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?!!