It's weird getting used to an absolutely transcendent experience in television every Sunday night, watching Twin Peaks. And it's always different--the newest episode, "There's Some Fear in Letting Go", I doubt left any fan of the old series with dry eyes.
Spoilers after the screenshot
In an extraordinary moment of life and art coalescing, actress Catherine Coulson, who died before filming on this season completed, performed the death scene of Margaret Lanterman. Seeing her looking so frail all season with her hair gone and tubes in her nose, it's hard not to feel the reality in her discussing death with Hawk (Michael Horse). As one of the most recognisable figures of what made Twin Peaks distinct from the beginning, it's appropriate for the death of the Log Lady to be given such attention . . . and the grief in that dim conference room where only a tearful Lucy (Kimmy Robertson) is fully illuminated is . . . well, there are no words to do it justice.
Margaret's not the only character death in the episode. In addition to the abrupt execution of Duncan Todd (Patrick Fischler) and his assistant, it also seems Steven (Caleb Landry Jones) commits suicide though we don't actually see him die.
I loved the way Alicia Witt played Gersten's reaction on the other side of the tree when she heard the gunshot. The way she claws at her hair it's clear she's immediately trying to scrub her mind of any understanding of what she's just heard. She looks up at the trees--we'd been getting point of view shots from Steven of the trees too and I really love how much this season makes the forest a character. There had always been talk about a darkness and a mystery present in the woods around Twin Peaks but since there had to be more limitations on exterior shots in the old series you didn't get to see the forest nearly as much. Now Lynch is using the woods every chance he gets. It's there for bad things and good, as when we see shots of trees and mountains after Ed (Everett McGill) and Norma (Peggy Lipton) embrace and kiss openly in the RR, finally free to be together.
Once again, we have a work of art being interpreted and provoking actions its creator could never have anticipated. This new season began with Dr. Jacobi receiving the shipment of shovels and painting them. Lynch invited us to contemplate them long before explaining how they were tied to Jacobi's political internet show. Who could have guessed Jacobi's exhortation that his viewers shovel out of the shit would motivate Nadine (Wendie Robie) to set Ed free?
Likewise, Bill Wilder never knew that giving Cecil B. DeMille a line about a character named "Gordon Cole" would inspire Lynch to use that name for a character and would also inspire Dougie Jones (Kyle MacLachlan) to be Dale Cooper again.
The new Twin Peaks can function as a public safety video, too. Don't run out into traffic and don't stick a fork in a power outlet. If you didn't know before you're certainly never going to forget now.
Maybe the most amazing segment, though, was Mr. C's (Kyle MacLachlan) encounter at the legendary convenience store. This segment tied the area above the convenience store, first mentioned by Mike (Al Strobel) in Cooper's original Red Room dream (or in the alternate pilot ending), with the old room with torn floral wallpaper Laura (Sheryl Lee) entered through the picture given to her by Mrs. Tremond. In Fire Walk with Me it seemed to connect to the Black Lodge but in a marvellously spooky sequence last night we saw Mr. C walk with a woodsman through the same doorway only to enter a long corridor of complete darkness which occasionally faded into ominously creaking trees.
He finally finds Phillip Jeffries--is he trapped in that ghostly motel? In any case, he's now a massive tea kettle voiced by Nathan Frizzell. My friend Caitlin pointed out to me that this tea kettle resembled one of the machines from the Fireman's home in episode 8.
Speaking of eight, Jeffries motel room is eight.
It's also the number on Freddie's (Jake Wardle) cell.
All these numbers on the show. I hope some mathematician fans are getting a kick out of them, I can't make heads or tails of them so far. Dougie seems to be associated with the number seven a lot. Does it mean something that James is in cell seven?
Poor James. His shy little greeting to Renee (Jessica Szohr) sure got out of control. But it puts Freddie in the same room with Naido (Nae Yuuki) so perhaps all this was arranged. Andy (Harry Goaz) said people are trying to kill her, now she's got the police station around her and a guy with super strength.
Finally, it was confirmed at last that Richard (Eamon Farren) is Audrey's (Sherilyn Fenn) son. This was followed by another strange scene between Audrey and Charlie (Clark Middleton) who is not, as I thought, a dwarf. The actor actually has a form of arthritis that inhibited his bone growth and he was apparently in Kill Bill vol 2 but I don't remember him at all. Anyway, the scene ends with Audrey trying to strangle him and after the way bits of their conversation have resembled things said in the Girls in Roadhouse Booths vignettes and we'd just seen Steven apparently feeling guilty about something, possibly for harming Becky in some way, I wonder if the idea is that actions tend to travel on spiritual currents out into a community. Or maybe through power lines.
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