One Star Classics

«Fuck Gene Kelly, you motherfucker!»

God bless Albert for being Albert, and for Albert finding Laura Dern as Diane in Max Von Bar¹. I was in the camp that did not want the character to be revealed on screen, but if it had to happen, hell… What better choice than Dern, who already exhumes her inner femme fatale after only three seconds on screen.

I was hoping Cooper of yore would have returned by now, but you know… The pacing still works for me. Here we are in the sixth episode, and while Cooper is slowly (slowly) coming back to life, I really enjoy the Mr. Jackpot shell. It’s interesting to see old Coop stuck in Dougie, yet still showing glimpses of his real self with Cooper-isms and all. What did his ladders and stairs mean? Who knows, but it clearly meant something to Dougie’s boss, and that’s what matters.

I am still doubling down on a larger transformation next week; multiple plot twists suggest the actual Cooper has to return to stitch together the increasing number of sub-plots. The glue is Dougie, but now that the Twin Peaks traffic light is turning red again, something is about to happen.

Hawk — and Michael Horse is hitting a home-run with his portrayal — made what, going by Fire Walk With Me, likely is the discovery of Laura’s hidden diary pages², the ones where it is revealed Cooper is stuck in the Black Lodge. Somewhat amusingly, after the Log Lady suggested he had to search for something related to his heritage, he found them in a Nez Perce-labeled toilet stall doors.

And other than that, the episode seemed to consist mostly of some pretty graphic carnage. One of the scenes seemed unnecessary to me, but we at least got to see Harry Dean Stanton (last/first seen in Fire Walk With Me) make a rare gentle performance.

Ike «The Spike» Stadtler taking out Lorraine seemed apt to the main arc. Having been nervous during last episode after hearing Dougie was still alive, it is clear Mr. Jackpot is a valuable target, further suggesting Mr. C (as we apparently still call the Bob infested Cooper) to be on top of the pyramid. The man really does not want to return to the Black Lodge.

In the end it was kind of a slow individual episode. I’m not so sure judging these individually makes sense, though. The flow certainly has little in common with the original series. Being too analytical is difficult with what is more or less looking like an 18 hour movie, and while it’s easy to complain we’re not seeing enough of the Twin Peaks residents — the most common gripe I keep seeing — we still have 12 hours to go. The town’s increased screen time suggests the geographical scope is about to change.

For consideration: How many Black Lodge doppelgängers, other than the Coopers, have we seen so far? Red seems likely, and I maintain Richard Horne does too. Somewhat disturbingly, Sonny Jim is a contender, which makes Janey-E another real possibility. A whole family of doppelgängers, good grief.

The season might be slow as molasses, then, but I will unapologetically admit to loving every minute of it.

¹ An obvious reference to Max von Sydow, who was featured in Lynch’s Dune.

² This must be, what? The sixth set of hidden pages?

By Remi, Jun 13, 2017

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Icon	Site	Score
	One Star Classics	6/6
	Cumulative Score

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