And with another week in the rear view mirror, we return to Twin Peaks: The Return. This week was full of old faces and the past calling back to some of our main characters. Let’s rock! But be warned, there are spoilers throughout this.
1. Blue Rose
The episode starts big with a meeting between Gordon, Albert, and Tammy that proves to be very enlightening. Blue Rose is a sequel to Project Blue Book. It takes the cases that Project Blue Book didn’t solve and tries to figure them out. In this group were Gordon Cole, Albert Rosenfield, Chester Desmond, Phillip Jeffries and Dale Cooper. Albert is the only ranking agent (Gordon is a director) who hasn’t gone missing. Albert and Gordon tell Tammy that they’ve had their eye on her for this project for a while now and formally invite her. They also invite Diane as a deputy but this is mostly so they can keep her close. I am fascinated by this because I think Twin Peaks has once again played with first impressions and our initial characterization of Tammy. Tammy is not initially shown to be a “special” kind of F.B.I. agent. She’s mostly eye candy and treated as such by the characters. We find out a lot about her intelligence and training and it makes me especially interested in what she’ll bring to this project. I also love the idea of this sort of being the band getting back together moment and things feel like they’ll start moving much faster now that there is a clear sense of what comes next with this group.
The episode description was simply “Let’s Rock” which led me to believe that we’d get some mentions from Fire Walk With Me or some big stuff involving the Black Lodge. Instead, “Let’s Rock” is said by Diane who is obviously working with BOOP (Coop + Killer BOB) and it continues to make me wonder if Diane is not connected to this whole thing on a more spiritual level the way that BOOP is. Diane could also just be another person being manipulated by BOOP. I just don’t know but I’ll tell you this, I am in love with everything about Diane. Laura Dern is killing it in this role and has turned Diane into something so unexpectedly bad ass.
2. Old Men’s Troubles
There is something sad and wonderful about watching a show with characters not seen or used in 25 years. There is a scene between Frank Truman and Ben Horne that kind of captures all of this at once. Frank is there to tell Ben about what Richard has done and it leads Ben to reflect on his grandson’s life (without ever talking about his daughter. WHAT IS THAT?). In their conversation, they reflect on that and Ben gives Frank the key that arrived that was once the one that Dale Cooper used. He tells Frank that he can give it to Harry if he’d like it and Frank says he would. Watching Ben Horne in 2017 is like watching a lion that’s lost his wild streak. He’s not the guy he was. He’s not the shark he was and he’s not the heel that he was. There’s something sad and reflective to him as if he thinks a lot about the mistakes he’s made along the way. He and Frank are both men in their twilight years and Harry’s illness just magnifies that even more. I think all this is very subtle but it’s there and hard to ignore.
3. The Only Return That Matters
My Queen, my true love, my favorite Audrey Horne has returned and all is right in the world. Or is it? Like everything in Twin Peaks, there is no real fanfare or warning that she’s going to show up. Audrey shows up wearing an outfit similar to the one we saw in some of the “Entertainment Weekly” covers and she’s doing what she does best – giving a man a good tearing down. Audrey is apparently married to a man named Charlie and she is angry about someone named Billy being missing. She is sleeping with Billy but Charlie seems to not care because all he wants is to finish his paperwork. Audrey is having none of this and just tears into the guy and demand that they contact a woman named Tina, who saw Billy last and when Charlie makes that call, we don’t find out what was said.
Continued belowThis entire scene plays like we just walked into a room that had something going on already and missed most of it. I don’t know who any of these people are, except for Audrey, and I don’t know how Audrey ended up here. However, Audrey is still Audrey and it’s so perfect. She’s still tough and knows exactly what she wants and how to demand it. I have so many questions about this entire scene but I’m still so high on her actually being back and seemingly being near Twin Peaks (she mentions the Roadhouse).
4. Pieces Of A Town
This episode of Twin Peaks doesn’t get deep into the things happening in this town but it does give us a little glimpse into some of the lives of the people and this is a thing this show does that I really like. The ending conversation at the Roadhouse is confusing but it opens up a little part of this town and it gives the Roadhouse a little character. We see Dr. Jacoby as he records another one of his Alex Jones-esque web shows and we get a little more of Nadine’s adoration of the show. We even get to see Carl Rodd do something very sweet for one of his residents. It’s all little pieces of this town but I think it gives the show character. Twin Peaks is just as much about this town and its people as it is about the bigger, supernatural and sinister things.
And then there’s Sarah Palmer. Sarah Palmer has a breakdown at a store after she sees a kind of beef jerky on sale that she doesn’t recognize. Sarah Palmer has been through hell and she’s got the ability to see things that others don’t. This meltdown isn’t nothing and when Hawk comes to see her, he hears a noise that is definitely something. I’ve long suspected that Sarah will be pivotal in wrapping this up and I think we’re getting close to that.
5. All Paths Lead To Twin Peaks
The biggest thing that happens in this episode is right at the end with Diane. She goes back down to the bar and puts in the coordinates found on Ruth’s body. Why this took so long, I’m not sure, but here we are anyway. The coordinates lead to Twin Peaks. Everything leads back to Twin Peaks. Dougie’s ring (because Dougie is Cooper), Major Briggs, where Hawk is going to go – it all leads to this town. It isn’t clear just how much Albert can see on Diane’s phone but I don’t think that he and Gordon are too far off from figuring out that they need to go back to Twin Peaks. It’s the first time in this season I’ve felt truly hyped. They are going to go back here and things will happen – again.
What did you think of this episode? Let me know in the comments below!
