Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Twin Peaks Tuesdays: Episode 16
By Edward Copeland
Before I begin the recap, I'm going to break the conceit that I'm writing these as if seeing the episodes for the first time to say what I've said many times in the more than 16 years since these second season episodes aired: Ray Wise was robbed. It's bad enough that he didn't get an Emmy nomination, but he should have won as well.
Back to the recap: The mystery is solved, but questions still remain as the simple solution as to who killed Laura Palmer is put to rest, even if they raise even deeper mysteries than any of the lawmen expected to find. Following the discovery of Maddie's body, Cooper, Hawk, Harry and a returned Albert gather to assess the evidence. A letter O was found beneath Maddie's fingernail as well as strands of fur from a white fox reeking of formaldehyde, indicating the animal was dead and stuffed. Harry is ready to inform Leland, so he can pass on the sad new to Maddie's mother, but Cooper asks him to wait. He wants 24 hours to finish this once and for all. Albert pulls Cooper aside and offers him these words:
Cooper says he doesn't quite know where to begin, but Hawk reassures him that he's on the path, he doesn't need to know where it leads. At the Double R, Donna and James are making goo-goo eyes at one another with the clear implication that they consummated their relationship the night before. Vivian is
trying one of Norma's omelets and spits it out in disgust. Norma is offended and Vivian offers her advice for a truly memorable omelet but Norma says she's grown weary of a lifetime of her criticism. Also, at the counter, Andy is repeating "I am a lonely soul" in French and Donna overhears him. She asks if he knows Mrs. Tremond and her grandson because that's where she first heard the phrase, but Andy said it came from Harold Smith's suicide note. Donna insists she has to see Agent Cooper because there must be some sort of message there. When Cooper, Donna and Andy arrive at Mrs. Tremond's house though, it is a different, younger Mrs. Tremond, who insists her mother has been dead for years and that she has no children and could have no grandchildren. When she catches Donna's name, she asks if she's Donna Hayward and says she found a note addressed to her in her mailbox the day after Harold killed himself.
Within the envelope are pages from Laura's diary, describing the same exact dream that Cooper had and asking if he could possibly be MIKE, the only person BOB fears and who might protect her from him. It also contains her final entry, declaring that it was the night she would die because that was the only way to stop BOB. Cooper heads to see the now dehydrated and near-death One-Armed Man to ask him more questions. He says he knows the Giant and he'll help Cooper find BOB, if Cooper asks. He tells Cooper he has all the clues he needs and to look in his heart, not in his head. Out in the hall, Cooper runs into the decrepit waiter who tells him, "I've heard about you. That milk will cool down on you, but it's getting warmer now." At the sheriff's station, a worker is making adjustments to the sprinkler system. Andy is frustrated by Lucy's confusion over the father of her baby, so he calls Dick and asks him to come for a meeting.
Ben gets another visitor to his jail cell: Tojamura. Ben tries to make excuses as to why he can't sign the papers when suddenly Tojamura slides a bare foot with painted toenails into the cell and Ben recognizes the foot. "Catherine?" "Benjamin Horne, you're a slimy rat bastard," Catherine declares. Ben is relieved that she came and willingly signs the mill and Ghostwood over to her. He asks if she'll tell the sheriff the truth and verify his alibi. "We've spent our entire adult lives lying to each other," Catherine says. "Why spoil it with the truth now?" Donna stops back by the Palmer house to see if they have Maddie's address. She's wearing Laura's sunglasses and it sets Leland/BOB off a bit. He gets a phone call from Maddie's mom say she never arrived in Missoula. Leland pulls out a stick of gum and assures Donna they'll figure it out while he sees BOB again in the mirror. He convinces Donna to dance with him and just as he violently pulls her close, Harry arrives to tell him the killer has struck again and they need him immediately. Donna figures out what that means and goes crying to James that Maddie is dead. James is convinced they could have done something to help her and says nothing matters. Even if they are in love, the world is still going to hell, so what's the point? He then tears out of town on his motorcycle.
Meanwhile, Dale is gathering people at the roadhouse. Ben is there in handcuffs, as well as Albert at the bar. Harry brings in Leland. Ed soon arrives followed by Hawk and Bobby wheeling in Leo. Cooper has them clear a large space in the middle. He tells them he has employed many techniques in his investigation but now he is going to try, for lack of a better word, magic. Ben asks if perhaps they should hum, a Tibetan chant perhaps. An unusually positive Albert says he thinks things are going tremendously well. Cooper says someone is missing and sure enough, Major Briggs arrives, bringing with him the decrepit waiter who flagged him down on the road and asked him to bring him there.
The waiter offers Cooper a piece of gum. Leland spots it and smiles saying that is his most favorite gum in the world. "That gum you like is going to come back in style," the waiter says and everything freezes. Cooper returns to his dream and hears Laura whisper in his ear, "My father killed me." The Giant returns and gives
Cooper back his ring. When everything comes back to action, Cooper tells Harry to take Ben back to the sheriff's station and recommends that Leland go along to act as his attorney. They clear out and as they begin to leave, Cooper turns around and gives the waiter a thumbs up and the old man gives him a smiling wave. Once they return to the station, Cooper pulls Harry aside and tells him of his plan. As they prepare to put Ben in an even-more secure cell, at the last minute they pull him back and shove Leland in. Leland goes insane, tossing off his suit jacket, hooting and hollering and running back and forth in the cell. Cooper tells them to take Ben upstairs and release him. "Leland?" a puzzled Ben says. "That's not Leland," Hawk replies. Truman asks Agent Cooper how he knew and Dale tells him that Laura told him in his dream. "I think we'll need stronger evidence than that," Truman says. "How about a confession?" 
Soon, BOB, having completely taken over Leland again, complies. He admits killing Laura and when asked about Maddie says, "I guess I kinda sorta did. I have this thing for knives," then he suddenly turns and stares down Dale. "Just like that time in Pittsburgh, huh Cooper." The agent is understandably taken about. BOB admits that Leland knew nothing of what he did. He says Leland has been a great vehicle, but he's weak and full of holes and it's "almost time to shuffle off to Buffalo." He promises that when he leaves Leland, Leland will recall everything, but not for long. The lawmen leave the cell and Dale admits they should have seen the clues all along. The dwarf in his dream danced and after Laura's death, Leland began spontaneously dancing. BOB had white hair and when Leland killed Jacques Renault, his hair turned white overnight. Upstairs, Lucy meets with Andy and Dick to discuss her bun in the oven which, honestly, I can't imagine any viewer caring about right now, but the scene really is only there so Dick's cigarette smoke can set off the sprinkler system.
Somehow, the water frees BOB from Leland and BOB rams Leland's head into the steel door as the lawmen rush to get back in the cell where Leland lays dying and does indeed remember. Leland is horrified, crying and explaining that BOB entered him when he was young. BOB and his fellow inhabiting spirits wanted Laura as one of their own, but she wouldn't let them in and that's why they made him kill her. He also admits killing Teresa Banks. Cooper holds Leland gently and leads him into the light where he says he sees Laura and she's beautiful, before breathing his last. After the day's startling events, Cooper, Truman, Albert and Hawk venture into the woods where they find Major Briggs and try to come to grips with what has happened. "There's more in heaven and earth than is dreamt up in our philosophy," Briggs quotes. Harry admits he's seen a lot of strange things in these words, but he's having a hard time buying BOB's existence. "Is it easier to believe a man would rape and murder his own daughter?" Cooper asks. Albert suggests that perhaps that is all BOB really is: The evil that men do. Truman then raises the big question: If BOB is real and they had him captured, where is BOB now?
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Labels: Awards, Ray Wise, TV Recap, Twin Peaks
