Jake

Twin Peaks Rewatch 46: The Return, Part 11

Recommended Posts

2 hours ago, Jake said:

I don't know why we BOTH saw it as a make-up scar that was peeled off in a surprising way! It just didn't look like a bandage to me, but that's the most obvious explanation.

 

Yeah, it was funny. Few of my mistakes get broadcast to the world, and at least you guys imagined a funnier version of the scene; so I apologize for being one of the many to point it out. Such is the internet.

 

3 hours ago, marblize said:

I forget if I already wrote this here but I interpreted Candie talking about traffic as a continuation of her talking about weather last week, like she's a newscaster. Is it possible the violent trauma she inflicted with a TV remote is somehow making her echo the newscast that was on, or is somehow making her tune into some other frequency?

 

Damn that's a good catch. It's like a more advance version of Dougie's parroting. I'll be very surprised if she's not someone's agent. She served Dougie that pie... I wonder if she slipped something in it? Good or bad.

 

And while I think she's got more going on, I don't think she's going to be a vessel for Laura because, for the audience, the arithmetic of hearing her say the lines and then imagining Sheryl Lee say them would take the punch out of any possibly great moment so much that it would be pointless to have Laura's spirit return at all. My suspension of disbelief can much more happily handle, "yada-yada, Mike and the Arm made a body for her to come back to take out Mr.C+BOB and it looks almost exactly like Laura Palmer, yada-yada." That is, if this idea that she'll come back in the orb has anything to it at all.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think I'm exactly as perplexed at how Jake and Chris were able to make out the barely-but-definitely visible scar, but not the bandaid, as Jake and Chris were at what they thought was a torn-off wound.

 

The idea of tearing off a wound like a bandaid to reveal a scar underneath is really cool though.

 

mpc-hc64_2017-07-26_15-10-20.png

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Quick drop in to say that Bobby Briggs is one of the better acted characters on the show and he really stole his scenes this episode. Believable vulnerability followed by protective toughness followed by exasperation and then horror. So good.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I am reading the Secret History of Twin Peaks right now, and just read the report about 

Spoiler

the three kids that were maybe abducted in the woods by a white beam above them. It was witnessed by Major Milford, and the scene he discribes reminds me of Cole almost getting sucked up by the video effect. (It's on page 138)

I don't know if it that adds to anything, but it made me happy to read a book/TV show connection just two days after I saw the recent episode.

 

Also I enjoyed this episode a lot! Looking forward listening to the podcass episode now.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
4 hours ago, Jake said:

Yeah I think that's the most likely answer. I don't know why we BOTH saw it as a make-up scar that was peeled off in a surprising way! It just didn't look like a bandage to me, but that's the most obvious explanation.

 

I hope you guys aren't watching on your phones!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
22 minutes ago, Gregalor said:

 

I hope you guys aren't watching on your phones!

 

Otherwise you'll never, in a trillion years, experience the show. You'll think you'll have experienced it, but you'll be cheated. It's such a sadness, that you think you've seen a film... on your fucking telephone. GET REAL.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I loved the scenes with Becky. She is on an out-and-out rampage, basically steals her mom's car, injures and scares Shelly in a stunt that could have seriously injured her, if not outright killed her, and finally shoots an apartment door. Did she truly think that the place was empty, and that it was therefore "okay" to light it up in an attempt to release some rage, or did she shoot through the door hoping that she would kill either Steven or Gersten?

 

The parents' total paternal downplay of the situation was incredible too. "You could have gone to jail..." You think!? Being a cop's daughter has its perks... And Becky childishly rolling her eyes at Bobby was priceless. Becky flies back in forth between extremes throughout the scene. Her "realization" of the danger she had put her mom through was strange too. It came so apropos Norma's lecturing gaze that I don't know if her reaction was genuine or just a put-on to assuage her parents' concerns. She obviously didn't give a shit in the moment, throwing her mom to the curb, literally.

 

The accidental shooting by the child outside the diner was a great juxtaposition.

 

Shelly's "crazy in love, drop everything" response to Red walking by really saddened me too. Christ, what a fucked up family.

Edited by MalcolmLittle
Spelling mistakes

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

On the nature of the insurance fraud, I think the act of fraud was in denying a payout to the Mitchums over a legitimate fire. This being orchestrated by Sizemore at the behest of behind-the-winkies-guy, who describes the Mitchums as his "mortal enemies" or some such.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Very minor note: I think the editing in the first scene of the kids playing catch is quite deliberate. The two older boys are playing with each other and the youngest is basically just tagging along. The older boys throw to each other, but every once in a while they lob one to the little guy so he can feel included. He's too young to be relevant to their practice, which is why we barely see him at first, but they're good brothers, so they don't leave him out entirely. Perhaps I'm giving too much credit, but I got that sense immediately, conveying a family dynamic in just a matter of seconds.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 7/25/2017 at 7:06 AM, fellintooblivion said:

 

You have a real knack for spouting cliches and meaningless drivel. Most of your posts could just be a copy/paste of "It is what it is."

 

Haha, I had a feeling you were just a spittle-coated troll, thanks for confirming.

 

Quote

 

It's real easy for Lynch to say it was this or nothing when he got what he wanted, of course it completely ignores the fact that no one else was willing to give him money. It was this or nothing for his career and Showtime blinked first. 

 

 

 

 

There is a 0% chance Lynch was gonna meekly come back to Showtime if they refused to re-negotiate. But thanks for playing.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Another great episode! I haven't had a chance to listen to the latest podcast, but I do have a comment about pacing and structure on the show.

 

As mentioned several times in the podcasts, this new series was apparently shot as a whole lot of separate blocks representing specific storylines. These were then pieced together to create the individual parts, possibly without a whole lot of thought to whether or not they create a cohesive single episode. This is why some weeks feel a little more disjointed then others (and why Lynch told us to watch it like an 18-hour movie).

 

In Part Eleven, you can see a little of how these scenes don't always flow together perfectly. At the start of the episode, we see Miriam emerge from the trees. If we presume that those kids called the cops, should there not be a huge manhunt underway for Richard Horne? Even if she was not able to tell the police who her attacker was, you'd think the police would be mobilized and on alert. Yet later in the episode, none of the scenes with Bobby, Hawk, or Truman seem to address this. Later, Deputy not-Elijah Woods is at the scene of the RR shooting and traffic jam...and in the next scene is at the Sheriff's department asking Truman to look at his car. I'm not suggesting that any of these are plot holes, and for all we know many hours (or days!) could have passed between these various events. But it does add to a certain feeling of discontinuity. I'm sure the Miriam and Richard Horne storyline will be developed in future episodes, it just feels like individual scenes don't always fit together perfectly.

 

This is not necessarily a complaint. That disjointed feeling may add to the general spookiness of the show, and the truly unique experience of watching it. However, in some of the lesser episodes - like, I would argue, Part Ten from last week - watching this new season almost feels like you are watching a whole lot of deleted scenes strung together (not unlike the Missing Pieces from Fire Walk With Me). With little connection or context, scenes stand out on their own without much flow. Here's Jerry Horne yelling at trees! Here's Candy acting spacey! Here's Dr. Amp on another rant! If you had told me last weeks episode was a bunch of deleted scenes from the Season Three DVD box set, I would have believed you.

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
21 hours ago, Ford said:

 

I agree that Lynch and Frost didn't need this. However, just because it's their vision, or that its unconventional, or "Lynchian" (if that has any real meaning) doesn't necessarily make it great. 

 

Of course not. But pretending that we could have a series that is BOTH Lynch-directed AND more suited to its critics' wants is sheer self-indulgent fantasy, and that's what I got frustrated with (in the other post, not yours). It just stinks of fan entitlement (vs legitimate fan disappointment). Plus the pompous tone they were expressing this in, confirmed by their follow-up post which descended into pure insults.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
12 minutes ago, Hansel Bosch said:

In Part Eleven, you can see a little of how these scenes don't always flow together perfectly. At the start of the episode, we see Miriam emerge from the trees. If we presume that those kids called the cops, should there not be a huge manhunt underway for Richard Horne? Even if she was not able to tell the police who her attacker was, you'd think the police would be mobilized and on alert.

 

 

 

Plus, has she been crawling through the woods in that condition for forty-eight hours??!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
10 minutes ago, LostInTheMovies said:

Plus, has she been crawling through the woods in that condition for forty-eight hours??!

I'm sure, for years after this series has aired, fans like us will be creating highly detailed timelines trying to figure out the order and structure of season three... :) 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, LostInTheMovies said:

Plus, has she been crawling through the woods in that condition for forty-eight hours??!

 

Well if she has then that's at least a change of pace from the number of victimized women in this season, mostly from Richard Horne. 

 

"Oh no FUCK YOU, I am NOT dying in this trailer, I'm going to use every ounce of energy I have to get help and then I'm going to OWN YOUR ASS with the police!"

 

But yeah it's probably that Lynch just wanted to edit the series such that we thought she was dead one week and the next week it turns out she's not. She's probably only been in the woods a few hours hopefully. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Was it not readily obvious to anyone else that the thing Jim Belushi tore off Not Jim Belushi's face was a band-aid? Why did this elicit such confusion and bewilderment from our intrepid hosts? 

Candy gives Not Jim Belushi a mad wound

Not Jim Belushi covers mad wound with band-aid
Jim Belushi has a dream that mad wound is healed

Jim Belushi, realizing his dream is coming true, tears the band-aid off Not Jim Belushi's face to reveal that it was, in fact, healed.

 

Right?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
10 hours ago, MalcolmLittle said:

Shelly's "crazy in love, drop everything" response to Red walking by really saddened me too. Christ, what a fucked up family.

 

That got a big reaction out of me. "Shelly's going out with the Fingergun Wizard??? Oh COME ON."

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I want to start off by saying that I LOVED this episode. That being said, the woman honking the horn in the car outside the Double R was incredibly off putting to me and not in the way that was intended. IMO there still haven't been enough development of female characters to continually use hysterical women to add flavor to scenes. It just felt icky. 

 

On another note,  I never imagined having such warm feelings for Bobby Briggs, and I'm pretty sure Hawk is supposed to be the new Coop. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
2 hours ago, BizzyDQ said:

I want to start off by saying that I LOVED this episode. That being said, the woman honking the horn in the car outside the Double R was incredibly off putting to me and not in the way that was intended. IMO there still haven't been enough development of female characters to continually use hysterical women to add flavor to scenes. It just felt icky. 

 

On another note,  I never imagined having such warm feelings for Bobby Briggs, and I'm pretty sure Hawk is supposed to be the new Coop. 

That was probably my favorite scene of the entire series excluding Jimmy Scott singing Sycamore Trees. I didn't think of it in a larger gender politics context but the compounded anxiety and disruption in that scene really had an impact in my gut 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
3 hours ago, BizzyDQ said:

I want to start off by saying that I LOVED this episode. That being said, the woman honking the horn in the car outside the Double R was incredibly off putting to me and not in the way that was intended. IMO there still haven't been enough development of female characters to continually use hysterical women to add flavor to scenes. It just felt icky. 

 

This makes sense but I thought of it much more as a woman channeling some kind of frantic dark energy in the way she was jumping from topic to topic midsentence rather than a woman being shrill and hysterical. To me it felt sinister in an interesting way which made me feel for her. Idk. I'm also finding that each story thread features one or more women that are often as or more interesting than the men in those threads ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
2 minutes ago, marblize said:

 

This makes sense but I thought of it much more as a woman channeling some kind of frantic dark energy in the way she was jumping from topic to topic midsentence rather than a woman being shrill and hysterical. To me it felt sinister in an interesting way which made me feel for her. Idk. I'm also finding that each story thread features one or more women that are often as or more interesting than the men in those threads ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

I think this is just another Lynch character who exists to channel a mood or to be symbolic of a kind of overwhelming anxiety that intrudes into life at everybody's worst convenience. Not LITERALLY a spirit or supernatural being in terms of the narrative or connected to the lodge or anything but more like something out of magical realism

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
5 minutes ago, marblize said:

 

This makes sense but I thought of it much more as a woman channeling some kind of frantic dark energy in the way she was jumping from topic to topic midsentence rather than a woman being shrill and hysterical. To me it felt sinister in an interesting way which made me feel for her. Idk. I'm also finding that each story thread features one or more women that are often as or more interesting than the men in those threads ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I agree that interesting women exist in the story, I'd just really like for their characters to be given more screen time/dialogue. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
54 minutes ago, BizzyDQ said:

I agree that interesting women exist in the story, I'd just really like for their characters to be given more screen time/dialogue. 

This season Lynch seems to be big on silence and blank stares, and when characters do speak it often seems incomplete, confusing or disconnected with a purpose to disturb, confound, or obscure.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
13 hours ago, Mentalgongfu said:

Very minor note: I think the editing in the first scene of the kids playing catch is quite deliberate. The two older boys are playing with each other and the youngest is basically just tagging along. The older boys throw to each other, but every once in a while they lob one to the little guy so he can feel included. He's too young to be relevant to their practice, which is why we barely see him at first, but they're good brothers, so they don't leave him out entirely. Perhaps I'm giving too much credit, but I got that sense immediately, conveying a family dynamic in just a matter of seconds.

I thought it was deliberate too, but I think they're playing Monkey in the Middle (apparently more commonly called Keep Away). Maybe this game is less widespread than I thought? Two people play catch and try to keep the ball away from a person in the middle who tries to intercept their tosses. I think it could be used as a method of including younger kids in a game, though it doesn't have to be. Anyway, the  camera focusing on the ball and the older kids before dropping to the third kid between them trying to intercept it made sense to me, though I was briefly surprised to learn he was there.

 

7 hours ago, BizzyDQ said:

I want to start off by saying that I LOVED this episode. That being said, the woman honking the horn in the car outside the Double R was incredibly off putting to me and not in the way that was intended. IMO there still haven't been enough development of female characters to continually use hysterical women to add flavor to scenes. It just felt icky. 

 

On another note,  I never imagined having such warm feelings for Bobby Briggs, and I'm pretty sure Hawk is supposed to be the new Coop. 

 

I agree with you about the honking woman. She didn't bother me in the moment, perhaps through sheer force of how distracting everything in that scene was, but in general the way women are treated in this show is a disaster, both compared to a lot of modern tv and to the first two seasons (yes, even compared to season 2). Time after time we have women portrayed as stupid and/or hysterical, or else dead, and the only ones who have escaped so far are Diane and arguably Janey. And Tammy, I guess, but we know nothing about her (I don't think her mention in a book excuses this). Most of the women aren't getting screen time (let alone of a non-hysterical/stupid variety), development/character moments, or backstory. And, though the bechdel test test isn't strictly meant for evaluating individual works, in the context of the number of women in this show and what the old seasons were, I think it does say something that I'm pretty sure this season fails it (excepting maybe Shelley and Norma's early conversation about Shelley's daughter).

 

Anyway, the sexism this season is putting a real damper on my enjoyment of an otherwise amazing show. Also please pardon my over-use of parentheses.

 

I've always kind of liked Bobby, but I'm definitely loving him now. His scenes could justify this entire season on their own, for me.

 

Lately it's been bothering me more and more that Hawk isn't the sheriff. I don't think we've seen anything that justifies the addition of the new Truman character. There's been no plot or character development from the new Truman that couldn't have been done better and more interestingly with Hawk, Andy, and Lucy. The new Truman is an often boring and sometimes annoying character who doesn't seem to have a reason for his presence in the show and who doesn't fit with the other residents of Twin Peaks. It almost feels like Lynch just really wanted to cast that actor as Truman, regardless of other concerns.

 

I really want Catherine Martell back. And Audrey. Or even just more Norma and Lucy. But especially Catherine Martell could be so much fun right now.

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
10 hours ago, jharp said:

Was it not readily obvious to anyone else that the thing Jim Belushi tore off Not Jim Belushi's face was a band-aid? Why did this elicit such confusion and bewilderment from our intrepid hosts? 

Candy gives Not Jim Belushi a mad wound

Not Jim Belushi covers mad wound with band-aid
Jim Belushi has a dream that mad wound is healed

Jim Belushi, realizing his dream is coming true, tears the band-aid off Not Jim Belushi's face to reveal that it was, in fact, healed.

 

Right?

 

100% agree. How and why the cut was healed is something to talk about (the indication that Mike might be able to heal is fascinating), but that was definitely just a band-aid. Either the intrepid hosts are hoisted or you and I are somehow.

 

Edit: sorry, I was reading the thread backwards and didn't realize people had already said this <.<

Edited by Owl

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now