouth are, "Hawk I'm dying." Immediately this line struck me straight to in he gut and hart.  Because we know that Catherine E. Coulson died during the filming, these words signal that this is her final scene and that the words are kind of real, the character is dying and so was the actress. Its painful to watch.  But of course, fitting and moving that she was given one last important scene and that Lynch and co. worked around her to give the Log Lady the stage.  She continues, "Do you know about death, that its just a change not a end." Lynch himself is very spiritual don't forget.  "Its time.  Some fear in letting go.  You know when I told you about the one in Blue Sky Mountain, the one above the moon. This is a reference to the landmark on the map.  "My log is turning gold." The gold balls as seen in episode 8 is like a person's esssence.  Again, this relates to the notion that the Log Lady is passing on to another realm, where she will exist in a different form, and that the log is essentially who she is.  Painfully, she repeats, "I'm dying. Goodnight Hawk. Pause.  "Goodnight Margaret." Later Hawk passes on the news of Margaret's passing to Lucy, Andy and Frank. Lucy respectfully states, "Log Lady's dead" They bow their heads as a mark of respect. I like that characters from the original show who would have known and grew up with the log lady were apart of this scene. Its a beautiful moment.  Think this may also speak to Lynch's sense of his own mortality.  It is worth remembering that Catherine E. Coulson worked with Lynch on his first feature Eraserhead (1977).



We get the third scene with Audrey and Charlie (yes they still haven't left the house).  Charlie teases her some more about going to the road house.  Then Audrey is over come, "I'm seeing a completely different person.  Who are you"? Charlie puts his coat on.  Audrey goes nuts, starts beating at him, repeating "I hate you."  More on this in a minute.  First, we return to the Road house. A young girl sits alone.  Two intimidating looking men walk up to her table.  The girl says that she's waiting for someone, but is removed by the two men.  She then starts crawling through the crowd of feet, looking confused and distressed (like she doesn't know where she is), suddenly she screams! We cut to credits.  Post-credits there is a shot of the woman who let dopple Cooper in the building still guarding the gate.  The surreal nature of the Audrey-Charlie scene and her sudden outbust makes me certain that she is still in a coma and needs to somehow break it.  I don't believe that Charlie is real, so its possible that killing him or something as dramatic will return her.  As for the girl at the roadhouse at the end? Its possible that she is waiting for Audrey.  The build up to Audrey finally getting to the road house hints, that something big is in store.  Another possibility is the girl like Naido is waiting to shapeshift or swap identities with someone.  Intriguing stuff indeed.



Further Questions:

1. What does the girl at the Road House represent?

2. Is she real or part of a dream world?  Who do you think she is waiting for?

3. Does the Evil Cooper intend to have a fatherly relationship with Richard?

4. If Audrey is in fact in a coma then how does she break out of it?

P.S. Since I am late getting these reviews up some of these questions may have already been answered.  So if they have and you know the answers, then just assume that they are for everyone else...

Episode MVP: Margaret Lanterman aka The Log Lady
Plenty of contenders this week, but it was such a speical send off for the beloved Log Lady and such a moving scene that she could be the only choice for me.  RIP.




Verdict

What made this episode stand out was that it addressed some of the old Twin Peaks favourites and had some fine payoffs and plot progressions.  The conclusion to the Big Ed/Nadine/Norma tale (assuming it is a concusion) was lovely to see and handled with perfection.  It felt like a classic moment from the old show.  At the same time as giving Ed and Norma their big moment, it ended the conflect with Norma and the ghastly Walter, her actions tying into Lynch's traditional ideology and to one of the core conflicts at the heart of this season's Good VS. Evil battle.  It was a big moment for Nadine too,  she finally did the big thing and gave Ed the all clear to be with the right woman.  It paid off her sub-plot with Jacoby (which at times seemed to be going no where).  This coupled with the Log Lady scenes were nicely balanced by the darker, more surreal moments of the episode. I guess maybe one let down was that to quote a friend "They really kept us in suspense. Is David gonna be there? Is David gonna be there? Is David gonna be there? Is David gonna be there? ... Its a giant teapot."  It was a great scene no doubt but to work around Bowie by just having him talk through some odd looking machine maybe was a bit clunky.  Still the scene achived its aim.  On that note, I like the set up of Cooper and Richard maybe working together as father and son.  The last few episodes have felt like the show getting back to its best and with just three hours of the new series left it feels like something very special indeed is in store.

Twin Peaks: The Return

Episode 313: What Story is that, Charlie? 



We start in Vegas, at the insurance firm. In a nice bit of ramdon comedy, the Dougie/Mitcham brothers love affair goes on as he rolls in doing some form of the congo with the brothers plus the show girls.  Rodney's line, "A wrong has been made right and the sun is shining bright." was a highlight here.  Meanwhile, office employee Anthony neviously calls Mr. Todd to pass on the bad news about Dougie still being around.  Todd who also answers to a higher power tells Anthony that he must now deal with Dougie personally.  Later a gym set is delievered for Dougie and Janney's son, Sonny Jim from the Mitcham brothers.  Its a fancy gym set, and Janey gets a flash new car with a cool ribbon wraped it! Janey is seduced by Dougie's new found fouture.  This a big theme in the episode.

The focus is switched to Montana.  A gang gather in a fancy, high tech garage.  Dopple Cooper drives in and is after Ray.  It turns out that the gang are to decide their new leader with a arm wrestling contest.  Dark Cooper knowlingly accepts the challenge and is matched with big muscled bond guy.  The predictable happens in the unpredictable way. Coop teases that he is going to lose the contest.  Rather than just beat the goon after that Cooper places the hand at different heights, and playfully tells him what position hurts and where it feels comfortable. "Starting positions!" This is classic Twin Peaks logic, and plays perfectly into the power of personality and presence of the character.  In a neat twist, Dark Cooper doesn't win the conventional way, instead smashes the guy dead with one punch.  Its a powerful pay off. So Dark Cooper is the new leader.  He has his gang (even if he didn't want them), but of course he wanted a few minutes with Ray.  As the others clear out, a geeky looking man in a suit asks Cooper if he needs any money? The answer is no, but this might still be important later.  Cooper shoots Ray in the leg and questions him about who hired him to kill Cooper?  Ray reveals that it was Philip Jefferies who arranged Cooper's jailbreak and told Ray to place the green ring on his finger after he killed him. Ray hands over the coordinates that Chester had taken down.  Ray tells Cooper that last he heard Jefferies was in a place called 'The Dutchman's' which Ray believes to be a fictional place.  Cooper kills Ray, and says, "I know where it is."  As all this has gone down, the gang have been watching in the back on the big screen, and a nervous looking Richard Horne wanders through.  So Dark Cooper has his gang and seems to be heading for Twin Peaks.

Back in Vegas we get more of the annoying cop brothers.  Despite someone struggling off screen, they do not seem the least bit interested in helping her.  The lead officer tells them that he has lifted Dougie's prints and they revealed that he is a missing FBI officer.  We learn that one of the officers is involved in the insurance scheme. Anthony begs him to clean the Dougie mess up, but is told he handle it himself.  We see a short clip of Chatel and Gary in the van, having a random conversation about people in Utah.  Being team Dark Cooper, its fair to say they might be heading for Twin Peaks also.  Anthony offers to buy Dougie a coffee at work, and of course this being Twin Peaks Dougie/Cooper is not going to pass up that offer.  Speaking of which Dougie then destracted by a cherry pie at the counter.  While Dougie is away Anthony drugs his coffee, though he is already uneasy with the thought of doing the dirty deed.  The tables are then completely turned when a mesmorised Dougie starts touching the back of Anthony's coat where what appears to be some fibres are in plain sight.  Believing that Dougie is onto him, Anthony breaks down, runs to the toilet and desposes of the spiked coffee.  Later Anthony confeses all to his boss, who tells him he will not press changes if Anthony testifys. On the one hand this scene was just anothe qirky piece of comedy, and fate taking its course.  On the other hand I do think that Dougie getting caught up by the pie is another sign that the Cooper is in there, and is getting ever nearer to returning to his old self.  Whether he knew what he was doing to Anthony is harder to say.



In a smooth thematic link, we head to Twin Peaks for the first time in the episode where Shelly calms down her daughter Becky (she's upset that jerky Stephen didn't call last night), by inviting her to the Double R for a piece of CHERRY PIE! Big Ed (Everett McGill) returns to our screens, in a sweet little scene him and Norma invites Bobby to sit with them in the Double R.  There is some doubt during the episode whether Ed is still with Nadine after all these years (though considering her obsession with Jacoby, possibly not).  Bobby is excited about somethings connected to the case from his Dad (could be to do with Cooper case or maybe something else). Its just a nice community type of scene, and again considering Big Ed was opposed to the likes of Bobby in the old series, its another nice completion of a character switch.  If anyone was clinging onto the hope that Ed and Norma were still keeping their frame alive, then I'm afraid that this nice cosy moment is broken up by Norma's current romatic partner a sleazy capitalist named Walter Lawford.  Ed and Bobby leave them alone, though Ed watches on from another table (he doesn't trust Walter and still desires Norma).  It turns out that Walter and Norma entered into a franchise agreement to promote the Double R brand across the country.  Opening up a flash monitor, Walter shows Norma the sales figure, revealing that the other Double R's have been performing well, whereas, the branch in Twin Peaks has not been performing so well.  Its important to remember that during her previous appearances Norma had been counting up the Double R takings in the traditonal paper method.  Walter suggests that the way to improve business is for Norma to change the recipes to her famous Cherry pies.  Norma refuses, saying she prefers to stick with tradition.  Another Walter suggestion is that she re-name the Double R, "Norma's Double R" She shoots this idea down too for the same reason.  Throughout the new series, there has been a theme of the old fashioned world of Twin Peaks being corrupted by modern practices and capitalist influence.  In this case Walter is like an outsider and Norma is defending the established culture of the town.  Like Lynch, Norma as a character believes in sticking to artistic values whether even at the cost of making extra profits.  To take this a bit further, Norma refusing to jazz up the Double R, is like Lynch refushing to compromise his vision for the new series just to make everyone happen.  Then we get another Jacoby scene which probably wasn't needed, but at least its not another run through of his podcast, this time Nadine knocks on his door and declares her love for him by repeating back to him the "shovering the shit" line.  Unless they have anything major planned for these two in the overall show arc, I hope this is the conclusion of this plot.  Its telling that it comes after Big Ed's comeback scene, probably killing any ideas that he and Nadine are still together.

In one of the more eerie scenes of the episode, Sarah Palmer watches an old boxing match (I'm guessing on video tape) - its in black and white and is stuck on the same sequence, repeating it on a loop, with the commentator repeating the same sentence.  Sarah watches this drunk, as her decline into depression builds.  Something tells me this is not just a random scene to highlight her state of mind.  I expect her to become a cruical piece of the final puzzle.  Returning to the scene from last week between Audrey and Charlie, but this week the tables have been turned. Charlie with the information that Audrey wants, is suddenly much more in control, as she becomes ever desparate.  Becoming disoriented Audrey, says that she DOESN'T FEEL HERSLEF, that she DOESN'T KNOW WHERE SHE IS? During Audrey's breakdown Charlie teases her with mention of the 'Tale of the Kid Down the lane' (there was a film of said story starring Martin Sheen and Jodie Foster in 1976), Charlie hints that he will take Audrey to the Road House.  Again this is Charlie taking power back.

We return the Road House, no surprise there.  We get a musical performance.  No Surprise there... The performance in question is introduced... Now flashback to episode eight of this season, that was the last time a performance got a introduction, and least we forget that was the mighty Nine Inch Nails.  For anyone expecting another big hitter, special performance, just had no idea what was to follow, the announcement comes, "Ladies and Gentleman the roadhouse presents...James Hurley"!  To the amazement of all Hurley preceeds to perform his ah, hit song, "Just you and I" from season 2 all the way through.  Except in the absence of Donna and Laura's cousin Maddie on backing vocals we get two other young ladies performing with James. Just to ram the point home to fans further we get the whole song, and its clearly too much for one excitable young lady watching on from a nearby table.  Whatever, the point of this whole thing is, there's no question that it goes down another standout WTF moments.  As another subversion, the episode doesn't quite end there.  Instead, it ends with another Hurley, Big Ed smoking and drinking a coffee back at his Gas Farm.  Ed stares off into the distance as the credits roll.  I do read a little more into this than just a distinct shot to end on, and more than just the fact that Ed returned during the episode.  I think Ed is pondering the outside danger and modern threat coming into Twin Peaks, and no doubt about he has a certain owner of a local diner on his mind too. Ed and Norma were such a charming couple in the original show.  Once again it seems like circumstances are coming between their happiness.



Episode MVP: Dark Cooper
A welcome return for the character, and another composed, and menacing performance from MacLachlan clearly having a blast playing against type.  His Fight Club style scene (but with a twist) was a standout of the season so far.

Verdict
After a couple of recent episodes that have left some a bit cold I don't see how many can complain with this one.  There was a nice mixture of plots, interesting and fun character beats, and real edge of your seat and surreal moments.  More importantly just about every scene served a purpose in the overall arc, and with the dark Cooper and to a certain extent the Dougie side of things, there were progressive movements.  It was nice to see Big Ed return, and I enjoyed how the scenes with him and Norma linked up with events elsewhere, and payed off some of the on-going themes Lynch has explored these season.  This was a very focused episode, but still with some oddball, and playfully fun scenes.  I sense the best maybe still to come.

Bored Now Does the Complete X-Files 1993-?

Episode 1 - Pilot 

Plot: Young FBI agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) with her background in science is assigned with and to report on the cases of speical agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and the specialised X-Files, a series of supernatural cases based on Fox's belief in the existence of extraterrestrials.  The new team investigate the mysterious disappearance of group of teenagers in Oregon Woods.  

Original Air date: 10/09/93

First thing to say is that is no classic X-Files theme (by Mark Snow), or those trandmark credits, in its place is a very generic one note piano score, which is bit bland and on the nose. Much of the appeal of the show, certainly in its early years, was the haunting quality of its small town locations (most of the early seasons were filmed in Canada).  These locations had greater character and fitted the tone of series, and play into the idea of mysteries and the outcast and freak like characters.  It suits the intimate tone of the leads too, but the low budget of the effects does have some drawbacks in the early episodes.  The opening scene in the woods with the girl being stalked and that beam of flashing light looks very dated now.  

Damn Anderson looks young here! Its to her credit how well she pulls off the maturity of Scully, but still convincing as a nervous rookie.  This scene with Scully, and the FBI higher ups (played by Charles Cioffi, Ken Camroux-Taylor, William B. Davis - playing the famous Cigarette Smoking Man for the first time) sets the tone effectively.  I like the touch of Scully being on her guard and suspicious of the intentions of the bigwigs, with Dana asking, "Am I meant to understand that you want me to debuk him?" referring to Mulder's work.  The scene sets the cold political tone of the very traditional masculine FBI environment.  The muted colours are effective in showing the sterile atmosphere.  This then feds naturally into the deadpan, cynical tone of Mulder in his first scene with Scully.  There are some wonderful exchanges in this scene, such as Mulder answering Dana's knock on the door with, "Sorry nobody here except the FBI's most unwanted."  

Other gems include:

Scully: "Actually I'm looking to working with me." 

Mulder: "Really? I was under the impression you were sent to spy on me."  

Scully: "The answers are there, you just have to know where to look for them."  

Mulder: "And that's why they put the I in FBI."

The chemistry is there from the start.  Its a neat touch that both have done their homework on each other.  Like Scully, Fox shows up on screen pretty much fully formed.  Scully's cheeky smile at the end of scene is a thrill (like she knows she has a challenge on her hands with her new partner).  

There's some good character building between Mulder and Scully throughout the episode.  The brief scene where he drops in on her hotel room (asking if she wants to go for a run), shows Fox both keeping abreast of the case, but more crucially of his new partner.  The later scene when they've been out in the woods and experienced the white light, and Dana comes to his room worried that she's been infected by something, may seem on the nose, and a bit of a weak towards the audience that there could be a future romance.  But then it settles down into a warm, open exchange, with Mulder opening up about his backstory (the disappearance of his sister in their teens), and there is some common ground reached.  Scully re-assures Mulder that she there to purely report the findings of the case, and in return she seems to have a new found respect for her new partner, even if she is still leaning more towards the science based everyday logic.  I love most of their interactions throughout the episode.  The intimacy of the scenes are effective, like the deep focus shot of them in the car together when time appears to freeze.  Anderson's bemused, and yet, intrigued responses are on the money. But Duchovny's acting in the second half of the episode is a bit hammy and forced at times. He hasn't quite nailed Mulder like he will in future episodes.  These scenes were mostly engaging, its the stuff around them that let the episode down at times.

Again the televisonal background music failed to grip me, the direction and visual language in scenes like the hospital one is flat.  Some of the big dramatic scenes like the one in the woods when a mysterious man threatens Scully are look dated now.  The budget limitations are highlighted in many of the special effects, and woodland scenes.  The cheapness took me out of some of those scenes.  The drama is let down by weak supporting actors.  Sarah Koskoff as the disturbed daughter of the local doctor is very one note, though to be fair its not a very meaty part.  There are a few cheesy lines also, such as Scully's "There was a light."  

Verdict: This pilot episode has dated quite badly (though it does show much promise for the characters and core concept of the show).  The main problem with it, is that it feels like th writers are trying too hard hammer home the key set pieces and themes.  The effects budget is sadly lacking, the supporting plot of the case itself isn't the best, the lighter, witty tone of the first half of the episode would have been more effective when it comes to the case.  Less is often more.  The set up at the FBI, the Mulder and Scully interactions, and the rap up back in Washington (a nice scene with Dana reporting her findings to the directive general, and a final shot of Smoking Man putting a case file away) are enough to make it passible pilot.  The drama was just lacking outside of those moments. 

Rating: 5/10

Twin Peaks: The Return Review

Episode 312: Let's Rock






A few random plots, and new characters aside, this was another episode with plenty of forward momentum, and exciting moments.

Gordon, Tammy and Albert are enjoying some fancy French Wine.  Albert explains to Tammy about the history of the Blue Rose and its investagations into UFO activity.  He informs her that the FBI have been tracking her progress and would like to invite Tammy into the Blue Rose.  A beaming Tammy accepts.  Chrysta Bell who plays Tammy does a great job in this scene.  You believe that this is a big moment for her.  Diane enters the room through some red drapes.  Albert invites her to work with them (knowing her history with Cooper and the Blue Rose), she takes a beat, the impact of her statement in response heightened by a firy sound effect, "Lets Rock."  Again Laura Dern plays this scene right on the edge making it hard to read the character, but the nerves are there.



Jerry finally staggers out of the woods.  Sarah Palmer (Grace Zebriskie) buys a huge amount of booze from a local store, but she is oddly destracted by a new brand of Beef Jerky behind the counter.  Asking the counter girl about its history, Sarah soon becomes distressed suggesting that trouble is coming, ranting about wanting to see the manager before leaving the store.  I like the touch at the end of this scene when the other counter assistant says he knows where Sarah lives so can drop her shopping round.  This suggests that they get a lot of business from her.   Carl talks to a may called Crystal about him selling blood, and tells him he has already given enough.  In another random scene we see Dougie go to play catch with his son.  But when the ball is thrown at him, Dougie just stands still.  This is his only scene of the episode.  Maybe this is further signs of him starting to stir and the old Cooper coming around.



Hearing about the incident at the store, Hawk pays Sarah a visit.  Two notable things as he approaches.  First the classic errie snyth score returns, second as Hawk starts knocking on the door we cut to a flashback shot of the fan spinning which became such a iconic shot in the Palmer house from the original series.  There's a long delay before Sarah answers the door.  She insists that she is alright, though again she seems troubled.  Hawk senses something in the house and asks her to call him if she needs anything.  Is Sarah being haunted by ghosts from her past?   In a brief scene we see Miriam Sullivan in the hospital.

Diane recieves a text message asking about Los Vegas (from Cooper surely), and replies, "They have not asked about it yet."

At The Great Northern Frank pays Benjamin a visit to tell him about Richard running the boy over and attempting to kill the only witness Miriam.  Franks informs Ben, that Miriam is in intensive care and requires the money for a life saving surgery.  Frank hints that Ben should pay for it.  Ben tells Frank that his brother Harry had run ins with Richard.  He then passes on the room key used by Cooper over twenty years ago, saying that maybe Harry would like it.  This scene is effective for many reasons.  Firstly, its a nice call back to Harry's role as Sherrif and his place within Twin Peaks, and his close bond to Cooper.  Second its a logical way to move this part of the plot on without seeming forced.  Ben giving Frank the key moves Frank closer to finding out the truth, yet Ben doesn't know about the investagation into Cooper, so this is a natural and quite nice touch on his part.  Richard Beymer is once again wonderfully dry, and deadpan. Its hard to read just how upset he is upon hearing the news about Richard (to me his response suggests he wasn't that surprised), and there is some doubt over whether he will pay Miriam's medical bill.  Benjamin is a character who has grown, but still wrestles with his old self it would seem.  Benjamin informs Beverly about the Richard news and then tells her a story about a green bike that his father bought in the past, before telling Beverly to make sure that Miriam's bill is taken care of.  Benjamin then returns to daydreaming about the green bike.  This could be a comment on the rich, and how they can casually pay for live changing things, but remain detatched from their importance.



In an extended comic scene Albert walks in on Gordon enjoying the company of a younger woman.  The woman eventually leaves after some flirting between the pair.  The woman dressed in red talks in a different langauge.  Gordon tells Albert that he knows her mother, who runs a turnip farm, a girl she knows is missing. Then in a bad pun Gordon says, "I keep telling her she will turn up!"  "No she didn't get it either.  There are a 100 different langauges."  Uncertain as we are if this is important from Goldon, Albert tells him about the text Diane recieved.  Gordon is interested for sure, but in classic Twin Peaks fashion says they should enjoy the fine wine first.  I do wonder if the non-traditional and European infleunced choice of drink is cruical to all this.  Gary Hutch (Tim Roth) and Chantal (Jennifer Jason Leigh) drive up to a house.  Hutch has a shot gun in the back seat.  He watches a car pulling into the drive way.  A grey haired man gets out and walks towards a house. Gary shoots him twice in the back of the head (we don't see his face), a young boy comes running out of the house crying.



We re-visit Jacoby and his anti-capitalist message.  Nothing much new, he plays the natural authem and damns big bussiness and polictians.  He replies the "Shovel Your Way out of the Shit" ad from before.  From this rather pointless scene to AUDREY!! Finally she's back! We see how in a office with her husband Charlie.  Audrey insists that they go to the road house to look for Billy.  Charlie (a rather conserative sound fellow) says he has a deadline with work and that they go tomorrow.  Andrey rips into Charlie good and proper, basically questioning his manhood.  We also learn that Audrey is after a devorce.  We learn that Audrey has a thing for Billy and that she dreamed about him last night.  Audrey says that Chuck told her that Tina was the last seen with Billy.  Charlie seems to be stalling, questioning if Chuck's word is creditable, and that him and Billy got into trouble recently.  Finally Charlie agrees to go with Audrey, but then decides to call Tina first.  We hear Charlie causally ask Tina over the phone about Billy.  Audrey is getting pissed, and probes him with animated hand gestures that are really funny!  As Charlie hangs up, he goes silent, Audrey demands that he tell her what Tina said, but we get nothing.  Such a powerful comeback scene for Audrey.  I love the distinct contrast between her and Charlie.  The power and rage she has compared to his awkward, feeble actions.  She is very direct, whereas her husband hassitates and is unclear.  So many new questions are raised during this scene too.

Diane dials in some coordinates to Cooper-but she seems unsure of herself.  We cut to the Bang, Bang bar.  The Chromantics are performing, but we cut to two girls at a table.  They gossip about Angela who has been hanging out a lot with a guy called Clark, but it seems he gets around a bit as he has also been seeing Mary.  Trick (Scott Coffey) shows up in a huff, saying someone almost knocked him off the road on the way over.  He offers to buy the girls a round.  As Trick heads for the bar, one of the girls says that Trick was under house arrest, but according to the other girl he is now free again.

Episode MVP: Sarah Palmer 
Its very tempting to say Audrey Horne, as it was such a great moment seeing her return, and the scene itself was a probably the standout scene of the episode (and Fenn was great in it too).  But for me Sarah's involvement seemed like a cruical part of the on going mystery, and Zebriskie really put me on edge, but at the same time made me feel sad for her character.

Verdict
The whole another very engaging episode, but there were a few draw backs.  Some of these might not seem so bad if they are paid off in the coming weeks.  I'm not sure why we keep returning to Jacorby, and this week's scene just seemed like a re-run of the past scenes.  Even this is just a character beat, I would like to see something new added to it.  I'm uncertain about the brief scene we got with Dougie and his son.  Does Dougie not responding mean anything, or is it just Dougie being Dougie?  There were a few new characters and random plots mentioned.  We will have to wait and see if they have any connection to the overall mystery.  You might argue that some of the comedy involving Gordon could have been cut, but then those scenes are so well done, and fit into the alternative logic of the Twin Peaks universe then to me they add more than they take away, and who knows there could be more to them.  Certainly, the investigation into Dark Cooper and pressure placed on Diane picked up more pace again this week.  I liked Tammy's involvement too.  She has been another welcome addition to the cast.  He contrast with Diane is enjoyable.  As I said the stuff with Sarah was powerful, haughting and intriguing.  With Laura marked out playing a important role in this whole thing, then it makes sense that her mother would be important.  Its a brilliant hook, as the question is how much is Sarah onto something, and how much is how just suffering through the drink and still hurting over not having Laura.  Another great scene was the one with Benjamin and Frank.  It was a great character moment, and smoothly moved the plot on.  Richard Beymer was at his best here.  I look forward to him reuniting with his daughter.  And speaking of which Audrey's return not only left a mark, but set another plot stread in motion.  You sense that her finally arriving at the road house is going to be important.  And who did Gary shoot? That is another important part of the Cooper plot.  So there was a little bit too much padding, but the good was so good, and again the main plot is picking up pace, without feeling rushed.  Very exciting indeed.

Twin Peaks: The Return Review

Episode 311: There's a Fire Where you are going.






If there was a lack of plot activitiy last week, you certainly couldn't say that about this episode.  Things get kicked off and out of the blocks from the very start.  The big reveal in the opening scene is that Miriam is some how still alive! (I didn't even know this was still a question...).  She is discovered crawling, bloodied by a few boys playing baseball.  This is a great reveal that throws the audience off from the start, and adds a unexpected twist to the Richard/Chad letter plot from last week.  Guess now it may not matter if Chad got the right letter.

In her second second dramatic scene of the show Becky (Amanda Seyfried), Shelly's daughter is desparate for a ride.  She wants to confront Steve.  She calls her Mum to the trailer park, but is in such a rage that she steals Shelly's car, driving off with Shelly on the hood trying to calm Becky down.  That was hard to watch.  Throughout these first two scenes Lynch has the dramatic syth score building to a high pitch finale, and it works to perfection.  Shelly gets Carl to give her a lift to the double R diner, she calls Bobby on the way. Later, Becky show's up at Stephen's with a gun, calling him out.  She's told by a neighbour that he's left, but shoots a number of bullets into the door anyway. This is another edge of your seat wild scene, and its fun watching Seyfried subvert her typical, girl next door image.


In Backthorn, Hastings takes Gordon, Diane, Tammy and Albert to the site of the incident 25 years ago.  He points out a fence to Tammy, that he went through before losing his memory.  Gordon looks up into the sky, a black hole/huge wind appears before him.  He motions with his hands as if he is going to get sucked into the sky.  Albert steps in and pulls him back.  They see a headless body which they assume must be Ruth Davenport, she has coordinates on her arm.  Just as things are starting to come together we are directed away from Gordon and Albert, the focus is on Diane, laidback as ever, smoking.  Out of the blue, a sound, the cop who was in the car with Hastings is freaking out, because as we then see, Hasting's face has mysteriously been squashed! I laughed hard at Gordon's long pause, before, "He's dead."  This is another wonderful scene, full of narrative drive, building strongly on the mystery, while also working as a strange, surreal Twin Peaks scene.  It leaves some intriguging questions too.


At the Double R, Bobby and Shelly sit down with Becky.  Bobby informs his daughter that she's off the hook because of him working for the law, but that she will have to pay for the damage.  Her parents try to convince Becky that its time to devorce that idiot Steve.  However, she still seems in denial about hr hubby.  In a sharp piece of direction, at the moment that Shelly is trying to reason with her daughter, we cut to Norma watching them from the counter.  At first Becky is still being stubborn, but then she catches a look from Norma who firmly nods at her, as a result, Becky gives in and hugs her mother agreeing to stay with her.  Its a telling moment, selling Norma's wisdom, and the respect she has within the town, and from Becky (don't forget the history with Norma and Shelly).  Then in a odd beat Shelly sees her latest frame waiting for her outside (this is the guy she eyed up in the bar in the opening episode of the season).  She rushes outside, and they embrace.  They've arranged to meet later on.  Its an odd moment, which I'm not sure if they were aiming for comedy, like pointing out the irony of Shelly being a good parent one minute, then running around like a teenager the next, or if its another life repeating itself again (like Shelly and Bobby) etc.. It just felt a little bit forced in what other wise had been a great scene.  Just when we think the scene is over, shots are dramatically fired into the diner.  When Bobby rushed out, he discovers that a the shots came from a the back of a van, and were shot by a kid.  In a nearby car a woman is distressed, complains that she needs to get home, suddenly next to her a boy is revealed appearing to decay.



Hawk and Frank look up the location they were given in Major Briggs notes.  They are to leave in another two days, as instructed.  The Log Lady (Catherine E. Coulson) phones Hawk.  She wants to know what Hawk has found, he can't tell her.  Catherine adds, "My log is afraid of fire.  There is fire where you are going."  This did strike me as a important message, which may prove to be her send off line.

Albert and Gordon discuss the coordinates found on Ruth's arm.  Diane looks nervious, and is pleased when Tammy and the cop bring in coffee and doughnuts.  They debate who could have killed William Hastings.  Gordon and Albert mention having seen a homeless man nearby, Diane suggests that she saw the same.  Albert smells a rat, gives her a stare.  Was Diane involved in the killing?  One reading of this scene is that she is trying to plant the seed that a unknown homeless guy was involved to detract the blame from her.  Gordon then confirms that he saw lots of bearded men in the room.  Are these meant to be the Woods Men?

Back to the Vegas part of the story, and Dougie's boss arrange for him to meet the Mitchum Brothers, and give them a cheque for a large amount to sort the whole mess out.  Harry Mitchum is haunted by a dream of Dougie that makes him want to kill him even more.  At this point, this just seems like the wheels of this plot dragging, but just wait! It all starts to make sense.  We get a country version of Viva Los Vegas playing as Dougie is driven via limo to the meeting out in the desert.  As the Mitchum brothers await their target, Harry returns to his dream, pointing out that in his dream Rodney's bruises (suffered at the hands of Candie last week), were gone.  Dougie shows up with a box in his hand.  Harry says whatever is in the box is what he saw in his dream (classic Lynchian, Twin Peaks style moment), and is why they can't kill him.  In the box is a cherry pie, of course its TWIN PEAKS!! When the Brothers find the cheque they are even more convinced that they don't need to kill Dougie.  So much so they take him for dinner.  Again, you might think this scene is going no where, but then there's a subtle turning point, that points the Dougie plot back towards a forward movement.  For much of the scene Dougie is spaced out, bemused by the attention he is recieving.  There is a live piano performance, which at one point slows down, into a version of the CLASSIC TWIN PEAKS THEME, YES!!!! I marked so hard! This catches Dougie's attention too.  The old lady who Dougie helped score big in the casino approaches the table to thank him.  I liked that they followed this story up and show how the woman's life is different after winning all the money.  Dougie enjoys the pie, adding, "Damn good." I marked again!  Its left to the piano man to play us out...

Episode MVP: Becky Johnson 
Her first appearance was promising, she got a brief cameo last week, but that cameo was paid off beautifully here.  Not only is the casting of Seyfried a smart subversion of her past role, and public persona, but as we see here, the actress is really stepping up to the mark and producing her most full-on, powerful, and most human performance to date.  We see how out of control Becky is at the start of the episode.  This is sold effectively through the editing, highly charaged atmosphere, and because Seyfried lets rip and loses herself in the role.  Later on she moved me during the scene with her parents. Her breakdown was a beautiful piece of acting.  Again I think Lynch is empowering his female characters by allowing them to be flawed, dark, but also relatable.  I look forward to seeing more of Becky's arc.

Verdict
This was the best of both worlds.  The first ten minute was some of the most gruelling of television you will see all year, but at the same time we got some massive plot movements and character growth.  As it turned out last week's episode which recieved a luke warm response from many, was largely set up.  One of the joys of the Return has been revisting the old characters, seeing the changes, and bringing their arcs around.  One plus of having twenty fives (or twenty six as it proved) between seasons is that you can mark a big change in your characters without eyebrows being raised.  The plot with the Johnson's like, the Horne plot is rich, and is becoming of great importance to the direction of Twin Peaks.  Because the likes of Shelly, Bobby, Benjamin, Jerry, Audrey (who still hasn't appeared!) have played important roles in the show's history, therefore, them and the new additions to their families should be important to the new series.  The small moment involving Norma was nicely handled and charming.  The scene when William Hastngs meets his fate, not only adds to the suspicion and question marks hanging over Diane (which first started a few episodes back), but works as a classic Lynchian moment of the real world and other universes clashing, which some how makes sense, but with a stunning air of mystery.  This was a great epsiode because the plot and characters work in movement with these ambitious visual moments, and the meaty philosophy. On that note, Harry's dream and how it changed Dougie's fate seemed might have been like an intervention.  Such a intervention might be to save Cooper, and to get him back on track and closer to the old Cooper again. Whatever the case the end of the episode was consistent with the alternative logic that makes the show so unique.  The ending was lovely, but what it means for the Dougie's plot is still hard to say.  His reaction to the Twin Peaks style music, may just be a post-modern nod to the audience, or it maybe more.  Maybe his line when eating the pie is supposed to be the old Coop slowly, returning or it could be Lynch/Frost messing with us.  I'm looking forward to finding out.

Further Questions

1. Is Richard busted now that Miriam has been found alive?  

2. Where do you see Becky going from here?  Will she hit rock bottom again or is this a big turning point?

3. Can Diane be trusted?

4. Was Harry's dream a intervention from the lodge to save Dougie/Cooper and get him back on track?  If so what happened?