Chris

Twin Peaks Rewatch 17: Arbitrary Law

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Hey folks the episode is up! Sorry for the delay.

 

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Also it turns out I agree with a ton of this thread. I skimmed it before we recorded but yes. Curious to hear your thoughts on our thoughts.

 

I'm kind of hoping one of you likes it and the other doesn't. It's that kind of episode, and would definitely make for an interesting discussion. Looking forward to listening to it tomorrow...

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Re: the rings

 

There's "coming full circle" closure for Cooper and Donna in this episode. Cooper's closure is obvious; he solves the case that originally brought him to Twin Peaks. Donna is a little trickier, but it's interesting that her plot in this episode ends with James riding away on his motorcycle, in contrast to the pilot, where she and him take a ride together. Plus, her discovery of Maddy's death provides nice closure on the Laura loop.

 

Is that too much of a stretch? James giving Donna a ring was so strange (I completely forgot that it happened in this episode), so I hope that there is more purpose and meaning behind it than just "this a thing teenagers might do after having sex for the first time" and is entirely unrelated to Cooper getting his ring back.

 

(Also, maybe the sub-meaning is that Cooper and Donna are now secretly married. Twin Peaks Season 3.)

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I hope the Showtime series has one line about how the Seattle/Washington foodie scene collapsed on itself in the wake of M.T. Wentz's death.

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Just listened to & enjoyed the podcast. I mentioned this above, but I'm definitely on board with the idea of following Leland for much longer than two episodes. The thought really only just occurred to me the other day, but it could be sort of like Lost Highway where Leland himself is slowly starting to realize/come to terms with Bob. This would subtly shift the show's center of gravity, and I can't imagine it would have reversed the ratings slump but it would at least have allowed the show to go in a really compelling direction and exit the stage gracefully.

 

Oh well. For all its other flaws, the rest of the second season builds up to the finale, which is probably my favorite episode so all's well that ends well.

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Because people are discussing the dream's role in solving the case, this is probably a good time - and place - to bring up the "European version" of the pilot.

 

To summarize for first-time viewers - all of the dream imagery (Bob, Mike, the Little Man, the Red Room) - was not conceived as part of a dream sequence at all. It was shot for a contractually-obligated closed ending to the pilot episode, in case ABC did not pick it up as a series. It could then be released as a theatrical film, or at least a video feature, in Europe (hence the reason this alternate ending is called the "European version"). Lynch and Frost didn't take this obligation very seriously, and Lynch was basically unleashed to cook up whatever crazy concoction he felt like doing. He gathered a bunch of random elements together and assembled a transparently goofy denouement to the mystery in which (spoilers for the stuff in the "European version" that didn't make it into the dream sequence, though it's resolutely not canon/pertinent to the rest of the series)

Sarah Palmer suddenly remembers that she saw Bob crouching behind Laura's bed in the morning and the one-armed man calls Cooper to the hospital. Mike informs Cooper that he and Bob were former partners and that Bob killed Teresa Banks and Laura Palmer - in this version Mike & Bob are real-world criminals, not spirits. Leland has no relationship to Bob and is innocent of his daughter's murder.

 

It was basically an excuse for Lynch to riff with people that interested him. Al Strobel, who plays Mike/Phillip (i.e. the One-Armed Man) was actually just hired as an extra for that scene in the elevator. It was supposed to be a one-off joke reference to the one-armed man in The Fugitive. Lynch pulled him aside, with some handwritten dialogue, more or less spur-of-the-moment to record the "fire walk with me"/"convenience store" speech for the alternate ending. The story of Bob is even better (can't remember if this was brought up on the podcast; apologies if so).

 

Frank Silva, who plays Bob, was a set dresser working on the crew before two random events created the character of Bob out of thin air. First, Lynch overheard another crew member telling Silva "be careful moving that prop or you'll get stuck in the bedroom" and he had a vision of Silva, in his naturally long silver hair and personal jean jacket, crouching in the corner of the bedroom. He rushed into the room and had the cameraman shoot a quick shot of this image, but had no idea how/when he would use it (this shot is in the European version when Sarah remembers Bob in the bedroom, but it was re-shot for Sarah's vision in episode 2). Later on, he was shooting that scene where Sarah Palmer sees the vision of the necklace and jumps up screaming. Accidentally, Silva was caught in the reflection of a mirror behind her and Lynch was so excited by this coincidence that he decided Silva would play the killer in the alternate ending and he shot that footage with him saying "catch you with my death bag" and "I will kill again."

 

Lynch quickly shot the Mike/Bob alternate ending during breaks in the production of the pilot. Later, while editing the pilot, the Red Room sequence came to him in a sudden flash. Supposedly he then sketched out the dialogue with Frost and shot it as an additional  part of the alternate ending, where it sticks out like a thumb and feels like a total non sequitur, albeit a cool one. The Red Room sequence in the European version is basically what you see in episode 3, only a little bit longer and with an opening title that reads "25 Years Later" (which explains MacLachlan's old age makeup). This whole alternate ending (the Bob/Mike scenes and then the Red Room) lasts about 20 minutes and turned out so memorably - particularly the Red Room parts - that Lynch & Frost later decided to write it into the series as a dream sequence. With this, Bob and Mike became actual characters as well. Only retroactively were these scenes mined for narrative "clues," which is why a lot of the stuff in ep. 17 feels forced/desperate.

 

But it's pretty fascinating to consider that had the contract not demanded an alternate ending, Twin Peaks would likely have no Bob, Mike, Little Man, or Red Room at all. Leland was planned as the killer from the beginning (according to both Lynch and Frost) but the supernatural iconography surrounding the mystery arose through a combination of pressure, improvisation, and accident.

 

You can watch the "European version" here, in very low quality (it's available in great condition on the Gold Box DVDs & Entire Mystery blu-ray set). At this point in the series, it doesn't spoil anything, if it ever did:

 

 

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and then, you hear the sound of a motorcycle, and you know James is gonna be terrible

 

 

her plot in this episode ends with James riding away on his motorcycle, in contrast to the pilot, where she and him take a ride together

 

Apropos of nothing, but I hope in season 3 we discover that present day James drives a Prius.

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I'm not sure if Jake was referring to my theorising about Bob doing a solid for his partner Leland at the end, but if it was my post you were talking about I actually meant the exact opposite. I was reading it as Bob's final gift to Leland is to remove the mental block and let all the repressed guilt flood Leland's mind so Bob can have one last feast off Leland's dieing anguish.

 

But it's pretty fascinating to consider that had the contract not demanded an alternate ending, Twin Peaks would likely have no Bob, Mike, Little Man, or Red Room at all. Leland was planned as the killer from the beginning (according to both Lynch and Frost) but the supernatural iconography surrounding the mystery arose through a combination of pressure, improvisation, and accident.

 

Thanks for that post, it was fascinating!
At the same time, this doubles down on my disappointment with the supernatural stuff being treated as The Cause in this episode and working towards absolving Leland. I do wonder if Leland was conceived as the killer because of the realism of the family abuse angle or for another reason.

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At the same time, this doubles down on my disappointment with the supernatural stuff being treated as The Cause in this episode and working towards absolving Leland.

 

It's weird, because in interviews Frost presents the situation much more ambiguously than it plays (it's certainly interesting that he only co-wrote this episode, after tackling the reveal solo). He says things like was it ancient vampire-type legend or was Leland just insane? Or that Twin Peaks is about how people are capable of great evil as well as great good. And he's not just saying this after the fact, he said it at the time. Is it just supposed to be allegorical on an abstract level? Because if so, that doesn't work in a world like Twin Peaks which is semi-realistic to begin with; you can't simply cleave the "real" from the metaphorical the way you could with, say, Dracula.

 

I do wonder if Leland was conceived as the killer because of the realism of the family abuse angle or for another reason.

 

Ultimately, there really is no other reason - you go that route, you open up that can of worms. The specific handling of Bob feels like somebody trying to slam the lid back on that can. Which is what bugs me about this episode. It's as if it was written by two different writers or sets of writers - one that came in and made Laura's killer her incestuous father, and then another that came in and tried to layer the "Exorcist" angle on top of that.

 

But if Bob could be anyone, and if Bob himself is the totally responsible figure - in other words if Bob, not Leland, is the premise - why bother to make Laura's killer her father? Nobody was holding a gun to Lynch/Frost's heads forcing them to choose Leland. The more you think about it, it just plays like they don't have the courage of their convictions.

 

(Edited for clarity/length after posting)

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And just to be clear, I love the supernatural stuff on the show and I think it elevates it to another level. But it should amplify the human drama, not motivate it. This episode is the first time where it really feels like that cart is getting put before the horse.

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I think that watching this now, I feel like the "solving" of the mystery is sort of a passive aggressive act. It is the anti Sherlock / Agatha / Scooby ending. Usually this is where the detective brings all the suspects together and either explains the mystery or does something to trick the killer into revealing themselves. Instead everyone is brought together and the detective remembers his dream where the victim told him who killed her. Ok CBS you want it here it is. No puzzles to piece together, and no logical path to be followed we are just solving it because someone said they like gum. Its also such a twin peaks thing to do so I can't blame them. 

 

I think I would have liked to ride the ship that took the Palmer Mystery off into the infinite sunset, but without Leland crushing Mattie's skull we wouldn't have Fire walk with me, and I don't think the show would resonate the same way if we didn't get Leland the killer. I am almost positive we wouldn't be getting a 3rd season 25 years later. So If I could watch both versions I would, but unless i can transcend the reality In which I currently reside in I am happy enough. 

 

Also I remember that European Pilot was the only twin peaks you could get in VHS for a while before the box set came out. The VHS box set of course didn't have the american pilot in it. So you had to watch the European pilot if you wanted to see it all. Which was damn confusing when trying to introduce it to someone new, and also after a while you forgot how the original pilot ended so it was all crazy.

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But if Bob could be anyone, and if Bob himself is the totally responsible figure - in other words if Bob, not Leland, is the premise - why bother to make Laura's killer her father? Nobody was holding a gun to Lynch/Frost's heads forcing them to choose Leland. The more you think about it, it just plays like they don't have the courage of their convictions.

 

(Edited for clarity/length after posting)

It feels like Fire Walk With Me actually follows through on the punches this episode pulled, which makes me glad that it exists. This episode is actually infuriating to me because of the potency of the Leland/Donna scene, followed by the limp garbage that is the Leland/Bob interrogation scene.

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And Cooper's just awful line about it being better to believe in a world with the supernatural than a world where a father will rape and murder his daughter. That line is garbage and the perfect capper for the horribleness of the end to this episode.

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It feels like Fire Walk With Me actually follows through on the punches this episode pulled, which makes me glad that it exists. This episode is actually infuriating to me because of the potency of the Leland/Donna scene, followed by the limp garbage that is the Leland/Bob interrogation scene.

 

Agreed with both these points. And ep. 17 is just barely ambiguous enough that you can kinda ret-con with FWWM in mind.

 

We'll get to this more when the movie comes up, but it always strikes me as strange when people try to claim that it "abandons" or "ruins" the series or whatever. I mean I get that in the sense that it is tonally and stylistically very different. But thematically/narratively I think it - and the finale - rescues the show. If Lynch hadn't largely replaced the script in the finale and gone on to make FWWM,

not only would we have a less satisfying Leland/Bob depiction, but most the iconography people automatically associate with the show - the giant, the one-armed man, the Little Man, the Tremonds, the creamed corn, even the Red Room beyond one brief scripted glimpse in the finale script - never would have been seen again! That seems rather inconceivable in retrospect, but it's true; these elements completely disappear as soon as Leland dies (except for the Little Man's cameo in the drawer pull episode). Plus Lynch reminds us of Ronette and shows us she recovered (interestingly, she also doesn't appear in any episodes between the pilot and the season 2 premiere). In my opinion, this seemingly minor detail is a crucial point for Laura's - and ultimately Twin Peaks' - entire narrative arc. And on top of all that, the film restores Laura to center stage. Really, Lynch should get more credit for giving Twin Peaks whatever sense of completion/circularity/continuity it actually has.

 

I feel like often the Lynch/Frost relationship is misunderstood. Lynch is seen as the one who brought in random elements, while Frost kept the show grounded. While there's some truth to that in terms of storytelling conventions, it was more often Frost who brought in narrative turning points and game-changers, and Lynch who would attempt to keep Twin Peaks rooted in certain key elements and to find ways to incorporate the new additions into that framework. This might be because Lynch was used to the bounded restraints of two-hour cinema and the painted canvas, in which you can let your imagination go wild within fixed limits, whereas Frost was more a TV guy, seeking to expand within an open-ended universe while hitting certain serialized bullet points (he's also a novelist at heart, which generally allows for a more expansive narrative).

 

Despite all the missteps and mistakes along the way, I think that Lynch/Frost dynamic is one of the things that makes Twin Peaks so memorable and that Frost's dramatic decisions - some made for the right reasons, some not so much - are really important in this. If Lynch had his way and the mystery went on forever without resolution, the show might have been more consistent but it could not have reached the same high points that resulted directly from this compromise. Personally, I'm more concerned with power than perfection, so I'm glad it went the way it did. Controversial as this may be to say, I would rather have the killer's reveal episode, the finale, and Fire Walk With Me than several more s1-caliber seasons (which would have been impossible anyway: Twin Peaks would have been cancelled the same or perhaps even quicker if it hadn't solved the mystery).

 

Fortunately, with 2016 coming up, I get to have my cake and eat it too.

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Thanks everyone for this discussion, it's been interesting as hell!

 

Despite all the missteps and mistakes along the way, I think that Lynch/Frost dynamic is one of the things that makes Twin Peaks so memorable and that Frost's dramatic decisions - some made for the right reasons, some not so much - are really important in this. If Lynch had his way and the mystery went on forever without resolution, the show might have been more consistent but it could not have reached the same high points that resulted directly from this compromise. Personally, I'm more concerned with power than perfection, so I'm glad it went the way it did. Controversial as this may be to say, I would rather have the killer's reveal episode, the finale, and Fire Walk With Me than several more s1-caliber seasons (which would have been impossible anyway: Twin Peaks would have been cancelled the same or perhaps even quicker if it hadn't solved the mystery).

 

Fortunately, with 2016 coming up, I get to have my cake and eat it too.

 

So far I'm not convinced. Season 1 was so solid, and I miss it. Oh well, nothing to be done now so I'll stick around and see how it ended up. The high points have a lot of making up to do. :)

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So far I'm not convinced. Season 1 was so solid, and I miss it. Oh well, nothing to be done now so I'll stick around and see how it ended up. The high points have a lot of making up to do. :)

 

Fair warning, so I don't set false expectations: mine is a minority opinion (although the finale is considered by a great many fans to be the best episode). It also depends on one's taste for Lynch. Both the final episode and the film are the most off-the-wall Lynchian pieces of Twin Peaks by a wide margin.

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I hated this episode for reasons that have already been articulated in this thread, and on the podcast. However I do want to highlight an amazing moment, which is just when Donna is walking along the road in tears after her encounter with Leland. She does such a good job of capturing all those raw emotions women experience after receiving an unwanted and terrifying advance.

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I have to say, after seeing this episode a second time (and having also seen FWWM), I'm pretty disappointed in the way Bob is explained here. The idea of it being more comforting to know that an ancient spirit is responsible for Laura's abuse and death, rather than her father, is not only insulting because that's not how the real world works, it's also an incredibly unsatisfying way to end this plot thread. .

Agree. Just caught up with this episode and said the same thing to my brother afterwards. It feels like a cop out. Especially since the first time I watched it I thought Leeland had at least some awareness of what he was doing, even though possessed, I thought he'd started to enjoy the way it made him feel. But no, he's completely unaware, then he dies happy seeing Laura again. Poops.

Also although we've suspended our disbelief a load so far I found Coopers sudden realisation in the dream to be a bit daft even for twin peaks.

On the bright side guys James rode off on his bike never to be seen again. Right?

...Right!?

Agree with others that Donna was quite smashing this episode though

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Long time lurker and listener, first time poster.

 

When Leland first gets trapped in the cell, did anyone immediately connect his barking and carrying on ("that's a yes") to Bobby WAY back in Season One?

 

I have no connection whatsoever, but I just wanted to point that out.

 

You're all awesome -- keep postin'!

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Wow that was a big big episode. Almost too over the top in intensity. In fact some of it felt too fast. James went from proposing to running off in about 0.5 dopey looks. 

 

The weird angles at the start and all over the place!

 

i liked how Andy provided the link for Donna chat with tremond and Harold’s note. I think it was two podcasts that someone spotted that and appreciated the link so it must have been a small thrill to have it acknowledged!

 

i thought the Horne and Catherine scene was the best! I like that Horne really gives a large amount of care for the battle and is gracious when beaten. 

 

It’s weird how Leland goes (that is a huge gash on his head). It seems  that they created space to allow the normal grieving Leland and mad Leland to exist across the two weeks we are in twin peaks so far but like some other stuff relating to Leland it feels like a whole bunch of explaining away. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the gum. Leland becomes an obvious gum eater for the first time so his taking of gum seems less odd but I really found it a bit cheap. Similarly cooper’s “explanation” of everything seems ridiculously well thought out and evidence based (the blood) for only just figuring it out (even when Maddie was found he was still unclear). 

 

Did the timeline work? I thought Horne was in jail when maddie was murdered (maybe if maddie was murdered In the great northern then it would make sense - and alberts timeline is just vague enough). Actually maybe the fox clue was meant to be a red herring that the murder was in the hotel (rather than Leland fondling the fox two days ago) and Truman on the wrong track was meant to last longer. 

 

I liked lucy’s Mini get all the boys in a room (like cooper). 

 

Series 3 spoiler

 

Spoiler

When dick said gotta light my partner and I had a good laugh - an iconic phrase of that series.

 

Was the roadhouse seen a complete roster of the Js (men only) - no James for some reason though. 

 

Oh man i just realised something about series 3. 

 

Spoiler

If we are to take this episode as the end of Laura Palmer (and was in a way in terms of chronology) then the Donna cooper scene is really interesting.

 

in the context of the very last scene of the last episode of series 3 coop and “Laura palmer” go to a house and find the wrong person living there with the name tremont!  What does it meeeeeean???!!!!

 

 

Overall there was a lot in this episode. 

 

 

 

 

 

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