Jake

Twin Peaks Rewatch 49: The Return, Part 14

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4 minutes ago, Aaronepower said:

Do Diane and bad Cooper know that Good Cooper is alive?

I was under the impression that Bad Cooper does. Mr Todd is working for Bad Cooper, and he is the one who put a hit out on Dougie first with Ike the Spike, then the deal with Anthony. 

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I'm curious how Freddie got into the United States past airport security without having to take off that green glove. 

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1 minute ago, Schnapple said:

I'm curious how Freddie got into the United States past airport security without having to take off that green glove. 

A TSA agent probably had a dream about a man with a green glove...

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4 minutes ago, Schnapple said:

I'm curious how Freddie got into the United States past airport security without having to take off that green glove. 

 
Of all the things from this episode to wonder...
LYNCH_PHONE_2.gif

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33 minutes ago, Schnapple said:

I'm curious how Freddie got into the United States past airport security without having to take off that green glove. 

 

Did he say he starts to bleed if he takes it off or something? Maybe it's a slow process.

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Amazing epsiode.

Completely convinced now that Sarah Palmer was the young girl who was the unwitting host of the frog-moth which crawled inside her when she slept.

 

Also, this David Lynch painting from years ago...

 

 

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It appears as though we've gone a full cycle with the colors on the show. Roughly the first third of the season the dominant color note was yellow (Jade's jeep, Janey-E's phone, The Giant's orb, etc.). The second third featured the color red (Major Brigg's chair, Cherry Pie, red shoes, etc.). Episode 14 appears to have announced the final green phase in the sequence when Dianne stepped out dressed all in green —usually her attire is a wild combo of these three colors— and sat in a green chair. And let's not overlook hand in the green glove. I don't think it's possible to ascribe literal meaning to the colors but ever since the recurring motif of the traffic light at Sparkwood and 21 of season 1, Lynch has been promoting the idea that moments in time are transitioning from one phase to another analogus to the light and color of a traffic light.

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Loved the episode. So much great, sinister stuff. I loved that Andy was given something to do other than test my patience with Lucy. Maybe that's all the Bowie we'll get - it was cool to glimpse him again. I think Judy's identity will be revealed before long. Not even Freddie's 'Gor blimey guv'nor!' Dick Van Dyke accent could ruin the glove story.

 

I too thought James was heading into the same furnace we saw Bob in in the pilot. In the international pilot it was shown to be in the hospital but the establishing shot here placed James and Freddie at the Great Northern. I guess in the real pilot it was just a vision. I definitely got the same vibe though.

 

Only 3 weeks left! I hope they're all this good.

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7 hours ago, CussedCayuse said:

Okay, so this one really moved. 
 

Pretty sure the long-haired woman in the final Roadhouse scene was being manipulated/gaslit by the other lady in the same way Charlie seems to manipulate Audrey. When she asked what her mother's name was, it seemed like the other girl was confused or second before supplying the name Tina (this is also when the spooky droning Twin Peaks music kicks in). Up until that point we could've reasonably concluded that her mom is Audrey, because she mentions her mom and him "had a thing up until pretty recently." When she recounts the Billy story it sounds so much like a she's recounting a dream and the details are fading in that ephemeral way dream details often do. She can't remember if her mom screamed or not; can't remember if her uncle was there. Also she never reported this to anyone from the sounds of it, which seems like something you might not do when you're working under dream logic. She is definitely getting Jedi mind tricked. 

 

I actually had a different read on this: I was thinking that the woman telling the story has been replaced by a Lodge doppelganger and the woman in the flannel shirt suspects it but isn't sure. She asks for the mom's name, the doppelganger gives the wrong name, [mysterious ethereal whooshing]

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God, Freddy's superhero origin story just destroyed me. I love that (a) The Giant/Fireman was so literal and descriptive, and (b) we only get this as a cheery anecdote.

I feel like the Fireman character's entire history - of cryptic clues mixed with weirdly matter-of-fact statements - was a 25-year buildup to this top-shelf moment.

 

It reminds me of a running gag from, of all shows, Little Britain, where a character who rarely says anything more thoughtful than "yeah, I'know" gets his opinions quoted back to him by his friend in a ridiculously articulate, poetic way - something we never see on screen from either of them, which forces us to take it at literal value because there's nowhere else this information could have come from.

 

A weird comparison (and by no means an endorsement of Little Britain), but something about that setup - being forced to accept something deliberately out-of-character through the inner logic of the world itself - is such a specific and powerful comedic trigger for me. (See also: the gym set conversation.)

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Was especially funny seeing Bowie in the context of the Monica Bellucci dream. She appeared as herself, and Bowie always feels like he's playing himself – just because his persona as a musical artist is so strong. It's especially true in FWWM because he doesn't have enough time to register as anything other than a Bowie cameo with a weird accent.

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1 minute ago, Alastair said:

God, Freddy's superhero origin story just destroyed me. I love that (a) The Giant/Fireman was so literal and descriptive, and (b) we only get this as a cheery anecdote.

 

I think it's possible that his experience in the lodge would have appeared just as cryptic to us as Andy's did. Andy seemed to know exactly what was going on and what to do once he returned despite his just seeing a stream of strange imagery on the ceiling.

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6 minutes ago, Professor Video Games said:

 

I think it's possible that his experience in the lodge would have appeared just as cryptic to us as Andy's did. Andy seemed to know exactly what was going on and what to do once he returned despite his just seeing a stream of strange imagery on the ceiling.


I had the same exact thought. There is no way for the viewer (who are seeing the same things that Andy is seeing) to know that the woman in the woods is important and that people are after her. He just knows. 

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I am so glad we got the Andy scene. Especially him jumping into confident action after his return from the Other Place. My love for his character was re-kindled in just those few minutes. Until this point, he has had very little to do in The Return that had clear relevance to the overall story. The only thing I can think of he has done prior to this episode, aside from odd and wonderful scenes with Lucy and Wally Brando, was his child-like observation when searching for info related to Hawk's heritage that he was looking for "an Indian," which might have seemed dumb at the time, but (as is often the case) turned out to be exactly what was called for after an image of a Native American led Hawk to find the missing diary pages. He and Lucy both seem to have innocent, savant-like abilities that come into play once in a blue moon, so maybe that's why the Trumans have kept them around the sheriff's office all these long years.

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Another very striking thing of many this week: the absolutely seamless transition from Monica Bellucci to young Gordon. Part of me felt, against all logic and reason, as if the archival FWWM footage were shot yesterday and for this exact purpose. It really helped ground Bowie's appearance as something beautiful and worthwhile and new.

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1 hour ago, Mike Danger said:


I actually had a different read on this: I was thinking that the woman telling the story has been replaced by a Lodge doppelganger and the woman in the flannel shirt suspects it but isn't sure. She asks for the mom's name, the doppelganger gives the wrong name, [mysterious ethereal whooshing]


Oh man, I hadn't considered that, but I think its just as possible. Maybe everyone in the town is slowly being replaced with lodge spirits [portentous whooshing]. 

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Oh wow.. Things certainly gathered speed in this episode.

 

I really hope that the glove guy gets to save the day with his super fist. I love how ridiculous that whole thing is.

 

I have really liked the Sarah Palmer stuff so far, but I wish they had handled the "reveal" differently. For me, she became much less terrifying now that the mask is off (and unfortunately not just because the visual effect is so goofy). In the same vein, I could have done without the woman with no eyes being a thing the cops find.

 

On the other hand, I loved how ominous things got when one of the women at the Roadhouse asked the name of the other woman's mother, and she replied "Tina". As far as the audience is aware, that name shouldn't mean anything, except that Audrey is not talking complete nonsense, right?

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I thought the guy pounding his desk and screaming "This is what we DO in the FBI!" was the funniest thing to happen in this show yet. I absolutely lost my mind, especially because they immediately cut back to Cole and everyone in Buckhorn and just continued on as normal. I think it's great that Gordon Cole's dream included footage from FWWM. I've always loved that scene, and it's never been able to have anything to do with anything, so I was really happy to see it again here. 

 

The lighting and effects in Andy's Fireman scene were absolutely incredible. The way it emphasized the wrinkles on Andy's face and made his eyes sorta glow; it lent a sense of dignity to a character who has almost never had any. I was worried, when he first entered, that he was just going to goof around and ask the Fireman a bunch of inane questions, but I'm glad the scene ended up playing it straight. I wonder what he was showing Lucy in that clip he was shown? Maybe it has something to do with Wally Brando! (Let's hope.) Following that, the scene in the jail was just so spooky. I couldn't tell if the drunk guy was real or a Lodge vision.

 

I got the feeling that somehow "Mom", the figure chasing after the blind woman and (maybe) Dougie/GoodCoop (she showed up in the glass box after he appeared), has something to do with Sarah Palmer. Now that we know for sure that Sarah contains something sinister, that was the first idea that popped into my head. I don't have much to say about that other than wild speculation and instinct. 

 

I don't know what to make of the Fireman glove guy. It's so unbelievable that this character exists, and the way they revealed him was to have him tell his lodge story to James, of all people. Like, this random British dude's now just gonna roll up and punch someone out in a pivotal scene now, right? Is he the only one who can destroy Bad Coop? How bizarre! 

 

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11 minutes ago, That Gum You Like said:

Anyone else think that Lynch was tying Andy's sandwich order ("who ordered 'just cheese?'") to the fact that he was selected to meet the Fireman?

 

I wondered if it had any significance or was just a comment on Andy being a little "different." 

I'm inclined to believe the former, but if it did have deeper meaning, perhaps it is because he is not eating meat?

I haven't noticed anything else in the series relating to vegetarianism, but it would be in line with the Buddhist principle of "ahimsa," non-violence to all beings.

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This could be way off, but I think the place where Andy sat with the Fireman was the White Lodge because right before he was sent there, Andy was kneeling down beside the blind woman holding her hand - an act of love.

Another thing that points to the white lodge is the fact that afterwards, when he's carrying the blind woman, he seems to know exactly what has to be done, just like Major Briggs. 

 

I'm confused about who James is now, though. He was wearing a deputy's uniform, but there's been no mention of him being part of the Sheriff's office, so is that a disguise of some sort? He mentioned something about making a "delivery."

 

Also, I nearly lit a bonfire and danced around it when Chad got arrested, it was so satisfying. The part with him and the bleeding-mouth-guy (is that supposed to be Billy?) making noises at each other reminded me of when Bobby and Mike bark at James in the jail cells in one of the first episodes in season one.

 

 

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2 minutes ago, Mentalgongfu said:

 

I wondered if it had any significance or was just a comment on Andy being a little "different." 

I'm inclined to believe the former, but if it did have deeper meaning, perhaps it is because he is not eating meat?

I haven't noticed anything else in the series relating to vegetarianism, but it would be in line with the Buddhist principle of "ahimsa," non-violence to all beings.

Exactly! Joel Bocko wrote that "there's also an element of Grail mythology... in the pure-of-heart Andy being the one to enter...." Maybe his selection of the meatless option was at least a further signifier of his purity. Isn't Lynch a vegetarian? Perhaps as part of his practice of TCM? (I'm extremely ignorant of such matters -- just conjecture on my part.)

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2 minutes ago, MissPrim said:

I'm confused about who James is now, though. He was wearing a deputy's uniform, but there's been no mention of him being part of the Sheriff's office, so is that a disguise of some sort? He mentioned something about making a "delivery."

The badge's on their shoulders said "Security" so I think James and the English teen are just nightwatchmen for some warehouse.

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2 minutes ago, MissPrim said:

This could be way off, but I think the place where Andy sat with the Fireman was the White Lodge because right before he was sent there, Andy was kneeling down beside the blind woman holding her hand - an act of love.

Another thing that points to the white lodge is the fact that afterwards, when he's carrying the blind woman, he seems to know exactly what has to be done, just like Major Briggs. 

 

I'm confused about who James is now, though. He was wearing a deputy's uniform, but there's been no mention of him being part of the Sheriff's office, so is that a disguise of some sort? He mentioned something about making a "delivery."

 

Also, I nearly lit a bonfire and danced around it when Chad got arrested, it was so satisfying. The part with him and the bleeding-mouth-guy (is that supposed to be Billy?) making noises at each other reminded me of when Bobby and Mike bark at James in the jail cells in one of the first episodes in season one.

 

 

James is definitely not part of the sheriff's office - I'm sure we would have seen that before. My impression is that he and his Hulk-handed friend are sort of security guards/maintenance staff at The Great Northern. Otherwise, I agree with your take on the rest.

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