Twin Peaks
3.12: Lets rock.
(SPOILERS) I have to admit, this is the first episode of the
run that felt merely “okay” to me. Not bad in any respect, but having little to
really distinguish itself. You have to think Lynch stuck in that one sliver of
a scene of Dale-Dougie playing ball (or rather, having a ball bounced off his
head) because he realised Kyle McLachlan would be otherwise absent.
Instead, it’s almost The
Gordon Cole Show. Repeated business with his hearing aid, and with some floozy
(Bérénice
Marlohe) he picked up in the hotel bar (leading to another mirthfully extensive
sequence as she very laboriously prepares to leave when Albert calls by; this
is evidently the kind of carry on Duchovny’s Denise was warning Cole about, in
very meta fashion, way back at the beginning of the season). And Albert delivering
some extensive exposition Tammy should surely be partially aware of, having
compiled The Secret History of Twin Peaks,
regarding the Blue Rose as a follow-on group from Project Blue Book.
Notably, Lynch and Frost are most definitely taking the
interdimensional rather than extra-terrestrial path here, with Philip Jeffries,
Albert, Coop and Chester Desmond (poor old Chester) – but no Windom Earle – on
a quest to find answers to Blue Book anomalies that could not be reached “except by an alternate path”. Tammy’s
induction, in a red-draped room, drinking quality vino (this is the new coffee
of Twin Peaks, clearly) is
accompanied by some of Chrysta Bell’s most oddball performance choices yet, as
she attempts to express her enthusiasm in a manner that would make you squirm
for her acting coach, if she had one.
Gordon Cole: What do we know, that we haven’t asked her
about?
There’s also Diane’s cryptic text message (Q: Las
Vegas? A: THEY HAVEN’T ASKED YET),
the co-ordinates revealing, surprise, surprise, the town of the title, and,
most disconcertingly, Diane uttering, Man from Another Place styl-ee “Let’s rock” in response to being
deputised.
Ben Horne: I loved that bike that my father got me.
The second most significant chunk of the episode consists of
the Hornes. Jerry finally gets out of the woods. Ben expresses regret over his
grandson’s actions like a man struggling to look concerned (although he does
stump up for the operation bill), and most importantly, finds his way to giving
Sheriff Truman Coop’s Great Northern key, to give back to Harry (why not,
there’s about as much chance of seeing the latter again as the real Coop).
Audrey: You’re not going to tell me what she said?
And then there’s Audrey. She’s back… and she’s a real bitch?
Is this Lynch playing sadist with his once-prized Peaks totty? Now she’s middle-aged and heartless, reduced to some
sort of marriage of convenience with Charlie (Clark Middleton, who I know best
from Fringe), her “spineless no-balls loser” of a husband.
What exactly is going on here is at least partially inscrutable, but Audrey’s
waving her infidelity with Billy under her Charlie’s nose, who retaliates with
audible silence when she demands to know the contents of his phone conversation
with Tina (Billy’s other half).
First Albert’s notable silence, now Charlie’s.
A running theme? I half-expected a reveal that Audrey now has one leg (post-bank
explosion), but thus far the explanations for how she got to where she is are
entirely elusive. Also referenced: Paul and Chuck? Keep watching, and we’ll
hear about more people we’ve never met.
Yes, I had a similar lack of a frame of reference for the
bar scene at the end – Heineken aside – between Abbie (Elizabeth Anweis) and Natalie
(Ana de la Reguera), discussing how Angela is off her meds and hoping Clark
doesn’t fuck this up, and the arrival of Lynch regular (going back to Wild at Heart) Scott Coffey, as Trick, showing
up shaken after a traffic altercation. At least there’s the comforting return
of the Chromatics.
Sarah Palmer: I don’t feel good!
The rest is kind of piecemeal. Sarah Palmer gets freaked out
– no one does freaked-out quite like Grace Zabriskie – with an extended
meltdown in the supermarket when confronted by some newly arrived beef and
turkey jerky and later rejecting Hawk’s offer of assistance in whatever way she
needs (that ominous shot of the turning ceiling fan in her home, and Hawk
thinking he heard someone else inside is almost as eerie as Lynch’s sound
effects). Hutch and Chantelle put an end to the warden, much to the distress of
his wee bairn. Doctor Amp is doing the vamp for liberty (“It’s working for me, Doctor Amp”), and Carl advises neighbour Kriscoll
(Bill O’Dell) not to sell his precious red stuff (“Keep your blood”). Tres chic, tres bon, or turnip farm? I expected Let’s rock to rock a bit more than it
does, with that title.
Agree? Disagree? Mildly or vehemently? Let me know in the comments below.
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