Twin Peaks, Episode 1.7: The Last Evening

Twin Peaks: The Last Evening

As season one wraps up, Dale Cooper and Sheriff Truman start to close in on a suspect. While undercover at One Eyed Jack's, Dale gets some incriminating evidence out of Jacques Renault. Soon, the drug smuggler is apprehended, identified as the prime suspect in the slaying of Laura Palmer. Meanwhile, Donna and James steal a recording of Laura from Dr. Jacoby's office. Outside, the doctor is beaten until he has a heart attack by a mysterious stranger. Ben Horne's plan, to have Leo Johnson burn the Packard Mill down moves into high gear. Enraged at his infidelity, Leo plans to kill Shelly at the same time. Little does he know, Hank has plans of his own for him.

Since Dale Cooper's detective work usually involves interpreting dreams and throwing rocks to determine suspects, it is cool to see him undercover, doing some traditional police work. The scene where he manages to get Jacques to reveal some less-than-savory information about the night Laura died features some fine acting from Kyle MacLachlan. It's impressive how he can swing between the whimsy we typically associate with this character to something a little more sinister. Jacques' description of what happened to Laura, especially the role Waldo the Myna Bird played, is surprisingly graphic for a broadcast television show from 1990.

Series co-creator Mark Frost would direct “The Last Evening.” I know we tend to think of “Twin Peaks” as David Lynch's show but it's just as much Frost's baby. Frost hasn't done much directing  - his only other notable director's credit is 1992 political thriller “Storyville” – but he shows a strong sense of composition here. Jacoby's beating is a fierce, unnerving sequence, concluding with a slow zoom-in on his eye. There's an odd beauty to the moment where Nadine attempts suicide by swallowing a bowl full of pills, beginning with her folding a sheet into the camera and continuing with a slow rotation around the room, as she prepares herself. When Hank is conspiring with Josie Packard, Frost makes sure that the antlers of a mounted deer head is always right behind Hank, giving him a fittingly demonic appearance. In general, this is a shadowy and atmospheric episode, even in lighter moments like Andy successfully discharging his firearm for the first time.

I know I've been pretty critical of the more melodramatic subplots throughout season one of “Peaks.” At least Frost and company are good at having all these disparate plot points built up to something. “The Last Evening” successfully brings together a number of different events. Ben Horne and Catherine Martell's plot to burn down Packard Mill collides with Leo's growing rage at his wife, Shelly... Which naturally leads to a confrontation with Bobby Briggs, whose life is unexpectedly save by Hank's brutality. Only Bobby's half-assed attempt to get revenge on James Hurley – I can barely remember what even motivated the animosity between those two anymore – doesn't really add up.

It's also pretty clear that Frost and Lynch where aware of how hooked America was on “Twin Peaks” in 1990. The showrunners made sure to end the first season on the kind of cliffhanger that would generate conversation all the way until the premiere of the next season. Audrey is tied up inside One Eyed Jack's, seemingly being served up and given to her own father, who is unaware of her presence. Jacques Renault is smothered to death in his hospital room. Most pressingly, Dale Cooper is shot three times in the chest, mere minutes before the episode goes to credits. It's hard to appreciate the kind of suspense these events must've created for viewers at the time, when we can just casually go to the next episode on Netflix or pop in the next Blu-Ray now. There's a lot to be said for a good cliffhanger, is my point.

While it's a lot easier to appreciate its flaws now, it's easy to see why the first season of “Twin Peaks” was considered so groundbreaking. Watched thirty years after it's premier, it still feels utterly modern. Obviously, the Lynchian surrealism has kept the show unique but, even during the episode's less focused on that, it is a often delightful and fascinating mystery series with an A-plus cast and a fantastic sense of place. Even though Twin Peaks is crawling with dark secrets, and more oddities yet to be revealed, fans like me still would like to visit the place. It seems cozy, you know? I mean, once you ignore the demons in the woods and the criminal underbelly. [7/10]