Twin Peaks, Episode 2.9: Arbitrary Law

Twin Peaks: Arbitrary Law

I'm not telling you anything you don't know when I say David Lynch never intended to reveal who Laura Palmer's killer was. However, pressure from the network – in response to an impatient public who wandered away from season two – forced his hand. And so, “Arbitrary Law” has Cooper continue to be unsure about Benjamin Horne's guilt. A page from Laura's secret diary reveals she had the same dream as him, about the red room. His intuition further guides him to the Road House, gathering all the major suspects in the bar. This is when the Giant reappears and Laura's killer is revealed to him. Once Leland – possessed by BOB – is contained at the police station, the truth comes out.

Tim Hunter, previously of “The One-Armed Man,” directed “Arbitrary Law.” While Hunter is clearly an accomplished director in his own regard, his work sometimes comes off as a pale imitation of Lynch. There is definitely some tension in the sequence where Donna is in the Palmer home with Leland. We the audience knows he is still under BOB's control, which does create some suspense... However, cutaways to Frank Silva's grimacing, contorting, yelling face feel a little on-the-nose, and ingenuine, in a way that they didn't when Lynch did something similar. The scene in the Road House is better, especially the selected use of some freeze frames, before Cooper realizes the truth.

The best stuff in “Arbitrary Law” is driven by the show's actors. This episode is truly a display for Ray Wise. When acting as BOB, he sweats and glares in an unhinged manner that certainly comes off as creepy. Yet what impresses even more is when BOB exits Leland's body, “pulling the ripcord” as he goes. As Leland lays dying, all his horrible memories come rushing back. Not only is this a fantastic show of Wise's talent, it's also “Twin Peaks” revealing one of its darkest metaphors. As a boy, BOB asked Leland if he wanted to play and came inside him. And so the show presents its villain as symbolic of the horrible cycle of childhood sex abuse. Leland was assaulted as a child, internalized that abuse, and became an abuser himself. This isn't always true but it sometimes is and it's a sad, horrible fact about the real life issues “Twin Peaks” interrogates.

It's a lot to take in within a short amount of time. However, in one of its swiftest and most concise writing moves, “Twin Peaks” manages to resolve these events in an emotional way. As Leland dies, Cooper guides him to catharsis and resolution. Kyle MacLachlan has never been better than he is here. “Twin Peaks” tossed a lot of balls into the air and didn't catch them all, especially in its second season. Yet it pulled few punches with the reveal of Laura's killer and managed to find the perfect way to resolve this particular story.

Oh yeah, there's other stuff in this episode too. I know, with the most important story line in “Twin Peaks” being wrapped up here, it's really difficult to care much at all about any of the show's other subplots. Dick Tremayne is brought back into the story, making it clear that the love triangle around Lucy's baby isn't over yet. Even worst – much, much worst – is the scene devoted to James and Donna's relationship. Within the course of one episode, he goes from proposing to her to storming out of town. This is the most emotionally facile of all the show's overheated supporting storylines. If James never came back to the town of Twin Peaks, I wouldn't have been upset at all.

Still, once again, these setbacks only distract so much from the stuff this show does really, really well. “Arbitrary Law's” closing minutes, in which Dale, Sheriff Truman, Albert, and Major Briggs discuss BOB and the nature of evil so neatly sums up the characters' – and the show's – philosophy. Cooper believes it is the good man's responsibility to fight evil. Albert sums it up, when he states that BOB is the evil that men do. It's pretty powerful stuff. “Twin Peaks” was such a good show when it got out of its way and focused on its best elements. [8/10]