Twin Peaks S02 E17: Wounds and Scars

Hell in a basket, or as we saw on the last episode of “Twin Peaks,” hell might be located inside a piece of furniture, because that’s where Josie’s soul is trapped. With BOB back in the picture, Cooper has two enemies to deal with. I hope Pete is good at chess because Windom Earle is about to make his next move.

Harry

While Cooper is meeting Norma’s little sister, Annie (Heather Graham), a former Nun who wants to work as a waitress, Harry is going through a really bad time over Josie’s mysterious death. I really feel Harry’s pain and no one can blame him for drowning his sorrows in whiskey. He loved Josie even if he suspected her to be less than truthful.

Michael Ontkean has done one hell of a job making us care for Harry Truman, the good cop, who often takes a backseat to MacLachlan’s Cooper, or the antics of his wacky staff. Harry’s observation that Twin Peaks used to be a simple town brought back Renault’s similar observation in the episode “Checkmate” when Renault told Cooper, “Maybe you brought the nightmare with you.” Is there some truth to both statements? There are some of us who believe that evil is drawn to good; darkness to light.

With Harry out of commission on this episode, Hawk and Cooper are left with taking care of the town. When the coroner’s report can find no logical or medical reason for Josie’s death, or that she only weighed sixty-five pounds at death, Cooper tells Hawk about his vision of BOB and the Little Dancing Man. How could Josie only weigh sixty-five pounds? The answer might have to do with the weight of a soul.

Did you know that there have been studies done on bodies to see if they weigh less immediately after death? The 21 Grams Theory is the theory that the weight that one doctor figured the soul weighed after doing research on six patients and fifteen dogs, but later research proved Dr. Duncan MacDougall’s research inconclusive.

Log Lady

While Cooper is talking to Annie, the most loved of the Twin Peaks’ characters walks in. I’m talking about the Log Lady who is portrayed by Catherine E. Coulson. The Log Lady always speaks the truth even though it’s often told in riddles, but she’s always on target. She notices something familiar about Major Briggs’ tattoos and alerts Cooper. What is the connection?

Windom

When Windom is not in disguise, he is beating up on Leo. I guess I should feel bad for Leo, but I don’t, not even when Windom takes his anger out on Leo after reading Cooper’s latest move in the newspaper. I wonder if Windom realizes that Cooper has an expert on his team.

Windom stops by Donna’s house pretending to be Gerald Craig, a friend of her father’s. Why Donna would allow a stranger into the house is questionable especially after all the stuff that has been going on, but she does. Windom lays on the charm before leaving Donna with a phone number and a gift for her father.

Gerald Craig died years ago, so how did Windom learn about him? When Doc Hayward opens the package, it’s a clue; Knight to King’s Bishop 3. The phony phone number belongs to the cemetery. If I foolishly questioned the cleverness of Windom, or the level of his madness, I won’t in the future.

Jones

Catherine gets an unexpected visit from Eckhardt’s assistant, Jones. Jones tells the sly Catherine that Josie and Eckhardt will be buried side-by-side, “So they can keep an eye on each other.” Jones leaves Catherine with a mysterious black metal box as a gift for her and Andrew. Maybe Catherine should get the bomb squad to open the box.

Long Live the Weenie File

I thought we had seen our share of dumb ass scenes, but no! We are made to suffer through another Ed and Nadine soap opera. Ed doesn’t know how to tell Nadine that he wants a divorce, so he has Dr. Jacoby there for moral support. I am getting very tired of Nadine. She is dating a teenager. Why isn’t she in jail? How did the scene of her and Mike registering for a room help with the plot? It didn’t and, we’re still in the dark as to the origin of her superpowers.

I really didn’t want to put Audrey in the Weenie File, but the conversation between her and the Billy Zane Character, was not up to form, in fact, it sucked big time. Was Wheeler created as Audrey’s love interest because of Kyle MacLachlan’s discomfort with his character having sex with an underage teen? Whatever the reason, the Wheeler character never felt right and neither did Audrey’s instant attraction to him. The picnic scene was dumb and so was Wheeler’s saving her at the end of the episode.

The Weasel debacle also made it to the Weenie File. I thought the whole “Save the Pine Weasel” plot had potential, especially, with Dick Tremayne and Mr. Pinkel running the show. I even liked the fashion show with models Andy and Lucy wearing outfits that only could be described as Lumberjack Chic, but the mad dash from the escaping weasel fell flat on its face. I guess Ben Horne will need another way to stop Catherine from building on the Ghostwood land.

Conclusion

A lot of scenes made it to the Weenie File this episode. After seeing BOB make his grand reappearance on the last episode, I assumed that “Twin Peaks” had returned to its former kickass scripts, but it seems that I might need to keep that Weenie File open.

What I did enjoy about this episode was Pete trying to explain the pros and cons of using a stalemate move in chess. No matter what Cooper does, people will die and even in the best of games, you chance loosing at least six pawns or in Windom’s case victims. Cooper is well aware that he must protect the queen, no matter what. This is no easy matter, but especially because Windom is such a master of disguises. Unrecognized by Cooper, Windom witnessed the sparks that passed between Cooper and Annie.

The log knows all! The Log Lady and Major Briggs compare tattoos while Cooper writes on the board. We learn that Log Lady had disappeared when very young. She doesn’t remember much about her abduction except that there were bright lights and the sound of owls hooting. This could explain why Log Lady knows so much about the goings on in that town.

Josie had a record as long as her arm, plus she was a killer. That said, I still hated to see her become a prisoner of BOB. Hell doesn’t always have to be brimstone and flames. Hell could be a spirit trapped in furniture. It could happen. There is a Syfy show called “Haunted Collector” which revolves around a real demonologist, John Zaffis, who has to deal with spirits trapped or attached to an item. Really scary stuff.

At first, I couldn’t understand Cooper’s handling of Harry’s grief. Couldn’t he wait before dumping more bad news on our sad sheriff? Couldn’t he have waited before telling Harry that Josie was a bigger loser than previously thought, especially since Cooper carried around his own baggage, like an affair with his partner’s wife? In the end, Cooper did what a good friend does when the rug has been pulled from under you. Cooper hugged Harry. A hug is all you can offer, sometimes.

Unfortunately, we were left with three mysteries. What’s in that black metal box? What secret could Ben Horne possibly share with Donna’s mother? Why is Jones climbing into bed with Harry? Maybe Jones has some ‘New Age’ grief therapy she wants to try on our heartbroken Sheriff. Damn!