“Part 13: What Story is that, Charlie?”

Picks up 25 years after the inhabitants of a quaint northwestern town are stunned when their homecoming queen is murdered.

Creators: Mark Frost, David Lynch
Stars: Kyle MacLachlan, Sheryl Lee, Michael Horse

Review by Mary Cox

Tonight’s episode was all about looping energy and repeating patterns. This is the most obvious in our return to the Palmer household, but it’s present in other scenes. If you revisit Sonny Jim’s gym set scene, you’ll notice that the footage of him playing is looped as well.

After a cutesy conga line with the Mitchum Bros., Good Coop narrowly avoids being poisoned and continues with his obsession over cherry pie. Bad Coop wins an arm wrestling contest, the Owl Cave Ring makes its first appearance in the new season, and Phillip Jeffries is back in the game. Audrey’s character has flipped from a confident, embittered harpy to a weakwilled, terrified child. Watching her rapidly cycle between aggression and learned helplessness makes you wonder: what the hell happened to her? Is Audrey possibly even still in a coma?

Holy shit. The Roadhouse. Some people seem to think that Lynch’s stunning choice to feature James Hurley’s “Just You (and I)” is a part of a larger commentary about toxic nostalgia, and about unnecessary returns to twenty year-old TV shows or film franchises. Certainly, last week’s episode where Lynch, as FBI Director Gordon Cole, stares right at us with a shiteating grin as a French woman does nothing for close to five minutes, would support this theory. Cooper being reduced to a goofy shell of himself who obsesses over coffee and pie also adds evidence here.

However, thinking that Lynch is somehow sneering at his fans seems to totally ignore the notion the level of detail and craftsmanship put into this series. Lynch recorded the Log Lady scenes even before Season 3 was greenlit. Mark Frost’s companion book, The Secret History of Twin Peaks, is incredibly well thought-out and is rich in detail and nuance. There’s no way he’s making this series just to laugh at the people who love his work

******
“Mary Cox is an entertainment writer from the United States. Her hobbies include making good beer and bad decisions, watching drag queens fight on the internet, and overanalyzing everything. Mary one day hopes to be the person shouting “World Star” in the back of a Waffle House brawl video. She is currently tolerating life in Toronto. You can follow her on Twitter at @M_K_Cox”t