Twin Peaks “Part 7” continues to provide us with lots of interesting scenes and mysterious happenings without giving us any answers. The show continues to be surreal and atmospheric and cleverly self-referential. I remain skeptical that that is going to be enough. The threads of the story don’t appear to be getting any closer to be woven together, and it’s starting to be just a little frustrating.
The episode opens with Jerry (David Patrick Kelly), lost and high – and paranoid – in the woods. He manages to call Benjamin (Richard Beymer) and tells him that someone stole his car. It seems like a pointless scene, but maybe it will make sense at some point. We do seem to have a lot of missing or abandoned cars.
Meanwhile, at the Sheriff’s department, Frank (Robert Forster) and Hawk (Michael Horse) go over the letter Hawk found in the bathroom door. It describes a dream that Laura had in which Annie says she’s been with Dale (Kyle MacLachlan) – and she specifies the “good” Dale – and Laura in the lodge and he can’t leave. They realize she means Special Agent Cooper. Hawk doesn’t know what it means but thinks it’s what the log lady wanted him to find. Hawk realizes the Annie referred to is Annie Blackburn who went into that place.
Frank wonders why the pages that were torn out of Laura’s diary that was found at Harold Smith’s. But there’s still a page missing. Frank wonders how the pages got into the stall in the police station. Hawk is sure it was Leland who hid them because the pages indicate that she knew who was hurting her – and it wasn’t Bob. Hawk points out that Dale did come out of the lodge with Annie, but now wonders who came out if the good Dale couldn’t come out.
Frank decides to get Harry’s thoughts, but when he calls it sounds like Harry is pretty sick and he can’t talk. Frank tells him that it’s nothing urgent. Frank then calls Dr. Hayward (Warren Frost) and sets up a skype call. I LOVED the super futuristic computer terminal - encased in rustic wood of course - coming up out of the desk when he pulls the lever! Frank asks him if he remembers examining Cooper at the Great Northern after he came out of the lodge. He says that Coop was acting really weird. He had him admitted to the hospital, but then he saw him sneaking out of intensive care, fully dressed. Cooper turned and looked at him and he saw that strange face again. When Doc called out to him, he just turned and walked away without saying a word. He thought Cooper might have been in intensive care checking in on Audrey Horne who was in a coma.
Andy (Harry Goaz) finds the truck that Richard was driving when he killed the boy, but the guy (Ted Dowling) who owns it is freaking out and tells Andy he can’t talk to him there. They set up to meet at the side of the road in 2 hours, and the guy begs Andy to leave. He’s clearly scared.
Lt Knox (Adele Rene) shows up at the Buckhorn Police station to see Lt Macklay (Brent Briscoe) about the prints. She’s shocked to learn that there’s a body! She was simply expecting prints at a crime scene. Naturally, the first thing Knox wants to know is where the rest of him is! She wants to know how old the man is – late 40s – and when he died – within the last 5 or 6 days. Macklay suggests it would help their investigation to know who the body is.
Col. Davis (Ernie Hudson) is also stunned to learn there’s a body. She tells him that the head is missing and that he’s the wrong age. Major Briggs should be in his 70s. Davis has to call someone else. As Knox is on the phone, a threatening dark figure starts walking down the hallway behind her. She tells Mackley and the coroner that no one else is to have access to the body – and that the investigation isn’t likely to be theirs for long. As they talk, the dark figure walks past the door. Someone from the black lodge?
Albert (Miguel Ferrer) shows up to report to Gordon (David Lynch) on his meeting with Diane (Laura Dern), which didn’t go well. I loved the long shot of Gordon just leaning back in his chair whistling with a gigantic print of a nuclear explosion behind him. Classic... Gordon insists that Diane has to see Cooper, and Albert tells him it’s Gordon’s turn to try. Gordon asks Albert if he’ll go with him, and Albert makes him say please.
Diane is not happy to see them. I loved her telling them that she didn’t have any coffee or cigarettes, even though she has both in her hands! She tells them both to fuck off, and then Gordon gets down to business and tells her about Cooper being in prison in South Dakota. Diane says, “good.” When she’s out of the room, getting them coffee, Gordon turns to Albert and declares Diane a “tough cookie.” Naturally, Diane has made them “damn fine coffee.”
Albert tells Diane that they think something is wrong, so they need someone else who knows Cooper well to talk to him. Gordon says they need Diane because it has something to do with something she knows about – and that’s all he’s going to say about that. Does he not want to offend her by going into more detail, or is this the thing that Albert doesn’t know about? I’m betting it’s the latter. It’s enough to convince Diane to go.
On the plane, Tammy (Chrysta Bell) is looking at Cooper’s fingerprints. She says that they are identical, but Albert points out that the more recent set are reversed. Gordon tells her that she’s been doing excellent work and passing every test – though I think she failed this one. Gordon then squeezes each of her fingers in turn, saying, “I’m very very happy to see you again old friend.” He then tells her that her ring finger is the spiritual finger and he tells her to think about it.
Albert then produces the only know picture of Cooper from the last 25 years. It’s a picture of him outside his incredibly lavish house outside of Rio. By the time they got there it belonged to a woman from Ipanema – like the song! Tammy says it looks like the guy they just met in prison, and Gordon agrees – the guy they just met – but not the one they know? Diane meanwhile is listening and looks pained and thoughtful.
When they get to the prison, Diane insists that she gets ten minutes only and she is alone. Gordon tells her that she’s in control of everything. Diane raises the curtain to reveal the Doppleganger. I loved the way this was shot. He says it’s good to see her again – and he knew it would be her. She wants to know when the last time it was that they saw each other. He tells her at her house. She asks if he remembers that night, and he says he’ll always remember it. She agrees. She’ll never forget it. Then she asks “Who are you?” She tells him to look at her – and then she closes the curtain.
Albert, Tammy, and Gordon follow her out. Gordon stops and tells the Warden (James Morrison) to “hold this man until you hear from us.” But he doesn’t say hold Agent Cooper. Gordon goes to Diane and she takes him away from the others and tells him that’s not the Dale Cooper that she knew. Gordon asks her to tell him exactly what she means. She tells him it isn’t time passing or how he’s changed or how he looks. Its something that is definitely missing – his soul? Gordon asks about the night she mentioned with Cooper, and she tells him that they will have a talk some time, but she’s clearly not ready to tell him anything at this point.
The Doppleganger tells the guard that he needs to talk to Warden Murphy about a strawberry when the guard puts him back in his cell. The Warden has the Doppleganger brought to his office. He tells him the security cameras are off and pulls a gun on him. The Doppleganger brings up the dog leg that was in the trunk. The other three legs went out with the information the Warden is thinking about to three people the Warden won’t want to see come to the prison. The Warden is shaken when the Doppleganger brings up Joe McCluskey. The Doppleganger demands a car with a “friend” in the glove compartment. He also wants to leave with Ray (George Griffith). He promises that if everything goes according to his plan, no one will ever hear about Joe McCluskey or the late Mr Strawberry again.
Andy waits on the side of the rode, but the trunk owner never comes. And who stands on the side of the road and leaves their car door open??? Especially on a blind turn where anyone coming around the corner would take the door off??? We get a shot of the door to the truck owner’s house ominously ajar.
Back at Lucky 7 Insurance, the red balloons seem to be multiplying. Janey-E (Naomi Watts) has come to pick up Dougie. Tony (Tom Sizemore) is worried about what Dougie was talking to Bushnell about. Dougie studiously ignores him as he works on his files – or writes on his desk. Rhonda (Elena Satine) announces that the police are there to see him.
Dougie is mesmerized by Detective Fusco’s (David Koechner) badge, but before they can ask any questions, Janey-E arrives. Apparently, they are all there about Dougie’s car. The conclusion is that the car is missing and has likely been stolen. Naomi Watts is terrific in this scene. I loved her telling them why it wasn’t reported stolen – too many cars, too much going on – too much stress!
Janey-E brings the meeting to an end by saying they need to go home to their son. There’s paperwork to be filled out, but it’s clear that the detectives don’t want to have to deal with Janey-E any more than they have to. Bushnell shows up to sees what’s going on and ask Dougie some questions about the files, but he doesn’t want to tangle with Janey-E either!
Janey-E guides Dougie out of the building – and there are even more balloons. She’s babbling about the insurance money and that they could have gotten Dougie a really nice car if he hadn’t gambled away the $25,000 – and he’s not getting any of the rest of the money he won! That’s for Sonny Jim and their future!
Suddenly Spike (Christophe Zajac-Denek) is there with a gun, and Dougie takes him down! I was really, really, really hoping that this was the trauma we needed to get Cooper back. The tree creature from the lodge is there, coming out of the pavement and telling Dougie to squeeze his hand off. Dougie doesn’t get all of Spike’s hand off, but he does get a sizable chunk of his palm! He gets away, and Dougie goes back into trance mode.
Back at the Great Northern, Benjamin and Beverly (Ashley Judd) are trying to determine where a mysterious sound is coming from. Beverly shows Ben the keys for room 315 that came in the mail. He remarks that they switched to cards over 20 years ago. He remembers that 315 was the room where Agent Cooper was shot. Beverly doesn’t know who Laura Palmer is – and Ben tells her it’s a long story. The two share a long, awkward look. He tells her to have maintenance check out the hum and she says good night Mr Horne – he tells her to call him Ben. It seems that there may be an attraction between these two… but who knows.
Beverly goes home and relieves the home care worker (Judith Drake). Her husband (?) Tom (Hugh Dillon) is clearly very ill. He wonders why she is so late. She asks if he’s hungry and he says not really. She loses her temper and tells him not to use his illness to fuck with her – or fuck “this” up. She insists that she didn’t want to go back to work.
At the Bang Bang Bar, we watch the floor being swept to some instrumental music – no band this week. The phone rings and Jean Renault (Walter Olkewicz) answers. Someone isn’t happy with the two blondes he’s sent over – seems he’s still in the girl-running business. And he wants to be paid!
Back at the prison, the Doppleganger and Ray get their car and the phone the Doppleganger wanted and the Warden watches them leave.
The episode ends at the Double R diner. Someone runs in and asks if anyone has seen Bing (Riley Lynch – one of the band members of Trouble) before running off when no one answers. Shelly (Madchen Amick) serves coffee while Norma (Peggy Lipton) sorts through the never ending receipts.
What did you think of the episode? Is the series scratching your Twin Peaks’ itch? Are you starting to be a little frustrated as I am? I think I could forgive a lot if we could just get Coop back in the real world and on the case. And I seriously want someone to take out that creepy ass Doppleganger! So go Kyle MacLachlan for turning in some really terrific performances! A quick heads up that I’ll be taking a break from reviewing the show for a few weeks as other obligations will keep me busy, but the reviews will go on! I should be back later in the season. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below on this week’s episode!
