Twin Peaks: The Return - Part 06

Twin Peaks: The Return (2017) finally won me over fully in Part 06. David Lynch and Mark Frost have taken such a radically different approach to this show over their original series that it can be difficult to adjust to the new wavelength. But the show is hitting its stride and I can feel the personality of the town of Twin Peaks begin to reveal itself through this new show's inciting incident, the tragedy of Richard's fatal hit and run. It reaches the exquisite heights of unapologetic emotion that only Twin Peaks is capable of taking us.
There is something disturbingly touching about Dougie (Golem-Coop, Dougie-Dale) loving the lawmen, their handguns, and badges as we start where we left off last episode. Dougie seems to be contorting his hand and sleeve of his jacket to try to mimic the statue of the old western cowboy and his outstretched six shooter, but in vain, never quite emulating the pose. But this statue and what it represents to the mentally blocked Agent Cooper stuck inside Dougie seems clear.
As police officers find Dougie loitering aimlessly near the statue, Dougie becomes enamored with the badge. The police eventually deliver Dougie home to Janey E, who seems to be at a loss about how to handle Dougie. The old Coop seems spark out slightly as he tries to touch the officer's badge, apparently desperate to explain his own identity with this totem of law enforcement. But no one understands or cares what Coop is trying to say, dismissing him as the eccentric Dougie.
It is unclear why Janey E is not more concerned than she seems about Dougie's inability to communicate or focus on his tasks. Twin Peaks poses an interesting question of whether or not the entire personality and demeanor of someone living in the burbs can change overnight and yet no one really notices. Even those closest to the man. This Kafkaesque nightmare continues for poor Agent Cooper, who is forced to live out the relatively mundane existence of Dougie.
In a surprisingly emotional father-son bonding moment, Dougie helps tuck in Sonny Jim for bed. The boy seems, possibly, almost preternaturally tuned in with his father's change and yet seems very fond of Agent Cooper's attempts at filling Dougie's parental shoes.
One starts to sympathize and feel sorry for Janey E who discovers Dougie's infidelity from photos in a manila envelope left outside their home earlier. Blackmail from a bookie loan shark wanting to retaliate for Dougie not paying off his debts with him. Janey E seems mostly annoyed by Dougie's cheating and gambling, but is surprisingly adept at getting things straightened out and setting Dougie back to work.
Lest we forget Agent Cooper is still stuck in Dougie, Phillip Gerard-Mike, the one-armed man appears and pleas with Agent Cooper to wake up and not die. This interlude with the Lodges raises the stakes considerably, implying there is a risk of Agent Cooper possibly getting lost to oblivion if he does not wake up or if he dies while in this Dougie form.
This brief but important interchange opens the way for some important questions we opened with in previous parts to be reexamined. For instance, if Mr. C (a.k.a. BOB-Coop, or Doppel-Dale) did create Dougie in the first place as a trap for Agent Cooper to fall into upon reentering our Earth reality, then does that mean that Mr. C is the anonymous billionaire who created the glass box in New York City? It seems more and more likely.
And is it actually possible for Agent Cooper's consciousness to just wake up? If so, what is Cooper waiting for? Is Cooper competing with Golem-Dougie for use of this brain and mind? Is there a chance that Dougie, who we last saw transform into a small golden sphere in the Black Lodge, might be able to return his consciousness into Dale's new physical form, too? The constraints of this body-swapping magic are unclear, as are Cooper's choices. Is Cooper hesitant to assert himself as a dominant personality in Dougie because it could destroy Dougie's personality forever in the process? Does Coop want to rescue Dougie somehow, too?
Meanwhile, Gordon Cole sends the curmudgeonly Albert on a mission to find and enlist the help of Diane, the anonymous woman on the other side of Agent Cooper's tape recorder sessions in the original series. Although never seen or heard, Diane was a ubiquitous presence in Cooper's private moments of introspection and deduction.
It is worth noting that Special Agent Albert Rosenfield has always been a cantankerous and confrontational character from his earliest appearance in the classic series up until this modern day. And there is something telling that even Albert seems a little hesitant about approaching Diane for help. Does he just think this task is beneath him? Or is there more to it?
And we get one of the great character reveals for the series as the Lynch mainstay Laura Dern appears as Diane in the flesh. This casting finally confirms once and for all that Diane is in fact a real woman and not one of many theorized multiple personalities that Agent Cooper allegedly developed after being stabbed in Pittsburg, which was a fun far-fetched fan theory some Twin Peakers have been pitching for twenty-five years. But Diane is here, at last! I just wish we had more time with her this episode.
We get a beautiful establishing shot of a huge lumberyard in Twin Peaks, which makes me wonder if the Packard Sawmill was rebuilt in the intervening 25 years. Since Catherine Martell would have been the only survivor of the Packard family after her brother Andrew and husband Pete were killed in Thomas Eckhart's bomb in the safety deposit box of the bank, Catherine would be left alone to rebuild on the ashes of the former sawmill.
I believe what proceeds from this point of the episode onwards is the longest, uninterrupted running time we have had in the town of Twin Peaks since the show returned. Although not one hundred percent clear yet, it seems as though the lumber industry in the area might be being used as a cover for the drug trade in the area. This would explain a lot about the trail of drug problems being investigated on the periphery of the main plot.
Richard Horne (Eamon Farren) is sampling some drugs from Red (Balthazar Getty) when things of a supernatural bent begin to happen. Someone practices an elaborate, seemingly impossible magic trick for the first time on screen in Twin Peaks since Mrs. Tremond's grandson (Austin Lynch) made the creamed corn disappear and reappear again for Donna Hawyward in the original series.
This coincidence causes me to wonder whether or not Red and the aspiring magician grandson of Mrs. Tremond might not be one and the same person, just twenty-five years older and crazier. The aging timetable is actually consistent with my theory, so let's keep a pin in this theory and let it hang there for a while and see if future episodes corroborate this theory.
But in addition to this crazy magic trick, Red mentions a couple of other non sequiturs: there is something wrong with his liver and he asks if Richard ever watched The King and I (1956). Interestingly, back when Leland Palmer (Ray Wise) was possessed by BOB in the original series, he compulsively sang the famous song "Getting to Know You" from the musical The King and I with piano accompaniment in the Great Northern's Restaurant area.
Why is Red performing supernatural magical acts for his underling, Richard Horne? Maybe as a form of intimidation? Who knows. But it does seem to unhinge and destabilize Richard even more than usual, especially as Red adds a little dig at the beginning by calling Richard "small time" and then again at the end of their bizarre interchange by calling Richard "kid." And repeating the insult again poignantly after Richard objected. And the very specific and gruesome threat of violence he promises Richard is very unnerving, even without the theatrics of the dime trick.
Interestingly, American coins of currency notably come into play in two scenes this episode. First off, a dime is used in Red's magic trick with Richard. Then second off, Deputy Hawk discovers the lost missing pages of Laura Palmer's Secret Diary by trailing an "Indian-Head" Buffalo nickel as it falls and rolls around in the Sheriff's station men's room. I wonder if there is any significance to this strange parallel?
Between the drugs, supernatural magic trick, and insult, Richard is even more perturbed than usual and seems to be the primary reason why he gets into the hit and run accident with the little boy soon. One gets the impression Richard is a powder keg of frustration and low self-confidence on the best of days, let alone just after being made to cower in fear from his boss Red.
Many of you will remember that the "Fat Trout" Trailer Park was where murder victim Theresa Banks lived back in Deer Meadow, Washington. And the manager of her trailer park was none other than Carl Rodd, who was played to perfection by the great Harry Dean Stanton back in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992). He must have moved his business concerns a few hours drive up north to Twin Peaks in the intervening 25 years, because now the "New Fat Trout" Trailer Park is open for business here in town.
Apparently Carl gets a ride about everyday from a guy named Bill at a certain time in the afternoon. Mickey bums a ride with Carl to pick up the mail for someone named Linda. This name is important since The Giant and Cooper exchanged a cryptic message about Richard and Linda in the opening black and white prologue scene of the entire series. And something about the number 430 and the phrase "two birds, one stone." It is hinted that Mickey might be Linda's husband and that Linda lost the ability to walk from an injury she sustained in war fighting in Afghanistan.
Miriam is a sweet grade school teacher who cannot get enough of Norma's cherry pies. At last! Someone on the show is eating cherry pies again and complimenting Norma's cooking! It took six hour-long installments for us to reach this important milestone, but we finally made it here. Together. Miriam is about as sweet as sweet can get, earning non-stop German giggles from waitress Heidi (Andrea Hays).
Yay, Heidi is back for her fourth notable appearance in the show! Her first appearance was late for work in the Pilot, late for work in the series finale, and with a gushing nose bleed the last time Laura Palmer did the Meals on the Wheels program in Fire Walk with Me. The appearance of Heidi seems to always accompany some momentous occasion in the Twin Peaks universe and could be considered a harbinger for something bad happening.