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.