Twin Peaks S02 E12: The Black Widow

On the last episode of “Twin Peaks,” we talked Black Lodge and my disappointment with the script. This week, I’m hoping to see some more action. The show seemed to shift onto a wrong track, like a runaway train, after Leland’s death. I’m hoping this shift is just temporary. Find out after the jump.

Ben

Why, oh, why isn’t Bobby out looking for his missing father, or better yet, in school? Instead we have the young Romeo trying to impress Ben Horne. He may have a problem with this because Ben has become a bit unhinged since his visit to the county jail. Bobby walks into Ben’s office to find him building some kind of totem pole consisting of furniture and stuffed animals. I have to give credit where credit is due. Richard Beymer is one hell of a talented actor. He can make the audience hate him in one episode and in the next, feel pity. Ben gives Bobby an assignment; spy on Hank Jennings and take lots of incriminating pictures. In a later scene, Ben has built a tiny version of Gettysburg and in his re-enactment; the south is winning.

The Great Northern must be a magnet for wacko people. As Bobby heads out of Ben’s office, we see Lana Milford running towards the lobby, screaming her head off. I’m not sure if it was Dougie’s time to die, but hell! What did he expect? Young wife, sex toys, and lots of sex manuals. At least the old coot went to the great beyond with a smile on his face. Mayor Milford thinks Lana killed his brother and he wants her arrested.

The mayor might be onto something. Lana tells Hawk that she might be cursed and men have a hard time surviving when she’s around. Hawk, the only one on this series that we could count on for normalcy, is now drooling over this girl. Don’t do this to us, Hawk!

While Hawke is making a fool of himself, Andy introduces Dick and Lucy to Judy, the case worker looking out for little Nicky. It seems that the boy’s parents died under mysterious circumstances. In fact, lots of bad things happen when little Nicky is around; just what we need, the Bad Seed. Did you recognize Judy? She none other than Molly Shannon and it’s before her stint with “Saturday Night Live.”

Dead Dog Farm

Cooper is working with a real estate agent. I guess he was serious about buying property in Twin Peaks. While Cooper and the real estate agent are at the Dead Dog farm, Cooper notices tire tracks around the property and the entrance door was left open. Someone had recently been there; ashtray full of cigarettes. Cooper, ever the federal agent even without the badge, finds some powered baby laxatives in the sink and cocaine on the chair. It’s time to call in Harry.

At the jail, Harry introduces Cooper to a Colonel Reilly. Up until this scene, I didn’t even know that the Air Force was investigating Brigg’s disappearance. Reilly knows more than he’s letting on and asks Cooper if there was any wildlife around when Brigg’s went missing. But, of course, we all know that the owls were there. The messages from space that Briggs told Cooper about were not from space, but from the woods. Just when we think we’ll get some intelligent information on what the hell is going on, Reilly does the old “national security dance routine.”

Bad Form

I love the Nadine character, but I would have preferred the writers sticking to the more interesting part of this episode. I wanted to know more about the signals from space and the secret work that Briggs was doing for the military. Instead, we have Nadine flirting with a boy young enough to be her son. Nadine has the hots for Mike and during wrestling practice Nadine throws Mike across the room like a rag doll, but she does this while asking him out on a date. This scene should have been saved for another episode. Cooper and Briggs were the story.

Same goes for the scene where James meets Evelyn’s brother, Malcolm, who tells James that Evelyn’s husband is an abuser. And, the scene where Catherine and Pete are drinking champagne while Josie waits on them. These are all scenes that should have been saved for another day.

Conclusion

I’m disappointed again. The writers had the opportunity to hold a tempting carrot in front of the viewers. With Laura’s murder solved and her killer dead, we needed a mystery worth sinking our teeth into. Colonel Brigg’s disappearance and the secrecy surrounding the nearby woods was just the hook to keep us interested in the show. But we were given cheap fodder that left us hungry.

What I did like was Audrey spying on Bobby and Ben and then taking the evidence to Cooper. Whenever Audrey and Cooper are together, you can literally feel the sparks between them. These two characters are why I watch the episodes and, what I would rather write about. I can’t say this enough, but Sherilyn Fenn is the best female character on the show. I loved how her face lights up when, after meeting Denise, she realizes that there are female agents. Yes, I could see our little Audrey being an FBI agent. She gave Cooper a big kiss and the needed information to bring down Jean Renault and his merry men. Is Denise interested in Audrey?

I did like the scene where Dick is pulled over to the side of the road with a flat tire. We get a feel of how dangerous little Nicky could be. Even though Dick and Nicky were dressed in matching outfits, I think Dick knows something isn’t right with the kid. Dick tells Andy that the boy might be a devil, and maybe they should reopen the investigation into the parents’ deaths. Yes, please do.

While the entire sheriff’s office is going gaga over Lana (another dead end scene), Bobby and his mom chat about the missing Major Briggs. I barely heard the conversation over the loudest storm in history. I was so happy when Briggs appeared inside his home. Maybe we’ll find out what is going on and why he’s dressed in aviator clothing from the First World War. Maybe we are dealing with aliens. That could explain the storm. It could explain a lot of things. Let’s hope the writers realized this before I watch episode thirteen.