Audrey's Horns

Episode six of Twin Peaks ends with Cooper coming back to his room to find Audrey naked in his bed. Who wouldn't want that? Even Cooper says, "What I want and what I need are two different things." But I hate how this scene kills their ongoing flirtation for the rest of the series.

Mark Frost sets the scene as a cliffhanger and then Harley Peyton has to run with it in episode seven. I'm not sure who to blame. Frost for making the situation? Peyton could've taken it in another direction. Or maybe not? Obviously Cooper (Kyle McLachlan) couldn't sleep with Audrey (Sherilyn Fenn) at this point but it would feel like a cop out if something distracted them and prevented a resolution. Hmm. Yeah, I'll blame Mark Frost.

It also bugs me that the scene ends with Cooper and Audrey about to have a long heart to heart and we never find out what they talked about. Before this, she'd been trying to tell him about how she got a job at Horne's Department Store and after this scene she's still trying to give him the information but still just missing him. If she didn't tell him about that in the heart to heart, what did she talk about?

Otherwise, Audrey's pretty cool in this episode. This is the one where she hides in the closet and watches Battis recruit her coworker, Jenny, for One Eyed Jacks. I love Audrey coolly observing from the closet.

I also kind of like Jenny, this character we meet only once. The first few times you watch this episode, naturally the impressive thing is Audrey getting Blackie's number from Jenny by pretending the very unicorn Battis gave Jenny was another one that Audrey received. But at this point, I also think about the fact that Jenny clearly did not give a shit about the little trinket, yet she poured on that radiant smile when Battis gave it to her. She didn't even roll her eyes when Battis explained what a unicorn is ("Ancient symbol of purity!"). In Twin Peaks, even a random shopgirl isn't what she seems.

This episode also has the famous cherry stem scene when Audrey auditions at the brothel. It is interesting the episode starts with her as a kid, obviously not ready to make decisions about sex, and ends with her presenting the impression of someone worldly and vastly experienced. We get a clear idea of the big trouble she's in. It's no wonder her mind is scrambled in season three. At this crucial point in her youth, when her natural sensuality was expressing itself to be incorporated in a persona, it was practically pinned on a dissection table.

It occurs to me that the scene of Audrey waiting for Cooper in bed is mirrored by the scene of her father approaching her in bed in the season finale. You could interpret this as a contrast between Ben and Cooper and an example of Audrey's need for a stronger father figure. Or you could say that Audrey's method for initiating a sexual encounter actually isn't so different from Ben's. A woman who acted like Audrey did with Cooper and a man who acted like Ben did with Audrey would probably have satisfied each other perfectly, provided they weren't father and daughter. They had two sides of the same idea.

Twitter Sonnet #1477

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