Day Two Hundred and Ninety-one - Twin Peaks: Season 2, Episodes 9 & 10, "And the beat goes on..."

Seemingly confounded at every turn, Cooper makes a final, desperate play to reveal the true killer of Laura Palmer (and now, Maddie, too). Gathering many players from both sides of the White Hat/Black Hat citizens of Twin Peaks, he hopes that some force... some magic... will show him the way.

And it works.

Leland is unmasked as the host for BOB and, let me tell you, BOB is not happy. Just in time, too, as it looked like Donna was about to meet the same fate as her friends by tempting BOB with an easy target, coming so willingly into his den as she did.

But, it's time for falling action.

Leland/BOB is cuffed and confesses to so many things, vowing to destroy and kill again, then leaves thanks to a cleansing bath of cold water (something someone should write down for future reference), leaving Leland broken and dying and finally conscious as to the crimes he's allowed BOB to commit by serving as a host.

A wake is held and many friends, enemies, and strangers make an appearance... including Tony Jay (one of my favorite voice actors of all time). It's a nice moment where it seems that the only dark juju comes in the form of the Mayor and his brother feuding... which is a nice contrast to the fact that Leland, however redeemed he might be, was still a murderer. I mean, we get BOB and the White Hats get BOB (for the most part), but most of the folks at that wake don't, so it's strange to me that so many folks would be there.

In addition, Albert (Miguel Ferrer) makes an appearance to conduct forensics on Maddie as the investigation winds down and he stays a short while, dropping vengeful lines of dialogue that make me very happy.

With BOB temporarily banished and Leland dead, it almost looked like it was time for Coop to leave, but he's the star of the series, so something had to keep him in town... and it came in the form of a suspension instigated by a corrupt Mountie and Jean Renault, still smarting over his brothers deaths and losing the ransom for Audrey... I guess.

It's a soap, so I should have forgiven it for its hammy melodrama, but it just feels like lazy writing to me. I reiterate the same complaint, which I've voiced before, over Norma's and Nadine's storylines. Sure, life goes on and everyone has their little troubles, but in comparison to BOB and the White/Black Lodges, it's all so much filler fluff.

Bleh.

At the very least, it was nice to see Major Briggs and Coop in the final moments of the second episode sharing a contemplative moment about the mysteries of the supernatural goings on in the Ghostwoods. Major Briggs (Don Davis, whom I really enjoyed on Stargate:SG-1) is yet another of my favorite characters. I pretty much love all the elder White Hats... Coop, Hawk, Truman (to an extent), Ed, Albert, Denise/Dennis, and the Major. Great guys/gals.

It's also nice to see concrete confirmation that the doddering old waiter and The Giant are the same being. Well, sort of concrete. I mean, it's all symbolic, flashing back and forth between reality and Cooper's communing visions, but you get the idea.

Still, I can't help but feel that we've past the series' peak and it's all downhill from here. I'm sure there will be a few things worth watching in the episodes to come (there are twelve left, after all), but I don't know that Heather Graham and the encounter at The Black Lodge will be enough.

Bonus extra: Josie's back (and looking a little beat up)~!

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Two Hundred and Ninety - Twin Peaks: Season 2, Episode 8, "Chicks and Ducks and Geese better scurry...."

After the violent and mysterious end to last night's episode, it would've been hard to imagine how David could've topped it... and he kinda, sorta didn't.

While nothing was awesome as The Giant's bit of freestyle poetry at the Roadhouse or BOB's terrifying attack on the poor, ill-fated Maddie (whose visions of blood on the carpet were more than a little prophetic), this episode was still fairly decent, packed as it was with more BOB antics, close calls, and almost-got-ems.

BOB is definitely still behind the wheel of Leland's body as every single reflection the audience is privy to reveals BOB's face instead of Leland's, and boy is he taking advantage.

After playing what looks to be a hundred or so golf balls worth of chipping practice in the very same living room he just murdered Maddie in, BOB pops the club bag with her body in it into the trunk of his car and takes a trip to the Great Northern to regale its guests with a dance routine. From there he takes a leisurely drive towards the golf course, only to be pulled over by Truman and Cooper, and seriously tempts fate by offering to show Coop his new clubs.

For just a split second you think he's going to be found out, both when Coop comes around the back of the car and when BOB hefts a driver in an almost menacing fashion behind him. Talk about a tense moment that, for me, was the best of the night.

No, Fortune favors BOB today, it seems as every single person who is investigating Laura's death is none the wiser... save for Agent Cooper who seems to think something is amiss, but can't put his finger on it.

Anyways, Pete visits Ben Horne in jail with a message from Catherine that is just delightful to see. Well, the message is so much blackmail fluff, but Pete's reactions and laughter are just delicious. It's great to see Jack Nance (who plays Pete) get some juicy moments to act out. He's one of my favorite of Lynch's regulars along with Everett McGill. Such a shame that he's no longer with us.

Barely anything from James and Donna, which makes me deliriously happy, but far too much with Hank and Norma. Looks like another subplot is brewing in dirty Hank's mind. Honestly, I think the only reason this new wrinkle was added was to keep Hank fresh in our memory as he hasn't really had much to do the past few episodes. Bleh, I could definitely live without him anyway. At least we know, through heavy hinting, that it's Norma's mother who is the food critic that she's been waiting on. No hint that Norma's caught on, though.

There was one GIGANTIC flaw to the episode, though... and it came in the form of a flashback sequence for Ben and Jerry. It's a weird bit about an older girl dancing in the dark for them as children that is shot in slow-motion and just goes on forevvvvveeeeer. What a complete waste of time for a throwaway sequence. I get that it's supposed to contrast their previous innocence with the dastardly men they are now, but still, a horrible piece of filmwork on behalf of David, et al.

Quick shout-out to Andy and Lucy for telling her busybody sister to shut-up... particularly Andy. It's not often that he sticks up for himself, but when he does it's grand! Another quick mention for Maddie's body in the plastic in a direct repeat of Sheryl Lee as Laura's body in the opening episode... just with dark hair instead of blond this time. Good symmetry.

So, to sum up, not as great as last night, but that's a high bar to reach. Still, pretty darn fun (save for that one bit), if I do say so myself.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Two Hundred and Eighty-nine - Twin Peaks: Season 2, Episode 7, "J'ai une âme solitaire"

It's finally happened! BOB has been revealed... or, at least, BOB's host has been revealed. It only took, what... fifteen episodes (some of them being double-sized, like the pilot and second season premiere)?

That's not the full measure of the night, though, as the reveal (and subsequent murder of Maddie) only occurs in the final minutes. No, there's still plenty of other stuff to pad out the majority of the afternoon and evening's revels.

Leo gains a small ability to communicate despite his brain damage while Shelly and Bobby worry about bills and their lives as potential caretakers. Maddie spends her last day in town with her relatives and Norma is let in on the fact that Nadine thinks they're all teenagers again thanks to the post-suicide attempt regression. Audrey confronts her father about One-Eyed Jack's and immediately goes to Cooper, whose own investigation into Harold's suicide reveals parts of Laura's secret diary... which seems to hint at Ben Horne as being BOB, but oh, that would be too easy, wouldn't it?

I especially liked that we get a second big reveal... that Catherine finally feels safe enough (with Ben arrested and Josie gone to Hong Kong) to let Pete know that she's alive and has been masquerading as Tojamura.

But... BOB... now that's the revelation that we've all be waiting for. That it comes at the cost of Maddie is a shame, as I would rather she'd just have been able to go back to Montana, but it works as a morbid statement of murderous symmetry.

It's a brutal and experimental sequence, to say the least. I liked most of the mirror bits, though I could've done without BOB's face matted over Leland's for that giggle session. It was much more effective when the device was just BOB in the mirror and the two of them smiling. It's pretty much the same problem that I have with the chase around the living room. They do a pretty terrible job matching up the positions of both actors (Ray Wise and Frank Silva) as Lynch tries to go for a duality, flipping back and forth between personas during the sequence. Additionally, the spotlight was a terrible choice of symbolism, making it feel like a stage play instead of a mystical murder. For her part, I think Sheryl Lee did a fine enough job as the victim... though she could've fought back a bit more.

To be honest, I think what really did it for me in the episode was everything that went down in the Roadhouse.

We've got Coop, Truman, and the Log Lady staking out the joint because the Owls are in play there somehow, Julee Cruise is performing several haunting tunes, James and Donna are sharing a private moment, and The Giant comes a'calling. Lots of great stuff happening.

For one thing, I think the only adorable moment for the James/Donna love affair is Laura Flynn Boyle lipsyncing Julee Cruise. Then there's Carel Struycken's despondant warning, which Coop can't understand. The icing on the cake, methinks was the fact that both Bobby and Donna seem to have had their own visions or brushes with someone walking over their grave as Donna bursts into tears and Bobby looks like he's about to. I have to wonder what they saw, felt, or heard.

Great mix of the supernatural and the mundane here. Sure, there were a few boring bits (Leo, Nadine), but overall this is one of the strongest, most intense episodes of the series... high up there on the entertainment factor. It's a bit sad, really, as it's arguably all downhill from here. Final bright spots/reflections: no more Harold, no more Maddie, lots of supernatural shenanigans, good times had by all (save for Maddie).

But what was with that horse, man? Sometimes you just have to wonder about Lynch.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Two Hundred and Eighty-eight - Twin Peaks: Season 2, Episode 6, "Dang, Josie... you get around almost as much as Laura."

With very little supernatural going on this THIS episode, as well, I'm starting to get seriously bummed. There's a little, what with The Owl and MIKE making an appearance at the very end, explaining just what he and BOB are (Inhabiting Spirits), but still... no visions, no BOB. I need my fix, man. Gimme some Red Room, Davy, just a little! I'm hurting bad, man. Real bad.

Still, there's a little plain old, generic, human drama that's entertaining. Bobby and Shelly get the Vegetable Also Known As Leo home (with much less disability money than they were expecting), Josie is pressured to cut all her ties in Twin Peaks by her creepy "brother," and Ben tries to get cozy with the enigmatic Tojamura. Still no revelation on "him" yet, but it's obvious that's a terrible makeup job that is hiding someone's true identity.

Speaking of, I love Pete's attempts to socialize with Tojamura. It's going to make the revelation of who Tojamura is just that much sweeter. But that's a spoiler and I think that promised I'd blog as if this were a virginal run through the series. No matter what, that makeup really makes it obvious that some sort of shenanigans are going on... and it was especially risky of Ben to hand over Tojamura's cashier's check to Josie without signing any paperwork.

While Audrey doesn't have much to say after being rescued, I think the best part of the episode was when Ben tries to comfort her in that smarmy way he has while we all (well, the audience and Audrey) just know he was trying to get into her naughty bits while she was a masked new girl up at Jack's. Too bad she didn't make him squirm with her new found leverage. Coop's good enough with body language that he had to know that something was up, but nary a word... just formalities.

This episode also brought the first in-person appearance of David Lynch, himself. We'd heard him earlier on the phone, as Coop's supervisor, but this was the first time we'd seen his FBI Director persona in the flesh. I love the gag with the overly huge hearing aid and comically bad lip readings. I don't like how he hints that Albert (Miguel Ferrer) isn't coming back, though. Taking it as a first-time watcher, that would've seriously disappointed me. Funny character, even still... and just the sort of drop-in that I'd reserve for myself if I were in his place, so kudos.

I think that my main disappointment in the episode is the silly thriller section that carried over from last episode where Donna and Maddie attempt to get Laura's secret journal from the shut-in, Harold. His self-mutilation and trust issues are just so much cheap fluff... and his anguished wails after they leave were some of the hammiest acting that I've seen in forever.

Well, not really. This is Twin Peaks, after all... where hammy acting is the norm. Still, it was a bit over the top, even for them.

Overall, this wasn't the best episode or the worst. There were annoying bits and entertaining ones, so... as long as some happiness could be had from the watch, then I guess it was worth it. It's just so uneven. But that's the reason folks watch Soaps, right? You latch on to what you like religiously and ignore the rest. It reminds me of my sister fast-forwarding through General Hospital to get to the couples she loved, lo those many years ago.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Two Hundred and Eighty-four - Twin Peaks: Season 2, Episodes 2 & 3, "Relationships are HARD! Everything's HARD!"

It's Friday, here at Couchbound and we're continuing our month-long Halloween Spooktacular with a double dose of Twin Peaks. Due to how many episodes we have left to go and how quickly the month is moving by, I think every Friday will be a twofer from the series.

Anyways, We've finally moved past the intense action and drama of the first season finale and second season premiere and are dealing with the fallout of all that was left unresolved which, since it's Twin Peaks, is a lot!

After the first of the three prophecies that The Giant gave him while he lay wounded come true, Agent Cooper is convinced there's more to Laura's slaying than Leo and Jacques' drug and sex trade angle. This idea is confirmed when he finds the other two prophecies coming to pass as well. Meanwhile, back in Canada (*shudder*), Audrey makes a move of her own at One-Eyed Jack's which manages to put her in even more jeopardy.

Now KISS!

I'm so happy that there's more supernatural bits going on. Whether it's a second visit from The Giant or Maddie's visions it's all grandly entertaining stuff. Let me tell you, seeing BOB (Frank Silva) come at you with his slow, dangerous pace... like a panther stalking its prey, crawling over furniture in a POV shot... it's actually pretty terrifying! This is why I love Twin Peaks (well, one of the reasons) and am always happy when the weirdness takes a more prominent role. Honestly, why was it absent from the Season 1 finale?

These episodes also feature a bit more of my favorite forensics expert, Albert. There's just something about Miguel Ferrer's matter of fact delivery of such viciously sarcastic lines that brings an instant smile to my face... even when he defends himself as a pacifist who idolizes Gandhi and King. Plus, seeing Albert and Truman grab each other by the shirt collar is a hoot!

I've married a monster!

There are some silly subplots on display, like Lucy's pregnancy by a melodramatic menswear salesman and, of course, the love triangle between James, Donna, and Maddie (which I could totally do without), but overall there's a great deal of progress to be found in these two episodes... especially when it comes to getting the word out about BOB via his sketch and revealing the identity of Jacques Renault's killer.

One final mention... the hospital scene where Nadine wakes up thinking she's a teenager again after breaking steel chain restraints? The look of sheer terror on Ed's face (and, believe me... that's TERROR, not confusion) is bloody priceless! Kudos to Everett McGill. Best moment of the night for me!

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~