Showtime’s Twin Peaks
Season 3: “The Return, Part 14”
Directed by David Lynch
Written by Lynch & Mark Frost

* For a recap & review of Part 13, click here.
* For a recap & review of Part 15, click here.
Out in Buckhorn, Gordon Cole (David Lynch) calls Twin Peaks. He chats with Lucy (Kimmy Robertson), though between the two of them it’s painfully hilarious. She puts him in touch with Sheriff Frank Truman (Robert Forster). They talk about the “strange” things Deputy Chief Hawk (Michael Horse) found. The stuff from Laura Palmer’s (Sheryl Lee) diary, about the “two Coopers.” Quite helpful, considering what’s been going on lately, what Gordon and Albert (Miguel Ferrer) have been investigating.
1975, a murder in Olympia, Washington. This is the first Blue Rose Case. Albert tells Agent Tammy Preston (Chrysta Bell) all about it, a woman named Lois Duffy. Turns out she had a doppelganger. She was put up for murder, while the doppelganger disappeared. The arresting agents? Gordon Cole and Phillip Jeffries. When the double died she spoke the words: “I‘m like the blue rose.” We likewise get a mention of the word “tulpa” that comes from a mystic concept, translated from Sanskrit, referring to a thoughtform, something previously non-existent which comes into being through power of the mind. Interesting note.
Afterwards, Diane (Laura Dern) shows up, and Gordon asks her if the last night she saw Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) he mentioned Major Garland Briggs. When she’s shown the ring found in the Major’s stomach, it clicks: her estranged half-sister is Janey-E Jones (Naomi Watts), married to none other than Dougie Jones.
Oh, my. Things begin coming together.
Gordon talks about a dream he had, of Monica Bellucci (playing herself). He met her in Paris at a cafe. Cooper’s there, too. Only Gordon can’t see his face. Everyone had coffee, then Monica said the “ancient phrase… we‘re like the dreamer who dreams and then lives inside the dream.” Then she added: “But who is the dreamer?”
He sees his old self, from Fire Walk With Me. When Cooper was worried about a dream, the day Phillip Jeffries (David Bowie) suddenly turned up after years. This is when we saw the Jumping Man, as well.
Back in Twin Peaks, Hawk and the boys get Deputy Sheriff Chad Broxford (John Pirruccello) in handcuffs, after finding him out for his criminal shit. However, I worry. Because the dark little places in their town, the drug dealers that frequent their bars, their streets, it might not like if their network is compromised. Either way, it’s good to have out of their way. Hawk, Truman, Deputy Sheriffs Bobby Briggs (Dana Ashbrook) and Andy Brennan (Harry Goaz) head to the woods.
Briefly, we see electrical wires amongst the natural landscape. Crackling. Those evil spirits everywhere, the symbolic evil of modern man set in juxtaposition against the natural, green beauty of the world.
In they head together, through the bush. Bobby talks about his father, his connection to this place up in the forest: Jack Rabbit’s Palace. It’s a huge, ragged stump of a massive tree. A place of memories from Bobby’s younger life. They all put a bit of soil in their pockets, as per the note left. Further on they find a foggy place, electricity sparking. Suddenly there appears a naked woman, her face and eyes just brutal wounds. Isn’t she the one we saw in that strange place ages ago, in that odd industrial-like landscape where Cooper passed through? That other spot beyond the Black Lodge? Above our friends a cyclone appears, like the one Gordon witnessed. Electricity again crackles through its portal opening. They all look deep into it. A bright light burning.
And now, Andy is in that very same place where Cooper was, where the lady came from. The Fireman (Carel Struycken), formerly the Giant, greets him. Raising a hand. Andy looks at something that appears in his hands. A cloud of smoke wisps around him, evaporating up into the porthole light above. He stares silently into it, as it changes to a screen. Showing him images we’ve seen before: the gas station and convenience store, the dirty bearded lumberjack asking for a light, old memories of Laura Palmer, then the two Coops side by side, Lot 6 at the Fat Trout Trailer Park, among others.
Before too long Andy’s transported back, carrying the woman who appeared. He says they have to protect her. People are trying to kill her. Puzzled, though trusting his judgement, the others follow. Although not sure what happened to them.
We see a bit more of James (James Marshall), he works some kind of security job for transport, something like that. He doesn’t have much of a social life. It’s his birthday and even his co-worker Freddie (Jake Wardle) doesn’t know until he’s told. Poor James, always the lonely soul. Freddie wears one rubber glove, just one on his ring hand. He ends up telling a story about being sucked up into a cyclone in the sky, where he saw the Fireman, who gave him instructions to go find a specific rubber glove, in an open package at the store. This gave him a strange power, like an “enormous piledriver” for a hand.
He was also told by the Fireman to travel to Twin Peaks: “There you will find your destiny.” Most might take this as ridiculous. James has lived there all his life. He knows this place is magical, mystical, mythical.
Sarah Palmer (Grace Zabriskie) wanders into Elk’s Point #9 Bar, sitting down for what’s sure to be a long night in the bottle. People whisper as she passes, talking to themselves. Near her at the end of the bar a man approaches, she brushes him off. Guy doesn’t take her seriously, getting particularly nasty: “It‘s a free cunt–ry.” He pushes harder, saying she likes to eat pussy. Her reply? “I‘ll eat you.”
Like her daughter did in the first episode of The Return, Sarah opens her face. Like a mask. Inside is darkness, smoke, electricity. She closes her face, then quickly chomps a bite out of his neck. He falls over, bleeding out. Nobody sees a thing. Only his corpse. God damn. Now we know an evil spirit resides in her. Just a matter of what it means in the grand scheme of things.
And at the Roadhouse, a pair of women talk about a disturbing, bloody scene involving Billy. Y’know, the one Audrey (Sherilyn Fenn) is looking for. Or I assume.
Just another day in ole Twin Peaks, right?

“Do you really want to fuck with this?”

Man, I loved this episode. One of my favourites of The Return. Impressive, in many ways. Storylines coming together, mythology expanding and connections to Fire Walk With Me fleshing out. Beautiful stuff. Always great fun when these episodes end with a nice musical performance, too.
Is it next week yet?