Twin Peaks, Episode 2.11: Masked Ball

Twin Peaks: Masked Ball

Proving that “Twin Peaks” was still capable of deflating decent cliffhangers even into its second season, “Masked Ball” begins with Major Briggs' wife assuring Cooper that her husband disappears in the woods all the time and this isn't really a cause for concern. The matter is barely mentioned again throughout the episode. The episode turns its focus to the wedding of the mayor's brother, still a great source of discord between them. Meanwhile, Dale Cooper receives a recorded message from Windom Earle. Also, tons of other bullshit is still happening in the town of Twin Peaks.

“Masked Ball” makes it clear that “Twin Peaks” isn't going to get better for a while now. The parts continue to eat the whole. The conflict between Josie Packard and Catherine Martell, always a plot tumor on the best days, moves back to the forefront. The show attempts to builds some intrigue around these event, even making it the basis of the episode's cliffhanger. But I can't connect with this stuff at all. As bad as that particular plot thread is, none of “Peaks'” useless threads compare to James Hurley hitting the road and being manipulated by a mysterious femme fatale. James' petulant, annoying side has only shown itself more and more here of late. Once he's removed from Twin Peaks itself, from the surrounding cast members we are invested in, his story becomes utterly superfluous.

And those are only the serious subplots. “Twin Peaks” is spending plenty of time with its goofy story threads too. Dick Tremayne begins mentoring a young boy, in order to prove his worthiness to Lucy. The kid, in an especially desperate twist, turns out to be some sort of “Problem Child”-esque hellion. Nadine continues to lift giant weights all around the the high school. The mayor's wedding, which features an amusing performance from the great Tony Jay, does get a good gag out of the Log Lady's apparent enthusiasm for weddings.

“Masked Ball” does have a bright spot or an interesting introduction at the very least. This episode sees a pre-”X Files” David Duchovny appear as Denise, the FBI agent sent to investigate the drug trafficking charges against Cooper. It is, especially for the time, a surprisingly sincere depiction of a transgender person. Although there is some initial surprise over Denise, formally Dennis, transiting, the show mostly respects her identity and choices. The scene where she explains how she discovered her true gender is rather sweet . Considering transgender issues weren't not widely understood at all in 1990, this shows how truly ahead-of-its-time “Twin Peaks” was.

The only other scene that really sticks out to me in “Masked Ball” occurs when Ben Horne watches an old family movie on a projector. For a character who is more-often-than-not portrayed as a villain, it's surprisingly touching to see him get a nostalgic, even remorseful, moment to himself. Ben Horne may be a crook, a schemer, and a sleazeball, but he's also still human who sometimes wonders ruefully how he got to this point in life. Still, “Twin Peaks” is continuing to struggle in some very obvious ways during the middle stretch of its second season. [6/10]