My log has a message for you.
Okey, somehow that sounds way too creepy when I say it aloud. Rest in peace, Catherine Coulson (Margaret Lanterman / The Log Lady). Ever since she told Hawk that something was missing and it was related to his heritage, we’ve been stirred. Now that the first of clues has yielded fruit, I want Dale back more than ever. I’m looking forward to a partial reunion of the Bookhouse Boys.
(Yes, I know previously I said I couldn’t review Twin Peaks because it goes for the slow burn and I couldn’t do it justice. I’m recanting that statement based on the fact that I can’t help myself)
But Agent Cooper’s semi-lethargic state seems to go for the long run. That being said, there’s a palpable personality, a heartbeat of a hint, inside the man they call Dougie Jones, although it’s not quite him. It’s not quite Dale either. Our esteemed FBI agent is urged to wake up by MIKE (Philip Gerard, The One-Armed Man) who functions in this season as Dale’s guide from The Black Lodge. He replaces the Man From Another Place – who is now a talking tree.
(Yes, he’s the tree. I swear. Wait, I guess it could be a lying tree…)
Watching Kyle MacLachlan play someone who for all intents and purposes is mentally disabled is hard to watch. If you’ve ever known someone who suffers from that kind of ailment, it’s more sad than cringe. We get some happy moments as Dougie talks to Sonny Jim, who seems to like him more although he hardly says a word… Which makes me think Sonny Jim might have his own mountain to climb.
If you think that the murder scene in Buckhorn was nasty, prepare for a shocker. We follow Carl Rodd (Harry Dean Stanton, reprising his role as a character from Fire Walk With Me) as he goes to a park. He notices a kid and his young mother playing a game of catch that looks just a little bit off but still innocent.
In a seemingly unrelated scene, drug dealer Red has been teasing the very volatile Richard Horne into a frenzy. He does a magic trick as he throws a coin in the air. The coin lands in Richard’s mouth, who pries it out. Then he sees Red grab the falling coin. Richard no longer has the coin in his fingers. The young Horne is pissed, although he’s more pissed about Red constantly calling him kid.
Cut to the middle of a known intersection in town where the kid and his mother are looking to cross. A truck driver lets them through, just as an impatient Richard Horne speeds up on the opposite lane, killing the child without stopping. The sight of the dead kid and his distraught mother is Twin Peaks first truly disturbing scene. Carl Rodd watches as he sees a light leave the child’s body and fly up into the air.
We meet Ike the Spike. Unfortunately, so do his victims. He’s all rage as he goes for Lorraine (a woman supposedly tasked to take out Dougie Jones) and makes another bloody mess that is somehow not as disturbing seeing that hit and run. He’s also commissioned to kill Dougie, but since his ice pick is bent he might be delayed.
Deputy Chief Tommy “Hawk” Hill loses a coin in the bathroom. He sees an stylized head of a native american in the door’s hinge. The door is missing a couple of screws. Hawk splits open the door to find papers that someone has left in there. What was missing will no doubt be found.
At least we’ve gotten to see the Double R Diner already.
Highs/Lows/IveGotATheory:
- Yes, I’ve caved and now I’m reviewing Twin Peaks. Sigh. It’s still way above my head, but this episode was just plenty of developments, so much so that not everything was covered.
- Dougie now not only gets his own coffee mug, he’s back in black. He’s been reacting to all the things that meant something to Agent Dale Cooper, including a badge. His seemingly infantile action of drawing patterns (some of which look like the floor of the Black Lodge) may have another implication. His boss realizes that his scribbles are next to specific items in those case files. Dale is starting to shine through.
- We meet Diane (Laura Dern, who else?). The same Diane for whom Dale recorded all those messages. (Incidentally, I used to have all those messages in microcassette from back in the 90’s)
- Richard Horne is going to meet a very sad finale. I don’t think he’s meant to get away with that hit and run. Even if he manages to turn everyone’s opinion around and revindicate himself… Actually scratch that, specially if he revindicates himself. That’s when you know he’s bound to get killed.
- Possible Spoiler Alert! The pages in the door of the stall = pages from the Secret Diary of Laura Palmer? If they turn out to be anything else, I’m going to be bummed.
- I know that back in the original run of seasons one and two, Lynch never meant for us to find out the identity of Laura Palmer’s killer until the network forced him. However, now that he’s given ample space to let his imagination run wild, will we get to see Dale Cooper be himself again? Please tell me I’ll get to see him back at the Double R Diner having a piece of pie with a cup of coffee. Is that too much to ask? I just don’t want that to be the end of the series, but its turning point. There has to be more to this than meets the eye.
That will do for now.
Never Think Impossible 