Jake

Twin Peaks Rewatch 48: The Return, Part 13

Recommended Posts

CHRIS: "Let's talk about Bad Coop."

 

JAKE: "Oh man, he's pretty bad. But he is good at arm wrestling."

 

Nobody can sell that line like Jake!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
8 hours ago, helplesswhite said:

For some reason Sonny Jim playing in the spotlight this episode nearly moved me to tears, and I genuinely don't know why. Something almost seemed tragic, and the set up was theatre-like?

 

I don't know if this is it but the way he was navigating the gym set reminded me of Cooper looping around the lodge from curtain to curtain.

Share this post


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

 

 

Anyway, one thing people hated early on is the lack of more typical music by Badalamenti. I would like to link to the real soundtrack to Twin Peaks The Return, by Dean Huxley. It’s good.

 

This is rad. Thanks for the link!

Share this post


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

The best text on expectation and the eventual backlash against the new season was written before the premiere, by Vulture’s Matt Zoller Seitz. A very good piece.

 

I also enjoyed this piece by Andrew Bujalski. It loses steam a bit toward the end maybe but the opening dream stuff especially resonated with me. The first time I binged original run twin peaks I had sleep paralysis nightmares of Lost Highway Robert Blake as a giant head staring at me and smiling.

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Didn't this episode feel like too late?  It was nice to spend some time with the original Twin Peaks cast, but mostly what we found is nothing has changed, and with five episodes left I find it hard to be interested in any new storylines, feeling like they will never move or be resolved considering how slowly everything else is moving. Doesn't it seem like this should have been much earlier in the season?  Even Audrey- I have no idea what is going on there, and I can't work up a whole lot of feeling for those scenes given she's just appeared, has had two scenes in 13 episodes, and again, may never reach any sort of resolution.  

 

Could someone please explain how this season is "innovation?"  It seems more like evasion and obfuscation.  Early in the season the sluggish pacing and long stretches of static made it seem like the scenes were really only about creating a mood, but then it always seemed the same mood- tension without a release, without connection.  Nothing ever seems to move forward.  Every episode there is a scene where it seems like Lynch is giving the middle finger to his viewers, this epsiode- the arm wrestling scene; we all knew it was a bad idea and that Coop would win.  Coop knew this too.  Coop plays with him- no emotion on his face, returns to starting position, allows the guy to feel like maybe he has made progress, back to starting position, then Coop almost winning.  Lynch seems to do the same with his audience, never moving forward, overall the match is a useless and rigged exercise.    

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I thought the Audrey storyline and the Ed and Norma storyline both seemed like they could have taken place in the third or fourth episode and made for more gratifying/exciting tv, although they would set you up for a payoff that may never come. I kind of feel like there likely won't be any payoff in either of these storylines (I mean, I don't really actually care too much about Norma's pie recipe unless the decline in quality of her pie actually hastens the descent of Twin Peaks into complete bedlam, which would really be something...) and maybe that's why they were introduced so late? But I'd also say the original Twin Peaks also felt very much like a middle finger to the audience when it came out. Think about the end of Episode 3: "Harry, I know who killed Laura Palmer!" then the beginning of Episode 4: "Meh, I forgot. But I do remember other stuff in that crazy dream... Also, I love breakfast food!" 

 

Share this post


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

Lynch seems to do the same with his audience, never moving forward, overall the match is a useless and rigged exercise.    

 

The Dougie, FBI, and Evil Cooper threads are all pretty explicitly moving forward. Evil Cooper and the FBI are pretty obviously working towards a goal while Dougie-Cooper is bumbling forward, amassing a following, attracting attention of increasing relevance. Sure, the Fusco's tossed the key to his identity in the trash, but I think that was just a nod to the fact that Dougie-Cooper is on a journey and there isn't a secret unlock code (yet).

Share this post


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

 

The Dougie, FBI, and Evil Cooper threads are all pretty explicitly moving forward. Evil Cooper and the FBI are pretty obviously working towards a goal while Dougie-Cooper is bumbling forward, amassing a following, attracting attention of increasing relevance. Sure, the Fusco's tossed the key to his identity in the trash, but I think that was just a nod to the fact that Dougie-Cooper is on a journey and there isn't a secret unlock code (yet).

Like the arm wrestling, mostly a holding pattern.  I would think the FBI would have flagged any Cooper info, so I'm not sure the Fuscos throwing the paper away ends that, but we have found out very little about the Cole investigation that we haven't already known.  Dougie's progress is the same, he seems to take steps forward, but recognizing coffee and pie doesn't seem like progress given we're at episode 13, and is that progress really progress or just luck thht one time?  Is he wearing that suit because he chose it, is he dressing himself, does he understand how to pee yet, is he attempting to communicate or only mimicing sounds?  The world is moving around Dougie, and he is kind of like a mascot or good luck charm.   I don't see what makes the Dougie storyline interesting, funny, important or innovative, except that Dale Cooper is inside him somewhere.  Evil Coop has been looking for coordinates since the first episode, and if it ends up they're just Twin Peaks where he first appeared that seems useless.  So, maybe things are proceeding, but so much of the show seems to be making sure nothing moves very far= to me, frustrating.  

Share this post


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

 

The Dougie, FBI, and Evil Cooper threads are all pretty explicitly moving forward. Evil Cooper and the FBI are pretty obviously working towards a goal while Dougie-Cooper is bumbling forward, amassing a following, attracting attention of increasing relevance. Sure, the Fusco's tossed the key to his identity in the trash, but I think that was just a nod to the fact that Dougie-Cooper is on a journey and there isn't a secret unlock code (yet).

 I disagreed with the podcast's take on the Fusco trash moment. Of course they disregarded the info and threw it away. From their perspective, there's no way he could be a former FBI agent recently escaped from Federal prison when he has been in Vegas, having his car blown up and being interviewed by the L.V.P.D. during the same time period. I realize time passage is questionable in The Return, but Dougie has clearly been in Vegas during the entire time Bad Coop was locked up and escaping, and he has numerous alibis to prove it. There is no sane reason to believe Dougie is Cooper unless you already accept the idea of dopplegangers and strange Blue Rose happenings. That's why no one will figure it out unless it is Cole and the gang.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Such a great episode.  I don't think I could add much substance to the discussion so far.

 

So instead, I'll just leave this here...

 

MJD

sickjake-cloudsave-600.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
6 hours ago, Digger said:

I don't see what makes the Dougie storyline interesting, funny, important or innovative, except that Dale Cooper is inside him somewhere.  Evil Coop has been looking for coordinates since the first episode, and if it ends up they're just Twin Peaks where he first appeared that seems useless.  So, maybe things are proceeding, but so much of the show seems to be making sure nothing moves very far= to me, frustrating.  

 

Well, I suppose a lot of those adjectives are 'in the eye of the beholder' type things, but I would say that the Dougie storyline is interesting because of the way the people around him react.  Probably he'll transform back into Goodcoop at some point towards the end of the run, but what is intriguing is how people simultaneously are prepared to help Dougie do the most basic things, and still somehow see him as a hero, or a competent worker.  To have long conversations with him despite his contribution being entirely echolalia.  It raises questions about whether original-seasons' Cooper was effective as an investigator because of his intelligence, methods and awareness or if he was always just a lucky magic guy and would have been just as successful regardless of what methods he employed. 

 

This is emphasised through dramatic irony since the audience knows the 'old Cooper' and sees how far from that point Dougie is, but the other characters interacting with Dougie see nothing wrong.

 

As for important...  I think that is harder to call until we've seen the whole run, because we don't yet know which elements will be vital to the climactic scenes.  I have no problem with this, as the alternative is that we *do* know which bits are important, which would mean that the progress from this point would be as predictable as lesser TV.

On 'innovative' - how many other shows have you seen with a central character like Dougie?  We can argue whether or not it works effectively, but I don't think you can really claim that it is ordinary.

Really I suppose it comes down to what you mean by 'moves very far'.  Does it have to be straight-up plot to qualify?  Like, 'character X goes and does impactful thing Y'?  What about finding out more about character X after she has already done thing Y which makes you realise that the meaning of thing Y was much different to your expectation?  Does that count as movement?  What about something weird or abstract that isn't clear in itself, but has such a clearly menacing tone that it affects the scenes that follow? 

 

As for 'funny', that is very subjective, but I've found the Dougie slapstick stuff to be pretty high-quality overall really: the flopping sex arms, walking into the door etc.


I get your frustration in terms of 'stuff actually happening', but I think tone and character are important too, and I love how unexpected this series has been.  Even having been prepared by the episodes before, this show so often surprises me when most TV is so formulaic.  (Not that there aren't a lot of shows that I enjoy, but it is very often possible to make a mostly accurate prediction on the entire course of an episode based only on the first few minutes).

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm noticing that the closer "Dougie" Coop returns the normal (the more function, the more words etc)  The more life seems to return the world.  The more music is in it and the closer everything gets to old Twin Peaks.  This series could end with a bit about the old Mill and Ghostwood yet.  

In this week's Audery scene.  Was my internet net skipping or were the characters purposefully almost glitching during their conversation?

Share this post


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

 

Well, I suppose a lot of those adjectives are 'in the eye of the beholder' type things, but I would say that the Dougie storyline is interesting because of the way the people around him react.  Probably he'll transform back into Goodcoop at some point towards the end of the run, but what is intriguing is how people simultaneously are prepared to help Dougie do the most basic things, and still somehow see him as a hero, or a competent worker.  To have long conversations with him despite his contribution being entirely echolalia.  It raises questions about whether original-seasons' Cooper was effective as an investigator because of his intelligence, methods and awareness or if he was always just a lucky magic guy and would have been just as successful regardless of what methods he employed. 

 

This is emphasised through dramatic irony since the audience knows the 'old Cooper' and sees how far from that point Dougie is, but the other characters interacting with Dougie see nothing wrong.

 

As for important...  I think that is harder to call until we've seen the whole run, because we don't yet know which elements will be vital to the climactic scenes.  I have no problem with this, as the alternative is that we *do* know which bits are important, which would mean that the progress from this point would be as predictable as lesser TV.

On 'innovative' - how many other shows have you seen with a central character like Dougie?  We can argue whether or not it works effectively, but I don't think you can really claim that it is ordinary.

Really I suppose it comes down to what you mean by 'moves very far'.  Does it have to be straight-up plot to qualify?  Like, 'character X goes and does impactful thing Y'?  What about finding out more about character X after she has already done thing Y which makes you realise that the meaning of thing Y was much different to your expectation?  Does that count as movement?  What about something weird or abstract that isn't clear in itself, but has such a clearly menacing tone that it affects the scenes that follow? 

 

As for 'funny', that is very subjective, but I've found the Dougie slapstick stuff to be pretty high-quality overall really: the flopping sex arms, walking into the door etc.


I get your frustration in terms of 'stuff actually happening', but I think tone and character are important too, and I love how unexpected this series has been.  Even having been prepared by the episodes before, this show so often surprises me when most TV is so formulaic.  (Not that there aren't a lot of shows that I enjoy, but it is very often possible to make a mostly accurate prediction on the entire course of an episode based only on the first few minutes).

Thank you. Your view mirrors my own.

 

I am a big fan of Better Call Saul (which was unexpected, as I was very skeptical when it was initially proposed as a half-hour comedy), but it has faced many of the same complaints, especially in its most recent season. I don't think there are a ton of apt conparisons between BCS and Twin Peaks, but pacing and tone is the big one.

 

With BCS, viewers complained that 'nothing happened' in particular episodes, when in fact there were major character developments, reveals of the past that set things in a new light, beautiful moments that lent to the depth and understanding of the story and its characters - but because there was little action and no big, game-changing cliffhanger episodes, many people felt like it was not moving. Viewers considered the slower, deeper story development to be more place-setting than actual plot growth.

 

I think The Return suffers from the same type of complaint. People who were anxious for Dougie to become badass old Coop in episode 5 are even more frustrated and anxious now, just as people anxious for Jimmy McGill to become badass Saul Goodman were even more anxious and frustrated to see his change by the time the end of season 3 rolled around. To put it another way, Breaking Bad is to Better Call Saul as ABC's original Twin Peaks is to Showtime's Twin Peaks: The Return.

 

And I have found much love for Dougie and The Return in general since I stopped expecting Coop's return to his old self, or anything else to be what it used to be, which, when you think about it, would be the ultimate fan-service cop out anyway. 

 

But hey, Wally Brando's monologue about his shadow has been my favorite literal laugh out loud moment of The Return so far, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. I just don't see how you can not laugh at the deadpan delivery of a bit like, "My shadow is always with me. Sometimes ahead, sometimes behind... Sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right. Except on cloudy days. Or at night."

 

As Zoidberg would say, "Now that's humors!"

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
5 hours ago, Crunchnoisy said:

So instead, I'll just leave this here...

 

MJD

 

That pie is making me uncomfortable.

 

This is great though

Share this post


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

That pie is making me uncomfortable.

 

This is great though

 

Thank you.  In the last episode, I'm sure Dougie will be about to eat the pivotal "re-cooper-ation" slice, and it will fall on the floor.

With only 5 episodes left, Cooper isn't coming back, I'd wager.  For me, that's okay.

 

MJD

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Like the comparison to BCS- I did find this season (of BCS) slightly duller than the previous two, which I loved (way more than Breaking Bad btw). My interest massively dipped once TP started- ironically partly because the 'slow' bits of BCS seemed so aware they were slow and could be considered boring by the audience that the directors had actually done everything to make them  more 'entertaining'. There was one scene in particular when Mike (Ehrmentraut, not MIKE) is setting up some booby trap in the desert for the Mexican smugglers. After 30 secs in real time it switches to a time lapse, so that whatever dull, painstaking task Mike is doing becomes more like a musical montage/interlude. And all I was thinking was how amazing the scene would be if Lynch had directed it, where we would have silent, 2 minute shots of Mike slowly trudging across the desert, or maybe him spending a minute to find a tool, going over to where he is working, then realising he has the wrong tool and spending another minute going back to the toolbox and finding the right one...

 

 

Which is a long way of saying that pacing-wise BCS feels like Breaking Bad when put next to TP:TR!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I don't think this comparison works.  I have not watched Better Call Saul, but what you describe is not evident in Twin Peaks this season.  Saying viewers want Dougie to be bad ass Coop might be true for some, but saying there has been character development in any of his scenes, or the rude French woman scene, or the various interludes at the Bang Bang, or delivering and painting shovels or the long time spans of people staring dead eyed into the distance don't seem to bear that out.  I am not saying there need to be explosions and murder each episode, but motion in some way, in character in plot, in world.  My point in the original post is that things are drawn out to no end but to mess with the viewers.  Plotlines are ignored for weeks at a time and then resolved off screen, and instead of seeing that (Andy's investigation, the hit and run) we get it 3 episodes later in an expository scene (Hastings interview, Truman and Horne).  It seems like bad story telling and a disdain for its viewers.  

10 hours ago, Mentalgongfu said:

Thank you. Your view mirrors my own.

 

I am a big fan of Better Call Saul (which was unexpected, as I was very skeptical when it was initially proposed as a half-hour comedy), but it has faced many of the same complaints, especially in its most recent season. I don't think there are a ton of apt conparisons between BCS and Twin Peaks, but pacing and tone is the big one.

 

With BCS, viewers complained that 'nothing happened' in particular episodes, when in fact there were major character developments, reveals of the past that set things in a new light, beautiful moments that lent to the depth and understanding of the story and its characters - but because there was little action and no big, game-changing cliffhanger episodes, many people felt like it was not moving. Viewers considered the slower, deeper story development to be more place-setting than actual plot growth.

 

I think The Return suffers from the same type of complaint. People who were anxious for Dougie to become badass old Coop in episode 5 are even more frustrated and anxious now, just as people anxious for Jimmy McGill to become badass Saul Goodman were even more anxious and frustrated to see his change by the time the end of season 3 rolled around. To put it another way, Breaking Bad is to Better Call Saul as ABC's original Twin Peaks is to Showtime's Twin Peaks: The Return.

 

And I have found much love for Dougie and The Return in general since I stopped expecting Coop's return to his old self, or anything else to be what it used to be, which, when you think about it, would be the ultimate fan-service cop out anyway. 

 

But hey, Wally Brando's monologue about his shadow has been my favorite literal laugh out loud moment of The Return so far, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. I just don't see how you can not laugh at the deadpan delivery of a bit like, "My shadow is always with me. Sometimes ahead, sometimes behind... Sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right. Except on cloudy days. Or at night."

 

As Zoidberg would say, "Now that's humors!"

 

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
32 minutes ago, Digger said:

I don't think this comparison works.  I have not watched Better Call Saul, but what you describe is not evident in Twin Peaks this season.  Saying viewers want Dougie to be bad ass Coop might be true for some, but saying there has been character development in any of his scenes, or the rude French woman scene, or the various interludes at the Bang Bang, or delivering and painting shovels or the long time spans of people staring dead eyed into the distance don't seem to bear that out.  I am not saying there need to be explosions and murder each episode, but motion in some way, in character in plot, in world.  My point in the original post is that things are drawn out to no end but to mess with the viewers.  Plotlines are ignored for weeks at a time and then resolved off screen, and instead of seeing that (Andy's investigation, the hit and run) we get it 3 episodes later in an expository scene (Hastings interview, Truman and Horne).  It seems like bad story telling and a disdain for its viewers.  

 

 

Sure, there isn't any character development in those particular scenes you cite. And clearly that's not what those scenes are there for.... But we have seen development of characters like Janey-E, Candie, Gordon, Albert, Tammy, and more. There is motion in the plot and in the world in each part, even if some of it is extremely subtle or merely filling backstory or creating tone.

 

It's fine if you don't like the presentation, but I take issue with the assertion that "things are drawn out to no end but to mess with the viewers." I don't think it's fair to ascribe that motive to Lynch and Frost. The idea that because a viewer doesn't like something, Lynch must be trolling, showing disdain or deliberately messing with said viewer - to me that smacks of arrogance and a preference to believe that your dissatisfaction is the specific intent of the artist rather than simply your own personal reaction. Considering it bad story telling is legitimate, even though I disagree personally, but I am tired of this idea that because some of the audience dislikes the way The Return is going, it must be because Lynch wants them to dislike it, and that he just enjoys screwing with people for 18 vieweing hours. There are much easier ways to troll the public for him than investing 3 years of his life and all the associated effort to make the series happen.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
35 minutes ago, Mentalgongfu said:

 

Sure, there isn't any character development in those particular scenes you cite. And clearly that's not what those scenes are there for.... But we have seen development of characters like Janey-E, Candie, Gordon, Albert, Tammy, and more. There is motion in the plot and in the world in each part, even if some of it is extremely subtle or merely filling backstory or creating tone.

 

It's fine if you don't like the presentation, but I take issue with the assertion that "things are drawn out to no end but to mess with the viewers." I don't think it's fair to ascribe that motive to Lynch and Frost. The idea that because a viewer doesn't like something, Lynch must be trolling, showing disdain or deliberately messing with said viewer - to me that smacks of arrogance and a preference to believe that your dissatisfaction is the specific intent of the artist rather than simply your own personal reaction. Considering it bad story telling is legitimate, even though I disagree personally, but I am tired of this idea that because some of the audience dislikes the way The Return is going, it must be because Lynch wants them to dislike it, and that he just enjoys screwing with people for 18 vieweing hours. There are much easier ways to troll the public for him than investing 3 years of his life and all the associated effort to make the series happen.

 

I'd have to argue that we've seen much development in Cordon, Albert, Candie, and Tammy, but I don't think anyone would enjoy that discussion.  

 

Given Lynch is a filmmaker who has both created and consumed media for decades, that he has studied the craft of it, it is very difficult to think that he is not making specific choices to an end.  He knows what viewers want to see, and what they want to know and witholds it.  In almost every episode this season he (often through the character of Gordon Cole) seems to be looking at the audience and winking (or taunting)- see the giant glass box of nothing watched for who knows how long, waiting for something to appear, the french woman who won't leave so the audience can't get information it wants, the arm wrestling match "Starting position is more comfortable.  You made me uncomfortable when I was here and here.  See how this is uncomfortable.   Starting position."  Motion in any direction is arrested, rewound, rehashed.  Lynch is doing this to the viewer. The viewer is Dougie being shepherded through a world which makes no sense to it, latching onto and repeating the last bit of information it was fed.  We're the dopes.  We're the lucky charms.

 

It's possible the presentation is wrong.  I believe all 18 episodes should be released at once, or in longer increments 2 hours or four hours at a time.  Maybe the editing is a mess.  I can not tell when anything is happening or if the time frames in each place match.  Yes, perhaps this will be explained in the final installments, but I'm not sure that makes this good.  I know the original Twin Peaks did similar things, it took a season and a half to find out who murdered Laura, but I think in that time we got to know the people and town, saw conflicts introduced and resolved, go a decoder to the strange world of Twin Peaks.  This season seems a lot less charitable in its disseminating of information and (to me) time wasting.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
33 minutes ago, Digger said:

"Starting position is more comfortable.  You made me uncomfortable when I was here and here.  See how this is uncomfortable.   Starting position."  Motion in any direction is arrested, rewound, rehashed.  

 

You keep talking about this scene like it's merely the key to Lynch's big troll-game but there's so much more to it. It's the first time we've really seen Evil Cooper do anything post-Bob (because we've been busy seeing other storylines advance), and the way the match goes emphasizes his remaining strength and also how pain is just a deadpan game of tallying to him. It's a show largely about patterns of trauma and pain, and the scene speaks to exactly that (as well as serving as another loop like Sonny Jim's and Sarah's).

 

As for the larger discussion I haven't left a single episode without being super intrigued by multiple developments. That along with what Lynch is doing with mood and tone make for a successful work so far imo. I'm not sure where else this discussion can go that's not you telling us we're being played and us/me telling you to watch with more patience, both of which are patronizing .

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Going back to Sonny Jim's gym set for a second: a couple of observations I havent' seen/heard anyone make yet - pardon me if they are old news to some of you.

 

Swan Lake is sped up, as with the conga line music that the episode opens with.  That horrible hip-hop thing that accompanied Lorraine or whatever her name was in ep. 5 and 6 had a sped-up loop, also. Something about the artificiality of this...I don't know. I still think everything happening in Las Vegas isn't "real".

 

Other's have pointed out Sonny Jim's repeated loop of going through the gym equipment.  I wonder how it would sync with "This is the water"/Sarah's boxing match if it were slowed to normal speed? Probably, we're just meant to notice it as a loop.

 

Did Sonny Jim's choreography through the gym set remind anyone else of Cooper climbing around the white lodge or whatever it was in episode 3? Before he meets the woman without eyes?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
11 hours ago, Digger said:

Given Lynch is a filmmaker who has both created and consumed media for decades, that he has studied the craft of it, it is very difficult to think that he is not making specific choices to an end.  He knows what viewers want to see, and what they want to know and witholds it.  In almost every episode this season he (often through the character of Gordon Cole) seems to be looking at the audience and winking (or taunting)- see the giant glass box of nothing watched for who knows how long, waiting for something to appear, the french woman who won't leave so the audience can't get information it wants, the arm wrestling match "Starting position is more comfortable.  You made me uncomfortable when I was here and here.  See how this is uncomfortable.   Starting position."  Motion in any direction is arrested, rewound, rehashed.  Lynch is doing this to the viewer. The viewer is Dougie being shepherded through a world which makes no sense to it, latching onto and repeating the last bit of information it was fed.  We're the dopes.  We're the lucky charms.


"...very difficult to think he is not making specific choices to an end."
Of course!  So given that we presume there is some kind of plan afoot here, it seems like a massive, Byzantine effort to have this many plot threads and interesting moments in service of nothing more than withholding some notional other version of the show that only exists in the expectations of the audience.

 

"...who won't leave so the audience can't get the information it wants..." or so the audience can have a giggle at how over-the-top and drawn out it was, or so we can see how Albert responds when you push his patience far enough, or so we can see that Lynch is leaning into the 'dirty old man' character of Cole quite heavily. 

 

Regarding the idea that we're the dupes, on some occasions we are, maybe.  But a lot of the time we know at least a couple of things that the characters we are watching do not, even if we need them to lead us to how those things fit together.. 

I don't see how we'll ever get a version of this show where the pace moves along snappily without distractions or strangely drawn out sections or disturbing mood-pieces, because Lynch has no interest in making such a thing.  Maybe someone will make an edit after all the episodes have come out that is closer to what you are after, but I can't imagine it would be a better series at that point.

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