This week we HAVE to get back to Buckhorn. Two weeks ago we met Lt Cynthia Knox (Adele René) at the pentagon and she was on her way to South Dakota in response to the running of Major Briggs (Don S. Davis) fingerprints. Surely she has arrived by now. Also I have a new theory about Richard (Eamon Farren.) Could he possibly be Johnny’s (Robert Bauer) son? Maybe the result of Johnny’s new tutor after Laura taking advantage of him in an attempt to extort money from his father? Speaking of the Hornes, will we finally see Audrey (Sherilyn Fenn) this week? Is she the billionaire, in New York, as a result of having possibly married John Justice Wheeler (Billy Zane?)

Twin Peaks: The Return Part 7

Jerry Horne (David Patrick Kelly) is in the woods seemingly somewhat out of breath. He is looking around concerned. He calls Ben (Richard Beymer) on his cell phone although when Ben answers Jerry doesn’t speak for a moment. Jerry then tells Ben that someone stole his car. Ben asks “Someone stole your car?” Jerry doesn’t answer for a while before proclaiming he thinks he’s high and he doesn’t know where he is.

When Jerry calls Ben I was excited to be back at the Great Northern and to have the Brothers Horne in this episode!

At the Twin Peaks Sheriff’s department, Deputy Chief Hawk (Michael Horse) is sharing with Sheriff Frank Truman (Robert Forster) the pages he found in the door of the stall in the men’s room. The pages are three of the four missing pages of Laura’s (Sheryl Lee) diary. The pages make mention of Laura’s visit from Annie (Heather Graham) in Fire Walk with Me where Annie tells her she is in the lodge with the good Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) and Laura needs to write this in her diary. The page where Laura wrote that she knows it isn’t BOB (Frank Silva) but she knows who it. Hawk fills Frank in on Annie and Cooper going into and coming back out the Black Lodge.  He also theorizes that Leland mostly likely stashed the pages in the door when he was brought in for questioning about the murder of Jacques Renault (Walter Olkewicz.)

Pages from her Secret Diary!!!  This was great since Hawk is essentially telling Frank a story I already know and I can flash back to my own memories of watching the scenes play out from the original series and Fire Walk With Me. Along with my memories of reading the Secret Diary originally when it came out and attempting to figure out what those missing pages were about. And now we know!

Frank and Hawk talk over the events of the night Annie and Cooper came out of the lodge. Frank wants to know who else saw Cooper that night. Hawk says Harry (Michael Ontkean) and Doc Hayward (Warren Frost) but he doesn’t know who else. Frank places a call to Harry intending to ask him a couple of questions but upon hearing Harry’s weakened condition he instead wishes him well and tells him he needs to beat this thing.

I like how Harry Truman is still in the show by incorporating scenes of Frank calling his little brother to talk with him about the Palmer/Coop case as well as just generally checking up on him to find out how things are going with the illness he has. What is this illness that is affecting Harry?   And is it just me, or can you hear Michael Ontkean’s voice in your head too, answering back Frank?

Deputy Andy is standing outside a home questioning a man (Edward “Ted” Dowling) about his truck. This is the same truck Richard was driving when he ran down the young boy. The man tells him wasn’t driving the truck. Andy wants to know who was but the man says he can’t talk to him right now and tells Andy to leave. The man says he will tell him the whole story later but he just can’t now. They agree to meet again at 4:30 on the logging road between Sparkwood and 21. Again he emphatically tells Andy to leave. Andy leaves and the concerned looking man goes into the house.

He states to the owner of the truck to meet at 4:30. Is this the same 4:30 that the giant references to Coop when he is in the Black Lodge? I can see how Richard and 4:30 are connected, but how does Linda, who apparently lives at the New Fat Trout, fit?

Back at the Sheriff station, Frank is on the phone with Doc Hayward. Doc inquires about Harry and Frank tells him he’s not well. Frank asks Doc if he’s familiar with Skype. Doc says sure and they continue their conversation via Skype. Doc recalls Cooper acting strange so he took him to the hospital to get checked out while he made his rounds. An hour later he saw him sneaking out of intensive care fully dressed. Cooper looked at Doc and Doc called out to him but he didn’t respond, he just turned and left. Frank asks why Cooper would have been in intensive care. Doc thought originally he was checking in on Audrey after the bank explosion that left her in a coma. Frank thanks him for the help and after a brief exchange of fishing pleasantries they hang up.

Frank Truman is a man of technology! Did you see that computer screen rise from his desk?   And he knows to ask Doc Hayward for a SKYPE handle? Frank must have decided that a mission control center was needed at the sheriff’s department once he took over since we never saw it on the original series. And it was great to see Doc Hayward through SKYPE.   And what did Doc Hayward mean by mentioning when he was Coop leaving the hospital 25 years or so ago, that he had that “strange face again.” Was he able to see through to Bad Coop?

Lt Cynthia Knox arrives at the Buckhorn police department and speaks with Detective Macklay (Brent Briscoe) regarding the prints they ran. She is surprised to find out the prints were taken off a body. She asks to see the body so he takes her to Officer Talbot (Jane Adams) and she is shown the headless corpse. Knox questions the age of the man and when he was killed to which Talbot says late 40s and in the last few days. A clearly stunned Knox asks if they’re sure that this is the body the prints came from. Talbot assures her and offers to take them again.

Knox excuses herself and calls Colonel Davis (Ernie Hudson.) She tells him what she’s found out. He doesn’t understand because Major Briggs would be in his seventies now. As she is on the phone a low humming noise starts on the soundtrack as a dark figure round the corner at the end of the hall behind her and starts walking her direction. Davis hangs up with her and then begins to make another call. Knox returns to Talbot and Marklay to state that no one else is to have access to the body and that this likely not going to be their investigation for too much longer. As she says this the dark figure passes the open doorway behind her.

Yay! We are back in Buckhorn!!!  Is this really Major Briggs body? How can it be if the body is that of a man in his late 40s who just died considering that Major Briggs should be in his 70s now. Does this mean that Major Briggs has been alive this whole time but stuck in a state of not aging? And what about the mentions of him in the previous episodes this season where it appears he has been in several places, but nothing has turned out from it?  What does this all mean? As well, did you notice that the figure walking through the halls looked like the Smoke Man from the jail in Episode 1?   

Gordon Cole (David Lynch) is sitting in his office whistling when he is disturbed by Albert Rosenfeld (Miguel Ferrer.) Gordon asks how last night went. Albert says “not well.” He said “Hello Diane,” and she said “It’s about Cooper isn’t it?”   “Maybe,” and she said “No fucking way.” Gordon tells him that’s no good, she needs to see him. Albert tells him it’s his turn now and Gordon asks Albert to come with him.

Gordon and Albert arrive at Diane’s (Laura Dern) apartment as a young man (Jesse Johnson) is just leaving. Diane says she has the same answer for Gordon that she already gave to Albert. Gordon pleads with her that Cooper needs her help.  But when he tells her Cooper is in federal prison in South Dakota her response is “good.” They tell her they believe something is wrong with him and they need someone who knows him extremely well to take a look at him. Gordon says it involves something she knows about but that’s all they’ll say about that.

Always good to see Albert and Gordon. Albert in his cheerful way relating the story to Gordon of his interaction with Diane when he sought her out in the bar. And we get back to Diane too! I wonder has Diane always been this way with being angry or did something happen to her to cause her to be like this? She is awfully fouled mouthed and I was remembering back to the scene in Fire Walk With Me, the Missing Pieces, when Coop is standing outside of her office door trying to figure out what was different about her and imaging her just answering back “Fuck You Coop!” At this point I cannot envision a Diane that would have been a young, naïve secretary transcribing Coop’s tapes.

Diane joins Gordon, Albert, and Tammy (Chrysta Bell) on the plane to South Dakota. Tamara brings to Gordon and Albert’s attention what she discovered about Bad Cooper’s fingerprints. Albert notices the ring finger print from his left hand is backwards. Gordon references the way Bad Cooper said very when he greeted Gordon. He has Tammy hold out her hands and taps each of her fingers as he repeats Cooper’s greeting. “I’m yrev, very happy to see you again old friend.” On yrev he tapped the ring finger on her left hand. After he tells that finger is the “spiritual mound” and she should think about that.

Albert then pulls out the only known photo of Cooper from the last twenty-five years of him in front of his house in Rio. Tammy says it looks like the man we met in prison. Gordon repeats the end of her statement emphasizing the word met. During all this Diane sits by herself.

Who was tampering with these finger prints to make sure that they matched Coop’s from 25 years ago? What is going on at this prison?   And what is with that picture of Bad Cooper at his house outside of Rio?   He is for sure running drugs with that house, long hair and white jacket.

The group arrives at the prison and Diane goes into the room Gordon and Albert sat in for their face to face with Bad Cooper. She lowers the shield and when he sees her he states that he knew it was going to be her. She asks when the last time they saw each other was and he asks if she’s upset with him.  Reiterating her question, he replies “at your house.” She asks if he remembers that night and he says he will always remember that night. Staring intently at him, she asks “who are you?” He says he doesn’t know what she means. She stares deeply at him before closing the shield and leaving.

Outside she tearfully tells Gordon that is not the Dale Cooper she knew. It has nothing to do with time passing or the way he looks but that something is missing in his heart. Gordon tells her that good enough for him.  He asks her about the night she mentioned to Bad Cooper and if it’s something he needs to know about. She tells him they will need to have a talk sometime.

Why is it at the prison that Bad Cooper sounds so different when being visited? Is it the sound system?  Or can it be that the true voice of Bad Cooper is coming out? How long ago was it that Bad Cooper came to Diane’s house?  Was it 25 years ago?    What happened that night at her house?   Did he attack her to cause her to be the way she is now?     

When Bad Cooper is taken back to his cell he tells the guard that he would like to speak with the warden in his office. The guard laughs at this request. But Bad Cooper says to tell the warden they need to talk about a strawberry.

Meanwhile in Twin Peaks, Andy is waiting for the truck owner who at 5pm still hasn’t shown up. Back at his house the door is open and the truck is still parked outside. Andy decides to give up and gets back in his car.

The owner of the truck did not show up to meet Andy, why? Did Richard get to him?  But more importantly, how can Andy afford a Rolex on a small town sheriff deputies wages?

Warden Murphy (James Morrison) stands waiting in his office for Bad Cooper to be brought in. Two guards bring him in and shackle him to a waiting chair. The warden holds a gun on him and informs Bad Cooper that he has turned off the security cameras so they can talk freely. Bad Cooper mentions the dog’s leg that was in his car. The other three legs have been sent out with the information that the warden is thinking about to people the warden wouldn’t want coming around if anything happened to Bad Cooper. The warden questions how he would even know about this…but he stops himself there. Bad Cooper replies “Joe McCluskey.”

The warden sits down and lowers his gun. He asks Bad Cooper what he wants. Bad Cooper wants a car for himself and Ray Monroe (George Griffith) with a “friend” in the glove compartment. He assures the warden that he will never see him again, nor will anyone else ever hear of Joe McCluskey and the late Mr. Strawberry.

Why is Warden Murphy so willing to provide to Bad Cooper what he needs?  What is this information that can hurt him?  Who is Joe McCluskey? Who is Mr. Strawberry?

Outside Dougie’s office building Janey-E (Naomi Watts) is standing by her car waiting for Cooper. Inside as Cooper sits at Dougie’s desk marking up some paperwork, Anthony Sinclair (Tom Sizemore) is trying to get Cooper to tell him what he and Bushnell (Don Murray) were meeting about. Rhonda (Elena Satine) interrupts to let Cooper know that the police are there to see him. Sinclair leaves and Rhoda shows in Detectives Fusco (David Koechner, Larry Clarke, and Eric Edelstein.) Janey-E comes in to the office see what’s taking him so long. The detectives are there about his car. Janey-E and the detective have an exchange about Dougie’s missing car. They finally tell them they have found the car and it was involved in an explosion that resulted in multiple fatalities. The detectives need them to fill out some paperwork but decide it can wait until the morning allowing Cooper and Janey-E to head home.

Downstairs as they exit the building, Ike “the spike” (Christophe Zajac-Denek) approaches them with a gun pulled out. Cooper’s FBI agent instincts come back as pushes Janey-E out of the way grabbing Ike and throwing him to the ground as the gun goes off. Cooper chops Ike to the neck while gripping Ike’s gun hand. Janey-E comes up and wraps her hands around Ike’s neck as Cooper struggles to pry the gun away.

A small version of the arm tree appears in front of Cooper instructing him to “squeeze his hand off.” Ike begins to scream and Cooper chops him to the neck again knocking him away. Ike runs off as bystanders come up to make sure Cooper and Janey-E are okay. Janey-E throws her arms around Cooper as he stares skyward.

The police talk to Janey-E as she described what happened. A couple of bystanders also give their versions of what happened. One described Cooper as “moving like a cobra” to fend off the attacker. As the police examine the gun on the ground they pick up a torn off piece of Ike’s flesh seemingly burnt to it.

Why is Sinclair so nervous? Are he and Dougie into some shady insurance schemes?   And Janey-E is my hero yet again with her no nonsense approach to the situation and how she just takes over answering the questions from the police.  Also, each time we get back to Coop in Vegas, I am always waiting for something to trigger him out of this daze he is in and return back to himself, and I thought that this fight with Ike the Spike was going to do it.  Especially the way that Coop’s instincts kicked in to fight him.  However what I loved the most was the Arm telling him to squeeze Ike’s hand off.  And in thinking about it, who is voicing the Arm?  I don’t recall seeing this in the cast list.

At The Great Northern, Ben and Beverly (Ashley Judd) are in her office trying to determine where a strange humming noise, she’s been hearing for a week, is coming from. As they are trying to figure it out Beverly sees Cooper’s returned room key on the desk and picks it up to show Ben. She tells him it arrived in the mail that day. Nostalgic Ben mentions they changed over to card keys about twenty years ago. Looking at it closer he sees it’s for room 315 and remembers that’s room Agent Cooper was shot in.

Beverly is unfamiliar with Agent Cooper. Ben tells her Agent Cooper came to town to investigate the murder of Laura Palmer, another name she doesn’t know. He tells that is a long story. He further suggests she have maintenance looking to the humming tomorrow and that it’s way past quitting time. The exchange smile and goodnights during which he insists on her calling him Ben as opposed to Mr. Horne. She leaves and he contemplates the key a bit more before heading into his own office. The camera zooms into a corner of Beverly’s office as the hum gets louder before the scene fades to black.

What is the sound that Ben and Beverley are hearing inside of the Great Northern? It sounds like electrical humming coming from the walls? And I am glad that the key chain made it back. I like how Beverley does not know who Coop or Laura Palmer are. hen did she get to Twin Peaks?   

Beverly arrives home as a nurse (Judith Drake) is leaving her house. She asks how he was today and the nurse tells her he had a rough day. She goes inside to see her husband Tom (Hugh Dillon.) Tom is frail and sickly with an oxygen tube in his nose. He wants to know why she is so late. She tells him she had things she needed to take care of work and he wants to know what things. She tries to get him some dinner but he’s not interested. Beverly begins to get angry and defensive about the fact that she didn’t want to have to go back to work. She understands he’s sick and suffering but she needs this job to help them survive.

At the roadhouse, the place is empty except for Bing (Riley Lynch) who is sweeping the floor and Jean-Michel Renault (Walter Olkewicz) behind the bar. The phone rings and Jean-Michel answers it. He has a heated discussion about a couple young, possibly underage, girls that somebody owes him money for.

I thought that we were going to end the episode here just watching that guy sweep the floor of the Roadhouse obviously after one of their new hipster concerts we tend to see each week.

It’s 1am in South Dakota and Bad Cooper is let out of his cell as is Ray. The two of them are led outside to a waiting car. The warden watches them as they drive out of the front gate.

In Twin Peaks a crowd of people are eating at The Double R when a man runs up to the front door, opens and asks if “anybody’s seen Bing.” A couple people say no and he leaves.

Final Thoughts

I am still onboard with this show and have found that Janey-E is my new favorite character. There are others I know that are anxious to get Coop back to his old self, however we must all remember that he has only been living Dougie’s life about 2-3 days. I have faith that in each episode we are moving forward to an ultimate answer to all the questions we have. I am predicting now that we are going to spend more time in Buckhorn next week, and that we will get Audrey Horne considering it will be Episode 8 and we still have not seen her.  And that she is the billionaire who was funding the glass box in New York.      

Join me here each week during the season for recaps and discussion of every episode. Twin Peaks airs Sundays at 9 pm on Showtime.