"Part 10: Laura Is The One"
Original Airdate: July 16, 2017
Let’s get the bad stuff out of the way first. The two scenes with Richard were horrifying and difficult to watch. If I think about it I can see how it kind of furthers the story and it kind of further develops this beyond evil character, but is it necessary? We know Richard is awful. We watched him threaten to rape a woman and mow down a child on the road. On Part 10, he tries to cover his tracks by killing the only witness to him as the culprit of the hit and run, and then rob his grandmother for money to leave town. The time spent showing the worst of man is a holdover from the original series and Fire Walk With Me. The theme of violence against women has been a mainstay. I just don’t know how much more of it I can stomach, though, or how much it is really adding to The Return, which has been phenomenal so far.
When Richard shows up at Sylvia Horne’s house and calls her “Grandma,” it pretty much confirms that he is Audrey’s son, barring Johnny having had any kids (which is doubtful), or offspring of Donna’s taking the Horne surname (also doubtful). The pure brutality of Richard makes the scene so unsettling, but it is still captivating filmmaking. There is a score that does not fit with the savagery on screen. The closed captioning described it as “saccharine orchestral music.” On top of that, Johnny’s robot teddy bear with a light-up sphere for a head creepily repeats, “Hello Johnny. How are you today?” Mix in Johnny’s helpless moans, Sylvia’s tortured whimpers, and Richard’s vulgar, abusive language TOWARD HIS GRANDMOTHER — it’s almost too much. Talk about a sensory overload, and in such a way as to make you sick to your stomach. But maybe that was the whole point.
Richard’s murder of Miriam at least happens off-screen, but that doesn’t make it any less horrific. The aftermath of Richard telling Chad to intercept Miriam’s letter and Chad successfully following through on that order furthers my unease about it all. Richard is literally getting away with murder, and that is just unacceptable. I look forward to seeing both Richard and Chad get what I hope they have coming to them.
A pleasant moment with Carl singing and playing the guitar is interrupted by domestic violence in the Burnett household. It’s Shelly and Leo all over again, and it’s awful. I don’t want this for Shelly or for Becky. Let’s hope Steven gets his comeuppance, too.
I don’t even want to write about this whole business with Candie and the Mitchum Brothers because it was so dull and tedious. I don’t think it’s quirky or eccentric for these mob guys to have three ditzy blonde girls dressed the same, with similar names, being their... well, basically being their servants and showpieces to stand around and look pretty. Candie trying to catch the fly was played out painfully long, and her over-the-top remorse afterwards was grating. Then later she is portrayed as a dazed dimwit. There was so much screentime with these characters, and it didn’t seem to add much. The plot points about seeing Ike and Dougie on the news makes sense. The visit that Anthony makes to the casino furthers that storyline, but did we need all of the other stuff? The Mitchum Brothers are interesting characters, but that just makes these three female characters that share their scenes even more like unimportant, attractive filler, which is not something I’m interested in seeing on my television in 2017.
Even the strong character of Janey-E, who I have come to love, took a weak turn this week. She’s reduced to this lustful woman preoccupied with her husband’s new fit bod. Nevermind his troubling mental state, I guess, or how he got that fit in THREE DAYS. But, that is all she can focus on after seeing him with his shirt off. The sex scene that follows was worrisome as it is not the kind of humor I expect from Lynch. It seemed like a cheap laugh that was silly and low-brow — something you might see in an Adam Sandler film, but not from auteur David Lynch. Also, not to sound redundant, but how does this help develop the plot? Maybe time will tell, but it certainly feels gratuitous right now.
Not everything was disturbing or flimsy, though. There were some exceptionally lovely moments, just not nearly enough. Dr. Amp aka Dr. Jacoby makes another appearance with his enthusiastic vlog. Nadine watches from her place of business which is a store for her invention, the silent drape runner. It is called Run Silent, Run Drapes, and it has a mechanical drape display and one of Dr. Amp’s golden shovels in the window. Not going to lie, I screamed when I saw the storefront.
Constance and Albert go on a date, and it is charming. Making it even more adorable is Gordon looking on with giddy amusement, even calling Tammy over to witness it in all its glory.
Later, Gordon is doodling in his hotel room. His drawing is some sort of dog-like creature with antlers and a hand hovering above it. This is the kind of quirky and eccentric fodder that I enjoy. More of this type of extra filler, please. There’s a knock at his door and he opens it to a vision of Laura. I was not expecting that, nor was I prepared for that emotional image. She fades away, and Albert is standing there. He found some information on the text that Diane received. It pinged off a cell tower in Philadelphia that came from a server in Mexico. Diane sent a response, “They have Hastings. He’s going to take them to the site.” Albert and Gordon believe that she is in league with Mr. C. “I felt it when she hugged me, but this confirms it.” Tammy then brings further findings to their attention. One of the earliest cards from the penthouse project in New York shows Mr. C meeting with someone there. “This is something. This is really something.”
The narrative portion of the episode ends with a beautiful monologue from The Log Lady.
Electricity is humming. You hear it in the mountains and rivers. You see it dance among the seas and stars, and glowing around the moon. But, in these days, the glow is dying. What will be in the darkness that remains? The Truman Brothers are both true men. They are your brothers and the others, the good ones, who have been with you. Now the circle is almost complete. Watch and listen to the dream of time and space. It all comes out now, flowing like a river. That which is and is not. Hawk. Laura is the one.
Every second with Catherine E. Coulson on screen feels like a blessing. This message is one of hope, but also sort of an explanation for all the horrible things we witnessed prior. “But, in these days, the glow is dying. What will be in the darkness that remains?” I’ve seen enough of the darkness. I’m ready for Laura and all the other honorable characters to cast a light on the evil, and then cast it out for good.
Stray Observations:
- Really? Ben Horne can’t give any money to Sylvia after her grandson assaulted and robbed her? What about all that R-E-S-P-E-C-T he was talking about?
- “He’s so beautiful,” Nadine says about Dr. Jacoby.
- Jerry is STILL lost out in the woods. He’s going to spend the whole return out there, high as a kite, isn’t he?
- Chad does not deserve donuts.
- Thank goodness we get a clip of the feisty Janey-E from the news coverage. That’s the Janey-E I want to see.
- Rebekah Del Rio (along with Moby) is The Roadhouse act that precedes the credits. She was the singer that sang “Llorando” at Club Silencio in Mulholland Drive. Her performance was moving then, and it is moving now. She wears a dress with a black and white zig-zag pattern implicative to the floor of the Black Lodge. She sings “No Stars” which is co-written by herself and Lynch, along with John Neff.
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