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| "DIANE, HERE ARE THOSE TRICERATOPS DROPPINGS YOU WANTED TO LOOK THROUGH." |
Two weeks ago David Lynch gave us one
of the most stunningly surreal, mysterious, and artistically bold
hours of television ever made with the already-mythical Episode 8. A
surreal fever-dream that tantalized us with possibilities while still
holding tightly to its mysteries, it was the most purely bizarre
thing Lynch has made probably since Eraserhead,
and the fact that he made it for a major premium cable network is
nothing short of mind-blowing. Even for a creative mind as
unpredictable and unique as Lynch, the question must be obvious:
where can Twin Peaks
possibly go to live up to that? The first part of that answer is of
course to take a week off, ostensibly for the holiday, but also to
give people a chance to digest the madness that they had just
witnessed. Now Lynch is back, and he did perhaps the most unexpected
thing he could have done, although there is quite a bit of logic to
it: he followed the most surreal episode of Twin Peaks yet
with one that is extremely narratively grounded. Episode 9 propels
the show's many plot threads forward – a lot – and proves to be
almost as satisfying as last week's insane dream, if in a totally
different way.
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| "He died of a brain aneurysm while trying to figure out the last part of Episode 8." |
The
thing that has made the new season of Twin Peaks both
so captivating and at times so challenging is that it has an almost
insane (for anyone but Lynch) amount of plot threads going on. The
show has branched out way
beyond Twin Peaks' city limits, spanning the country with a web of
mysterious events that in the beginning seemed barely connected at
all. While this occasionally made the early episodes feel a bit
choppy or scattered to some (I admit it, occasionally to me), it is
paying off beautifully now in a way less like a television show and
more like an epic novel. This world of disparate plot threads is now
pulling together into an intricate web, with the strands spiraling
closer and closer to one another, and converging once again on the
town itself. It feels almost as if fate is drawing the separate parts
of the ensemble together – fate, or the forces of The Black Lodge –
as Lynch deftly assembles the puzzle pieces. The last few episodes
(the surreal aside of 8 notwithstanding) have all tightened this web
a good deal, but this episode has done more of it than all of them.
In a true rarity, Lynch has given us a window into just about every
one of the show's myriad of storylines, and some very big hints at
how they all fit together. Of course, he adds some new mysteries too
– how could he not – but after brilliantly pulling the rug out
from under us two weeks ago, he is now giving us a genuine (if still
very Lynchian) look at how the dots might connect, and it is a
beautiful thing.
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| One can only imagine that there are some unsolved drug cases from 25 years ago that Bobby really hopes won't get dusted off... |
Of
course, Lynch can't give us plot in digestible bites resembling a
typical TV show; instead he takes a “when it rains, it pours”
approach, unleashing a Pandora's Box of Twin Peaks concepts
all at once. Like episode 8, this is one that viewers will really
need to process, albeit in a totally different way. Yet despite that,
the episode never feels overcrowded; instead each new insight is just
as rewarding and tantalizing as those that came before, and they all
provide some brilliant moments. The snarky, embittered chemistry
between Diane, Gordon, and Albert is still a joy to watch, with Laura
Dern once again giving a wonderfully abrasive performance which
somehow manages to steal the show even from the late, great Miguel
Ferrer and the larger-than-life Lynch. Meanwhile, while it is very
bittersweet seeing Ferrer in such a prominent role knowing that he
was suffering from cancer at the time and died soon after, he really
is as good as ever (if noticeably more tired and subdued) as the
acerbic Albert. As with the Log Lady and Doc Hayward, I'm so glad
that he was able to return to Twin Peaks one last time as a farewell.
But perhaps the biggest emotional surprise of the episode comes from
Dana Ashbrook as Bobby Briggs: once famous for his over-the-top rebel
histrionics in the original series, his performance here is
remarkably subtle, heartfelt, and genuine as he goes through the
emotional experience of remembering his complicated relationship with
his father. Bobby is definitely the original-series character who has
changed the most, among the ones we've met so far, and I really like
how he is developing. Comparing who he is now with the Bobby we knew
and didn't exactly love in the original, his growth adds up to quite
a moving arc.
With a
strong mix of original-series and new characters, and with excellent
development for all of them, this narratively-driven episode of Twin
Peaks is a great success. This
whole new season has (with only a couple slight bumps in the early
episodes) been brilliant, but it is a great pleasure seeing the
threads converge and take shape as the larger whole that we knew was
lurking in the background. With this series Lynch is skilfully balancing
both sides of his work: the compelling narratives we remember from
the original Twin Peaks
(as typified in this episode) and the dream-like surrealness that we
love from his cinematic body of work (as typified by the last one).
On both counts this show is absolutely great, and in that regard it
is highly appropriate that the follow-up to episode 8 is an entry
like this one.
Score:
-
Christopher S. Jordan
This
is the water, and this is the well. Drink full and ascend. And please
share this review.