Monsters of Television

I’m starting to get the feeling that this Earle thing is going to carry right into the TV movie ordeal that wraps up this show’s run. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I am starting to get a little bored with the standard chess move, someone dies, Earle’s crazy, Coop is concerned, just you wait til next week thing they have going on here. They need to mix it up, do something that gets me reinvested in what Earle is doing (mayhaps put in hints (like the one in this episode) of Leo building toward full defiance?). This might mean having to kill off a main character. I vote Donna.

Alas, Windom Earle did not die in a cave-in at Owl Cave at the end of the last episode like I had hoped happened. And we didn’t even get any great disguises this week to justify him still being around. Seriously, that fisherman get-up was pretty blah. Step up your game, crazy man!

Coop’s on his game, though, and finally is in the right place at the right time to put together some pieces.

Thanks to Shelly talking to herself, Coop discovers the poem Earle sent to her, Donna, and Audrey. Thanks to being the super sleuth he is, he’s also able to ascertain that the poem was transcribed by Leo, who is still M.I.A. And thanks to Hawk’s super sleuth skills, Cooper knows that Earle has been to Owl Cave. Putting one and two and three together, he determines that the disparate cases are “complimentary verses of the same song.” Ah, lyricism. He doesn’t know that what Earle’s really after is the Black Lodge and the power it holds, but he’ll get there. Especially now that Daddy Briggs has agreed to get classified information on Earle’s UFO days for Coop.

At any rate, Coop knows what the score is – at least until they find a biker hippie in a papier mache chess piece. I love that Cooper isn’t a super emotional gut guy who would just pull the box open, driven by his fear and worry to see what was in it right away. Instead he quickly and efficiently rigs up a way to open the box from a safe distance (and with a crack shot, no less). That’s my guy.

He’s also Annie’s guy, after their “nature outing” at the lake. Annie admits that she and Norma were very different growing up: “She was always moving toward the world, and I was moving away from it.” She lived in her head a lot, which makes her a great match for Coop, who is super cerebral. They bond over their dark pasts, share a kiss, fail to see the fisherman who looks suspiciously like Windom Earle, and then join Shelly and Gordon for pie. Y’all, as cute as they are, I feel this is setting up for one of two things: terrible tragedy, or a warm and fuzzy ending once almost terrible tragedy is averted. There is absolutely no way Annie will not become a part of Earle’s revenge.

We get some great Gordon moments in this episode. But, then again, what Gordon moments aren’t great moments?

Shelly and Gordon are too damn cute, even if Shelly does still seem a bit uncomfortable with the attention Gordon gives her (and brings her way with his shouting). I love that Gordon talks in a normal voice to her, but loudly to everyone else. “She’s a rare and precious individual, don’t you think?” Aww, Gordon! True to his form, he asks Shelly for a kiss before he leaves (DON’T LEAVE, GORDON!). And they do kiss — just as Bobby walks in the diner to a screech of the jukebox.

“Hey! What the hell’s going on?”
“You are witnessing a front three quarter view of two adults sharing a tender moment.”

Oh, Gordon. Never ever change. And please don’t leave! To her credit (what little she has), Shelly actually ignores Bobby’s fury and kisses Gordon again. Aww, you guys! What the hell. They may become my favorite couple.

The love fest continues as Coop and Wheeler have their first meeting, each oblivious to the connection they share. The talk is, of course, about love.

“Love is hell.”
“The Hindus say love is a ladder to heaven.”

Ah, boys. One with a glass of milk, one with a shot of liquor, both in love with fascinating women.

Notes:

• All this imagery of a hooded figure made me think: did we ever find out who the Forest Ninja was?
• “Shelly, listen – don’t argue with me. Bobby’s in charge, understand?” RED ALERT. RED ALERT.
• Ben is giving a speech about the complexity of beauty. “What’s he sellin’?” My thoughts exactly.
• Dick’s nose bandage getting saturated with wine. LOL.
• On that note: THE SPITTING OUT OF WINE IS WASTEFUL.
• Donna’s petulance about her mother’s past: such a teenager.
• “sexual maturity and superhuman strength” Well, whatever they can result in, Bobby just had to take a moment.
• Eckhardt left Catherine a puzzle box she’s too stupid and impatient to ever open. With another of the same kind inside. Devious bastard. I love it!