On the last episode of “Twin Peaks,” Leland was finally identified and charged as Laura’s killer. But, if we were following the clues given by the giant, we already knew. How could we not know when Leland’s mask was constantly slipping; allowing us to peek at BOB. This episode we have a wake to attend.
Sarah
The scene opens with a view of the woods. It is three days later and Dr. Hayward is trying to give Sarah an injection to calm her for Leland’s funeral. Cooper tells Sarah that there are dark and dangerous things in the world and that Leland became BOB’s victim when he was a young boy. Why is Cooper sugarcoating what Leland did?
How would you feel, as a mother, to learn that your husband may have been drugging you for years just so he could molest your young daughter? Why is Sarah even having a funeral for Leland? I don’t care if he confessed and said he was sorry. Screw that! If I was Sarah, I would have thrown Leland’s body into the city dump and let the rats take care of his funeral.
Sure, Leland was under BOB’s control, but he had free will. BOB was able to possess Leland because Leland let him in. I’m all for forgiving a sinner, except when a child is involved. We really owe Ray Wise our gratitude for this show’s success. Ray Wise’s character was the perfect nemesis for Agent Cooper’s knight in shining armor. Ray was able to make us laugh even though we suspected that he was the boogeyman. That, my friend, is great acting.
We skip over the funeral and go right into the wake at the Palmer home. There is plenty of food and it seems the whole stinking town showed up. Makes you wonder what type of people we’re dealing with, right? Donna tells Ed that the whole town is falling apart and that James blames himself for Laura and Donna’s death. Cooper is sad to leave Twin Peaks and Major Briggs invites Cooper on a fishing trip. We still have our comedic moments with Mayor Milford and brother Dougie. These old coots reminded me of the “Muppet Show” characters, Statler and Waldorf with their squabbling.
Nadine
And then, we have crazy Nadine, who is wearing patent leather shoes and worried about people seeing her panties.This scene was funny because it reminded me of my high school days. I went to an all-girls-Catholic-high-school. Every Saturday night, the all-boys-Catholic-high-school hosted dances. The girls were forbidden to wear shiny shoes. I kid you not! And, when we slowed danced, a priest would walk around and make sure there was sufficient space between dance partners. I guess Nadine will be filling in the void left by Leland because Ed and Dr. Jacoby enroll our little nut case into high school. Apparently, Nadine’s super strength makes her a big hit with the cheerleaders.
Audrey comes to say goodbye. Cooper saved her life, but she’s too young and he won’t take the hint. He’s afraid of hurting Audrey. The last woman he loved was a material witness to a federal crime. She died in his arms and Cooper was badly injured and his partner, Windom Earle, lost his mind. Audrey will settle for friendship, but she reminds him that she’s growing up and he’d better watch out.
Bobby wants to move up in the world by blackmailing Ben Horn. Shelly is stuck taking care of Leo and she’s not a happy camper. Audrey gets Bobby in to see daddy, but after Bobby is thrown out, the two kids go for ice cream.
I’m Back!
When Catherine shows up in Harry’s office and he says, “Excuse me, but aren’t you dead?” I cracked up. This show is crazy. Catherine claims she hid in a summer cabin while surviving on canned food. When Harry asks, “What made you come back?” She says, “I ran out of tuna fish.” I’m glad Lynch and Frost were keeping the comedy going in the show like the scene with Dick, Lucy and Andy all discussing the baby while standing on a ladder.
Conclusion
Everything about this episode was okay, slow, but okay. There were some unexpected surprises: Norma’s mother revealing she’s MT Wents the food critic; seeing the comatose Leo move the wheelchair; Hank, Ernie and Renault scheming against Cooper; Josie comes back to Harry.
What I didn’t like about this episode was the unexplainable reason for Cooper’s suspension. Special Agent Roger Hardy, accompanied by a Canadian Mountie suspended Cooper without pay for crossing the border to save Audrey? Why write this stupid plot into the script. Cooper saved a kidnapped girl and broke up a prostitution ring. He was accompanied by local lawmen. None of this made sense, unless David Lynch needed a reason to keep Cooper in Twin Peaks, but even then, it made no sense. Harry’s rebuttal to the asinine charges echoed my feelings about the whole scene. Plus the Mountie and Renault are working together to frame Cooper. What?
What I did enjoy was the fishing scene with Cooper and Major Briggs. While sitting around a campfire, Briggs and Cooper talk about Bob. Briggs asks Cooper if he had heard of the White Lodge. It’s too bad that Cooper picked that moment to take a pee, because whatever was in the woods took the Major and, I don’t think it was an alien abduction.
I didn’t forget the Trivia Question: When did the cast learn of the killer’s identity?
Answer: I went to Andy Burns, Biff Bam Pop’s fearless leader and the author of Wrapped in Plastic; Twin Peaks. This is what he had to say: “I believe the actors who played Laura, Ben, BOB and Leland only found out the day of shooting.”
Filed under: cult, Marie Gilbert, television, Twin Peaks Tagged: Agent Dale Cooper, Andy Burns, BOB, david lynch, Leland Palmer, Mark Frost, Ray Wise, Statler and Waldorf, The Muppets, twin peaks, wrapped in plastic
