Twin Peaks: Miss Twin Peaks

" I haven't been this excited since I punctured Caroline's aorta..."

Here we are, then: the penultimate episode. An awful lot happens, as we might expect. Some sub=plots approach their dénouement- Donna trying to work out he truth between Ben Horne and her mother; Lucy choosing Andy instead of Dick; that key inside the metal cube that was in turn within the metal box.

But really, it's about the secrets of the Black Lodge gradually unfolding, with Earle listening in as Dale Cooper solves a few puzzles via astrological mumbo jumbo. Leo pays a heavy price, involving teeth and tarantulas, for freeing a heavily drugged Major Briggs who ends up as an important source of clues... but perhaps we should remember that Leo is not a very nice man. And it's perfect that the final piece of the puzzle should come from an eureka moment had by, of all people, Andy.

Then there's the Miss Twin Peaks pageant, an opportunity for much weird comedy as Twin Peaks is much known for. But much else, too, not least of which is long overdue sex between Annie and Coop. Oh, and a sex scene in the dark between Lana and Dick, naturally, the Mayor suspecting nothing.

But the ending is both exciting and visually arresting, as chaos ensues and Windom Earle seizes Annie. It's a whirlwind of an episode, bonkers and fun.

Nearly there...

Twin Peaks: The Path to the Black Lodge

 "

Well, it seems love is in the air... along with weird hand tremors, Windom Earle being a first class baddie, and signs that we may be feeling our way towards some kind of explanation for all this Black Lodge stuff. it's the pre-penultimate episode, and there's an awful lot going on.

But ah, there's love in the run up to Miss Twin Peaks. Bobby straight-up declares his love for Shelley after weeks of being something of a ****. Jack has to fly back to Brazil for a long time, just as Audrey has fallen in love with him... the desperate drive to intercept him at the airport may be a cliché, but Audrey's insistence on losing her virginity to him first is actually rather sweet. As is everything to do with Coop and Annie, both of them delightfully eccentric intellectuals whose flirting casually references both St Augustine and Heisenberg. Less sweet, though, is the Mayor's exploitative girlfriend. 

We also get lots of delicious manipulative evil from Earle, not the least of which is having the Mayor literally kidnapped by a pantomime horse. And he is, of course, running rings around everyone, discovering the map to the Black Lodge. Which, we learn, is an evil place connected with "evil sorcerers called "Dugpas". Groovy.

Excellent stuff, and not long to go now...

Twin Peaks: Variations on Relations

 "When I talk to you, I get a tingling sensation in my toes and in my stomach."

The plot certainly looms large here. Most of younger women in the cast seem set to enter Miss Twin Peaks. The plans of Windom Earle unwind apace, with him getting perhaps the best lines from a particularly dialogue-rich episode. Yet Cooper admits he can no longer predict what his old foe will do.

And so the foreboding mounts, as Major Briggs agrees to look into the relevant details of his mysterious project, footage abounds of the likes of owls and a mysterious hooded figure in the woods. Earle's latest stunt is particularly macabre. Oh, and there's Catherine's little puzzle box. And yet...

This episode is really  all about establishing the character stuff before we head into the final straight. Cooper and Annie have a date on a boat, connect... and kiss! Gordon kisses Shelley... and Bobby sees! Dick presides over a rather amusing little wine tasting. Mike points out to Bobby that, yes, Nadine may older... but there are, er, benefits being with to a woman with sexual maturity and superhuman strength!!!

It's all enormous fun. And not long now until the end...

Twin Peaks: On the Wings of Love

 "Will you please ask the lady with the log to speak up?"

We may begin the episode with Jones (aided by some kind of lip-applied hallucinogenic?) trying to kill Harry... but sure enough, as predicted, he's superficially over Josie's death and back in action, as predicted. Plus Gordon Cole is back, Cooper is suddenly reinstated in the FBI, and suddenly things are moving extremely fast as the series enters the final stretch.

We have more obvious hints that Coop and Annie, a delightfully eccentric character, are to be romantically linked. Gordon Cole and Shelly... well, we'll see how that goes. A deaf character being able to hear the woman with whom he's besotted is possible only in a series with the relationship to realism that Twin Peaks has, to put it mildly.

Earle has links to that shady air force UFO group that Major Briggs is part of. He discusses Shelley with Audrey in another disguise. He's always one step ahead. Meanwhile, Ben is his old plotting self, plotting new things. Audrey and Wheeler really need to get a room. Ben and Donna's mum are old flames. And, of course, there's the revelations at the Owl Cave, with Earle, again, several steps ahead...

Things are speeding up and getting more exciting as we approach the end...

Twin Peaks: Wounds and Scars

 "I guess the world's just caught up to us..."

Inevitably, Harry is deeply affected by Josie's death in a way we've never seen him before. But he gets his moment of reflection (and catharsis) with Coop, and I assume he'll be back to normal next time.

Soooo much happens, though. The Log Lady reveals that, when she was seven and in the forest, she had a similar experience to Cooper and the Major, receiving a tattoo on her leg. Cooper and Pete struggle with the stalemate game against Earle... it's impossible to play so as no pieces are taken, so people will die. Earle, meanwhile, is angry at the stalemate game, and the fact that Cooper is clearly being helped... so he delivers his own move in a particularly creepy and scary manner. This is brilliant stuff.

So is the sparring between Ben Horne and Catherine, towards the end, just before the inevitable farce (the scene involves Dick, after all) with the pine marten. Like most episodes, there are lots of plotlines moving forwards, there are the guest celebrity appearances we've come to see of late (Heather Graham appears as Norma's sister) and there are a selection of entertaining set pieces. And, as ever, it's utterly compelling. Five episodes to go, and I've absolutely no idea how this will end.

Leo as bullied butler figure, though.... brr!

Twin Peaks: The Condemned Woman

 "You'll have to excuse me. the chef tried to stab Jerry."

I love the way the above quote isn't even followed up on, and is just an excuse for Ben to leave so that Audrey and mysterious newcomer Jack Wheeler can have their deliciously nuanced conversation, circling around each other. She doesn't like him. But...

Still, to state the bleeding obvious, this is Josie's episode. And what a horrible last few hours for her, after days of being bullied and humiliated by Catherine. Poor Josie. The dilemma of prison or "belonging" to Eckhart. The finality of the end- her shooting her tormentor, her death, Harry's heartbreak.

Other things happen. Windom Earle luring Shelley, Donna and Audrey to a few seats away from him. The tense game of chess by newspaper- and Pete as chess expert. Hank going to jail, Nadine dumping Ed, Ed proposing to Norma, and Norma dumping Hank in a uniquely Twin Peaks love quadrangle. Ben continuing to plot against Catherine as he schemes to revive the fortunes of his family.

But really, this episode is all about poor Josie, and the real, agonised despair of her final hours. Poor girl.

Twin Peaks: Slaves and Masters

 "The only things I know in Hungarian are paprika and goulash..."

This episode is especially well directed... by none other than Diane Keaton. Yes, that Diane Keaton...

This feels very much like an episode that's there to tie up all these rather odd little mid-season plot threads before the season enters the final stretch. Ben's madness arc climaxes and abruptly ends.... essentially, because Audrey is too clever to allow Jerry to exploit his madness. The sub-plot with James being framed by Evelyn and Malcolm seems, by the end of the episode, to have met a sudden end- mainly via Donna's intervention.

Then we have the disturbing scenes of Earle abusing Leo ("Domestic violence. Well, I am partial to that."), Catherine seemingly about to, rather evilly, just hand poor Josie over to the sinister Eckhart after making her serve them both as maid. Ouch. One can see where the episode's title comes from, while feeling rather more sorry for Josie than for Leo.

Then we have the rather delicious scene of Nadine casually finding Ed in bed with Norma, lots of random owls, and more intrigue in the battle of wits between Earle and Cooper. It's a good enough episode, although... is it me but, for an episode of Twin Peaks, the weirdness level seems a bit lower than usual!

Twin Peaks: Double Play

 "I will return. Until that time, I will be in the shadows until you need me."

Relatively speaking, I suppose, Twin Peaks is undergoing a bit of a lull. Yet we still have so much cool stuff going on. Cooper's explanation of the backstory behind the "genius" Windom Earle, and how he ties in with Coop's lost love. The slasher movie type jump scares as the recovered Leo menaces Shelley. Leo, in the woods, ending up in a cabin with Earle. And the owls.. oh, the owls!

We also have some comic relief sub-plots, with the Black Widow and Little Nicky, to lighten the tone. But so much is happening... Pete learns that Andrew is alive, Josie doesn't know, and Josie is bait for Eckhart, who has just arrived in Twin Peaks... and he's David Warner!

Then there's the revelation that James was always going to be set up for the abusive husband's murder. The magnificent weirdness of literally everything Major Briggs says. Ben Horne continuing to be completely hatstand... although it's notable that, in 1991, it was not yet beyond the pale to support the South in the American Civil War because, you know, yes it was literally about slavery and only slavery.

The season is treading water a bit- 22 episodes always was too many- but I'm still having fun.

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...!

Twin Peaks: The Black Widow

 "I'm sorry, am I being obscure?"

I've no idea where any of this is going, or indeed what's going on, and I'm totally fine with that. Twin Peaks is not there to be understood, merely to give us dreamlike impressions, like a Dali painting. It is, I suppose, oddly Freudian in the way that much modernist art and literature was...

But that is, of course, just my impression. It's subjective. Barthes, Death of the Author and all that. In the case of David Lynch, sadly, literally so.

So we have Major Briggs' boss earnestly asking Cooper whether there were any owls around at the time of the disappearance. There's Dougie's sudden death on the night of his wedding, his bride's apparent history of similar incidents, and her uncanny powers over men, to Lucy's horror. One doesn't expect to hear extensive quoting from Romeo and Juliet in Twin Peaks...

Then there's Dick's growing suspicion that Little Nicky may literally be the Devil. There's Major Brigg's sudden reappearance, to the sight and sound of violent thunder. There's Nadine's almost superhuman abilities. It's all so splendidly weird.

Then there's the fun of Cooper and Denise investigating how and why he was framed, which all seems to be linked to the ever-nefarious Jacques Renault...

I'm loving this, if anything, even more since Laura's murder was solved.

Twin Peaks: Dispute Between Brothers

 "You know, there's only one problem with you- you're perfect!"

I was genuinely wondering how Twin Peaks would be able to continue after wrapping up the murder of Laura Palmer. After seeing this, it seems I needn't have worried. So may plot threads, of course, continue. And, as I'll come to, we now have the new mystery box of the "White Lodge"

We begin with some splendid visuals, with an eerie and indeed liminal shot of the forest, then shifting to mantelpiece photos of both Laura and Leland Palmer... then to Agent Cooper comforting Sarah Palmer, reminding us- interestingly, in the light of what is to happen- that he is a deeply decent man.

Then there's Audrey's parting visit to Cooper. She clearly worships him, and his deep moral principles in refusing to be with her do nothing but reinforce that. Again, Cooper is a decent man.

So the FBI investigation comes as a shock... and I'm sure all the viewers were punching the air when Harry told the investigator exactly where he could shove his investigation. Cooper and Twin Peaks, by now, have established a true bond.

All this nicely developed plot and character stuff, and then the ending... night fishing, the "White Lodge" and the Major suddenly disappearing in a mass of owns, urination and white light. Wow.

Other things happen, too, including much broad comedy as Nadine, thirty-five years old, enrols in high school. But this is a surprisingly deep and character-driven episode that somehow manages to point Twin Peaks into what looks like a promising new direction.

Twin Peaks: Arbitrary Law

 "One chants out between two worlds... fire walk with me!"

Wow. This episode is a hugely satisfying resolution to the question of Laura's murder, but... we have twelve episodes to go.  How can this not be the end?

We knew it was Leland, possessed by Bob. But the way an admittedly clueless Agent Cooper finally solves the mystery by the use of visually awesome "magic", utilising all that imagery of not only his own dream, but those of Laura, is hugely satisfying. Bob's been possessing Leland, and using him to kill, for a long time. Yet Leland- even if Bob seemingly flies away as an owl(!) dies in peace at the end...

Well, as far as that may be said for one who has headbutted oneself to death on a cell door!

Laura accepted she had to die, in order to not herself be possessed. Wow. And the Major... he knows things. Also impressive is how Harry slowly, sort of, comes to terms with these supernatural things. Andthe shocking revelation that the old woman from a couple of episodes ago, with her eerie grandson, to whom Donna has been delivering meals for years, has been dead for years... brr!

Other things happen, too, of course- Catherine forces Ben to sign away his rights in return for nothing, and the saga of who is the father of Lucy's baby continues. But this episode is a massively satisfying conclusion to the central mystery.

So... what next.

Twin Peaks: Lonely Souls

 "Would somebody please tell me what the hell is going on here?"

Ah, you can always tell when David Lynch directs an episode himself. The dreamlike quality here was through the roof, from the shooting from above in the hotel lobby early on to that extraordinary final scene in the bar. A surprising amount happens here, much of it gloriously weird.

I won't recount every aspect of the complex unfolding plot, from the shock for Shelley of suddenly being broke and having to look after Leo, her vegetable of an abusive husband "New shoes!") to the unfolding effects of Harold Smith's suicide or even the admittedly weird nature of Nadine's age regression, with the added squashing of a knickerbocker glory. And no, those last few words are not ones I ever imagined myself typing.

No: after the revelations of the One Armed Man last episode things have moved up a gear. Audrey has got her creep off a father to confess to her his doings at One Eyed Jack's and with Laura, and we end up with him being arrested. But we also have not only the Log Lady but also, on stage, the Giant, warning Agent Cooper that, in the Giant's words, "it's happening again"... and, just before she was planning, to leave Twin Peaks, Maddie is attacked by Leland, possessed as per the One Armed Man's explanation, seeming to kill her, having just suddenly killed his wife for good measure...

And the whole ending, the mood and the texture of it, is absolutely peak David Lynch.

Twin Peaks: Demons

 "I find the adherence to fantasy troubling and unreasaonable."

Just when you think Twin Peaks can't get any more delightfully bonkers, it does. I mean, a guest role by David Lynch himself playing Agent Cooper's boss (how very meta) complete with comedy hearing aids...? Yes please.

Lots happens, of course, but it'sall so delightfully weird mixed with real feeling. Harold Smith generally is devastated at Donna's betrayal and what that says about human nature. The scenes between a recovering Audrey, who knows everything, and her slimy father are enormous fun. Yet again we have mutual respect between Cooper and Harry, despite their being pretty much total opposites. And we have the mutual blackmail between Josie and Ben, very nicely done, and Harry's desperate confession of love before Josie seemingly moves to Hong Kong. It's weird, but the characters feel real, even if the events quite pointedly don't.

Then there's the taunting of Leo, who deserves all he gets, and Ben's business dealings- he's essentially a properly moustache-twirling villain at this point. But things only get to maximum weirdness at the end, when the One Armed Man reveals that vhe has an inhabiting spirit called "Mike"... and "Bob" is another such spirit who can onky be seen by "the gifted and the damned".

Brr. That's creepy as hell. And gripping. Twin Peaks is now making what seems to be a more overt shift towards the fantastic. I love it.

Twin Peaks: The Orchid's Curse

 "I'm a whole damn town!"

Pretty much a bog standard episode here, with plot threads progressing and mysteries unfolding amidst a cornucopia of suspense, humour and pathos, but this is Twin Peaks and that's no bad thing. 

There's so much going on, The Judge does some pre-hearing stuff, granting Leland bail and deciding not to try Leo on account of his being a vegetable. There's some slapstic about installing the hoist for Leo as Shelley and Bobby make out, as no doubt they'll take pleasure in doing in front of Leo. Lucy is away for a bit. Andy's sperm count is suddenly back up... but is an abortion on the cards? 

But there are two particular areas of focus here. There's Donna and Maddy with their attempts to steal Laura's secret diary from Harold, despite the fact that Donna like him, weird though he is. There's this delightfully symbolic and highly sexual scene between the two of them with the orchids... "Too much moisture is an invitation to disease"? Well, that sentence is doing a lot of work, to put it mildly. But that ending... ouch.

Then there's Harry and Agent Cooper on theor weird but seemingly successful mission to rescue Audrey. During which we see some owls... are they what they seem? Why is the Judge emphasising the local forest to Agent Cooper? Who is Diane? We asak the questions but, well, the answers are not really the point, are they?

Twin Peaks: Laura's Secret Diary

 "He never exercises. He never washes his car. And he doesn't even own a sports coat!"

By Twin Peaks standards, this is a fairly par episode, despite the fascinatingly surreal opening. And yet there's so much happening.

Oh, there's plot. Harold Smith openly tells Donna about Laura's secret diary... and Donna confides in love rival Maddy of all people. Ben Horne persuades Agent Cooper to handle the ransom for poor Audrey, luring him to his death. We meet a delightfully eccentric judge. Josie is up to something with her cousin from Hong Kong. And then there's Hank abd the bizarre fight at the end.

But there's also pathos. Leland feeling such unbearable grief that he killed Jacques Renault, who wasn't even Laura's killer. There's weirdness, with Audrey's only scene being shot very trippily, with Jean shooting his colleague suddenly. Jean is quite the character, to put it mildly.

Yet what lingers in the mind is the humour, the subtlety of it. Lucy's love troubles with Andy and Dick, our twoabsurd comedy characters, are quietly hilarious. And then there's the little sub-plot of the secret restaurant critic. 

I very much suspect we're not exactly going to see all the threads drawn together. But I'm still loving this.

Twin Peaks: The Man Behind the Glass

 "I love you, Sheriff Truman."

Less weirdness this week, possibly not unconnected to the fact that David Lynch doesn't direct.  Instead we have a series of events, clues and plot developments. However, it's amusing to see Agent Cooper matter-og-factly tell both the bluthely accepting Harry Truman and the ever-cynical Albert about the giant. And the confrontation between the Sheriff and Albert may itself count as weird.

Elsewhere, a song raises Nadine from her coma, but she thinks she's eighteen.because this is the Twin Peaks definition of "not weird". There's a bizarre triangle developing between Donna, James and Maddy. We meet Harold Smith, much younger than expected although asweird aswe might expect... and his house is full of orchids, symbolising beauty and fertility so, yeah, "not weird"...

In other developments, Leland is arrested for Jacques' murder. Audrey is being filmed in a plot to blackmail Ben... and kill Cooper. Lucy has a very pretentious and odd boyfriend, Ben, who seems to be the father of the child growing in her belly. And Harold seems to have known Laura well, we (and Donna) think at first... until we see that he has her diary in his possession...!

Even without the direct Lynchian stuff, this is gripping, and just weird enough. I don't know where it's going... but that's not the point at all. I'm loving this.

Twin Peaks: Coma

 "I do not introduce the log..."

A lot of plot stuff happens here, pertaining to what happened witrh Lauraand all the many plot threads. Leo is in a coma and may be brain damaged. Audrey, it seems, is in lots of trouble. But, well the surrealness quotient has just increased here, hasn't it. And i'm so here for it. I strongly suspect that it's about symbolism rather than things that will literally be explained, but it's all so wonderfully... Lynchian.

So Donna does her meals on wheels thing and finds a decidedly weird old lady with a tuxedo clad grandson who can do magic, and the magnificent weirdness is all in the direction, the acting, and most of all the slow, lingering pace, all deliberately made to feel a bit "off". And so we, and Donna, learn of the mysterious Mr Smith. 

Then there's the reactions of various people tothe figure in the wanted poster. The paradoxical reasoning of Ben and Jerry as they ponder whether to burn the real ledger for the mill or the forged one. And, indeed, the somewhat kinky circumstances in which Audrey finds out the full extent of what her old man has been up to.

But the stuff with Major briggs tops everything. The Log Lady delivers a message from the log, which of course he immediately understands. So he tells Agent Cooper a snippet of what he knows from his top secret job... a message from another galaxy, that "the owls are not what they seem"....

This is utterly, utterly mad. And magnificent.

Twin Peaks: May the Giant Be with You

 "There are things in life that exist, yet our eyes cannot see them.

I finished blogging the first season in... April 2024. Wow. No wonder I'm finding it tricky to reacquaint myself with the sheer multitude of characters and the even greater multitude of plot threads... but this, of course, is the now sadly departed David Lynch (he directs personally here). Best not to try to keep track to closely, but rather to just let it wash over you. And this first episode is a long one. In a very long season...

So again there's the log lady and the wonderful look of the show, with the limited palette of colours focusing on browns and oranges, and the unique texture. And yes, there's the weirdness. We begin with an unsettlingly long scene with the recently shot Agent Cooper. Yes, obviously the giant gives us lots of dreamlike weirdness alongside cryptic clues, most strokingly "The owls are not what they seem". And he's back for more weirdness and clues at the end.

But even more weird, for me, are the deliberately lingering moments with the incredibly old room service man. Everything about this sequence is designed to be a little unsettling, a little off. 

And yet... the weirdness co-exists with himour (Albert's humour), lots of melodrama, and lots of real feeling. Yes, Leland's behaviour is weird, albeit changing, but we feel the reality of unbearable grief. The Major's dream, recounted to Bobby, may be weird and surreal, but it's the only way this emotionally constipated man can express his love for his son.

And yes, Audrey, investigating at One Eyed Jack's, has to use a very theatrical type mask (imagery again) to hide from her own father and avoid a very creeply act of almost incest. But she's in way over her head. It's moving, at the end, to see her admit this, but face her face with courage.

Elsewhere... well, I'm not going to even try and say anything about the progression of the plot. But even this is absurd, with a bit of slapstick involving Andy and a plank of wood. And I love Agent Cooper's little poirot moment in which she reveals that there was, yes, a third man on the night Laura died...

I'm loving this. Twin Peaks, I've missed you.

Twin Peaks: The Last Evening

 "One can never answer questiions at the wrong moment..."

And so the first season is over, rather satifyingly. Of course, not all threads are tied up, but we have a certain amount of closure. And that's quite the cliffhanger at the end, foreshadowed by the Log Lady's introduction at the very beginning.

It's a superb episode full of shocks. James and Donna finding the necklace initially seems important, but Dy Jacoby getting attacked and killed by a masked man. Then again, Leo is eventually killed by Hank before he can kill Bobby; Jacques Renault is smothered to death by Leland, presumably as revenge for Laura, and then there's that final shooting of Cooper himself.

I've no idea what's going on. After all Catherine and Pete have plotted, it's Leo who sets fire to the mill. Why? Ironically, Catherine and Pete may die as a result. Did Leo have the missing ledger too? And poor Shelley.

So much else, though. Agent Cooper is superb in One Eyed Jacks, showing us what a subtle performance Kyle MacLachlan is actually giving. Cooper is at once folksy, steely and badass, a unique combination.

Then there's Hank's trying to win back Norma, and his "arrangement" with Josie. There's Nadine's attempted suicide. There's Laura's "mystery man", who she fancies despite him possibly trying to kill her, a rather intense kind of kinky.

This is all, of course, just plot. But it's more than that. It's mood. It's carefully cultivated weirdness. Yet it's character too. Twin Peaks is truly unique.

Wow. I'll switch now to the second season of Robin of Sherwood, but after that I'll be back to Twin Peaks.