Spoilers

“Traces to Nowhere”

“Zen, of the Skill to Catch a Killer”

“Rest in Peace”

“The One-Armed Man”

The Twin Peaks series was all about tone/mood. It established it constantly, from the story to the characters to the music/soundtrack. These episodes would expand the mystical elements of the area, and brought the idea of visions and dreams to the forefront. All this adds to the remote location of Twin Peaks and the environment around it.

When you understand how David Lynch initially had intended to not solve the mystery and let the case fade into the background among the eccentric characters of Twin Peaks, some of these oddball scenes make more sense. Nadine and her silent curtain runners, the appearance of Hank from prison, Lucy and Andy, and the relationship between Big Ed and Norma, none of which had anything to do with the Palmer case.

Knowing the truth behind the Laura case, it was fun watching Leland. The metaphor of him cutting his hand with Laura’s picture where Leland literally had blood on his hands felt like it was obvious that he was the killer. Yet, it made perfect sense in the context of the episode.

The arrival of Maddy Ferguson, the cousin of Laura Palmer, still played by Sheryl Lee, shook up the story.

Cooper’s dream is iconic in the world of Twin Peaks. The dancing midget, the Laura doppelganger, Killer Bob, Mike the one-armed man, all found inside the red room. This scene is vital to the remainder of the entire series.

The Renault brothers and One-Eyed Jacks story comes to the front of the story with a slight connection to the Laura Palmer case.

Leo Johnson is a horrendous person. He’s one of those characters that I want to pay. The scene where he beats Shelly is truly horrible even if we never saw anything graphic.

The Laura Palmer funeral was so much wonderful chaos that is was shocking. Not only for Bobby Briggs’s behavior but seeing Leland fall on the coffin top was just amazing. Having Sarah Palmer say to Leland not to “ruin this too” in retrospect was quite the comment.

I intended on watching one episode this afternoon which exploded into four. It is just such a compelling and intelligent show. It was certainly far ahead of its time as the TV landscape of the 1990s was nothing like this. Without Twin Peaks, I am not sure you get series like The X-Files, LOST, Picket Fences or anything else that dealt with something weird or mysterious.