Twin Peaks Rewatch 9: May the Giant Be With You

[Jake]

Twin Peaks Rewatch 9:

May the Giant Be With You

I've heard about you... We are back for the start of Season Two of our weekly look at the complete run of Twin Peaks. This week the elaborate, mad race of plot threads that ended season one come to a head and start cinching together into focused knots, launching nearly everyone off onto exciting new trajectories. While this episode may be one of the best episodes of Twin Peaks, it definitely has one of the worst names.

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• Episode 10 Pre-Discussion Thread

Catching up? Listen to the Rewatch archive.

[Gamebeast23456]

Comparing the Season One finale with the season two premiere is pretty interesting. Where Frost, the more natural writer, layered on intrigue after intrigue, Lynch completely pulled back from that and made me kind of squirm. There's the iconic and excruciating moments of inactivity, where Cooper is just laying on the floor, almost withdrawn completely.

Then there's The Giant. I'm conflicted on The Giant. I think lots of self indulgence in how he's written, with the whole riddles thing, and yet he also has a very powerful air. Whereas the dancing scene from early in S1 was completely new and striking, this was another look at the same basic idea.

[LostInTheMovies]

Comparing the Season One finale with the season two premiere is pretty interesting. Where Frost, the more natural writer, layered on intrigue after intrigue, Lynch completely pulled back from that and made me kind of squirm. There's the iconic and excruciating moments of inactivity, where Cooper is just laying on the floor, almost withdrawn completely.

Then there's The Giant. I'm conflicted on The Giant. I think lots of self indulgence in how he's written, with the whole riddles thing, and yet he also has a very powerful air. Whereas the dancing scene from early in S1 was completely new and striking, this was another look at the same basic idea.

 

I love that it picks up EXACTLY where the finale left off (ok, like 1 minute later haha) which only makes the contrast more stark.

 

That said, worth noting that Frost still did write the teleplay of the season 2 premiere. I think it brings out a different side of him as a writer - he can write tightly-wound plot acceleration, but is also aware of the long-form challenges of a full season and can be very methodical when necessary. Actually, I think too much so in this episode; my big complaint is that there's so much exposition retreading previous ground. It can feel sort of aimless at times.

 

This summer I started watching Frost's Hill Street Blues episodes to see if I could trace any influence on Twin Peaks. Only a few were available, but there were actually some very revealing parallels (especially with stuff that would come up later in season 2). But one fun thing I noticed: he has a scene in which two characters are trying to have sex during a short lunch break and they keep being interrupted by...you guessed it, an extremely old, slow room service waiter.

 

Another fun anecdote: apparently David Lynch spontaneously called Frost up when they were beginning to work on the script and simply said, "Mark, there's a giant in Cooper's room." And supposedly Frost simply replied, "David, I believe you."

[LostInTheMovies]

Really excited to see the response to this episode. The first time I saw it I loved it, the second I thought it was a big disappointment. Now I lean more toward the favorable side - there are so many great moments, even if the whole thing does feel a bit shapeless in comparison to some of the tighter parts of the series.

 

This was a very controversial episode when it aired. In fact, surprisingly to me, it was the turning point for Twin Peaks' popularity much more so than

the killer's reveal - is that a spoiler? I'd imagine some people are expecting no resolution so I'll keep it hidden.

This was when a lot of critics and viewers began complaining that the show was just indulging in "weirdness-for-weirdness" sake and that Lynch was laughing at them. The ratings also went into a tailspin immediately following this episode, but that may also be due to the schedule: starting with the very next episode, Twin Peaks began airing on a Saturday night, the worst time for Twin Peaks' hip, young audience to be home.

 

To me, this stretch is where Twin Peaks gets really interesting. The first season is a blast - fun, playful, absorbing, suspenseful - but season two (at least initially) grabs ahold of you in a much deeper, darker way. Let's face it - even today, how many half-comedic (or even full-on gritty) whodunits would flash back to a really relentless, unremitting depiction of the victim's tortuous demise? I think this is the first indication that John Leonard was wrong about Twin Peaks having "nothing at all in its pretty little head except the desire to please."

 

Incidentally - at the time there was a popular theory, advocated by a critic with the L.A. Times, that Bob is not killing Laura in the final scene, but giving her CPR. I'll let first-time viewers suss that one out for themselves.

[LostInTheMovies]

Oh, and another thing: while this episode gets darker than anything since the pilot, it's also got some of the most hilarious bits. My particular favorite is Ben and Jerry spontaneously dancing when Leland enters the Great Northern office.

 

Other favorite scenes, funny or otherwise:

 

The room-service waiter returning 3 times

Ben visiting Audrey at One-Eyed Jack's - so creepy, but beautifully played and shot with the colors popping, the wide lens and the Steadicam; is that the first Steadicam on the series (and in Lynch? I can't remember what's in Wild at Heart but that's a pretty freewheeling film so maybe)

Leland's first "Mairzy Doates"/white hair appearance

Major Briggs' speech to Bobby - what a transformative moment for that character (both of them really, but the Major especially)

Maddy breaking the glasses - my guess is that was just Lynch saying "I don't like this look for her character" haha

Leland singing "Get Happy" at the Hayward Supper Club. The little girl playing the piano is Kyle MacLachlan's creepy little sister from Dune.

Audrey's prayer to Cooper

The random dinergoer announcing (with his face pressed right up against the camera) "Hot DAMN, that pie's goood!"

Albert laughing at Ed's story. Hilarious and yet as others have noted, this only makes it seem sadder.

[sclpls]

I love how when Leland sings & dances his way into Ben & Jerry's office they join him in dance.

 

Also, the overhead shot when Agent Cooper is laying out the events the night Laura Palmer died, slowly scrolling across the table full of donuts while there are these soft fades of iconic imagery like the tree tops blowing in the wind, the traffic light, etc.

 

Also, the whole scene with the Palmers et al. and the kids performing song and reading poems... totally incredible and so wonderfully uncomfortable to watch. 

 

And of course the ending is just a series of terrifying images. Especially the shots of the empty hallways in the hospital, it just really gets to me.

 

There are of course a couple of odd things about the episode as well. While I think I conceptually get the shift for Donna's character where she suddenly turns into a noir femme fatale character, I dunno how I feel about the actual execution. I'm also not sure that some of the physical gags work for me as well as some of the other episodes, but that's totally subjective.

[Apple Cider]

The goofiness of this episode is off-set, like so many more episodes in Season 2 by a really moving/poignant moment and for me that moment is Briggs and son in the diner. It's so bizarre that a show that had so many alienating surreal moments also produced something this emotionally relevant and then just veers right back into the absurdity and also incredibly dark horror elements.

[Gamebeast23456]

The goofiness of this episode is off-set, like so many more episodes in Season 2 by a really moving/poignant moment and for me that moment is Briggs and son in the diner. It's so bizarre that a show that had so many alienating surreal moments also produced something this emotionally relevant and then just veers right back into the absurdity and also incredibly dark horror elements.

Man, Major Briggs. One of the best sleeper characters in the series. In some ways, it's criminal how long it took for the show to acknowledge him as a character. Just this strange, articulate, brilliant character.

Man it sucks that Davis passed.

[LostInTheMovies]

Now that we've completed the series through the season 2 premiere, I'll share this video I've created here, the first part of a 4-part "journey through Twin Peaks." It is sort of a visual podcast - commenting on the show as it unfolds and providing some context, while mixing the narration with clips and montages. Part 1 (linked below) does not contain any plot spoilers for stuff past this episode, although I do use occasional brief clips from Fire Walk With Me and some later episodes in the introduction, so use your own judgement (you may see certain characters or locations featured again so if that's too much of a spoiler, don't watch). The purpose of the TV montage, about 3 minutes in, is to look at different aspects of the show before zooming in on Laura Palmer via the grief of those closest to her (friends, family) and then a quick non-spoilery clip from FWWM segues into the classroom scene of the pilot. From there, I tackle the show in short groups of episodes without looking ahead:

 

http://thedancingimage.blogspot.com/2014/09/journey-through-twin-peaks-part-1.html

 

It can be watched in one full Vimeo video (1/2 hour) or in smaller 4-8 minute chapters on YouTube. Please feel free to share your own thoughts on this group of episodes (and my right/wrong opinions of them!) here, there or elsewhere.

[Guts]

Upon this viewing of the episode,

 

( I wont speculate how many times i have watched it, other than that i wore out my vhs box set in the 90's, and yes I had to put up with the European pilot as the first episode, which was weird because i forgot what the real pilot ending was until the gold box set. One more side note, if you can get your hands on the dvd release of the first season that came out around 98 most of the first season episodes have the directors of that episodes commentary on them.)

 

ok i have to leave work.. ill edit this later

 

nm ill just post my thoughts about this episode in a new thread.

[LostInTheMovies]

Upon this viewing of the episode,

 

( I wont speculate how many times i have watched it, other than that i wore out my vhs box set in the 90's, and yes I had to put up with the European pilot as the first episode, which was weird because i forgot what the real pilot ending was until the gold box set. One more side note, if you can get your hands on the dvd release of the first season that came out around 98 most of the first season episodes have the directors of that episodes commentary on them.)

 

ok i have to leave work.. ill edit this later

 

I was able to purchase those DVDs really cheap online this summer, when I found out those commentaries wouldn't be on the blu-ray. Very fascinating. (I get that Lynch doesn't like commentaries but it's a pity they couldn't just be included as audio tracks independent of video. That's how I ended up listening to them anyway.)

[Jake]

Wow I didn't know there were directors commentaries which are now cut from re-releases. Crazy. I really want to hear them.

Man, Major Briggs. One of the best sleeper characters in the series. In some ways, it's criminal how long it took for the show to acknowledge him as a character. Just this strange, articulate, brilliant character.

Man it sucks that Davis passed.

The roller coaster of excitement to disappointment I felt about Peaks Season 3's announcement was 1:1 with your post.

[80's Bad Guy]

Oh, and another thing: while this episode gets darker than anything since the pilot, it's also got some of the most hilarious bits. My particular favorite is Ben and Jerry spontaneously dancing when Leland enters the Great Northern office.

 

I lost my shit at that scene last night. They're just so happy Mad Leland is back, instead of Mopey Breaking Down Leland. It's especially bizarre/funny coming right after a nightmare scene in the Palmer house. Jerry's jumping worm dance is the best. You're right, so many good moments in this episode. Donna's heel turn. Andy knocking himself silly.  

 

Watching last night was the first time I got the sense that maybe the old bellhop was mocking Cooper. I always felt it was just supposed to be quirky and awkward, but hanging up the phone, leaving him in that state and then constantly coming back to give Cooper his own trademark thumbs up I was struck that maybe he was...less than friendly actually. But I don't remember much else of this Season so not sure. 

 

[Guts]

Ok, so things i noticed on this watch of episode 8ish, I get the feel that was was some kind of change in direction during the break, several characters make directional shifts, which can be explained (real world) by them plotting out the second season, and in twin peaks by the fall out from the season one finally.

 

Donna's character shifts from Nancy Drew to Nancy Drew pretending to be in a nior crime film. This likely comes from her first foray into crime, or maybe she is just feeling the ghost of Laura looking over her shoulder and thinks that its what James wants from her.

 

Maddy has the glasses breaking scene, though i wonder if they should have included her visit to the optometrist's office to get contacts, otherwise she is opening the door to some Mr.Magoo type comedy scenarios. Also she is apparently picking up Psychic signals from the carpet.

 

Bobbie seems to be thinking of a life outside the world of crime, Open love with Shelly, Respect from his father, but Hank looks like he will be a problem.

 

Leland went from a Sobbing mess to a Dancing fool. I cant even tell you how many times over the last 20 years i hummed that merrsy dots song from watching this to much, it is just so awesome and ridiculous. Apparently Snuffing people with pillows just makes one happy.

 

 

Considering the way things turn out. The scene where Audrey is hiding behind the mask really feels like it has a special significance. There is defiantly a mirroring going on between the father daughter relationships of Laura and Audrey. I wonder if this scene lead to the inspiration for who the killer would eventually be, or did they know all along and set this out as a sign post pointing to what was happening to Laura. Audrey is wearing a mask, Bob is wearing a Leland mask? How many people in twin peaks are forced to wear "masks" because of the secrets they keep. Does the mask mean something more profound about incest and family violence. Maybe a violators inability to "see" their victim. I'm not sure but i am intrigued.

 

David Lynch is always conveying things through people's expressions, often we see people react with horror or intense smiles or other out of place expressions. There is a scene at dinner in eraserhead where you have a person smiling and another person over them with a look of intense horror and fear, when we see those faces juxtaposed it creates new meanings that would be otherwise difficult to convey. So when David Lynch covers someones face it seems to be just as purposeful, we can only imagine what expressions we are missing. That imagined space behind a mask or behind an expression that has no obvious source creates a real sense of Horror in the viewer. We create our own narratives without even meaning to, we are hardwired to try and find meaning in other people's expressions.

 

 

One more thing, We never see a black masked figure again in Twin Peaks, I wonder if they knew who they would be when the filmed them. Or if they were placeholders for someone they would later place as the assailant. It could be that they had someone in mind then changed it later. They place the burnt oil smell at the park later in the season when Jacoby is under hypnosis which would mean Leland. The only explanation for the masked figure at the drug deal is that is was jacques but there is no obvious reason he would be hiding there in a mask. It could be Leland, I suppose it would make sense for him to be traipsing about the woods at night as bob, so why not mask up in-case you see someone? who knows.

 

 

 

[LostInTheMovies]

I lost my shit at that scene last night. They're just so happy Mad Leland is back, instead of Mopey Breaking Down Leland. It's especially bizarre/funny coming right after a nightmare scene in the Palmer house. Jerry's jumping worm dance is the best. You're right, so many good moments in this episode. Donna's heel turn. Andy knocking himself silly.  

 

Watching last night was the first time I got the sense that maybe the old bellhop was mocking Cooper. I always felt it was just supposed to be quirky and awkward, but hanging up the phone, leaving him in that state and then constantly coming back to give Cooper his own trademark thumbs up I was struck that maybe he was...less than friendly actually. But I don't remember much else of this Season so not sure. 

 

 

 

Best part of the above scene - Albert takes his glasses off several times. Which suggest to me that Lynch was purposefully just lining up numerous takes of Harry Goaz to extend this sequence as long as possible. He does love him some goofy Andy.

[Elen]

I love the Giant. He manages to give off an air of authority that's both kind and mournful, all while spouting pretty ridiculous riddles.

 

Major Briggs' speech to Bobby - what a transformative moment for that character (both of them really, but the Major especially)

Damn, what a good scene. That's a pretty dramatic character shift from season one,

in season 2, whenever Bobby is with his family he seems like a better person than he's able to be with Shelly- it's like he's started to realize that his parents are good people.

 

Leland singing "Get Happy" at the Hayward Supper Club. The little girl playing the piano is Kyle MacLachlan's creepy little sister from Dune.

She also grew up to be an excellent actress: that's Alicia Witt. She's been in quite a lot; last year she was a major character on Justified.
 
I'd love if she was a part of the new season. If they wanted to get really meta with it they could populate half the cast with the original cast's daughters: the Deschanel sisters, Rashida Jones, and Amber Tamblyn.
 
(Hi, guys! It's been fun listening to the podcast and weirdly not too many of my friends are interested in talking about a 25 year old TV show...)

[your name here]

I find Ed's story as to how Nadine lost her eye very suspicious. Why were they hunting pheasant with buckshot? Lots of unanswered questions. Highly suspicious.

[StealThisCorn]

I enjoy the long, slow scene of the room service waiter with Agent Cooper. I like how off beat and strange it is. But I know Mark Frost thought it was too slow pacing. And knowing that so many people turned their television sets off at this point, in retrospect, I wish Frost and Lynch had stronger collaboration on this together to make the nation’s introduction to the second season have more broad appeal and not prematurely stunt the momentum generated by the first season.

 

We really get to see a taste of Jerry’s dark side in the beginning with Blackie. That’s something the show hasn’t really emphasized before. But it reminds us that these two fun, silly villains, Ben and Jerry, are dangerous, sleazy, womanizing creeps.

 

I still don’t understand why or how Leland’s hair is supposed to have turned white.

Personally, I think it draws way too much unnecessary attention to him. And Cooper’s explanation that Bob was a gray-haired man is a huge stretch of credulity.

 

Also, when Hawk brings the copy of Fleshworld, Truman says, “What issue is this?” I think he’s a subscriber!

 

I guess Maddy doesn’t actually need those enormous glasses she wore through the first season. Maddy is television’s first hipster.

 

I like that they brought Philip Gerard back to remind us that there is something ominous with that character, some reason why he was in Cooper’s dream, after the seeming let down of his questioning at the motel in the first season where he seemingly had no connection.

 

So are we to believe, based on James’ info, that Bob has a red Corvette?

 

Cooper’s explanation for why he is just now asking James for the necklace makes little sense. “Something frightened him off”. Well he buried it and then someone else took it later. Also he didn’t think Jacoby had anything to do with it, even though he comes off as a creep.

 

It seems like Donna is trying to get some of Laura’s essence, that darkness or power she had over men, for herself because she’s afraid of losing James (to Maddy because of her resemblance to Laura?). And that’s why she is suddenly trying to act sexy and wear Laura’s glasses.

 

It seems like they were trying to set up some kind of gag with the hospital food, but it never seems to go anywhere.

 

Cooper reasons that Laura’s “nervous about meeting J” entry in her diary was in reference to James Hurley and that Leo Johnson called her that night.

Later we learn that Leland called Laura from Ben’s office on that night. And later still, in the movie, we see that the meeting with Leo Johnson was set up first and it was James, in fact, who surprised her with his call to meet that night.

 

There is a HUGE continuity error in Cooper’s break down of the evidence up till now. He says the blood on the “Fire walk with me” note was tested and doesn’t match Leo’s or Jacques’. Albert clarifies it as a rare type, AB- and says it must be the blood of the killer. But yet in Episode 5 of the first season Dr. Hayward clearly says that Jacques Renault’s blood type IS AB- which, hilariously, means there is virtually zero chance that the killer could be anyone BUT him!

 

I think Blackie was hoping she was Audrey’s type. She looked quite offended when Audrey said that.

 

The ending sequence is some of the purest horror ever seen in Twin Peaks till now and I absolutely love it. What I want to know is, so many people were disappointed at the finale of season one because they were expecting Laura’s killer to be revealed and it wasn’t. So then, to hype, the premiere of season two, I think it was advertised people would get to see it. And at the end we clearly see the person identified as Bob before killing her in the train car. Yet it doesn’t seem like many people felt satisfied by that or though that they really had seen Laura’s killer. Maybe it’s just viewers who felt something wasn’t quite right about the whole thing or the Giant’s references to people seeing the third man “but not his body”,  but it just seems like surely some people thought this was it. The killer has been revealed.

[LostInTheMovies]

I enjoy the long, slow scene of the room service waiter with Agent Cooper. I like how off beat and strange it is. But I know Mark Frost thought it was too slow pacing. And knowing that so many people turned their television sets off at this point, in retrospect, I wish Frost and Lynch had stronger collaboration on this together to make the nation’s introduction to the second season have more broad appeal and not prematurely stunt the momentum generated by the first season.

 

I hadn't heard that Frost thought this before, though it would make sense giving the breakneck pacing of ep. 7. I think the opening is definitely a turning-point/make-or-break moment for viewers, or at least it was at the time, but I think trying to accommodate the audience is kind of a dangerous game to play for a couple reasons. 1) Obviously, how far does one want to go in compromising to retain viewers? True, Twin Peaks starts off as a balance between artistic integrity and entertainment value but go to the extreme of trying not to alienate viewers and you end up with

the mid-second season

. It's sort of a slippery slope. Also, of course, we'd then lose this hilarious and brilliant opening sequence. 2) I am of the opinion that Twin Peaks' long-term popularity was a lost cause. There was simply no way to do all of the following: retain Twin Peaks' narrative momentum (which requires the mystery to keep going), satisfy the viewers' desire to know who killed Laura Palmer (and why they killed her), deliver the resolution of the investigation in a dramatically appropriate way

(I've heard the suggestion that a full-on reveal should have taken place in the season 2 premiere but I think ep. 14 requires the patient groundwork set by the show beforehand).

 

I think the room service waiter's implicit advice, and the giant's explicit advice, in this episode is correct: sit back, be patient, and allow the mystery to unfold as it needs to. If viewers can't hang on for that process, and the show dooms itself, at least it goes down with its integrity intact. Of course I can never know all the alternate routes that could have been taken so who knows.

 

Good question about Bob. Why is the automatic response "We still don't know the killer!" - I hear it from first-time viewers on podcasts as well as in reports from the original airdate. Not saying that response is right or wrong - I do know, of course, but I ain't saying. But I'd be curious to hear from first-time viewers on this thread - do you think the audience response of 1990 ("this isn't a reveal!") makes sense? I did read some contemporaneous writers claiming, "Ok, this is a reveal but it's a character we've barely seen up to now so it's a cheat." Do any of you feel this way?

[Argobot]

It seems like Donna is trying to get some of Laura’s essence, that darkness or power she had over men, for herself because she’s afraid of losing James (to Maddy because of her resemblance to Laura?). And that’s why she is suddenly trying to act sexy and wear Laura’s glasses.

 

Early season 2 Donna is some of my favorite writing on this show. I find it so heartbreakingly realistic that someone in her situation would start to act out in this way. It's clear that she envied Laura as much as she loved her and can't handle the idea of remaining in Laura's shadow, especially now that Laura is dead. Her arc has the most devastating pay off later in season 2 when

She's wearing Laura's sunglasses when she goes to speak with Leland and he starts to get more and more horrifyingly physical with her until it's clear that he intends to kill her but is stopped right before he gets the chance. It breaks Donna from her naivety and she is left sobbing in the Palmer's den as she slowly starts to realize what exactly her friend went through. It's by far one of the best moments in the whole show.

[LostInTheMovies]

She's wearing Laura's sunglasses when she goes to speak with Leland and he starts to get more and more horrifyingly physical with her until it's clear that he intends to kill her but is stopped right before he gets the chance. It breaks Donna from her naivety and she is left sobbing in the Palmer's den as she slowly starts to realize what exactly her friend went through. It's by far one of the best moments in the whole show.

 

Agreed - and that's by far the scariest moment in an episode that, at times, vamps it up a bit too much for my tastes:

Bob is much creepier when he's more low-key, in Lynch's hands. But Leland himself is now terrifying. Makes it all the more disappointing that the writers skip over the fallout from Leland's death/revelation as far as Donna and the rest of the town is concerned. That wake scene is such a disaster.

[Nappi]

I have really mixed feelings about rewatching Season 2. On the one hand, it still has a lot of excellent Twin Peaks moments. Quite many in this first episode, in fact. On the other hand, it also has a couple of storylines that are so obnoxious (those who have watched season 2 can probably make an educated guess as to what I am referring to) that they have actually managed to tarnish my view of the entire show to some extent.

 

Best part of the above scene - Albert takes his glasses off several times. Which suggest to me that Lynch was purposefully just lining up numerous takes of Harry Goaz to extend this sequence as long as possible. He does love him some goofy Andy.

 

Oh god, you are right! That is excellent. 

 

Early season 2 Donna is some of my favorite writing on this show. I find it so heartbreakingly realistic that someone in her situation would start to act out in this way. It's clear that she envied Laura as much as she loved her and can't handle the idea of remaining in Laura's shadow, especially now that Laura is dead. Her arc has the most devastating pay off later in season 2 when

She's wearing Laura's sunglasses when she goes to speak with Leland and he starts to get more and more horrifyingly physical with her until it's clear that he intends to kill her but is stopped right before he gets the chance. It breaks Donna from her naivety and she is left sobbing in the Palmer's den as she slowly starts to realize what exactly her friend went through. It's by far one of the best moments in the whole show.

 

As I was watching the episode I kept trying to remember whether there was any "payoff" to the Cursed Sunglasses of Laura Palmer storyline. I had completely forgotten about the part in the spoilers. 

 

Also, that hospital food (

).

 

Also, Ronette Pulaski's nightmare ending. Jesus.

[LostInTheMovies]

I have really mixed feelings about rewatching Season 2. On the one hand, it still has a lot of excellent Twin Peaks moments. Quite many in this first episode, in fact. On the other hand, it also has a couple of storylines that are so obnoxious (those who have watched season 2 can probably make an educated guess as to what I am referring to) that they have actually managed to tarnish my view of the entire show to some extent.

 

I think it's helpful, and ultimately pretty logical knowing the making of the series, to consider season 2 not one but at least two or three (maybe four) different entities:

ep. 1-9 (Leland's death, although I think 8 & 9 are a bit of a letdown after 7, they clearly conclude this story arc), and then the rest: ep. 10-16 (everything through Josie's death: these storylines drag and usually aren't related to much else), ep. 17-21 (to my eyes, an improvement, especially once Gordon Cole shows up again; even with the continuing weak stuff - John Justice Wheeler, etc - there is a growing tension and enthusiasm that wasn't there mid-season), and then I suppose ep. 22, maybe the best of the series, should be in its own category.

 

But at the very least the rest of the Laura mystery is pretty distinct from what follows, even though some of the weak subplots begin in the background of this stretch. I think in some European countries, Twin Peaks was aired in two halves, since the reveal of Leland coincidentally comes at the exact halfway spot of the series. Narratively that makes more sense as a break, to me, than the ABC/U.S. form of dividing season 1 and 2 by when they actually aired. It even resolves the mystery in one season and even leaves a cliffhanger as we wonder if Coop will catch the killer. And ep. 14 feels like it should be the end of SOMETHING (if not the show itself). Although I might be getting it wrong, and these countries ended season 1 with Leland's death. That too would make more sense than stuffing the end of the mystery arc, the aimless Coop-out-of-the-FBI plot, and the buildup up the Lodge climax all in one unit.

 

My take on the first part of season 2 is that it is more uneven than season 1, but contains much greater highs.

[Woodfella]

Hello there, this isn't about the episode specifically sorry but i dont know where else to put it. I was just wondering whether any of you have read Reflections: An oral history of Twin peaks by Brad Dukes. Is it worth a read?

[LostInTheMovies]

Hello there, this isn't about the episode specifically sorry but i dont know where else to put it. I was just wondering whether any of you have read Reflections: An oral history of Twin peaks by Brad Dukes. Is it worth a read?

 

Yes, absolutely.