“Twin Peaks”: And You Thought The Last Episode Was Bonkers [Episode 4]
Each episode appears to be stranger than the next. Just when you think you’ve got a bead on what “Twin Peaks” is going to be — a surrealist, eccentric nightmare about identity, duality and doppelgängers — David Lynch and Mark Frost turn the show inside out. I swear the last episode was crazy, but episode 4, “…Brings Back Some Memories,” is practically a full-blown comedy — granted, a super-bizarre one.
Back in South Dakota, real Dale Cooper (who everyone thinks is Dougie) is slightly less lobotomized in his speech and mien. He’s talking, barely, and is inside a casino where a vision of a tiny flame is floating above the slots and indicating where all the jackpots are. Cooper nearly cleans the casino out with all his winnings.
Escorted off the premises, Cooper, still a little out of it, is dropped off at home to his family led by his wife (Naomi Watts), who doesn’t know better. Episode four also reintroduces Denise Bryson (David Duchovny), who is now the FBI Chief of Staff. Cole informs her of the situation and explains that Cooper is in federal prison in South Dakota — they believe he committed the murders there.
Back in Washington, Sheriff Tommy “Hawk” Hill (Michael Horse) and the Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Department are trying to solve the cryptic mystery that the log lady put forth in episode one. Something is going on with Agent Dale Cooper, they’ve been told, and Hawk’s “heritage” is the key to making to uncovering the clues. Unfortunately, he doesn’t know what this coded message means and he doesn’t know where to start. Twin Peaks punk Bobby Briggs (Dana Ashbrook) — Laura Palmer’s boyfriend and one of the initial suspects in her murder — is now a deputy, and when he sees the department sorting through old evidence, he begins to weep uncontrollably upon seeing Laura’s face.
Then there’s the random introduction of Wally (Michael Cera), who’s basically playing Marlon Brando in a none-too-convincing ‘Wild One‘ manner that’s possibly intentionally bad. He’s the son of the receptionist Lucy Brennan (Kimmy Robertson) and cop Andy Brennan (Harry Goaz). Frank Truman (Robert Forster) also appears for the first time. This is tricky. He’s not a replacement for retired actor Michael Ontkean, who decided to not reprise his old Sheriff role. He’s that character’s brother, who has become the new Sheriff and has taken over for his sibling, who has apparently become ill.
There’s just no normalcy in “Twin Peaks” and explaining it all — which I’ve sadly attempted to do — becomes a bit of a fool’s errand. Suffice to say, in South Dakota, Dale Cooper is in prison, but this is actually the evil doppelgänger Cooper. He knows how to deceive, however, and tells his FBI counterparts that he’s been working undercover for all these years working with another FBI agent named Phillip. He also claims he will be exonerated and wants to be “debriefed” on everything going on so far.
The intrigue, of course, keeps going and the ridiculous plot thickens. One thing’s for sure: “Twin Peaks”, as of right now, might be the funniest show on TV. But who knows what comes next? I honestly don’t know if I can review or recap this show much longer. Closing things off for this episode is synth-pop trio Au Revoire Simone playing “Lark.”
[Bottom image via Vanity Fair]
