11th Jul2017

‘Twin Peaks 3×09’ Review

by Paul Metcalf

twin-peaks-the-chair

After episode 8 of Twin Peaks, this latest one had a lot to live up to. While it may not be as artistic and mind-blowing, for Twin Peaks fans, many boxes were ticked as to what is a good episode of the returning show. The main thing to realise of course is that season 3 of the show is a puzzle waiting to be solved. What episode 9 does is fit many of the pieces into the right place.

With Evil Dale (Kyle MacLachlan) getting down to business, he sends a mysterious text to a person who comes as a surprise. Agent Albert Rosenfield (Miguel Ferrer) and FBI Deputy Director Gordon Cole (David Lynch) with Diane (Laura Dern) in tow, investigate the apparent discovery of Major Briggs’ (Don S. Davis) body. Back in Twin Peaks it also looks like Briggs has left a message for his son Bobby (Dana Brooks) and his colleagues about the missing Agent Cooper.

Season 3 of Twin Peaks has been dominated by missing and dead people with secrets to be revealed. Whether it be Dale Cooper himself, Phillip Jeffries, or of course Major Briggs, the answers are all leading to answers we’ve all been waiting for. In the original show of course Briggs was often the provider of information about the strange occurrences around Twin Peaks, so it comes as no surprise that he would be providing many clues, even after his apparent death.

It is surprising of course that the return of Matthew Lillard’s Willian Hastings reveals what happened to Briggs. The murder that he is a suspect for also holds the secret of Dougie too, with the engraved ring in the victim’s stomach making mention of the important character and his wife. All this is leading the FBI to the real Cooper, though they are still to learn of the Las Vegas destination.

Looking at the level of detail revealed this week, episode 9 still feels a lot calmer than the very impressive eighth episode. It feels more like a normal visit to Twin Peaks and we are now on the right track to getting some answers. The fact that Cooper wants Dougie dead though is interesting, but also understandable as this is his main weakness in this world. It seems clear now though that Agent Cooper is destined to finally return, whether Evil Cooper likes it or not.

There are some mysteries still to be answered though with one of the new ones being Ella’s (Sky Ferreira) strange rash. Is this just one of the many irrelevant things that David Lynch puts into his films and movies, or is it a sign of something more ominous. This is probably something to keep note of, but for now is just another strange occurrence in the world of Twin Peaks.

Speaking of irrelevance in the show, one of the best scenes to show this is the smoking scene with Diane and Gordon. While I tend to think that this was Gordon working on an instinct that Diane is hiding something (she of course is) the awkward silence says so much, and is expertly directed and acted by Lynch, Laura Dern, and Chrysta Bell.

Finally, one of my favourite things about the return of Twin Peaks has to be the Jerry Horne (David Patrick Kelly) scenes. Still seemingly lost in the woods Kelly works his magic as the character. Hopefully he’ll find his way out of there by the end of the season.

While episode 8 of Twin Peaks probably won’t be beaten, episode 9 is a very strong episode of the show and a good episode to return to after the she’s little break. The fact there are “two Coopers” has been mentioned during the investigation, and all the clues are pushing the FBI towards Dougie. It seems now we are closer to getting Agent Cooper back than ever.

***** 5/5

Twin Peaks airs in the UK on Mondays on Sky Atlantic.

Review originally posted on PissedOffGeek
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