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?

Twin Peaks: The Return Review

Episode 310: Laura is the One 




One of the most distressing episodes probably ever.  That Richard really is a dig! Whereas Dougie is king of the digs?  Well let's get into this one should we?

Richard approaches Mariam at her trailerpark hopeing to keep her quiet about his hit and run.  Diviantly she informs him that she has already posted a letter to the Twin Peaks, Sheriff's station that very day.  Upon hearing this information Richard in a animalistic rage charges at Mariam in her trailer.  What makes this scene all the more disturbing is that the viewer is distached from the events as they happen.  We just hear the sounds of the struggle, and Richard's violent acts, that make the events all the more disturbing.  As Richard leaves the camera slowly moves in to reveal Mariam's beaten body, but she is still alive, until a few seconds later when the canavan goes up in smoke.  So a big part of the tension of this episode is will Mariam's letter rearch its target in time to put Richard in trouble.  A frantic Richard calls Chad to intercept the letter before it gets into the wrong hands.  Chad making small talk with Lucy about the weather catches the post sees the letter and pockets it.  As it turns out he may have the wrong letter.  Miriam's last name is Sullivan, but the surname on the letter is Hodges.  One answer to this is that maybe she sent it under a different name just incase Richard tried this?  Or maybe Hodge is a previous name of Miriam's and she is used to using it? Whatever the case its a intriguing loose end.

Back in the trailer park Carl (Harry Dean Stanton) is singing a tune and playing his guitar, but peace is once again soon disrupted by the second biggest arsehole of the season so far, Steve who is abusing Becky (Amanda Seyfried), trying to force her to ask for a raise at work.

The next sections are a bit frangmented, though do contain small pleasures.  Back in Vegas show girl Candie attacks Rodney Mitchum at the Casino.  We flick between this and Dougie and Janey at the doctors.  The key character beat here is that Dougie start's noticing that Dougie/Cooper has bulked up, and is looking rather impressed.  Sexual tension is in the air.  In a funny touch Candie says sorry to Rodney, and tells her its no big deal.  The heads of the Casino see a re-run of the news story (which we saw live a few episodes ago) of the Dougie/Spike guy incident, and find out that Spike guy has been arrested.  This time line of events plays into the idea that probably the events of show at this point are all condesed over a matter of a day or two.  This causes a change of plan from the bigwigs with the Dougie insurance case, they decide to pass the blame onto Dougie.  They later pass on this message to insurance guy who has a random conversation with Candie off camera, which we are told is about the weather.  Remember that Chad is talking to Lucy about the weather at the station.  Is there a bigger importance to all this weather talk?  It could just be that Chad was using it to distract Lucy from his scheme (not sure it worked by the way), and that maybe Candy here was using it to distract from something more important.  Or maybe it is just Lynch/Frost fucking with us....  Speaking of which, Janey and Dougie get their rocks off, see what I did there! This is a solid thematic scene, again we see their red door at the start of the scene, then cut to Janey's red shoes, which leads to sex!  Naomi Watts is great in this scene, she commands it with such fiery passion, selling the power and domiance that Janey has.  Some have questioned if this scene has that much importance, and if its just tracing old ground?  For me it works well, as tender sign that maybe there's some love for Dougie from Janey.  Besides sometimes the random, and unexpected scenes in Twin Peaks are some of the most unexpected.


















Jacoby goes off on another capitalist rant, with this time the choice line being "Dig yourself out of the shit and get educated." His loyal listener Nadine adds, "He's so beautiful." I enjoyed this moment scene enough, though it did feel connected to much and was a bit of a retread.  Jerry being lost in the woods is another plot line which seems loose, though seems less of a character beat, and
   something which may have a greater plot significance.

    In a scene even more distressing than  Richard's vicious trailer park attack, he shows up at his grandmother Sylvia's house forceing her to the floor, verbally abusing her, as she lays crying Richard steals her savings.  What adds to this upsetting  sequence is Johnny (who survived last week) watching his Mother go through this helpless.  A touching add on is how her focus is keeping him calm so not to risk Richard attacking Johnny.  Throughout this third season we've seen ideas of evil and ideas of good playing a merry dance.  This scene shows the pure evil from Richard, and the pure humanity of Sylvia trying to defend her home and hanicapped son.  Lynch is showing that true evil, is brutal and raw, and pathic.  These ideas have run throughout much of his film work, think the devide in the fantasy and real in Blue Velvet, and notable the Frank Booth character.  This contrast has now been given fresh importance when in the  context of Twin Peaks.  Later we find out that Sylvia and Benjamin are now devorced.  She calls The Great Northern to explain to him about the robbery, though he seems concerned, he coldly tells her that he cannot give her any more money.  In the next instance, Benjamin calls for Beverly.  Having turned her down the previous week, it now seems that Benjamin missing some affection, having left Sylvia, is starting to weaken to his assistant's advances.

Albert and Constance (Jane Adams) go out on a date.  Gordon and Tammy watch on loveingly at the restruant.  Later there's a knock on Gordon's hotel room door.  In a freaky flashback to the past he opens it to reveal Laura crying! The ghost of Laura Palmer very much still hanging over the characters.  After a long beat, it is revealed to be Albert at the door.  He informs Gordon about the message Diane recieved (probably from Dopple Cooper), about the conversation being lively around the dinner table.  It turns out she sent a reply, "They have Hastings.  He's gonna take them to the site." They originally thought that the message came from Philadelphia, but in stead was from Mexico. A place that has already played a big role in season 3.  In a slow motion shot, Tammy is seen walking towards the room.  She has a memory card from the New York killing (the guy guarding the box).  The footage shows Evil Cooper inside the box, and another unknown man on the outside.   We end the story side of the episode with the Log Lady feeding Hawk some important information, "Hawk elecity is humming, you hear it in the Mountains and rivers.  You see it dance among the seas and stars, and grow around the moon.  But these days, the glow is dying.  What will be in the darkness that remains?  The Truman brothers are both 'true men'.  They are your brothers, and the others, the good ones, who have been with you, now the circle is almost complete.  Watch and listen to the dream of time and space.  It comes out now, flowing like a river.  That which is and is not, Hawk, Laura is the one."  A meaty, poetic speech from the log lady.  Again a reference to the weather and to the earth.  There has been a humming at The Great Northern.  We know that this season there has been links between the characters from different time periods, and universes even.  Again on theme with some of what I was discussing before, maybe the 'hummng' is like a cry for help.  Either from Laura (or someone beyond this world), or it could be a sign that the world of Twin Peaks is decaying, that all the humanity is being sucked out of.  The circle in question has to be the team already assembled.  I am certain that Bobby with his new purpose must be included in this, even his father Major Briggs has played his part from the grave.  Despite their drawn backs, think Andy and Lucy should be included too.  This does refer back to Gotta Light.  The glow in that episode seemed to represent Laura.  Is Laura really the one to complete the circle? The episode ends properly with a stunning six minute performance from Rebekah Del Rio, who famously sung a Spanish version of "Crying" in Mulholland Drive (2001).

Episode MVP: Sylvia Horne (Jan D'Arcy)
In the most haunting scene of the episode, D'Arcy wonderfully sold the terror and humanilty of her struggle.  The Horne family is proving one of the most important links in the whole season.  Maybe we will see Sylvia, mostly a cameo in the original series getting a larger role this time.  It has to be said, no matter how much I hate the son of a bitch, Eamon Farren is doing a fantastic job as Richard too.  What a great bit of casting that is.

Verdict
I can see the complaint from some, that this episode was a bit fragmented, and maybe not so much on a theme as others.  Also, that maybe some of the random scenes (the Jacoby scene for example), was just repeating previous beats.  In some cases, maybe the greater importance is still to be seen.  Another thing to say is that with some characters, it is a case of dropping in and out of their lives to show what they are up to without needing much of a plot reason, or that it may just be a quirky character beat.  I can see both sides on that one, though the meaty stuff of the episode was so compelling, or at least intriguing than it had me invested.  Most of it I've already covered in the review so will not repeat here. Laura remaining a powerful force in the show, and perhaps crucial to its direction in the second part of the return, is somehow fitting. Another point to rise is about Audrey's first appearance? We know that she was in a coma.  We don't know if that is still the case.  The Great Northern has become one of the life forces of Twin Peaks the show, and town. Its owned by her father Benjamin.  Benjamin I think looks to be a bit of a mess since the breakdown of his marriage.  With the antics of Richard, the whole Horne family seem in disarray.  Whether still in a coma or not, the first appearance of Audrey has got to be something big.  Its possible that she is part of that circle Margaret was talking about earlier.  It maybe left up to Audrey to come back and clean up the Horne family mess.  After all what better way to complete her character arc, considering the rebelious, confused teen she was at the start of show.  MAYBE AUDREY'S THE ONE?....

Twin Peaks: The Return Review

Episode 309: This is the Chair 











Well, anything was going to be a come down following the remarkable Gotta Light from two weeks ago, but this by Twin Peaks standard outting still contained plenty of intrigue and set many new slices of the puzzle in motion.

Despite losing Bob, dopple Cooper is still functioning and looking to carry out his plans.  Wounded Coop grabs himself a wooden weapon from a nearby post.  In a tight piece of connecting the dots storytelling, Gordon recieves a call from Col. Davis directing him to Buckhorn S.D. - the place where the Bad Agent Cooper had been reciding in since escaping the black lodge at the end of season 2, and where a local School Principal (Matthew Lillard) was framed for the murder of a librarian at the start of this season.  We then return to Cooper who has found his way to a farm, where Tim Roth, Tim Roth! TIM ROTH!! and his daughter greet him.  Another hats off moment to Lynch as Roth's appearance was another darkly kept secret which no one outside of the show knew about.  Back on the FBI plane Gordon informs a sleepy Albert that they need to go to Blackhorn.  In the line of the episode perhaps, Albert looks at Diane, and dryly says, "I know, I know, Fuck you Albert."  Gordon hears about Cooper flearing jail and can't resist a little pun.  Cooper orders a guy over the phone to get something done, and instructs Roth's character to bump off Warden Murphy, and he gets a extended "wet one" off Chatel, yum? or yuk? I'll let you decide...

Back in the Dougie side of the plot we get more antics from the hopeless Vegas police force as they try to piece thngs together, more bad jokes, and more annoying laughs.  Its revealed that Dougie was involved in a car accident years ago which may explain his mental state?.... In a plot collision that could only happen in Twin Peaks the cops lift the finger prints from the hit and run involving Dougie and we are located to the reisdence of Spike guy. Before they arrest him, Spike guy tells someone over the phone that the mission was not a success, the mission to kill Dougie one can only guess. Is this the end of Spike guy's involvement? I'm guessing yes, but who the hell knows in this show.  In his brief appearance in this episode, Dougie is seduced first by the American flag, and second by a woman's RED shoes.  Am I the only one who thought that Dougie noticed the plug socket which was shot like it was smiling at him?.... Maybe I watch this show too much.  Anyway, these small moments are Dougie/Cooper slowly piecing his idenity together I'm sure.  The plug socket is a link to how the good Cooper re-entered this world.  In further red related image metaphors Lucy and Andy debate which colour chair to buy.  Lucy is set on getting the red beige chair as she searches online.  There is a back and forth between the pair, with Andy preferring to go with the red choice.  Again this is a return to the quirky, oddball Twin Peaks style humour which has largely been missing so far in the return.  Its also another nod to growth in technology since the show last aired, as Andy and Lucy go back and forth on dueling computers.  The scene sells us on their love for one another once again.  Despite Andy giving in to Lucy's wishes, it is later revealed that Lucy goes ahead and orders the red chair.  She retains the power in their relationship, and yet is touched by her man giving way, and hey, at least he will get the colour he wants after all.  The dual colours is possibley to represent the dilama between good and evil.  Or this could be just another random Andy and Lucy scene.  Whatever the case. its charming, and I doubt anything in a David Lynch project is ever truly random.




Benjamin's son and Audrey's brother Johnny who is mentally challenged and remember was close to Laura before she was murdered at the start of the original show makes an appearance, and is on the rampage, runs into a wall, and appears to kill himself... I'm not only one to point this out, but how ironic that we have seen everyone from the Horne family so far upon the return, except BLOODY AUDREY!! Stop the pain! The most important plot point of the episode is when Frank, Hawk and Bobby goe over to Mrs Briggs house to ask her about what happened the with her husband and Cooper the night Cooper disappeared.  She tells them of a prediction the Major made back then that this day of the three of them showing up at her door to ask about this very thing would happen.  The nice twist on the original prediction is that the Major just said, a Shreiff Truman, but at the time it was Harry not Frank in the hot seat.  This is another touching scene not just for Bobby, but more importantly it sells the wisdom of his father, something which wasn't such a factor in the original Twin Peaks (Don S. Davis who played the part in the original run, passed away nine years ago).  Its a neat detail to bring the 25 years around full circle.  Mrs. Briggs tells her son that Major Briggs always had confidence in him.  She passes on a box that his father told her to keep for this very day.



Diane recieves a message which appears to be from Dopple Cooper something about "We're having fun around the diner room table."  Tammy is given the role to question the framed William Hastings (Lillard), and he breaks down.  Discussing his affair with school librarian Ruth Davenport, Hastings talks about a blog he set up 25 years ago called 'The Search for the Zone' which was all about alturnative dimensions and paranormal phenomena.  In a neat touch this blog actually exists, and does look like it was set up back in the 1990s.  Hastings and Ruth somehow managed to travel to another reality, where they encountered Major Briggs.  The major told Ruth and William that he needed to move to remain safe, and further instructed them to access for him a set of coordinates from a secure military detabase.  Ruth noted down the coordinates on her hand.  Upon giving Major the coordinates, he floated into the air, repeating, "Cooper.  Cooper.  Briggs not the first character to do that this season (the Giant in Gotta Light).  Following the Major's disappearance, Hastings was attacked and forced to give of his wife, Phyllis.  He then awakes at home.  As we already knows Ruth's severed head and Major Brigg's decapitated body was found in Ruth's appartment a few days later.  William signs and dates a picture of Major Briggs, confiriming to Tammy than that was indeed the man him and Ruth incountered in the Zone.  The team piece together that the head had been discovered in the same area that Cooper and Briggs were 25 years previous.

Jerry is still out in the woods and still freaking out. A bug like creature talks to him in a sinister voice, but again this could be in his head?  Back at station, Bobby reveals to Frank and Hawk that he knows how to open the box pasted on from his Dad.  As it turns out Major Briggs would bring boxes like it home all the time during Bobby's childhood.  In another warm character beat, the camera takes an extended shot on Bobby's face, as we take an extended in take of breath, and almost as powerful as Bobby breaking down over the picture of Laura early in the season, the image of his face lighting up with a joyful smile is another iconic moment for the character.  In another typically TP like turn, the scene moves from one of pathos to random simpliticity as it Bobby reveals that the way to open the box is to simply throw it hard to the ground!  Inside, a set of directions points them towards, Jack Rabbits Place.  This is a make believe place that father and son Briggs went to when Bobby was young.  William passes onto Tammy the numbers from the coordinates.

Back at the Great Northen there is more flirting between Beverly and her boss Benjamin.  The low rumbling is still bugging them.  Beverly attempts to seduce Benjamin.  Again in the an episode about the changes in certain characters the last 25 years, its striking that the old Benjamin Horne would more than likely have giving in to pleasure, but this one calmly tells Beverly that he can't.  Back at the Bang, Bang Bar two girls meet, and the blonde one is stressed out, about losing her job and about a rash which seems to be bothering her more and more.  A painful final moment of the episode, as we  cut to the stage and end on a live performance.

Episode MVP: Bobby Briggs
This episode was not only a fond tribute to the Major and the man behind him Don S. Davis, but was the one that dremostrated how Bobby, the young, greasey haired punk who first showed up causing trouble in the pilot episode 27 years ago has come full circle.  He's an important part of the town's fabric, and important to the current case.  I had mixed feelings on Dana Asha's role in the original Twin Peaks.  He was a watchable enough asshole, and I was semi-engaged with him because of his link to Shelly, and because next to Leo Johnson he was like a saint.  Like a few of the old names, Bobby has matured and moved with the times, and it seems like Asha has done the same. It would be hard not to be moved by his childlike energy and street smarts in this episode.

Verdict
The more this episode washes over me, and the more I think about it, the more I enjoy it, and am engaged with the mystery unfolding.  For big character moments it wasn't the most dramatic, oddly, the likes of Dougie, Janey, Diane and Dopple Cooper were muted, with their gazes carrying the most power.  However, this was one to start to bring the fragments of the dual Cooper plots back together with those characters still in Twin Peaks.  It was an episode of reflecton, like an in take of breath before we move these characters forward and see what the second half of season three has in store for them.  Of course Lynch and Frost introduced some fresh elements which may or may not be a part of the bigger picture.  I know I'm still hanging on their every word.

Twin Peaks Episode 307 & Episode 308

Episode 307: There's a Body All Right





For those who have been feeling that this new series has been a bit on the slow side so far (not me for the record), I think this is the episode that should satisfy them more.  There is a lot going on in the plot, big character moments, and we are now getting much more action in the town of Twin Peaks itself.

The plot thickens when a freaked out Jerry (David Patrick Kelly) phones Ben to tell him that his car has been stolen.  Ben cynically doesn't seem to believe his brother.  I detected a hint that maybe this isn't the first time Jerry has cried wolf to Ben.  Jerry is confused and doesn't know where he is.  If Jerry is telling the truth about the car its possible that its linked to one of the cars featured in the Duel Coopers plots.  Hawk shows Frank the notes he found in the toilet stall last week.  Their missing pages from Laura's diary.  In them it is revealed that Annie Blackburn (Heather Graham, as seen in Fire Walk with Me) visited Laura in a dream and told her to write down that she'd been with Laura and Dale, and that the good Dale is in the Black Lodge and can't leave.  It suggests on another page that it was not soley BOB who was resposible for the pages going missing.  Hawk pieces together that it must have been Leland as he hid them in the bathroom when he was questioned over the murder of Jacques Renault.  Frank gets on the trail of what happened to Cooper that night, but first calls his brother to tell him the news but we find out from his side of the call that Harry is very ill.  Andy meets with an unknown guy who he suspects has information about last week's tragic hit and run.  The guy looks nervious and tells Andy to meet him about 10.30 in another location.  In a fun scene Frank contacts Doctor Hayward about the night Cooper disappeared. He decides to do it over Skype which gives us some fun old man speak about modern technology and the chance for Frank to show off his flash Skype monitor that rises from his desk through the click of a button.  Warren Frost who plays Doc Hayward died during the filming of the new series which may explain why we see him via Skype here to work around the actor.  Its another nice way to handle it.  Doc tells Frank that the night Cooper disappeared he took him to the hospital but then later that night he saw Cooper making a jail break. Hayward suggests that Cooper may have been visiting Audrey Horne who was in a coma,  So the question is was Cooper himself or dark Cooper?  And how important is the information about Audrey who of course we haven't seen that in series 3?  RIP Warren Frost.  Thank you for playing such a great part in the Twin Peaks universe.

Warren Frost 1925 - 2017



Cindy a Federal employee investigates the body, to her surprise she is told that the man has no head, and was in his late 40s which is much younger than she was expecting.  Is this another Lynch body swap plot?  After speaking to her boss on the phone, Cindy warns the Forensics people that they may not be in charge of the investigation for much longer.

Diane sent Albert packing from the bar so he goes to Gordon and says that he needs to come with him for the next visit.  This is a nice little moment for Albert as he calls Gordon out on pretending not to hear him when he requests he goes with him, "You heard me" he inserts forcefully.  Laura Dern's performance as Diane is turning into one of my favourites of the year so far.  She is able to bitch it up as a entertaining, but powerful Femme Fatale, but then has depth too.  When Gordon and Albert visit her house we find out that she's been entertaining a young man for the evening.  She is dressed in a RED robe.  She tells Gordon there is no coffee or cigarettes while actively smoking and drinking coffee in front of them!  The standout line here is probably Gordon's "Tough girl.  Always was." In the end they get their coffee, but Diane is pretty resistant to going with them to visit Cooper in jail.  Diane's words carry such world weight and power through Dern's cool, yet, firey performance, as she makes it clear to Albert that she's pleased that Cooper is in jail.  Its telling that Diane knows where the prison Cooper is being retained in is before Gordon says it. She agrees to go with them.  On the plane, Tammy compares photos of Cooper 25 years ago with those of the Cooper currently being held. Its a nice touch that Tammy is showing her wits, and research skills.  She is raising certain important questions.  The exchange between her and Diane at the Prison is my favourite of the episode.

Tammy: "We really appreciate you helping us Diane." 
Diane: "And remind me what's your name again?"
Tammy: "Tammy"
Diane: "Fuck off Tammy!"

Not only is Dern badass and spikes these lines with poison, but she is makes swearing a art form.




When Diane confronts Cooper on the other side of glass its a very haunting, chilling scene.  His deadpan cold face contrasted with her worried face full of fear tranisitions the episode into a more disturbing place.  Its like a power struggle between the two characters.  Dark Cooper acts like he's pleased to see Diane.  She asks him if he remembers the last time they saw each other.  He confirms that it was at her house and that he'll never forget that night.  She returns the thought, but whereas there is a evil glee in how Cooper talks about their last meeting, Diane is more distress at the thought.  Dern sells this tension to perfection.  The scene ends with Diane demanding that Cooper looks at him, he refuses to do it as she presses the button to roll down the screen.  The balance of power has been shifted up to a point.  Diane is on to Dark Cooper which she confirms to Gordon outside the prison.  She concludes that by telling Gordon "We'll have a long talk about this.  Cheers to the FBI." Returning to one of the classic Twin Peaks themes we cut to a iconic shot of the trees and the wind blowing through them and the synth theme.  We see Andy waiting for the go, who not surprisingly doesn't show up, was he just scared to talk to the law or did someone make sure he wasn't going to talk?

Aware that Diane is onto him, Dark Cooper acts quickly arranging to see the warden and blackmails him into organising his release.  He has information that could incriminate the Warden including his affair with Mistress Strawberry which was the reference from a previous episode.  The Warden's hand is forced and so he arranges a car and a gun.  The heat is on Dougie at work.  The cops show up and inform him that his car has been found but that it was damaged in a gang related incident involving a drug bust.  In a nice dual moment Janey arrives in the office at just the right moment to save him.   She once again takes control and decides now might be a good time to report the car missing.  Though the cops want to question Dougie further, Janey decides its time to go home.  The other notable detail was Dougie reacting to the cops badge.  In a dramatic and shocking sudden switch, as the couple leave the building with Janey explaining to Dougie about his debt and the need to tighter his belt from now on, spike guy from last week charges at them and channeling his inner Cooper, Dougie over powers him and the arm from the lodge appears and tells Dougie/Coop to break the arm.  In another untypical Twin Peaks sequence we then switch to a overhead shot of the police and media swarming the building.  Then in a flashy cut we get witness statements which are very funny and believable.  One woman comes out with the gem, "Douglas Jones he moves like a cobra" Meanwhile, a kid adds "He smells funny."  Not just a brilliantly directed scene, but adds to the plot and characters.  I think its also Lynch commenting on the melodramatic, hypersurreal nature of the modern media to blow up such things into prime time events, with every witness becoming like characters in their own right.  The boy's comment I think is probably linked to Dougie not being himself.

Back at The Great Northern Beverly (Ashley Judd) hands Benjamin a key.   I like the detail here about the key being the old make of hotel room key, not card type which the hotel switched to a long time ago.  Benjamin notices that the key was to the room that Cooper stayed in 26 years previous.  Of course Beverly has no idea who Dale Cooper is, and Benjamin says its a story for another time.  Again there is a warmth to Ben in this scene towards his employee, very rarely seen from the old Benjamin Horne.  There is a sexual tension between the pair, the old Benjamin Horne would have taken advantage of this, but times have changed and there is a little more depth to the modern Benjamin.  There is a odd, high pitched ringing throughout the scene which neither can explain.  Benjamin insists that she can go home, though clearly she wants to stay.  At Beverly's house she returns to Tom (who must either be her husband or maybe brother?) who we see his hooked up to a breathing device.  Beverly loses her shit over Tom asking why is she so late home.

And so its back to the Road House and its the end of the episode, right? right? RIGHT?! Well what we get is the most engrossing two minutes of a man sweeping the floor with a cool blues number playing in the background ever! I've since learnt that the Return was all filmed in one go which maybe defeats any theory of this extended shot being Lynch playing with the viewers expectations of episodes normally ending with such a long, random shot and in this venue.  Though I still think there may have been some subversion going on from the director.  The suspense is broken by a ringing phone (brilliant!), the latest generation of the Renault family running the place picks up, and discusses two blonde girls with a client, with the suggestion that the girls might be underage.  Renault is determined that two such girls will not bring the family business down.  He plays dumb and claims to having no knowledge of them being under aged, and wants money he's owned anyway.  Dark Cooper makes his planned escape from prison along with drug dealer guy.  After another classic overhead shot of the trees in Twin Peaks the episode finally comes to a close in the double R diner with someone running in asking if anyone's heard from Billy?

Episode MVP: Diane 
The character so far is living up to her billing.  She feels like a fully rounded character, and of course her history with Cooper is massive for the on going mystery.  This maybe one of Dern's best ever characters.  She is credible both as the deadpan, sassy femme fatale and as the more fragile version of the character we see later in the episode with Dark Cooper.  That scene was a exciting battle of wills between the two.

Verdict
The wheels of the plot are really starting to be set in motion and the two core locations and becoming more balanced out. There were some big character moments, like the Diane and Dark Cooper stuff.  Janey remains a vital driving force in the Dougie plot.  The raw tension and out of body shock factor of spike guy attacking Dougie and Janey out of the blue is perfectly handled.  For small moments being thought provoking and powerful, along with the plot and character beats this is one of my favourite episodes of the new series.  I am interested to see where the Benjamin/Beverly plot is going. It is also smart and touching how some of the departing cast members have been given nice little cameos that don't demand too much of them physically but is also an important piece of plot.  The skpye scene with Frank and Doctor Hayward was another gem.

Episode: 308 Gotta Light 






















I wish I could do justice to this in a beat by beat run down, but I just can't.  Its fair to say, its the most bonkers and probably the most chilling episode of Twin Peaks ever!! The episode really got under my skin.  Having built up some strong narrative momentum the last few weeks Lynch and Frost once again pull a three sixty on us and change the questions all over again.  The direction throughout and atmosphere is breathtaking.  Unlike any you will see.

At the start it looks as if we going to get a regular episode.  Returning to the car with Dark Cooper and Ray, we get a beautiful deep focused shot of the highway from the car's POV.  Like in much of Lynch's film work the winding road becomes a space of loss, of mystery, of a emptiness.  Its a suspenseful cutaway which certainly misdirected me.  For the first time maybe since being introduced Dark Cooper is outsmarted as its revealed that the gun Ray planted for him was a dummy and does not shoot when Cooper attempts to kill Ray.  The tables are turned and it is Cooper who is shot.  In one of the most unnerving sequences of the series, we see the reappearance of 'The Woodsmen' from the movie appearing from earth and they start to eat away at Dark Cooper's flesh.  As a build up of smoke and dust come from the body, the POV cuts between this and Ray's terrified reactions...  This rapid editing, along with layers of nightmarish oily blacks and grays create a powerful sense of dread.  The scene is even more powerful because I was straining my eyes to make out what was actually happening.  The timing of the back and forth shots between Ray and The Woodsmen/Cooper is smoothly done. Once again Lynch is like the unofficial master of horror, yet he makes it mysterious and odd.  At one point Bob's smiling face appears in his body and so the impression is of the woodsmen removing Bob from Cooper?  As Ray drives off he freaks out on the phone to Philip - who I am guessing must be Philip Jefferies?

The second section takes us back to the Road House and the most distinct musical performance of the series so far.  And the musical guests this week are....NINE INCH NAILS! The band perform a perfectly haunting industry rock number, "Chase the girl" and look as cool as fuck throughout.  During the performance we cut around the club, probably to suggest that there could be something plot related about to happen.  The shooting style of this scene and atmosphere reminded me a little of sleazy club scene with Laura and Donna in Fire Walk With Me. At the end of the performance we get a sharp cut to Dark Cooper suddenly awaking, sitting up Undertaker style in the desert.  From this moment on Gotta Light? becomes a very different sort of episode.



From there the episode is black and white all the way through and a beautiful tribute to the b-pictures of the past.  From the present we switch to the 1940s and a necular style bomb (which I think is meant to be Bob) dropping through space. We are submerged into an endless levels of busts of colours.  These are the sort of scenes which allow Lynch to really experiment with his high tech cameras, and its a beautiful and unpredictable experience.  There is no sense of when the scene will end or what will happen at the end of it.  Later we arrive in a black and white room which kinda looks a bit like the lodge.  A woman dressed in old fashioned clothing sits alone.  Like the opening episode of the season there is a old style record playing some classical music.  The Giant wonders through the room, and into the a theatre where on a cinema screen a film plays showing the birth of Bob.  A ball of light representing Bob comes out from the screen and the Giant floats with the ball.  The ball eventally floats into the girl's hands.  She kisses it and the face of Laura Palmer appears smiling (could be some sort of connection between her and Bob?).



The final section clicks from 1945 to August 1956, New Mexico.  A creature breaks out of the egg in a desert.  We see two unknown teenagers coming home from a date.  The girl finds a ring in the send and believes it may bring her good luck.  One idea floating about is that this could be like the ring Laura ends up with in FWWM.  The rest of the episode turns into like a Lynchian body horror/Sci-Fi.  In a freaky Hills have Eyes style squence the Woodsmen return and approach a couple in a car.  One of them just keeps repeating "Gotta Light?"  This turns a simple phrase into something eerie and makes me wonder just what that question means?....  Later one of the creatures wanders into a radio station and starts repeating "Gotta Light?" to a horrified receptionist.  After a few seconds of recieving no respose except fear, the Woodsman squashes her head.  I wonder if the request could be related to this part of the world being set in black and white?  Or possibly that they are searching for information?  The on air DJ at the time gets the same treatment and the Woodsman speaks into the mic over and over again, "This is the water and this is the well. Drink full and descend.  The horse is the white of the eyes, dark within."  These speeches become like a trippy horror.  The message spreads across town, like this is some sort of propaganda from an alternative race (don't forget the setting is Roswell...) influencing western culture.  The message plays on the radio in the bedroom of the young girl we saw before.  In an interesting twist she falls asleep.  A hatched bug creature from earlier creeps into the girls window and slowly moves into her mouth as she sleeps.  The credits play out with a chilling shot of the girl laying motionless.


Episode MVP: The Woodsmen
Was tempted to give it to NIN for such a powerful and stylistic performance at the Road House.  They do become like characters in their own right.  But the Woodsmen play the most important part in the episode and some of the most eerie and yet human creatures possible.  Their make up was impressive and they were well acted.

Verdict:
Resets the dial for the season in the most unexpected way.  The episode as a whole is so rich, and experiments with standard genres, and like I said the directon and pacing is spot on. It perfectly recreates the textual and style of old movies, but through expansive new methods.  One thing I have felt about this season so far is how it contrasts difference between the Twin Peaks world which is still in some ways stuck in its own time, and the modern more cynical world, and the tension between the two.  Also, important to expanding on the overall mystery and linking the past to the present is the history, much of which is mentioned in Mark Frost's brilliant book The History of Twin Peaks, released last year.  Linking such a layered fictional world to events in the real world is a brave move,  and adds further mysterious to be sholved.  The question of who the teenagers are seems one of the most important of the episode.  And if we are to assume that hatched creature is Bob and he ended up in the girl then what does that mean for her future? And who is she?  Surely it has to be someone from Twin Peaks.    This new direction I think proves that Lynch and Frost had this vision all along and justifys returning the series.  Don't think there could have been a more fitting episode to take us into the week's break.  I'm hooked, scared and thrilled.  The only thing I want now is some Audrey! How much longer guys?!!