Friday, August 11, 2017

Twin Peaks: The Return 3x13 Recap: "Part 13: What Story Is That, Charlie?" (It’s Not Me, It’s “Just You”) [Contributor: Erin Allen]

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"Part 13: What Story Is That, Charlie?"
Original Airdate: August 6, 2017

Part 13 is a hodge-podge mix of stories. Some are major plot developments and others seem like just a simple glimpse into the lives of some of the Twin Peaks residents. Still, there’s a lot of information to sift through, including possible (most likely intentional) timeline tampering. “Is it future or is it past?”

Cooper is still out celebrating with the Mitchum Brothers which makes the short scene of him playing catch (or attempting to play) with Sonny Jim on Part 12 a source of confusion. The Mitchums go big when they celebrate. They buy Cooper/Dougie a car and a play set for his son. They buy Bushnell extravagant gifts, as well. Anthony panics when the party train arrives at Lucky 7, and Mr. Todd informs him that he has one day to kill Dougie.

Their arrival at the insurance firm is in full quirky Twin Peaks form. The jazzy music and dazed Cooper going along with the festivities is fun to watch. As is the whimsical play set that is put up in The Jones’ backyard. I’ve never seen a backyard play structure with a light up marquee arch in front of it. And why was there a movie premiere spotlight and dreamy carnival music playing? It was so surreal and cool.

Anthony acquires the means to poison Cooper/Dougie, revealing that some of the local detectives are in cahoots with Mr. Todd. Luckily Cooper’s weird ways cause Anthony to abandon his plan and confess. This is a nice scene that involves coffee and cherry pie... and dandruff? Odd as it is, it plays really well. Kyle MacLachlan has been very consistent with this bewildered version of Cooper. The slow blink gets me every time. Tom Sizemore is also impressive as Anthony. The guilty unraveling of this guy has been intriguing since his introduction way back on Part 5.

Big things are happening with Mr. C. He’s made it to The Farm, looking for Ray. He finds him, and the only thing standing between him and killing the man that betrayed him is an arm-wrestling match with Mr. Clean. This scene is entirely nerve-racking and entertaining. I was curious to see if Mr. C still had his evil powers after BOB supposedly left his body. The bout with Enzo (the Mr. Clean looking dude) proves that Mr. C is still a force to be reckoned with. He coolly taunts him before winning the match and punching a fist-sized dent into his face, killing him.

His victory leads to an interesting interaction with Ray, which the rest of The Farm guys watch on a big screen from another room. Ray and Mr. C’s conversation is fascinating. It mentions Phillip Jeffries and Major Briggs, and the owl cave ring makes an ominous appearance. Ray was told to put the ring on Mr. C after he killed him. Ray doesn’t get that chance. After giving Mr. C the coordinates and telling him about a place called The Dutchman’s, Mr. C shoots Ray. The ring that Mr. C instructed Ray to put on his left hand, ring finger fades away and falls onto the floor of the Black Lodge. There is a shot of Ray lying dead on the Black Lodge floor, and then a push in on the ring sitting atop the marble table.

About halfway through this interaction, Richard showed up at The Farm and watched the screen, mesmerized. Does he recognize Mr. C?

So Shelly and Bobby aren’t together anymore. I can accept that... sort of. But, why you gotta break up Norma and Big Ed? Why? Ed’s still pining. 25 years later. If that’s not the saddest thing, I don’t know what is. Oh, wait, it’s the credits rolling over Ed sitting alone in silence at his gas station eating soup out of a Double R to-go container.

I’m glad Peggy Lipton got a more meaty scene in this episode. Norma’s been an observer every time we’ve seen her. Her interaction with this guy Walter exudes that sweetness we know Norma has in spades, interjected with these tense glances at Ed. I want to know more about what happened with these lovebirds! And I want Walter to take his market research and get out of Twin Peaks. For good.

Speaking of heartbreak, whatever is going on with Audrey is super heartbreaking. “I feel like I’m somewhere else, and like I’m somebody else. I’m not sure who I am, but I’m not me.” She freaks out and has a meltdown, not sure if she wants to go looking for Billy at The Roadhouse after all. All the while, Charlie is infuriatingly calm and patronizing. “Are you going to stop playing games or do I have to end your story, too?” That sounds like a threat. And it scares Audrey. “What story is that, Charlie? Is that the story of the little girl who lived down the lane?” WHAT IN THE WORLD?! She says, “It’s like Ghostwood here,” and breaks down in tears. Oh Audrey. My heart hurts.

But the pain continues in a scene that makes my eyes and ears hurt. James Hurley performs “Just You” at The Roadhouse. I never in a million years would’ve imagined this. His cringe-worthy falsetto voice and the two brunette singers doing the Donna and Maddie vocals is totally insane. Renee, the girl who James made eyes at on Part 2, gets emotional. I hope she knows that he wrote that song for someone else. All of this is ludicrous, and James is a ridiculous character, but at the same time, I LOVE IT. Lynch takes trolling the fandom to the max with this exhibition. James is a “love to hate” character for a lot of fans, so even if you were rolling your eyes, you were still in total awe that Lynch did that. He. Did. That.

Stray Observations:
  • This conversation about Mormons between Chantal and Hutch though. 
  • When Becky calls Shelly and tells her that she’s worried about Steven who hasn’t been home in two days has me wondering about the timeline again. Is this before she went and shot up Gersten’s door?
  • Nadine fangirling over Dr. Jacoby is superb. Also, their little moment at the end — I ship it. 
  • The Sarah scene is fantastic and so spooky. The soundtrack of the boxing match with the static noise on a loop was like “some haunting melody.”
  • The reflection of Ed is not in sync with him during part of that end scene. Is it intentional? Is it more of this time looping phenomenon? And what was that piece of paper he burned?

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