And with another week in the rear view mirror, we return to Twin Peaks: The Return. This week was actually pretty huge as we seem to be sitting on the constant brink of something huge happening. This might be my favorite episode so far? Let’s rock! But be warned, there are spoilers throughout this.
1. Meanwhile, In South Dakota
Things are picking up very quickly in Twin Peaks: The Return even though it doesn’t feel like it. This show has a knack for never feeling urgent the way other big shows do. Something like this season of Game of Thrones feels like it’s running on fast forward but Twin Peaks goes at the same pace it always has. It never loses the quirks that make it special but still manages to reveal big things. A few big things happen here even though it doesn’t feel like it. Again, this isn’t a criticism but something I feel the need to point out. I feel like we’re drinking in something very special and this episode really hit that home for me.
The first big reveal is from Albert to Tammy about the first Blue Rose case. This case involved a murder and a doppelganger that feels scarily similar to what we’re seeing now with Cooper and maybe Major Briggs.
The second big reveal is from Diane. Gordon asks Diane about the last night she saw Dale Cooper and whether or not he mentioned Major Briggs. She says he did and Albert explains what happened to Briggs. He tells her about the ring to Dougie from Janey-E and we’re hit with a big twist – Diane is Janey-E’s half sister! They haven’t talked in years but this is huge because this just makes me even more suspicious of Diane. Dougie, even in the pilot when they tried to make MacLachlan look slightly different, is very obviously Dale Cooper. Has Diane met Dougie? Did she not find this curious in any way? With so little time left, a meeting between all these characters is imminent and I’m really, really excited.
2. We Come Back To Phillip Jeffries
Phillip Jeffries has become a very integral part to all of this but I’m still not sure of the full picture. However, I am still convinced that we will get an appearance by David Bowie and I will cry about that for the rest of my life. Still, in South Dakota, Gordon Cole tells the group about a dream he had that featured Monica Bellucci (still a babe) telling him about dreams and she makes him remember the scene from Fire Walk With Me when Phillip Jeffries appears and then disappears. Albert and Gordon mention that this is the first time they’ve remembered and thought about that moment. Monica Bellucci (playing herself) is out here awakening Albert and Gordon and I’m here for it. I also love that Albert is much more receptive to what’s happening even though it’s all very strange. When we first meet him, he isn’t as receptive to Cooper’s dreams but after what he experiences in the first two seasons, that’s slightly changed. Dreams have been a constant part of this show and what they tell our characters so this will not end up being nothing.
3. What Do Firemen and Policemen Have In Common?
We’ve arrived to the day that Major Briggs’s message was about and Frank, Bobby, Hawk and Andy venture into the woods. There, they encounter Naido (the woman with no eyes from the Black Lodge who helped Cooper get out), who is distressed. Andy goes to her immediately and holds her hand. At this point, a vortex opens up (like we saw with Gordon Cole) and Andy is taken into it. There he meets The Fireman (formerly known as The Giant) and is given an item that begins to smoke and basically tells Andy to look up. Andy is shown everything – literally everything. He is shown the creation of BOB, the Woodsman, Laura Palmer’s death, angels and even the Black Lodge. When he returns, he simply tells the rest of the group that they have to protect Naido and put her in a cell for safety and they can’t tell anyone else. The rest of the group doesn’t know what happened but they know something has happened.
Continued belowFiremen put out fires. Policemen are (supposed to) enforce the law which is (supposed to be) just and good. It makes sense that Andy, the person with the purest heart in the sheriff’s department, is the one shown all this. Of all of them, he’s the purely good one. The Giant being revealed as The Fireman is also pretty genius on his own because every time he appears to Cooper, it is to tell him something. He is trying to put out fires and right now BOOP is the biggest fire there is. What’s happening with the Black Lodge is the biggest fire but for some reason, he can’t be the one that fixes things. This has to be fixed by those on Earth and in this dimension and so he is making things happen.
4. They Walk Among Us
Naido is now in Twin Peaks and we can maybe suspect that BOOP is on his way there too. With the Blue Rose team on a collision course with Dougie, it’s probably a safe bet to think they will end up in Twin Peaks too. This week we end up meeting someone new as we find out that James Hurley is now a security guard (it’s implied he’s the head guard) at the Great Northern Hotel. One of James’ co workers is named Freddie and when we meet him, he’s crushing hazelnuts in his gloved hand. That hand has some kind of super strength and so, on his birthday, James asks Freddie about it. He tells a story about an epiphany he had that led him to meet the Fireman (yes, that same one). The Fireman tells him about a glove that he must get and then he must go to Twin Peaks because that is his destiny. I don’t think Freddie is directly from the Black Lodge but I think it’s super important that he’s got this power from there. He can’t take the glove off without physically harming himself and he’s been given a power. His strength reminds me of what we saw BOOP (Killer Bob + Cooper) display last week and that’s absolutely not an accident. James may not come into play in the grand scheme of things but I think Freddie may encounter one of the Coopers at some point. The Fireman has fires to put out and Freddie may help that.
5. Sarah Palmer Doing It For All The Women Of America
Something is terribly wrong with Sarah Palmer, or, whoever Sarah Palmer actually is. While out at a bar, Sarah Palmer is harassed by a stranger. He wants to get in her pants but when she says no, he goes to classic “well, then you’re a lesbian” line as if any woman that doesn’t want him just doesn’t want men. When Sarah Palmer gets tired of him, she looks at him and pulls off her face (like Laura did) but instead of a light, there is darkness and a horrific toothy grin and she rips the man’s neck out, killing him instantly. Sarah Palmer is clearly not here anymore. She’s been taken over by something else and definitely something malevolent. It’s the polar opposite of when Laura Palmer did this same thing and I’m left wondering when this shift happened. Or, better yet, was whatever this is always with Sarah Palmer, leading her to have the visions she did in the first two seasons of the show. Lots of questions but as I’ve suspected for a while, Sarah Palmer will be important as this whole thing rolls to its end.
I’m sure I’ve left something out here but I’ve got five points and I gotta get to the big stuff. What did you think of this episode? Let me know in the comments below!
