Monsters of Television

Everything about Twin Peaks lends itself to the tone of the show, from the music to the odd characters to the plot itself. The show is set up and paced in a way that is reminiscent of dime-store paperback murder mysteries: there’s a certain lingo to the tale, a certain flavor the characters, a certain atmosphere to the location that combine to create a very distinctive experience. It’s kind of delicious.

With every little bit we discover about the inhabitants of Twin Peaks, knots come unraveled and new ones tangle up and the threads of our disparate storylines start weaving into one another.

There is so much melodrama and quirk and crazy in this show that it sometimes hides just how nuanced and painfully honest the relationships are. We have couples who don’t speak, significant others who cheat, abusers and abusees, young love and old hate. In this episode we get the young, tentative love of James and Donna, the secret love of Bobby and Shelly, and the not love of the Horne brothers and their women, among others. And all I can think is that all of it is probably headed in the same direction: BAD.

That belief leads to me watching the show with one eyes squinted, just waiting for the other shoe to hit the fan. But in the nature of true dime-store paperbacks, the plot stretches on, and I’m both anxious to get to the resolution and unwilling to fly through the build up. Hence these post, keeping me honest and slowing me down so I don’t just plow through the thing in one sitting and come out the other side with quirk whiplash.

Our Agent Dale is, as usual, in full-on quirk mode for the episode. It has crossed my mind that Dale reminds me very much of someone. He’s a bit like Mr. Magoo crossed with Inspector Gadget, times Mulder, dipped in someone else I can’t think of but who is right on the edge of my mind.

At any rate, it is his exposition on the plight of Tibet and his careful experiment to help identify Laura Palmer’s killer that give the episode its title. The deductive method Dale ascribes to, uniting mind and body, came to him in a dream, he says. Once again, the Twin Peaks sheriff’s department happily, if bemusedly, helps him along in his investigation, trusting to his results so far, despite the questionable aspects of his methods. The experiment seems to point to Leo Johnson who, it must be said, is one of the creepiest bad guys to ever creep on screen. I’ll admit, he gives me the heebie-jeebies.

The creepiest thing to ever creep (so far) on the show, though, is the closing dream sequence. I mean, I know Dale’s mind is a strange place, but that dream took the show from adorably odd to highly disturbing rather quickly. I — do not know how I feel about it. Thankfully, the whole thing was saved by the massive cowlick Dale is sporting when he wakes from the dream.

Also, Dale apparently knows who killed Laura Palmer. We are three episodes in. I doubt it.
Notes:

• MIGUEL FERRER. So incredibly young. Wearing his mama’s eyes. I LOVE HIM FOREVER.
• “A one armed man?” “Left.” THE PLOT THICKENS. SOME MORE.
• You guys: THERE IS A NINJA IN THE FOREST. The very fact that Leo is not at all bothered by this just proves how batshit crazy he is. A NINJA. IN THE FOREST.
• Bobby’s silly self-righteous anger over Shelly’s injuries is laughable. As is the squeaking of his jacket.
• Poor Ed. Lunatic for a wife and he has to live in a pink box. That’s just cruel.
• “I gotta warn you: Albert’s lacking in some of the social niceties.” “Nobody’s perfect.” <3
• FIRE WALK WITH ME.
• Seriously: THAT DREAM. I’m honestly going to watch an X-Files episode just as a palate cleanser.