Category Archives: Twin Peaks

Twin Peaks S2 E22

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“Beyond Life and Death”

The ending of the second season of Twin Peaks, which was the final episode of the series (or so we thought at the time), gave us perhaps the worst ever cliffhanger heading into cancellation in TV history. I mean that in the best possible way.

When Cooper stares into the mirror in his bathroom at the Great Northern Hotel and Bob stares back and Coop drives his head into the glass and maniacally says “How’s Annie” repeatedly, the shock was traumatic. The idea that Bob had taken over the body of Agent Cooper (though we discover later that this is not Cooper, but his doppelganger) was horrific for the fans of the show. The knowledge that this would be Cooper’s fate forever was very difficult to accept.

Of course, we know that the series returned in 2017 to do another 18-episodes and helped free Cooper from the Black Lodge/Red Room.

This episode’s second part was like a dream sequence, with Cooper going through the “waiting room” in the Black Lodge as Windham Earle tried to gain its power, rather unceremoniously unsuccessfully. We get to see the midget, the giant, Leland Palmer, Laura Palmer, Maddy, Killer Bob among others in this mystical dimension.

This episode was directed once again by David Lynch and the craziness of the Black Lodge absolutely showed this in spades. The feral screams of Laura Palmer was utterly chilling, as was her comment abut seeing Cooper again in 25 years (which was how long it was between season 2 and season 3 of Twin Peaks). This fever-dream of an episode truly brought the weirdness factor to a new level, even for this classic show.

There rest of the Twin Peaks cast had their moments, many of which were very melodramatic and would fit right in with the soap opera concept that Lynch had originally planned for Twin Peaks.

This show, though it had some downs during the second season, is one of the most influential and epic series in television history. The Who Killed Laura Palmer arc of the show was as good as you are going to find on network television.

As I said in the last post, I plan on giving Twin Peaks a rest for awhile, perhaps jumping into season three during the summer. Until then, enjoy a damn fine cup of coffee and a slice of cherry pie.

Twin Peaks S2 E21

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“Miss Twin Peaks”

The penultimate episode of season two of Twin Peaks came hard to the Miss Twin Peaks contest as Windham Earle, dressed as the Log Lady, kidnapped Annie after her victory in the contest.

The entire moment felt so chaotic, bringing back the moments of the flashing strobe lights when Bob or the Giant would show up.

After Annie and Cooper got busy in his Great Northern room, she was clearly the target that would make the most sense for the revenge-minded Earle.

Andy comes through big time too, with an explanation of the mysterious cave drawing actually being a map!

You could tell that this episode was ramping back up into a more intense level. Much of the series had wandered since the reveal of the killer of Laura Palmer. Some parts had been good, some were bad. It felt unrefined and inconsistent. This had a much better feel to it. Even the Miss Twin Peaks contest, which was one of the areas of the recent weeks that were not the strongest, created some serious moments.

This sets up the finale of season two, which, it seemed, would be the finale of the series. However, a surprise season three came back on Showtime. When I finish the next episode, I plan on taking a time out before the season three rewatch (probably in the summer).

Twin Peaks S2 E20

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“The Path to the Black Lodge”

Three remaining Twin Peaks remaining in season two. Things are slowly picking up the connections between the first story arc and the new arc with Windham Earle.

We discover something more about the Black Lodge and we see Killer Bob make another appearance, connecting Bob with the Black Lodge.

Windham Earle dressed up as a horse (with Leo as the horse’s ass) and kidnapped Major Briggs.

Miss Twin Peaks hypes up. Sounds as if Annie may be joining in when the giant returns to attempt to warn Cooper.

A few of the men had some strange reaction with their hand. I saw Cooper and Pete both have it happen.

The whole Ben Horne may be Donna’s father feels forced. If Ben had such a deep connection with Donna’s mother, why did we see nothing about it before now? Why was there absolutely no tie to Donna until just recently? I do like the new Ben Horne, but this just does not work.

They spend some more time trying to make me care about John and Audrey. Not sure I do. I liked Pete more in the episode. When he offered to take Audrey fishing, that was very sweet.

This episode was clearly bringing a lot of the mystical energy back again.

Twin Peaks S2 E18, E19

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“On the Wings of Love”

“Variations and Relations”

Those pesky owls.

They just aren’t what they seem.

I did not remember the trip into Owl Cave to find some mysterious petroglyph, but it fits right into the magical woods around Twin Peaks.

Storylines are beginning to come together and the newly reinstated Cooper is on the case. Windham Earle continues to be very creepy as he has been stalking Audrey, Shelly and Donna.

Some odd things going on…

I am starting to feel pity for Leo. He was such a horrendous character during season one, but since he got captured by Earle, he has really come to bad side of karma.

Ben Horne is another character whom I suddenly want to root for. It is difficult to believe his change of heart, but I really want it to be more than just a way to stick it to Catharine.

I am not a huge fan of the new relationships that the show had forced upon us. Cooper and Annie felt pretty rushed. I had little connection with Audrey and John either. It seemed a long way to keep Cooper and Audrey apart.

I did think it was funny that Gordon Cole could easily hear Shelly even though she spoke in her normal voice. It wasn’t enough to base a relationship on, but it did make for a good scene.

The whole Miss Twin Peaks storyline is shaky. Ian Buchanan with the white bandage across his nose from the weasel bite from ep. 17 was funny.

Twin Peaks S2 E17

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“Wounds and Scars”

The fallout over Josie’s bizarre death happened in this episode as Harry went into a dark place. I do remember that aspect, but I am not sure what else was done with Josie’s death. I did like the Cooper/Harry bromance that was displayed here. The fact that Josie weighed 65 pounds from the autopsy was a detail that I did not recall that was cool.

Honestly, there was not much more in this episode. Windham Earle stalked Donna. They held a fundraiser at the Great Northern to fight Ghostwood and Dick had a weasel bite his nose. Norma’s sister Annie arrived and met Cooper. Audrey and her new boy toy connected. Ed and Nadine prepared to divorce and Nadine and Mike snuck into a room at the Great Northern.

Just not much there in this episode. Without the scenes with Cooper and Harry, this would be a totally dismissible episode.

Cooper spoke with Major Briggs and the Log Lady about stuff that happens in the woods. The Log Lady has a mysterious mark on her leg that was similar to Briggs’ mark on his neck. They both made a reference about the owls.

Not much of an episode.

Twin Peaks S2 E16

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“The Condemned Woman”

The ending of this episode of Twin Peaks was the weirdest I can remember. It was the resolution, kinda, of the storyline of Josie Packard. The one where she just dies before having her ‘spirit’, shall we say, trapped in the bed stand drawer. We see Killer Bob again, taunting Cooper and we see the dancing dwarf from the Red Room dancing on the bed. Did Bob imply that he killed Josie?

What was even stranger was I do not think they mention this Josie story again in the rest of the show. If they do, it is just in passing.

Just not sure how this was intended to play into the overall story of the White Lodge, but it was certainly intended to do so. I wonder if there were contract issues with the actress playing Josie that led to this bizarre twist. (FYI- doing some research, I found that the actress Joan Chen, who played Josie had asked to be written out so she could go film a movie, Turtle Beach, which was a critical and financial flop).

Of course, we learn about Josie’s shooting of Agent Cooper and how the husband she thought she killed, Andrew Packard, was actually alive. It was heavily implied that she had killed Jonathan and we see her kill Eckhardt, who was angry with her over her supposed betrayal since Andrew was alive.

Windham Earle took a bit of a backseat this episode, though he was trolling Donna, Audrey and Shelly as his “three queens” for a gathering of “the angels.” He had sent each an invite to the Roadhouse and part of a poem torn into three. Earle continues to be a big time creeper.

He also continues to taunt and torture Leo, which Leo deserves completely.

James is still a dumbass. He and Donna kind of broke up as James is still out there doing God knows what with the Walsh case. Donna needs to move along. She is way too good for him.

Nadine tells Ed she wants to split up and that she had a night of love with Mike. Ed is surprised, but Nadine said that he and Norma had done it. Ed say, “Well, there’s that.” LOL

Norma stands up to Hank, who is in jail for multiple crimes and parole violations. She will not support his lie of an alibi. Yay! You go girl. I think my memory is that she caves… but I hope I am wrong.

Twin Peaks S2 E15

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“Slaves and Masters”

Pete is a chess master? Surprise.

I do like how they brought Pete into the story with Windham Earle. Another thing I love is Leo getting caught by Windham and made to do what he wanted. There was a feel of Karma for Leo, getting what he done back in spades. I almost feel sorry for ‘Mr. New Shoes.’

The Windham Earle storyline continues to be the best part of this post Laura Palmer story on Twin Peaks. The ending with Cooper and the death mask was really creepy.

They wrapped up the Ben Horne crazy storyline and the James Hurley storyline pretty quickly. I wonder if that was a response to those not being well liked? I did enjoy the Ben Horne crazy bit, but the whole South winning the Civil War/ Confederate flag scenes might be somewhat tone deaf. Certainly plays different today than it did back int he 90s.

I just dislike James so much. He is such a rotten person. Even after getting framed for murder, he is kissing on Evelyn. Donna really deserves better than him. I don’t know why the show played James up to be some kind of good guy because I found him to be selfish, inconsiderate, and downright dumb. He and Evelyn deserved each other.

One of the funniest scenes in the show was when Nadine caught Ed and Norma in bed, but did not even blink. She hopped in bed with them and talked about how she was disqualified in her wrestling meet because the airplane slam was illegal. Ed and Norma just sat there, shocked. Nadine then told them that she knew about them and said it was okay with her because she was going after Mike.

Post Laura Palmer, Twin Peaks has struggled to find any consistency. It has some good moments, good scenes, but there are as many scenes and storylines that just do not work in any manner either. Windham Earle is an absolute winner though at this point.

Twin Peaks S2 E14

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“Double Play”

Post Laura Palmer murder Twin Peaks continues to be a mixed bag.

  • Windham Earle made his first appearance, creepy as all get out.
  • Leo’s return to life is really well done and frightening.
  • James is still terrible. Donna deserves so much better.
  • Pete is shocked by Andrew being alive, but I do like Catharine letting Pete know the truth. Their relationship is strange, but oddly sweet.
  • I do not like the black widow character with her over developed sexual abilities.
  • Sure seemed like they dropped the Little Nicky storyline quickly.
  • Leo and Windham Earle together? Yes, please.
  • I could have any number of scenes with Harry and Cooper showing how much they respect each other. Coop explaining his past with Earle laid out the rivalry beautifully.
  • Dr. Jacoby was all over this episode after not having much to do since the very early part of the first season.
  • Refighting the Civil War? Ben Horne’s crazy behavior is great.
  • Norma feeling good when Hank was arrested.

The show has some intriguing storylines, but there are so many things that just do not work, and even those that are good, there is just something missing at times. Possibly the missing piece was David Lynch.

Twin Peaks S2 E13

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“Checkmate”

Once again, there are parts of this new arc of stories on Twin Peaks that are decent and have its share of mysterious moments, and there are parts of the new arc of stories on Twin Peaks that are just horrendous.

Let’s start off with the good:

  • The creepiness factor of the Windham Earle chess game is just top notch. He feels as if he is a worthy challenge for Cooper.
  • Dick and Andy in search of info on Little Nicky. More on this later though.
  • Major Briggs and everything surrounding him. Project Blue Book? Giant Owl? The performance of Don S. Davis as Major Briggs in this episode was exceptional.
  • Crazy Ben Horne is the best Ben Horne.
  • Nadine beating the hell out of Hank and making out with Mike? Funny!
  • The return of a live and in person Leo. The final shot of Leo with food all over his face was just frightening.
  • Agent Cooper really has respect for everyone. His response to David Duchovny out of the dress was amazing.

Not so good

  • James. Everything with James. Falling into bed with Mrs. Marsh really tells me that James is not, nor ever has been, in love with Donna. She deserves way better than James.
  • Dick and Andy are more like bumbling boobs in pursuit of Little Nicky. Did they get out of the adoption office? The show did not tell us. I guess they did since Andy was at the showdown with Renault.
  • David Duchovny in drag at the end is silly. He’s pulling up his dress, wouldn’t Renault notice the gun too?
  • Bobby and Audrey still feels forced. Trying to find someone for Audrey besides Cooper.
  • Josie. That’s all I got.
  • They really wrapped up the Renault drug storyline quickly.

The overall feel of Twin Peaks during this time is that it could have benefited from some editing and tightening up the scripts. There were some good ideas here, but they were too inconsistent, not developed enough.

Twin Peaks S2 E12

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“The Black Widow”

Last episode I found a real slog to get through. This one was considerably better.

I found a few of these storylines to catch my attention. I do not remember much about where some of them go, but there are some intriguing ideas.

Starting with Little Nicky. The mysterious child who Dick and Andy have been spending some time with has some curious things happen around him. Although the image of Little Nicky in a thought bubble over Andy’s head was silly, I really like the initial concept involving him.

Major Briggs’ sudden return from wherever was done well too. He is being folded into the White Lodge storyline, which will eventually tie back into Killer Bob, and one of the biggest, most vital pieces of the Twin Peaks mythos. I also like the current progression of Bobby Briggs, who has been criminally underused. Not as underused as Audrey Horne, though, as she needs something more to do.

The whole James storyline remains one of the worst on the show as they are setting up a murder. James ahs to be one of the dumbest characters on screen.

Nadine kicking Mike’s butt on the wrestling mat was funny, but it was not very accurate in high school wrestling, which does draw the audience out of the already weird situation. Nadine’s super strength is something that I do not think the show ever truly deals with.

Dougie’s death at the ‘hands’ of his new bride saw veteran actor Tony Jay removed form the cast fairly quickly. I am not sure how I feel about the men of Twin Peaks totally fascinated and enthralled by her stories and her presence as they were. It was funny, but it does not feel as if this is going to go anywhere.

Ben Horne is starting to go off the deep end and this could be very interesting. The fall of the house of Horne gets very bizarre, if I remember correctly.

While some of these stories seem to be picking up juice, I do not think that many of them really pay off. Maybe I do not remember it correctly, but I guess we will see.

Twin Peaks S2 E11

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“Masked Ball”

Twin Peaks takes a real step from the Laura Palmer mystery into what sure felt like a series of dull and uninspiring storylines.

  • James rode his motorcycle and met a woman named Evelyn Marsh. I legit hate this storyline.
  • Nadine is interested in high schooler Mike.
  • Catharine has some new manipulations
  • The mayor’s brother gets married again- played by Tony Jay.
  • David Duchovny comes to town as DEA Agent Dennis/Denise Bryson
  • Windham Earle makes a chess move.
  • Dick brings Little Nicky for a malt; Andy tags along.
  • Betty Briggs is not upset that her husband disappeared in the woods last episode.
  • Audrey was on screen for three seconds dancing with Cooper at the wedding.

Seriously, this was very dull for most of the episode. It was odd to see David Duchovny show up in drag, but it is less of a shock these days as it would have been back in the 1990s.

There was an interesting scene between Hank and Ben Horne. Horne is very eccentric at this point, watching old home movies and making shadow puppets with his hands.

This was a huge step down from previous Twin Peaks episodes.

Twin Peaks S2 E10

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“Dispute Between Gentlemen”

With the case of who killed Laura Palmer solved, the show Twin Peaks started off on its newest mystery, “How do we keep Agent Cooper in Twin Peaks?”

Okay, maybe that is not quite right, but it is pretty close. Twin Peaks began its new group of stories for the second part of the second season with some background on Agent Cooper, a revenge plot from a Renault, another mysterious disappearance and the return of Josie.

Cooper is suspended for his part in the rescue of Audrey Horne, which is orchestrated by Jean Renault, via the FBI. This keeps him in Twin Peaks, for the immediate future.

I do love the brotherly relationship between Cooper and Sheriff Truman. Harry believes in Coop completely and their bromance just works on a positive note. And Harry 100% has Cooper’s back, even in the face of the FBI (and the Royal Mounties, apparently).

Just before Major Briggs disappears, he drops the first mention of The White Lodge. Even if the show becomes too disjointed or less taut in the rest of this season, I do enjoy the concept of the White Lodge.

Leo looks to be starting to get ready to stop being a wheelchair bound vegetable.

As the show tried to push Bobby Briggs and Audrey Horne together, Audrey had a goodbye scene with Agent Cooper that just showed how much chemistry this pair had and makes the decision for them to never get together all the more questionable.

Windham Earle is name-dropped once more. If I had not known, it would be painfully apparent that these moments of foreshadowing would lead to Windham Earle’s arrival eventually in Twin Peaks.

Those owls are still not what they appear.

Twin Peaks S2 E9

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“Arbitrary Law”

So the story of “Who Killed Laura Palmer” came to a conclusion in this episode, at least for the most part. Leland Palmer was revealed to the world as ‘Bob’ and he was shown to be the killer of his own daughter.

This is one of those episodes of TV that I always remember. The final scene where Leland/Bob kills himself is completely compelling and goose bumps-inducing. Ray Wise had been amazing with his performance as Leland Palmer up to this episode and this absolutely is his magnum opus. The scene of Leland laying in the interrogation room being held by Cooper is unbelievable. Leland’s realization of what he had done to Laura was powerful and Cooper’s kind way of directing Leland to the light was caring and hopeful.

The scene preceding this with Leland in full Bob mode and being interrogated by Cooper was another amazing scene that illustrated Ray Wise’s astounding performance. The way he switched from chaotic insanity to a calm, evil aura showed what an wonderful actor Ray Wise was.

When Leland had Donna in his house, I remember being totally sold on the chance that Leland was going to claim another victim and the scene was scripted so brilliantly that, as a viewer, you could not be sure that Donna was going to survive.

Of course, then there was the scene with Donna and James, a scene that really highlighted once again what a doofus James Hurley was. I really dislike him even as I recall being a fan of James when I first watched the show back int he 1990s. I would love for James to hop on his motorcycle and just ride off and leave twin peaks forever. I know that is not what he will do, but Donna deserves someone so much better than this loser.

It was also a welcome return for FBI Agent Albert Rosenfield, played by the incomparable Miguel Ferrer. In a few sparse scenes in the show so far, Albert has taken quite a lengthy journey for his character.

Even though the show hints at Bob escaping from his fate, the conclusion did not feel tainted. It brought this mystery to a satisfying conclusion, even if it was initially intended to never have been solved.

Of course, the shot of the owl at the end of the episode was a great piece of potential foreshadowing. We all know that the ‘owls are not what they seem.’

Twin Peaks S2 E8

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“Drive with a Dead Girl”

With last episode’s gigantic reveal that Killer Bob was possessing Leland Palmer and that he killed his daughter Laura, and then killed cousin Maddie in a brutal murder, Twin Peaks was firing on all cylinders. Episode 8 could never hope to match up with last episode. Still, it was an interesting episode.

Ray Wise brought out his inner demon in this remarkable performance. The greatest moment was when Leland had been pulled over by Sheriff Truman and Agent Cooper for his reckless driving, and Leland wanted to show Cooper his new golf clubs, which are in the trunk with Maddie’s dead body. The visual of Leland with the golf club, running the idea of smashing it into Cooper’s unexpecting head was awesome.

I also LOVED seeing Pete Martell and his joyous laughter as he taunted Ben Horne, who was inside his jail cell, with the tape recorder playing Catherine’s voice, blackmailing Ben with an alibi. Not sure how Pete was able to get down to the cells at the police station without being let in by Harry or one of the deputies, but it was worth seeing to hear his riotous laugh.

So Maddie is discovered at the end of the episode in the forest. If I remember correctly, Maddie’s murder is the beginning of the downfall of Bob/Leland.

Twin Peaks S2 E4, E5, E6,E7

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A couple of thoughts off the top:

  • I really dislike Donna, James and Maddy. I liked them much more the first time I watched this show, but they are just so dumb.
  • Ray Wise was just brilliant. He deserved an Emmy for his work this season.
  • As a General Hospital fan, seeing Ian Buchanan as Dick Tremayne was a hoot.
  • I started off and kept watching. Each episode ended with something remarkably compelling that I just had to keep watching.

“Laura’s Secret Diary”

I bought Laura Palmer’s Diary when it came out in stores. What a tie-in to the show. It did not give anything really solid, but it was a cool tidbit. The show’s introduction of Harold Smith was not my favorite part of the series because it tied in to the whole Donna mess. Still, they knew how to make money.

Leland confessing to Jacques’ murder was powerful. Of course, it would lead to more than just that murder.

I honestly think the whole thing with Andy and his sperm container rolling across the floor was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. I was able to tell Harry Goaz, the actor who played Andy, how funny I found that scene when he came to the Iowa City Memorial Union for a Twin Peaks watch.

“The Orchids Curse”

The fact that it took Cooper this long to remember the note that was under his bed was a travesty. It was way longer than it should have been.

The whole Nadine in high school story was funny too, but I am not sure they ever totally explained why she had such an incredible strength.

Cooper and Truman go to One Eyed Jacks and rescue Audrey. Not before Blackie was killed by John Renault. Hawk came through big time. Good thing Coop and Harry can’t keep a secret.

“Demons”

Bobby and Shelly getting screwed over with their insurance claim with a handicapped Leo is poetic justice for their bad behavior, but felt overly cruel for poor Shelly, who did suffer at the hands of Leo for quite awhile.

Of course, it led to the classic Leo line that I say to this day, “New shoes.”

The arrival of Gordon Cole, played by David Lynch himself, was a highlight. Having a non-working hearing aid and having everyone yell so he could [barely] hear was a great gag that worked the whole time.

The whole scene with “Mike,” the one armed man was creepy as could be.

“Lonely Souls”

It is happening again.

What an episode this one was. So much happened in it and the last ten minutes or so were some of the best scenes you will ever see on TV.

The reveal of Killer Bob as Leland was done as perfectly as you would see and the scene where he kills Maddy has to be one of the most unexpected and violent scenes ever to make network television. Watching the scene flash from Bob to Leland and he danced around with Maddie was completely unbelievable. There is no way we get a scene like that today. There are several moments where it is difficult to watch.

There may be no more tragic character on Twin Peaks than Maddy Ferguson. She came to Twin Peaks for her cousin Laura’s funeral and because she resembled Laura, she had to go through so much. Not only did she have to deal with James’ weird obsession, but ends up being the replacement daughter to Leland who, by the way, is the psychotic killer. She was nothing like Laura, but she had to pay for Laura’s sins.

With Cooper, Harry and the Log Lady at the Road House, we see the Giant make a reappearance uttering that phrase I lead off this section with… “It is happening again.” How unnerving and chilling was that. Then, when Maddy had been killed, the feeling that overtook Bobby, Donna and Cooper at the Road House was suspenseful. They knew something had happened. Donna started to cry and you could see even Bobby was affected. It was all very much like a dream and it had been shot that way. David Lynch did direct this episode and you can see his fingerprints all over it.

This was not all for this episode. The discovery of Laura’s secret dairy at Harold Smith’s place, torn to shreds by Harold who hanged himself with his flowers. The episode started off with that shock, but who remembered that after the ending?

Cooper and Harry arrested Ben Horne, who is looking as if he were the killer. Of course, we knew it was not him. Even when he was first being arrested, it was clearly not him. He was the patsy, the red herring for the audience. Back when it first aired, I did not think that it would be Ben, but I never guessed that it would be Leland, either.

Another shock of this episode that gets rolled over with the ending was the reveal that Mr. Tojamura was, in fact, Catharine Martell back from the dead and hiding in Japanese make-up. The scene where she revealed herself to Pete is one of the happiest moments of the show, certainly of this episode.

Everything about this was disturbing, especially when you stop and think about the fact that Leland killed Laura and that he raped her and abused her as much as he did, though under the guise of Bob. Could this be why he was so grieved when Laura’s body was found, that it was an internal guilt driving him?

An exceptional episode of TV that just combines the emotions of the audience with one of the greatest plot reveals of all time.