Twin Peaks, Episode 3.10: The Return, Part 10

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 10
Laura is the One

After two excellent episodes, “The Return” becomes entangled in subplots again. With the capture of Ike the Spike, more forces turn to pin the blame on Dougie Jones, in hopes of eliminating him. “Dougie” and his wife are unaware of the danger they are in. Instead, they are getting a lot closer to each other. Deputy Hawk receives another mysterious hint from the Log Lady. Gordon Cole and Albert Rosenfield begin to have suspicions about Diane, after she receives an unusual text. Richard Horne attacks his grandmother and steals her money, soon to be on the run from the cops.

In the worlds of David Lynch, evil is frequently not subtle. Often, it is Frank Booth or Bobby Peru. Men who scream, sweat, commit acts of horrible violence, and are motivated almost totally by the most selfish reasons imaginable. Into this pantheon enters Richard Horne. Despite having flattened a child recently, Richard is only concerned for protecting his own tail. He seemingly murders a witness and plots to protect himself. What follows in an intensely uncomfortable moment where he attacks his own grandmother. Richard screams profanity, beats her, steals from her. As if this scene wasn't uncomfortable enough, Lynch scores it to the sound of the strange talking teddy bear Johnny Horne – Richard's autistic uncle – was previously watching. It repeats the same banal phrase over and over again, as this act of awful domestic violence plays out.

If that moment is too unbearably grim for you, “Part 10” also includes some light-hearted comedy. Dale Cooper, in the persona of Dougie Jones, emerges more and more as a Chauncy Gardner-like figure. He still barely talks, often just mumbling words back at people. Yet they tend to see what they want in his child-like antics. When Janey-E sees Dougie's – actually Dale's – muscled physique, she suddenly feels lusty. The frisky love scene that follows is pretty hilarious, Dougie's arms flopping around, his face conveying a mixture of glee and confusion. The genuinely sweet scene that follows further nails home the idea that, while “Dougie” might be simple-minded, everyone's perception of him is anything but. (This isn't the only comedy in the episode, as there's a typically Lynchian moment of absurd humor involving a fly and a remote.)

Sadly, the subplots I care the least about take up a lot of time in “Part 10.” Mostly, all the intrigue in Las Vegas doesn't draw me in too much. The various gangsters and insurance lawyers are plotting against each other, using Dougie/Dale as the central point of their plan. Sure, it's fun to watch Jim Belushi and Robert Knepper ham it up as the Mitchum brothers. Their group of cocktail waitress sidekicks are a nice, classically “Peaks” touch. Tom Sizemore even gets a stand-out monologue to himself, as he attempts to talk the brothers into killing Dougie. Yet this feels so disconnected from the best parts of “Twin Peaks,” that I'm having trouble maintaining interest in it.

Still, this is “Twin Peaks” and this show is never entirely disappointing. “Part 10” includes a moment of wonderfully weird horror, when Gordon Cole opens a door and is face with an image of Laura Palmer's screaming face. Why does this happen? That I do not know but it's certainly a memorable scene. We also get to see a little more of Nadine, apparently a faithful watcher of Dr. Jacoby's internet show, and now owner of a drapes store called “Run Silent, Run Drapes.” I'm glad to see she achieved that dream. Seeing these characters again is always nice.

“Twin Peaks” has always been a show that balanced surreal horror, fascinating mystery, soap opera nonsense, and over-plotting. Sometimes in frustrating ways. After the heights of Parts 8 and 9, “The Return” is consumed by these impulses more in Part 10. If not for that glorious moment of Dougie Jones' sex life or the brutal horror of Richard Horne's douchebaggery, I probably wouldn't like this episode much at all. But I will continue to try and be patient and see the big picture of where all of this is going. [7/10]