Twin Peaks: Checkmate

 "Is this for the soul? My soul?"

Soooo much happens this episode. But, then again, this is Twin Peaks- when does it not?

So the Major starts to tell of what little he remembers, and ponders revealing things that are "classified", until air force types come and take him away. Clearly something to be picked up later in the season- the forest, owls, the White Lodge...UFOs?

Harry deputises Coop as a cop, a nice touch- the FBI investigation plot proceeds, but at least our hero can now have some proper agency. There's some comedy Clouseau stuff as Dick and Andy try to investigate Nicky's parentage. There's love triangle stuff between Nadine, the boy she fancies and Ed, and also between Norma, Hank and Ed, made extra complex by Nadine's sudden comical super strength. There's Ben's continued slide into madness, perhaps averted when Catherine, bizarrely and in spite of everything, decides she wants him after all. Still hate her for being nasty to Josie though.

Then there's the weirdness with James and his abused Mrs Robinson... but what's going on with her and her "brother"? Is James being used? Then there are the terrifying scenes with Leo apparently compos mentis and terrorising the abandoned Shelley. There's the set piece action sequence, complete with Jean Renault's death, Coop's nobility, and some stuff with Denise that... has not aged well.

And then we have that final scene with the fire and the corpse... wow. Not the best episode- the season does feel, entertaining at the moment, but is perhaps treading water right now- but the ending...!