Synopsis

Andy and Lucy console each other after the chaotic Miss Twin Peaks contest where Annie was kidnapped by Windham Earle. Cooper, Harry, and Hawk stare at the map, as Cooper mumbles “Fire, walk with me.” Pete says the Log Lady stole his truck and drove off toward the woods. Cooper informs Pete that was Windham Earle in disguise. The Log Lady arrives, and says her husband gave her a bottle of oil from a “gateway” in the woods. The jar smells like scorched engine oil. Hawk brings in Ronnette Pullaski, who recognizes the smell from the night of Laura Palmer’s murder.

Windham Earle arrives in a dark, wooded grove with Annie, who says a prayer. They reach a circle of trees and vanish behind a red curtain.

Ed, Norma, and Doc Hayward bandage Nadine and Mike. Nadine suddenly regains her memory, and is horrified to see Ed with Norma. She hollers about the missing drape runners and bursts into tears.

Donna is distraught, having learned Ben is her blood father. Ben and Donna’s mother try to console her. Doc Hayward orders Ben out of his house. Ben’s wife arrives. Angered, Doc Hayward punches Ben. Ben slams his head on the fireplace.

Andrew grabs the safe deposit box key and sneaks off.

Cooper and Harry find Pete’s truck in the woods. They walk partly into the forest, when Cooper says he must continue alone, leaving Harry behind. Cooper hears an owl and sees the pool of oil ringed by rocks. Harry watches Cooper disappear behind a red curtain.

Cooper walks into the mysterious room from his dream. There are couches, a zig-zag pattern on the floor, and some statues. The midget dances into the room and sits in an old chair. A black woman sings a sad jazz tune as a strobe light flickers.

Andy arrives in the forest to join Harry. They wait all night, and Cooper doesn’t emerge.

Audrey walks into a bank and chains herself to the bank vault, in protest of the Ghostwood project and its environmental effect on the forest weasel. An old, slow-moving bank worker fetches Audrey a glass of water. Andrew and Pete arrive with the safe deposit key, intending to open the box left by Thomas Eckhart. Andrew asks the bank worker clerk for help in identifying the proper box. The clerk walks away as Andrew opens the box to find a bomb, which is triggered by the safe deposit box opening. It explodes, blowing out the bank windows. The clerks glasses and some money fall on a nearby pine branch.

At the RR diner, Bobby and Shelly smile at each other. Sarah delivers a message to Major Briggs, recanting in a garbled voice, “I’m in the Black Lodge with Dale Cooper.”

In the Black Lodge, the midget tells Cooper they are in a “waiting room” and offers Cooper some coffee. Laura Palmer appears, saying she’ll see Cooper again in 25 years. The elderly bellhop brings coffee to cooper. He is replaced by the giant who sits down, saying “one and the same.” The midget rubs his hands. Cooper starts to drink the coffee — only to find it frozen solid. He tips the cup, and some of it pours out. The last time it is like syrup. Mike says “wow, BOB, wow, fire walk with me.”

Cooper leaves the room, entering another one that looks exactly the same. He returns to the first room, where the midget says “wrong way.” Cooper goes back to the second room. He sees the midget laughing saying, “another friend” (this might be a doppelganger midget). Maddy appears, says “watch out for my cousin,” then disappears.

Cooper returns to the first room to find it completely empty. The midget says “doppelganger” and twitches. Laura says “meanwhile” and screams. Scared, Cooper runs out of the room, returning to the other one. He is bleeding from the chest and has trailed blood on the floor. He stumbles back to the first room, and sees a woman lying on the floor with his own body. The woman is Annie with her throat cut.

Cooper walks into a room to see Annie. She says she saw the face of the man who killed her: it was her husband. She doesn’t respond to the name Annie — it’s actually Caroline. Cooper is confusing the two.

Caroline is replaced by Laura, and then Windham Earle. Annie watches as Windham and Cooper face off. Windham laughs, and says if Cooper gives him his soul, he’ll let Annie live. Cooper says yes, and Windham Earl stabs Cooper. There is a burst of flame and the stabbing rewinds. BOB takes control of Windham Earle, saying he can’t ask for Cooper’s soul, and will take Windham’s soul instead. Cooper leaves the room and an evil doppelganger of Cooper appears from behind the curtain.

Leland — with brown hair — appears in the hall between the two rooms, and says “I did not kill anybody”. The doppelganger Cooper comes into the hall and laughs with Leland. The good Cooper runs back and forth between rooms — it seems he can’t get out. The doppelganger Cooper catches Cooper, and BOB’s face briefly appears.

Harry finds Cooper and Annie’s bodies lying in the forest.

Cooper wakes up in his bed at the Great Northern. He tells Harry and the Doc that he needs to brush his teeth. Once in the bathroom, he begins to put toothpaste on a brush, but then squeezes the tube’s contents into the drain. He looks in the mirror and smashes his head into it, bloodying the glass. BOB’s face appears in the mirror. Cooper maniacally repeats, “How’s Annie?” and laughs uncontrollably.

Thoughts

A real mind-blower episode. My favorite Twin Peaks episodes bear the David Lynch influence, meaning dalliances with the unexplainable, strange visuals, and surrealist situations. This episode is a long overdue return to that mood, after a nearly unbearable stretch of soap-opera-like meandering.

The liquid in the wooded pool at the opening of the Black Lodge is revealed to be oil. Throughout the show, a “scorched engine oil” smell was reported by witnesses whenever BOB was afoot. Ronette links the odor to Laura’s murder, and Dr. Jacobi also noted the smell in the hospital when Jacques Renoir was murdered. This is another way the second season plot line of Windham Earle and the Black Lodge is linked to the murder of Laura Palmer. BOB — Laura’s killer — is from the Black Lodge, and was also present at Josie Packard’s death.

This episode confirms a theory that the elderly bellhop and the giant are the same. The elderly, slow-moving bank clerk behaved similarly to the elderly bellhop, making me wonder if he was yet another familiar that would have been explored in a third season, and possibly saved the lives of Audrey, Pete, and Andrew. As this episode stands, it’s implied they perished in the bank explosion.

Then there’s all the nuttiness in the Black Lodge, a place not seen since Cooper’s dream. My personal interpretations:

• The midget calls the room in the Black Lodge a “waiting room,” between life and death and maybe heaven or hell. The elderly bellhop makes “whoo” noise. Both ideas are expanded upon in the Twin Peaks movie, Fire Walk With Me.
• The “duality” idea permeates Twin Peaks. In the Black Lodge, we have two rooms, a zig-zag pattern (with twin “peaks” of black and white), Laura and Maddie, Caroline and Annie, the bellhop and the giant, heaven and hell, solid and liquid, and doppelgangers galore.
• The slow-moving coffee — between liquid and solid, was an indication that Cooper was “between” two poles — not completely afraid but not completely confident either, initiating a series of tests of his fear / courage. He is first scared by Laura’s screams, and starts to bleed. He’s then confronted by his feelings for Caroline and Annie. Eventually he starts to panic, which is when he becomes trapped in the Black Lodge. Why fear? It’s something BOB feeds on, a concept again explored further in the Twin Peaks movie.
• Windham Earle found Cooper in the lodge and killed him. BOB then “traded” Cooper’s soul and killed Windham instead. Why exactly, I’m not sure.
• After Cooper became trapped in the Black Lodge, and an evil “doppelganger” of Cooper escaped into the real world. The “doppelganger” equivalents of the characters wear grey contact lenses, and are connected to BOB. The evil familiars seem to tie in with the “duality” of Twin Peaks.

Ultimately, while mesmerizing, this season finale episode is frustratingly unsatisfying. The townspeople now must deal with this “evil” Cooper, and ultimate fate of the real Agent Cooper, trapped in the Black Lodge, is unclear. Meanwhile, Nadine is pissed, Donna in tears, Audrey presumed dead, and Leo probably has spiders all over his face. The only bright spots are Shelly and Bobby, and Lucy choosing Andy as the father of her child.

I presume David Lynch was setting up a litany of subjects and plot lines to explore in season three. Unfortunately, there was no third season of Twin Peaks.

Previous Episode: Miss Twin Peaks

Synopsis

Windham Earle has left Leo and Major Briggs tied up at the floor of his cabin. Leo frees Briggs and asks him to save Shelly.

Norma brings three pies to Shelly and Annie, hoping one of them wins the Miss Twin Peaks contest.

Cooper tells Harry that Josie was killed by fear, which BOB, who comes from the Black Lodge, is attracted to. Cooper wants to find the Black Lodge before Windham Earle. Windham listens to his conversation via the bugged bonsai.

Windham sets up a cage of spiders and rigs it to fall on Leo if he moves.

The Miss Twin Peaks contestants practice dance moves. Lana tries to seduce Richard, one of the judges, in a storeroom.

Annie asks Cooper for help with her speech. They kiss and make out on the bed.

Dr. Jacobi brings Nadine, Mike, Ed, and Norma together to talk about their feelings. Nadine is still stuck in her teenage past. Ed says he wants to marry Norma. Nadine desperately announces she’s marrying Mike.

Major Briggs stumbles out of the woods. Cooper and Harry question him, and learn the Black Lodge may only be accessible for a short time.

Pete, Catherine, and Andrew struggle with the puzzle box. Andrew shoots it with a gun. Inside is safe deposit box key.

At dinner, Donna demands to know what’s going on between her mother and Ben Horne. No answers are forthcoming, so Donna storms off.

Briggs says fear and love opens the doors to the Black and White Lodges respectively. Cooper says Windham is about to take a queen in their chess game, the timing of which coincides with the Miss Twin Peaks contest. Andy knocks over the bonsai to reveal Windham’s hidden bug.

The Miss Twin Peaks contest has begun. During the event, the Log Lady knocks Bobby out with her log — she’s actually Windham in disguise. Lucy does a crazy dance. Harry and Cooper arrive, hoping to catch Windham and protect the contest winner. Lana appears in a belly dancing outfit which proves particularly appealing to the men.

Donna confronts Ben, demanding to know his relationship to her mother. Ben starts to tell the “hard truth” — that he is her father. Donna runs away. Meanwhile, Lucy decides Andy will be the father of her child.

Annie wins the contest and is crowned Miss Twin Peaks. Suddenly, the lights go out and a strobe starts up. Smoke fills the room. Windham, still dressed as the Log Lady, kidnaps Annie. He sets off an explosion, distracting Cooper. The lights come back on — Annie is gone. Andy tells Cooper that the wall of petroglyphs is a map.

Thoughts

With the season (and series) finale one episode away, several long-running plot threads are tantalizingly close to resolution:

• Donna learns Ben is her father.
• Lucy decides that Andy will act as father of her child.
• Catherine, Pete, and Andrew finally get to the center of the puzzle box left by Thomas Eckhart to find a safe deposit box key.
• Ed and Norma are getting married, and so might Nadine and Mike.
• And Cooper has established that Windham Earle is trying to enter the Black Lodge. He also kidnaps Cooper’s love interest, Annie, as a means to enter the lodge (her fear, perhaps) and get revenge on Cooper.

The final scene with the strobe light going off during the contest is amazingly intense and returns to the strange lighting that Lynch used in the first season during Cooper’s dream and the visions of BOB. The surreal, scary stuff is in full force in the next and final episode.

Next Episode: Beyond Life And Death
Previous Episode: The Path To The Black Lodge

Synopsis

Lucy announces her intention to enter the Miss Twin Peaks contest, and will soon decide whether Andy or Dick will act as father to her child. John Wheeler learns a friend has been murdered, and he must leave Twin Peaks immediately. Donna finds her birth certificate has no father listed, and old photographs of Ben clowning around with her parents.

Briggs tells Cooper about Windham Earle’s involvement with the military project Blue Book. Windham was secretive with the information that sorcerers cultivate evil exponentially in a place called the Black Lodge. Cooper theorizes Windham is searching for this Black Lodge in the woods near Twin Peaks. Cooper is sure the petroglyphs on the blackboard have something to do with the Lodge. The bugged bonsai is present.

Having eavesdropped on their conversation, Windham laughs at their stupitidy. Leo hides the electric shock collar trigger in his pocket.

At the diner, a woman takes a bite of pie and her arm starts twitching. Shelly and Bobby go over her contest speech. Duane and Lana discuss ways to convice the other judges to vote for her.

Cooper meets with Donna, Shelly, and Audrey about the torn poem pieces they received. Donna mentions her father’s old friend, Audrey the library guy, and Shelly the large tip. Cooper says they were all visited by Winham Earle in disguise. He says the three of them are in grave danger.

Worried that Windham will kill Shelly, Leo activates the shocker he stole earlier — and shocks himself. Windham Earle laughs and grabs some shackles.

Ben asks Audrey to enter the Miss Twin Peaks contest to protect the ferret. He tells her John had to leave suddenly. Audrey dashes off after him. Pete stares at the wood in the hotel fireplace and says “Josie, I see your face.”

Andy, Cooper, and Harry stare at the petroglyphs on the chalkboard, trying to decipher its secrets. Cooper tells Harry about Annie. His arm twitches mysteriously.

Major Briggs walks through the woods, touching the odd tattoo behind his ear. A man in a horse suit walks up to him and shoots him with a tranquilizer dart. It’s Windham Earle.

At the diner, Annie pours Cooper coffee. They kiss. A plate of dishes falls on the ground and some syrup drips in slow motion. Ominous music plays.

About to take off, Audrey waves down John’s plane. He greets her on the tarmac, and brings her aboard for some romance. Pete’s hand starts to shake.

Windham has tied Major Briggs up and shoots at him with a crossbow. He injects Briggs with truth serum. Briggs rambles incoherently about the White Lodge and the time when Jupiter and Saturn meet.

Catherine and Andrew get more aggressive with the puzzle box. He presses some buttons and it opens, revealing another box. He smashes that one open revealing — yet another metal box.

Annie arrives at a dance to celebrate the start of the Miss Twin Peaks contest. Cooper greets her, smiling. He wants to protect her and she likes to be protected. She wants to enter the Miss Twin Peaks contest, too.  Suddenly, all goes dark as the giant appears to Cooper, waving and saying “no.”

John’s plane takes off. Audrey meets Pete on the tarmac, sadly saying he was the man of her dreams. Pete offers to take her fishing.

Windham sings as Leo and Briggs scream. He superimposes a map of Twin Peaks over the petroglyph wall. It’s a map leading to the Black Lodge.

A phone rings. The wind blows through the trees. A small circle of stones surrounding water appears in the woods. An arm reaches out through the dark night. It is Bob. The camera pans down to the small pool, revealing a red curtained room to strains of saxophone music.

Thoughts

Windham Earle’s true intentions become clearer. He’s not only after revenge on Cooper, but also searching for the mysterious Black Lodge which is a place of evil somewhere in the woods around Twin Peaks. He also has something nefarious planned for the Miss Twin Peaks contest. So far, pretty much every woman in Twin Peaks has entered — Lucy, Lana, Shelly, and Annie, who is falling in love with Cooper.

We also see indications of a return to the bizarre, twisted dream world that was so key in season one and largely forgotten during the middle of season two. It’s summed up through one truly chill inducing moment — the final chill-inducing scene of a pool in the woods and the creepy hand emerging from the darkness. This is undoubtedly the Black Lodge, and the red curtains indicate a connection to the mysterious red room where Cooper met Laura Palmer and the midget man from another place. So we’ve come full circle. Windham Earle wants to find the place where Laura Palmer talked to Cooper in his dream. Like I said, creepy.

Next Episode: Miss Twin Peaks
Previous Episode: Variations On Relations

Synopsis

Harry, Andy, Hawk, and Cooper return to the cave to find the mysterious dowel has been inverted by Windham Earle. Andy makes a drawing of the entire petroglyph scene on the cave wall.

Windham Earle tells Leo and another guy a story about the White Lodge as a paradise where happy spirits gather, and an opposite place called the Black Lodge containing evil spirits. Windham wants to find the Black Lodge.

Pete contemplates a chess move and mumbles about missing Josie. Catherine has been trying to open Eckhart’s black box. Pete says it’s a puzzle that must be tipped a certain way so objects within allow the box to be opened.

Bobby tells Shelly that beautiful people get everything they want, and she should enter the Miss Twin Peaks contest for the prize money.

Lana wants to win the Miss Twin Peaks contest and hopes that Dwayne — one of the judges — will help her. Cooper orders coffee and donuts from Annie and asks her to accompany him on a nature study. Shelly mumbles something from the anonymous poem someone sent in the mail. Cooper recognizes the poem as something from Windham Earle.

Andy and Major Briggs recreate the cave wall illustration on the office chalkboard. Briggs has seen the cave petroglyphs in his dreams. Cooper asks him about Windham Earle’s involvement with project Blue Book. Cooper recognizes Leo’s handwriting on the notes given to Audrey, Shelley, and Donna.

Ben tells Richard Tremaine that Audrey is away on business, and admits staying on the “good” path is difficult.

Windham Earle has placed the other guy in a plaster cylinder. He produces a crossbow and murders him.

Ben tells Doc Hayward, Dwayne, and Pete his opinions of the Miss Twin Peaks contest, trying to work the endangered forest ferret into the contest.

The judges begin reviewing contest entries. Bobby, Shelly, and Donna see Lana go up first and wonder if it’s fixed. Nadine also wants to enter. Bobby pulls Mike aside, saying Nadine is pretty old for a beauty contest. Mike says divulges that she has some unusual talents.

Harry asks Catherine about Josie. Catherine admits she has trouble hating her. She shows Harry the puzzle box and that it might have something to do with Josie. Pete drops the box and it opens. inside is another box with a circle of moon phases and zodiac symbols. Catherine snatches it away, wondering how to solve this new puzzle.

Cooper and Annie get to know each other in a rowboat on the lake. She had one boyfriend before entering a convent, and hints she tried to kill herself because of him. They kiss. They have both experienced love and loss. Windham Earle observes them through binoculars.

Richard Tremaine leads a wine-tasting class, asking everyone to smell, taste, and spit. Andy just gulps. Lucy becomes annoyed and spits wine in Richard’s face.

At the diner, Gordon Cole has grown infatuated with Shelly. Cooper and Annie walk in, and they all have pie. Cole says he is leaving Twin Peaks and kisses Shelly. Bobby sees this, and yells.

At dinner with her parents, Donna asks her mom about Ben Horne. She suspects her mother and Ben are having an affair.

A large crate is discovered in the gazebo, along with a brass ring saying “pull me”. Cooper and Harry arrive to check it out. Inside is a large chess piece with the dead boy in it. A note says “next time it will be someone you know.”

Thoughts

Much of this episode documents the stage being set for a confrontation between Windham Earle and Cooper during the Miss Twin Peaks contest. But there are also a few side plots to keep one’s eye on, namely Audrey / Jack, Donna and her suspicions regarding her mother and Ben Horne, and Catherine’s puzzle box.

This is an early role fort Heather Graham and she doesn’t seem a comfortable actress at this point. A lot of her lines seem to not have much emotion behind them, almost as if she’s reading off a card. Shame.

Next Episode: The Path To The Black Lodge
Previous Episode: On The Wings Of Love

Synopsis

Eckhart’s assistant Jones tries to seduce Harry, then pulls out a wire to choke him. He manages to fight her off. Harry asks Cooper why Eckhart would want him dead. Doc Hayward shows Cooper and Harry the chess move left by Windham Earle and a bonsai tree, and Agent Gordon Cole produces Windham Earle’s classified dossier. The bonsai tree contains a bug.

While part of the FBI, Windham Earle investigated UFOs as did Major Briggs. Cole reinstates Cooper in the FBI to help catch him.

Windham Earle asks Leo to pick three cards from a deck onto which he has pasted small pictures: Queen Donna, Queen Audrey and Queen Shelly. The King is Cooper. The final Queen will be the winner of the Twin Peaks contest.

Ben and Donna’s mother have a secret meeting at the Great Northern. They had an affair twenty years ago, and she is returning some old love letters. Ben wants to make up for old wrongs. Donna and Audrey listen from a secret passage.

Cole, Cooper, and Harry visit the RR Diner for breakfast. Cole becomes enamored by Shelly when he realizes he can hear her voice unassisted. Cooper is similarly enamored by Annie. Meanwhile, Cooper draws a doodle on a napkin from Major Briggs’ tattoo. Harry recognizes it as a hieroglyph in the Owl Cave.

James tells Donna via postcard that he has gone on a long, solo road trip. She asks her father how her mom knows Ben Horne, and he brushes it off.

At the library, Audrey runs into Windham Earle in yet another disguise. He says she looks like a queen. This sort of creeps her out and she skitters off.

Annie glances at an ad for the Miss Twin Peaks contest, but tells Shelly she’s uninterested in both the contest — and Dale Cooper.

Harry receives the next move from Windham Earle. Cooper hands Harry a cave hat.

Ben tells Audrey he hasn’t been a good father. He sends Audrey on a trip to talk with some environmentalists about the ferret. John advises Ben to always tell the hardest truth first. Ben offers him a carrot.

Cooper, Harry, Hawk, and Andy crawl into the dark, owl cave. They examine the walls to find a cave drawing that resembles Cooper’s triangular doodle. There is a flame at the top of the diamonds. Andy swings a pick which sticks in the wall. The center diamond slowly moves, revealing a pole. On the pole is a symbol that looks like a diamond within two mountains — or an owl — emerging from a flame. Cooper says it will lead somewhere. An owl flies out of the cave.

Annie visits the Great Northern bar and orders a rum and tonic. Cooper smiles when he sees her. She says everything in the town is so new and interesting to her. She says she failed before and it might happen again. Cooper offers his help.

Windham Earle is in the owl cave alone. He finds the pole with the odd symbol on it, and decides to invert the symbol by rotating the pole. The pick falls to the ground and the whole wall starts to cave in.

Thoughts

• Cole’s fascination with Shelly was quite amusing, and a parallel to the slowly blossoming romance between Cooper and Annie. Yet another pair in Twin Peaks.
• The owl cave is the first time we see the “owl” symbol that has multiple interpretations and also can be inverted. It looks like two mountains — “twin peaks.” The symbol appears on a ring in the Twin Peaks movie Fire Walk With Me.
• We also learned that Windham Earle was involved in the same paranormal, UFO investigation as Major Briggs, tying together those two plot lines.

Next Episode: Variations On Relations
Previous Episode: Wounds And Scars

Synopsis

Harry gets loaded on whiskey at the Bookhouse Boys hideout, distraught at Josie’s death. At the RR diner, Norma introduces Annie Blackburn (Heather Graham), Norma’s sister, to Shelly. Annie will work at the diner.

Hawk and Cooper notice Josie’s body is lighter after death. It’s implied something happened to her soul.

Leo and Windham Earle look in the paper to see the latest chess move from Cooper. Windham recognizes it as an attempt to stalemate the game. Meanwhile, Audrey prepares for a fashion show to raise awareness of the endangered pine weasel.

Cooper tells Harry that Josie killed Jonathan and was a hardened criminal. Harry orders him to leave.

As Catherine looks over architectural plans, Eckhart’s assistant, a woman named Jones, stops by. She wants to take Eckhart’s body back to Hong Kong, and gives a mysterious black box to Catherine.

Windham Earle, once again in disguise, delivers a gift to Donna, saying he’s an old friend of her father, Doc Hayward.

Pete and Cooper ponder the next chess move. Pete sadly tells Cooper that no matter what move they make, six pieces will die. The Log Lady and Briggs come to see cooper (they did once before) they say the three triangles means something.

Donna shows the gift to her father. He says he the “old friend” died in a rafting accident. The gift contains the knight chess piece and another chess move.

Later, Donna sees Ben whisper something to her mother. Norma shows Shelly an ad for the upcoming Miss Twin Peaks contest. Windham Earle sits at the counter in a biker disguise. Cooper takes a seat and is immediately taken by Annie. Cooper notices a scar on her wrist.

Harry has thrown a tantrum and trashed the book house in a drunken rage. Cooper tries to talk him down. Harry screams that he could have taken Josie to safety, and she shouldn’t have died.

Mike and Nadine, in disguises, check into the Great Northern, for a night of romance.

The fashion show is underway, and Ben tells the crowd the Ghostwood project must be stopped to save the endangered pine ferret. A live pine weasel bites Richard Tremaine, acting as host, on the nose. As everyone screams and runs, Audrey falls into John’s arms and they kiss.

Jones sneaks into Harry’s bedroom and climbs into bed with Harry.

Thoughts

The show begins a slow ascent to decency with the introduction of Annie Blackburn who acts as a long-overdue love interest for Agent Cooper. Also coming to a head are Windham Earle’s nefarious plans for the Miss Twin Peaks contest. And with Cooper increasingly occupied, it seems the writers wanted to give Audrey something else to do, and so she will find some semblance of a romance in John. From here on out, every episode is a “must see” as we build to possibly the most bizarre series finale in television history.

Next Episode: On The Wings Of Love
Previous Episode: The Condemned Woman

Synopsis

Agent Cooper plays Windham Earle’s recorded message to Harry. They call on Pete Martell to play the next chess move. Meanwhile, Pete and Catherine are having breakfast when Josie enters the room to see Andrew Packard — her husband — whom she thought was dead all these years — still alive and well. She faints.

Cooper and Harry question Hank, under arrest for breaking parole. Harry says Bobby saw him shoot Leo. Hank tries to cut a deal, saying he knows who killed Andrew Packard. Albert wants to arrest Josie, saying the bullet found in Jonathan’s body matches the one found in Cooper -  Josie shot them both.

At the Great Northern, handsome newcomer John chats up Audrey. She receives a mysterious letter from Windham Earle, containing part of a poem and an invitation to visit the Roadhouse that evening.

Nadine informs Ed she’s in love with Mike and wants to break up with him.

Cooper questions Josie — as Catherine secretly listens. He says they have enough evidence to arrest her, and perhaps she should explain everything to Harry first. After Cooper leaves, Catherine tells Josie that Eckhart won’t be happy to find Andrew alive (it was Josie’s job to kill him all those years ago). Josie grows increasingly distraught, grabbing a gun hidden in a bookshelf.

Ben has called a meeting with John, Audrey, Jerry, and Bobby. Ben says Horne industry is on hard times, what with the mill and Ghostwood now owned by Catherine. He reveals a picture of the nearly extinct pine weasel, saying Ghostwood project threatens this harmless creature and must be stopped.

At the diner, Windham Earle, in a biker disguise, leaves a note for Shelly, which contains a part of a poem and the same invitation Audrey received. Norma mentions her sister Annie Blackburn is coming visit Twin Peaks. Suddenly, Ed bursts in, kisses Norma, and asks her to marry him.

Norma visits Hank in jail and tells him to forget about her. He demands an alibi in exchange for a divorce. Norma doesn’t want to, and leaves Hank screaming in his cell.

Josie puts on makeup (as she did in the pilot episode). Andrew shares a glass of champagne her. She admits trying to murder him and failing, then beg for help. He says the police are closing in, and her only hope is to give herself up to Eckhart.

Donna and James meet secretly in the woods. James admits getting involved with Evelyn was a huge mistake. Donna forgives him and returns to Twin Peaks, while James continues on alone.

Pete answers the door to find Harry, nervously searching for Josie. Pete and Catherine say she went to the Great Northern to meet with Eckhart. Harry runs off. Andrew stops Eckhart in the elevator, claiming Josie didn’t have the guts to murder him. Eckhart is angered by Josie’s perceived betrayal.

Donna, Shelly, and Audrey arrive at the Roadhouse with the notes they received. Windham Earle secretly watches from the end of the bar.

Cooper walks down the hall of the Great Northern when he overhears Thomas Eckardt attacking Josie in his room. A gunshot rings out — Eckhart has been shot and killed by Josie. Cooper confronts as she cries about going to to jail. Harry arrives to see Josie turning the gun on herself. She dies. Cooper has a vision of Bob hovering over the bed, asking “What happened to Josie?” The diminutive man from another place dances on the bed, lit by a spotlight.

The camera moves over to the nightstand to show Josie’s face in the doorknob — her soul is trapped within the wood.

Thoughts

• This episode brings much closure to the very long and convoluted Josie Packard plot line. It turns out she actually had a long and sordid history with unsavory characters. She tried to kill her own husband (Andrew Packard) but he faked his own death and turned her previous lover, Thomas Eckhart, against her. Harry, her lover, was totally left on the sidelines and the after effects are seen in the next few episodes.
• The other big mystery solved was “who shot Agent Cooper?” a question posed in the season finale of season one. The culprit was Josie. It sure took an awfully long time to work up to this conclusion.
• In the end, as Josie is sucked into the wood of the hotel, Cooper again sees the Bob and the midget, loosely connecting the Josie plot line to Laura Palmer’s murder, and the next big plot thread in development: Windham Earle and the Black Lodge.
• This episode also marks the end of the James / Evelyn / Malcom / Donna stuff which as I’ve mentioned before, was not my cup of tea.
• Now that the Josie and James stuff has concluded, the show starts getting back on its feet via nutty, surreal, and genuinely scary material as Windham Earle moves back to the forefront.
• The first mention of Annie Blackburn, Norma’s sister, who will be Cooper’s love interest for the remaining episodes.

Next Episode: Wounds And Scars
Previous Episode: Slaves And Masters

Synopsis

Malcolm, Evelyn’s lover / brother is happy that her husband is now dead, and kisses her. At Wallie’s bar, Donna urges James to leave, but he feels guilty for abandoning Evelyn. Donna phones Ed for help.

Cooper, still wondering if Bobby shot Leo, asks Bobby where he was when the mill burned. Albert tells everyone that Windham Earle has been sending packages to various locations containing pieces of Caroline’s bridal gown. When placed on a map, the locations form the letter “C.”

In his secret cabin, Windham Earle toots on a bamboo pipe while Leo sleeps on a cot. Windham learned of Leo’s past troubles with the law from a police wire. He beats Leo with the pipe and forces him to wear an electric shock collar.

Ed and Norma lie in bed together, planning to break the bad news to Nadine. Nadine breaks through the door and joins Ed and Norma in bed. She apologizes for beating up Hank, and then says she doesn’t care if they’re together because she’s in love with Mike. Ed and Norma a bewildered by Nadine’s lackadaisical attitude.

At Catherine’s house, Josie runs her hands on some wood. Cooper and Harry inquire about her “cousin” Jonathan’s death, saying he was shot in the back three times. Pete arrives with a big pile of Josie’s dry cleaning. Cooper secretly takes some fibers from one of the coats. Thomas Eckhart, recently arrived in Twin Peaks, phones Josie, asking if they could meet. He mentions Jonathan’s death. Catherine listens via another phone.

Dr. Jacoby, Audrey, Bobby, Johnny, and Jerry struggle to return Ben back to reality. Jerry suggests to Audrey they may be able to implement some business ideas of their own, so long as Ben remains in the throes of his civil war reenactment.

At Wallie’s bar, Donna asks Evelyn why she’s using James. Evelyn has no remorse, and Malcolm threatens to kill Donna. She cries.

Cooper’s coat fibers matches those at Jonathan’s murder scene. Albert is convinced Josie is the culprit. Cooper wonders how Harry will react upon learning Josie is a murderer.

Harry says the murder victim left by Windham Earle was named Powell — Caroline’s maiden name — another reminder that Windham Earle hasn’t forgotten Cooper’s affair. Knowing that every lost piece means another murder, Cooper asks Pete (a good chess player) to stalemate Cooper’s game with Windham Earle and lose as few pieces as possible.

Shelly asks Norma if she can work at the diner again. Harry informs Norma that Hank was arrested for violating parole.

Catherine invites Thomas Eckhart over for dinner him. Josie, still acting as Catherine’s maid, nervously struggles with a wine bottle. Catherine wonders why her brother was killed, and playfully bargains with Josie’s life.

James busts in on Evelyn and Malcom, demanding to know why she framed him. Evelyn admits she just wanted her husband’s money. As she and James kiss, Malcom whacks him on the head.

With Audrey dressed as a southern belle, the gang pretends Ben is General Grant, singing a treaty surrendering the North to the South. Once done, Ben hits his head, and awakens from his fantasy, remembering the whole ordeal as a bad dream.

Windham Earle puts on a disguise, and electrocutes Leo, who is practicing his handwriting. Windham Earle has cut out pictures of Shelly, Donna, and Audrey, and making Leo write a note asking which will be his queen.

With Malcom and Evelyn about to shoot James, Donna runs in, begging them to stop. Malcom grabs Donna by the hair, and at the last moment, Evelyn shoots Malcom.

Cooper goes to his room to find a white mask on his bed, lit from beneath. It is Caroline’s death mask. A tape recorded message from Windham says it’s Cooper’s move.

Thoughts

• Interesting camera angles, sometimes spoiled by artsy cuts before scenes.
• Leo learns that Windham Earle is a total psychopath, and an abusive captor. There’s also a parallel between Windham Earle’s bamboo pipe and Cooper’s occasional tooting on a duck call whistle.
• The whole James, Evelyn subplot just gets sillier. Donna runs in at the last moment for no reason whatsoever. Don’t they lock their doors?
• The “C” spelled out by Windham Earle’s mailing locations could represent “Caroline” or “Cooper.”
• David Warner makes a great bad guy.
• Josie’s “wood rubbing” foreshadows her eventual fate.

Next Episode: The Condemned Woman
Previous Episode: Double Play

Synopsis

Doc Hayward looks at the corpse and pulls out a chesspiece from his mouth. Cooper deduces that Windham Earle set off an explosion to cause a diversion so he could place the corpse in the sheriff’s office. The dead body represents a pawn taken in the ongoing chess game between he and Windham Earle.

Shelly tries to escape from her dark house, as Leo comes at her with an axe. She grabs a knife and stabs him in the leg. Leo runs away into the dark woods.

Cooper has been cleared of all charges. Andy and Richard believe Nicky killed his parents. Lucy is doubtful, and instead believes Andy and Richard would make bad fathers.

Evelyn’s husband thanks James for fixing the car, and it for a spin. Not that far down the road, a car crash is heard. James tells Evelyn he’s leaving.

Ed tells Norma that Nadine saved him from Hank, who was arrested for parole violations. Norma and Ed decide to rekindle their forbidden romance.

Cooper confesses that Windham Earle was his first partner and they played chess every day for years. Four years ago, they had an assignment to protect a federal witness named Caroline, and Cooper fell for her. One night he failed in his duty to protect her, and she was stabbed to death. Caroline was Windham Earle’s wife, and after her death, he had to be institutionalized. Cooper suspects Windham Earle killed her.

Looking for James, Donna visits the bar where James originally met Evelyn. Evelyn happens to be there, and tells Donna he left yesterday for Mexico. Donna is confused.

Audrey, Jerry, and Dr. Jacoby have become careful participants in Ben’s increasingly elaborate civil war reenactment. Dr. Jacoby says Ben is playing the south, winning the Civil war, which never happened, but represents a healing of loss.

Major Briggs tells Harry and Cooper that the military’s motivations weren’t pure, and there is trouble ahead.

Dr. Jacoby tells Cooper that Lana, the “black widow” has a hightened sexual drive. Duane storms in with a shot gun, blaming her for his brother Dougie’s death. Cooper puts her and Dwayne in a room to talk things over. After a short time, they’ve decided to get married — they knew she would seduce him.

Catherine opens a door in the house to reveal — Andrew Packard, Josie’s husband, long believed to be dead. He and Catherine say Thomas Eckart, who used to be a business partner, tried to kill him. Josie worked for Thomas Eckhart but has no idea Andrew is alive. And lastly — Thomas Eckhart is coming to Twin Peaks. Meanwhile, a mysterious woman and Eckhart himself arrive at the Great Northern.

Doc Haward tells Andy, Lucy, and Richard that Nicky has nothing to do with murders and his tragic upbringing. Andy and Richard cry for being so untrusting in a young boy.

As James packs his bags and Evelyn pleads with him to stay, a cop car arrives. James realizes he was set up so her husbands death in a car accident would be blamed on him. He runs off and finds Donna waiting for him under a tree. They run off into the night.

Deep in the woods, Leo wanders up to Windham Earle’s cabin. A window opens and leaves blow onto a chess board.

Thoughts

Perhaps Windham Earle faked insanity, thereby going into hiding so he could plot his revenge against Cooper. If so, it could be like Leo faking his disability. So it’s small wonder the two have found each other deep in the woods. Another parallel between Leo and Windham: both have taken frustrations out on their wives.

Next Episode: Slaves And Masters
Previous Episode: Checkmate

Synopsis

Major Briggs sits in a chair in a jungle, and returns to Twin Peaks with three, triangular scars behind one ear. At the sheriff’s office, he mentions project Blue Book — an Air Force investigation into UFOs, which had him searching for the mystical “White Lodge.” Before he can go further, two military officers take him away.

Denise and Cooper convince Ernie to help entrap Jean Renoir and the Mountie.

James calls Ed to request some money. Evelyn, wearing dark glasses, asks James about Twin Peaks. He says he loved a girl named Laura who died. Evelyn kisses James, and he takes off her glasses to see bruises. Just then, her husband comes home.

At the diner, Nadine comes onto Mike who resists. Nadine says he is the handsomest boy she has ever known. Ed passes Norma a note, saying they need to talk. Hank suspiciously watches her leave work early.

Harry stops by the Packard Mill to find Josie working as Catherine’s maid. He invites her to come live with him, but she feels safer where she is. They make out in the kitchen.

Audrey finds Ben totally obsessed with his civil war re-enactment using model figurines, and calls Jerry for help.

Norma visits Ed at his house. She says she still thinks about him — they kiss.

Hawk puts a wire on a visibly nervous Ernie, who will take Denise to Dead Dog Farm to purchase drugs from Jean and the Mountie. After the deal is done, Harry will arrest them.

Richard and Andy sneak into the boy’s home to find information on Nicky.

Donna asks Ed about James’ whereabouts, and volunteers to deliver the money he requested.

Hank bursts into Ed’s house and beats him up. Just then, Nadine comes in and throws Hank into some shelves using her superhuman strength.

Ben shows Bobby the model battlefield sprawled across his office, and calls him a general. As Bobby leaves, Audrey tells him Jerry and Jacobi are coming. Catherine visits Ben and tries to reignite their affair.

James has finished fixing the car, and they celebrate with champagne. She asks him to stay, and they start to make out. Her brother Malcom observes from afar — but it’s soon revealed he’s actually her lover — and they have secret plans for James.

Cooper watches the drug deal through binoculars. Jean figures out it’s a trap after Ernie nervously looks out the window. Jean takes Denise (who has reverted back to his male persona) hostage. Cooper then gives himself up in exchange for Denise and Ernie.

With Dead Dog Farm totally surrounded, Jean and the Mountie contemplate killing Cooper. Just then, Denise, now dressed as a woman, approaches the house with a tray of food. He hikes up his skirt as a distraction. Cooper grabs a gun from Denise’s garter and shoots Jean. Denise knocks out the Mountie. Harry and Hawk bust in the room.

At Shelly’s, the power goes on and off, and Leo’s chair is empty. Shelly sees Leo emerges from a dark, back room — with cake on his face.

The lights are also out at the sheriff’s office. Cooper wanders the dark halls and finds a dead man tied up in front of a chess game. It’s Windham Earle’s next move.

Thoughts

Another middling episode. The climax of the Dead Dog Farm plot is the best part, as is Leo finally gaining mobility and scaring the crap out of Shelly. Unfortunately the other stuff (Ben’s civil war, Ed and Norma’s reignited romance, Andy / Richard / Nicky, Nadine, and James / Evelyn) are all very silly.

Next Episode: Double Play
Previous Episode: The Black Widow

Synopsis

Bobby stops by Ben’s office, only to find Ben growing mentally unstable — all the office furniture is rearranged. He hires Bobby to follow Hank with a camera. Meanwhile, Cooper considers staying in Twin Peaks, and asks a realtor to see a distended property called Dead Dog Farm.

Dougie is found dead. In their honeymoon suite, Andy finds sex books and toys. Dwayne accuses Lana of murder. Lana shyly tells Hawk that she may be cursed.

Mike challenges Nadine to a wrestling match. She easily throws him to the ground, and then asks him out. Later, Mike tells Donna that she’s too old for him to date.

James is working on Evelyn’s car when Malcolm, Evelyn’s brother and driver tells him that her husband Jeffrey beats her.

At Dead Dog Farm, Cooper finds the property not that abandoned after all. There are indications a meeting recently took place. Cooper finds cocaine residue on a kitchen chair.

Richard, Lucy, and Andy learn that Nicky’s “acting out” could be due to the untimely death of his parents. Later, Richard is almost killed changing a flat tire. Nicky is in the driver’s seat.

A colonel asks Cooper about Major Briggs’ disappearance, saying the space messages emanated from the woods surrounding Twin Peaks. Cooper asks about the “white lodge” only to find that information classified.

Finished fixing her car, James asks Evelyn about her husband, and kisses her. Just then, Jeffrey drives up.

At the Great Northern, Bobby tells Audrey that her father hired him. Audrey suggests they do business together. Bobby walks into Ben’s office as Audrey sneaks into her hallway secret passage. Ben is now dressed in a grey, civil war uniform and playing with Civil War models. Bobby presents a folder full of pictures of Hank meeting with unidentified people. Ben gives Bobby a cash payment for a job well done.

Pete and Catherine enjoy a nice dinner with Josie in her new job as house-servant.

Audrey shows Cooper the photographs Bobby took. They’re of a clandestine meeting at Dead Dog Farm. Cooper recognizes the men as Jean Renault, Hank, the mountie, and Eddie. Cooper shows the pictures to Denise and presents the cocaine sample from Dead Dog Farm — hopefully enough evidence to prove Cooper was framed.

Richard tells Andy that Nicky may be trying to kill him, and they should investigate how his parents died

Doc Hayward tells Dwayne that Douggie died of natural causes. All the men in the sheriff’s office are oddly taken by Lana’s demeanor. She has a seductive power over men.

At the RR diner, Denise and Cooper confront Eddie with a parole violation. Scared, he tells Cooper a sob story about being coerced into selling drugs. Trapped, he agrees to help Denise play a drug buyer and trap them.

James overhears Jeffrey arguing with Evelyn. Malcolm tells James that one day, he’ll kill Jeffrey.

Bobby comes home to find his mother waiting in the dark. They both miss Major Briggs. Just then, he appears at the door in a pilot’s outfit. He has no recollection of how long he was gone.

Thoughts

A rather half-and-half episode. The Cooper plot line is entertaining, especially with the cross-dressing Denise. Less amusing is Lana the man-magnet and the tedious Richard, Andy, and Nicky stuff. Meanwhile, Ben begins his descent into madness which is also a very silly plot thread.

Next Episode: Checkmate
Previous Episode: Masked Ball

Synopsis

Major Briggs’ wife says Major Briggs has disappeared before, as part of his military duties, the nature of which remains classified.

Andy and Hank says Dougie has once again, gotten engaged to the much younger Lana Budding. Gordon Cole calls to say he supports Cooper in regards to his suspension from the FBI and charges of murder and drug trafficking. Agent Dennis Bryson is coming to Twin Peaks to investigate the drugs angle. Cooper claims innocence.

Nadine, now enrolled in high school, asks Donna if she’s still going out with Mike. Nadine is interested in him.

James, driving away from Twin Peaks on his motorcycle, pulls into a bar called Wallie’s Hideout and orders a beer. There, he meets Evelin Marsh, who if he can repair her car before her husband gets home. Later, as James starts work on the car, Evelyn offers him a place to stay.

Richard Tremaine brings a young boy, Little Nicky, to the sheriff’s office, trying to demonstrate to Lucy that he could be a good parent. She isn’t there, so he invites Andy to lunch instead.

Cooper asks Hawk about the “White Lodge.” Hawk says the Indians believe spirits that rule man and nature live there. There is also a “Black Lodge” that every spirit must pass through on the way to perfection. There, you will meet your shadow-self, and if you enter with imperfect courage, your soul will be annihilated.

Dennis Bryson arrives, dressed in woman’s clothing, and wants to be called Denise.

As Mike works out in the school gym, Nadine tries to impress him by lifting 600 pounds. Impressed, the coach invites her to join the wrestling team.

Josie tells Harry that she used to work for Thomas Eckhart, a man in Hong Kong who he helped her when she was young and poor, until she married Andrew Packard. Eckart wants Josie back and may be responsible for Andrew’s death. Josie is reluctant to divulge more.

Hank and Eddie return to the RR diner, where Norma is skeptical that they did go hunting as they claim. Norma tells Eddie that he should return to Seattle and join her mother, Vivian. Norma serves Andy, Richard Tremaine, and Nicky a snack. Nicky blows whipped cream on Richard and spins a stool, tossing Andy to the ground.

Ben Horne watches an old movie of his father breaking ground on the Great Northern. Hank stops by. Ben is angry that Catherine didn’t die in the mill fire, for being arrested for Laura’s murder, and Leland dying. He even complains about the furniture in his office. Hank tells Ben that One Eyed Jack’s has been taken over by Jean Renault, and he works for Jean.

Cooper receives a letter from Windham Earle containing a chess move on it and a cassette tape, saying “the king must die.”

At the wedding ceremony, Dougie marries Lana and glares at his brother, Dwayne, as if taunting him. Dwayne objects, claiming Lana is a gold digger. Harry drags Dwayne outside so the ceremony can continue.

At the reception, Denise tells Cooper he found cocaine residue in Cooper’s car, and needs to find some evidence that this is a frame job. He also explains the cross-dressing — it started while working undercover as a transvestite.

Begging for mercy, Josie tells Catherine that Andrew was killed by Thomas Eckhart. Catherine still thinks Josie had something to do with it, and can only stay if she becomes the house maid. If she disobeys, she’ll be handed over to Eckhart.

Later, unbeknown to everyone but Catherine, Andrew Packard emerges from a back room — he is still alive. He and his sister Catherine are setting up a trap for Thomas.

Thoughts

• Denise is played by David Duchovny in drag. It’s said the paranormal show The X-Files owes part of its existence to the strangeness of Twin Peaks.
• Everything Josie tells Harry could easily be a lie.
• Andrew Packard was presumed dead up until this point.
• This episode marks the beginning of several subplots I now don’t care for — the relationship between Nadine and Mike, the “hot” Lana and her magnetic personality, and Ben Horne’s side trip into madness. In retrospect, all three prove a big waste of time.

Next Episode: The Black Widow
Previous Episode: Dispute Between Brothers

Synopsis

After Leland’s death, Doc Hayward and Cooper comfort Sarah and attend a funeral dinner. Now that the Palmer case is closed, Cooper isn’t sure what to do next.

At the gathering, the elderly town mayor Dwayne and his brother Dougie nearly come to blows — they have some sort of rivalry.

Ed and Jacobi enroll Nadine — who still thinks she is a teenager — at the local high school. She’s excited to try out for the cheer leading squad.

Audrey visits Cooper as he packs his bags. She’s sad to see him go, but Cooper reiterates his promise to not become involved with her. He says he loved someone who was a witness to a federal crime. He and his partner Windham Earle, were supposed to protect her, but she was murdered. Cooper was badly injured and Windham Earle lost his mind.

Catherine tells Harry that after the mill fire, she hid in a cabin in the woods until returning to Twin Peaks as Mr. Tojimura.

Richard Tremaine tries to reconnect with Lucy. Andy interrupts, saying they should all be friends until they establish the father of her child.

Harry gives Cooper a fishing lure and a Bookhouse Boy patch as going-away presents, and Cooper says goodbye to Hawk, Andy, and Lucy. Just then, Agent Roger Hardy and a Canadian Mountie arrive to suspended Cooper from the FBI — Audrey’s rescue from One Eyed Jack’s wasn’t authorized and didn’t follow agency protocol.

Audrey makes fun of Bobby as he waits outside Ben’s office, hoping to talk to him. After Bobby tells Ben about the tape, two men drag him away.

Agent Hardy questions Cooper about Jacques’ death and Jean Renault. The Mountie says Cooper crossed the border illegally. They suspect Cooper was involved in the drug trafficking.

At the cheerleader tryout, Nadine does some crazy tumbling, and tosses another student into the air.

Bobby tells Shelly over the phone that his meeting with Ben didn’t work out so well. Leo moves in the chair.

Norma is disappointed that the restaurant critic “Went” panned the RR diner. It turns out Norma’s mother, Vivian, is “Went” and wrote the review. She says she can’t favor the RR just because Norma is her daughter. Norma asks Vivian to leave.

At One Eye Jack’s, Hank introduces Ernie to Jean Renault as a financial whiz. Jean Renault requests 125 thousand dollars immediately. He introduces an accomplice — the Mountie who previously questioned Cooper. The Mountie has a suitcase filled with cocaine and a plan to frame Cooper.

In the middle of the night, Harry finds Josie outside his door, tired and weeping. Hank pulls her inside and they kiss.

At a campsite, Cooper roasts marshmallows with Major Briggs. Cooper says he still contemplates BOB. Major Briggs says people choose how to react to darkness, sometimes with fear. He mentions a place called the “white lodge”. Something crawls through the woods. An owl is heard. Major Briggs disappears in a flash of light.

Thoughts

With the Laura Palmer case closed, the seeds are laid for a new mystery for Cooper to tackle, involving Windham Earle, his old partner. Unfortunately, as this new plot thread gets going, we must endure several silly new characters and plot threads that fail to gel.

Next Episode: Masked Ball
Previous Episode: Arbitrary Law

Synopsis

Albert returns to Twin Peaks, announcing that Laura and Maddie were murdered by the same individual. A letter “O” was found beneath Maddie’s fingernail, along with fibers from a white fox. Cooper requests 24 hours to find the killer.

James gives Donna a promise ring. They kiss.

Vivian doesn’t like the omelet Norma has prepared. Norma complains about being unable to please her. Andy mumbles something in French over pie — “I am a lonely soul” — the contents of Harold’s suicide note. Donna recognizes the phrase from Harold’s neighbor, Mrs. Tremond.

Donna leads Cooper to Mrs. Tremond’s house. A lady comes to the door and says the older Mrs. Tremond passed away. She hands over a letter that was left for Donna from Harold. It contains a page from Laura’s diary. The page recounts Cooper’s prophetic dream of a red room with Laura and the mysterious midget, and says MIKE can stop BOB. Laura wondered if Cooper was MIKE, and she wants to die so Bob can’t hurt her anymore.

Cooper tells MIKE (via Gerard, the one-armed man) that BOB killed Maddie. MIKE says appetite, satisfaction, and a golden circle means a ring. Cooper mentions the ring he gave to the Giant. MIKE says the Giant has all the clues he needs. The elderly butler appears in the hall with a glass of milk, saying “I know about you.”

Cooper searches Ben Horne’s office. Harry believes Ben is the killer. He finds a telephone call between Ben and Laura the night of the murder. Albert hands over Ben Horne’s blood test.

Mr. Tojimura visits Ben in jail, asking him to sign over the Ghostwood land. Ben claims he’s unable to sign do so. Mr. Tojimura puts a foot with red toenails through the bars — it’s Catherine in disguise. Ben is overjoyed — since they were together on the night of Laura’s murder, she can provide him with an alibi. He signs Ghostwood over to her.

Donna asks Leland to send Maddie a tape recording. He tells him that the police now have Laura’s secret diary. Leland is disturbed, and Donna begins to suspect that Leland may have killed his own daughter. Leland chews a stick of gum and goes to get some lemonade. He looks in a mirror to see Bob, and prepares to kill Donna.

Leland puts on a record and starts dancing with her. He then pulls Donna toward her suddenly. The doorbell rings. It’s Harry. He asks Leland for his help and takes him out the door. Donna visits the lake, and tells James that Maddie and Laura were killed by the same person. He drives away on the motorcycle. Donna cries.

Cooper and Albert bring Leland, Ed, Ben, and Leo to the bar. Cooper announces that the killer is one of these men, and he’ll use “magic” to identify him. Major Briggs escorts the elderly butler into the room.

The butler offers some gum to Cooper. Leland says this is his favorite gum. The butler says this gum will come back in style — the words spoken to Cooper by the midget in his dream. Suddenly, Cooper remembers what Laura whispered in his ear in that same dream: “my father killed me”. The giant appears to Cooper and gives him the ring which drops to the floor. He chews the stick of gum and picks up the ring.

Cooper, now certain Leland is the killer, decides to reveal this sneakily. He names Ben as the killer and asks Leland to act as Ben’s attorney. As they exit the bar, Cooper gives a thumbs up to the elderly butler.

As Ben is placed in a cell, Cooper and Harry grab Leland and lock him up. They interrogate Leland, who is flipping out, possessed by BOB. Ben is free.

Leland (BOB) admits to killing both Laura and Maddie. The confession is enough to convince Harry that Leland is the killer.

Lucy tells Andy and Richard that she is keeping the baby. Richard’s cigarette smoke tips off a smoke detector.

Ben’s blood test was the wrong type. Cooper rattles off a list of clues that indicated Leland as the murderer:

• The midget danced in the dream. Leland also liked to dance, inappropriately.
• Leland said his neighbor Robertson was a grey-haired man. After Jacques murder, Leland’s hair turned white. The letters left under the victims were spelling “Robert.”
• Maddie reminded Leland of Laura.
• Leland called Laura from Ben’s office, ripped out the pages in the diary, and was the third man who followed Laura and Ronette into the woods. He took the girl’s to the train car.

From his confinement, Leland recounts a poem:

Through the darkness of future past
The magician longs to see
Once chants out between two worlds
Fire, walk with me
I’ll cut you with my death bag
You may think I’ve gone insane
But I promise, I will kill again

Fire sprinklers go off. Leland screams and hurls himself at the wall, repeatedly. BOB has left his body. Leland realizes he killed his daughter and starts crying. He lies on the floor of the wet cell and dies. Cooper talks him to the light. He says he sees Laura and dies.

Harry decides Leland was insane. Albert mentions the oddity that other people (Laura’s mom Sarah, Maddie) had seen BOB. Major Briggs mumbles about evil, and Cooper vows to stop it. Harry wonders where BOB could have gone.

We then see a brief montage of something running through the woods and an owl.

Thoughts

• Very great moment: Catherine’s grand reveal to Ben.
• Donna cries, again.
• Ray Wise does a stellar acting job playing both the evil BOB and then Leland, dying as he realizes his horrific crime.
• It seems the Midget may in fact be MIKE and he possesses Gerard, the one-armed man. Similarly, the Giant possesses the elderly butler, and BOB possesses Leland.
• The ring represents the “circle” of killing and pleasure received as BOB feeds on the fear of his victims.

Overall, I feel this episode was a long time coming. I’ve read it was Lynch and Frost’s intent to never reveal Laura’s killer, but unfortunately, all the clues dropped thus far had to have a resolution. But while it did take a while, I feel the episode lives up to the promise.

Clues:

• Suspects were narrowed down to Leo, Ben, Ed, and Leland.

Next Episode: Dispute Between Brothers
Previous Episode: Drive With A Dead Girl

Synopsis

As Leland practices his golf swing in his living room, James and Donna stop by to say goodbye to Maddie. Leland claims he just dropped her off at the bus station. After they leave, Leland places a golf bag — containing Maddie’s corpse — in the trunk of his car.

Jerry visits Ben in jail and offers his services as lawyer. Jerry wistfully recalls the bunk bed from their youth. Lucy and her sister Gwen return to the sheriff’s office. Gwen carries a baby.

Cooper and Harry see Leland dancing around the lobby of the Great Northern, using a golf club as a cane. Harry tells him that Ben is under arrest for Laura’s murder. Leland wanders into a side room, laughing evilly. Cooper only sees Leland from behind, where he seems to be crying.

Doc Hayward draws Ben’s blood. Cooper questions Jerry’s law credentials, shows Ben Laura’s diary, and says they know Ben owns One Eyed Jack’s. Jerry realizes Ben needs a better lawyer.

Bobby plays the cassette tape found in Leo’s shoe. It’s a recording of Ben and Leo planning the mill burning. Bobby decides to use the tape to extort money from Ben.

Norma’s mother, Vivian, pays a visit to the RR diner. With her is Ernie, her new husband. Hank returns, and Norma is angry that he’s been gone for over a day.

The one armed man awakes, and says BOB is close.

Pete tells Harry that Josie has left town. Josie told Pete that her Asian counterpart (Jon) was her cousin, while she told Harry he was her assistant.

Pete pays Ben a visit, and plays a tape recorder outside the bars. It’s Catherine. Ben is amazed to learn she survived the mill fire. Catherine says she was with Ben the night of Laura murder, and be his alibi — but she wants ownership of Ghostwood in exchange. Pete leaves, laughing, and Ben angrily destroys the cell’s bed, muttering he was set up.

Leland drives along a windy road, singing as his car weaves dangerously. Cooper and Harry nearly hit him, and pull him over. Leland says that the night of Laura’s murder, he heard Ben phoning someone about a “dairy”. Cooper wonders if he meant “diary”. Offhand, Leland wants to show off his golf clubs. Cooper ignores Leland and drives off — they missed seeing Laura’s body in the car trunk.

Andy tells Lucy that his sperm test came back positive and he could be the father of Lucy’s child.

At the sheriff’s office, the one armed man circles around Ben, saying BOB is close — but Ben is not the killer. Still, Harry charges Ben with murder. Cooper pulls Harry aside saying it’s a mistake, but Harry says he’s fed up with the mumbo-jumbo.

At the Great Northern, Hank, Norma, Vivian, and Ernie have dinner. It turns out Hank knows Ernie from jail, as a gambler who stole from a savings and loan.

Audrey visits Cooper’s room, saying she just wanted Ben to love her as a father. Cooper receives a phone call and urgently tells Audrey to return to her room and lock the door.

Cooper runs out to a river bank where the body of Maddie Ferguson, wrapped in plastic, is removed from the river.

Thoughts

A very good episode. The identity of Laura’s murder is known to the audience but not the characters. The scene where Leland is laughing/crying is awesome. Also great is the close call of Cooper almost catching Leland with Maddie’s corpse in the trunk of his car. The final scene of Maddie’s body removed from the river, mirrors the recovery of Laura Palmer’s body from the first episode.

Catherine trapping of Ben in exchange for the Ghostwood property is very slick, and ties together two of the long-running plot threads in a neat way.

Meanwhile, the side stories are less amusing. More new characters — Vivian and Ernie, and Lucy’s sister Gwen — all rather unnecessary in the larger scheme of things.

Clues:

• At this point, we know Leland Palmer is Laura’s killer, but the characters in the show are still searching:
• Mike doesn’t sense BOB in the presence of Ben.
• Catherine Martell was with Ben Horne the night of Laura’s murder and therefore Ben couldn’t be the killer.

Next Episode: Arbitrary Law
Previous Episode: Lonely Souls

Synopsis

Gordon Cole leaves for Bend, Oregon. Mike sits in a chair at the Great Northern, observing people coming in, trying to find BOB. He is unsuccessful.

Hawk enters Harold’s house to find Laura’s diary, only to find Harold hanging from a noose. He left a suicide note saying “I’m a lonely soul.” Hawk finds the diary.

Maddie tells Leland and Sarah she’s going back home to Missoula.

Bobby and Shelly go over bills and are disappointed how little of the insurance money remains. Leo stars moaning, spits and says “new shoes.” Bobby and Shelly are startled, as Leo returns to an inert state.

Audrey questions Ben about One Eyed Jack’s, Hornes, and Ronette. He admits to knowing Laura worked there, and sheepishly admits to sleeping with her.

At the diner, Shelly quits her job to take care of Leo. She cries and Norma gives her a hug. Ed and Nadine arrive, and Nadine, is confused to see Norma working there. She breaks a glass with her super-strength.

Bobby retrieves Leo’s shoes from a repair store, breaks apart the heel, and finds a micro cassette tape.

Cooper looks through Laura’s diary and the torn pages. There are references to BOB and Ben Horne. Audrey tells Cooper that Ben owns One Eyed Jack’s and was sleeping with Laura. Cooper becomes suspicious of Ben and decides to arrest him.

As Ben is about to make a deal with Mr. Tojimura, Cooper arrives to arrest him for the Laura’s murder. Ben resists but is dragged off.

The Log Lady arrives at the sheriff’s office, saying there are owls in the roadhouse, and something is happening right now. At the Palmer’s, a distraught and confused Sarah crawls down a carpeted staircase.

Mr. Tojimura surprises Pete at his house, and kisses him. He speaks with a woman’s voice, and it becomes clear Mr. Tojimura is someone else in disguise — Catherine Martell.

Sarah sees a large white horse appear in the living room, and falls asleep on the floor. Leland, elsewhere in the house, adjusts his tie.

At the Bang Bang Club, Julie Cruise sings a song, Donna tells James that Harold committed suicide, and Cooper and the Log Lady listen to the music. Cooper sees the Giant onstage, who says “it is happening again.”

Leland looks at himself in the mirror and sees BOB’s face. He puts on white latex gloves. Maddie comes to Leland, worried about a burning smell. Leland grabs her by the neck. BOB chases Maddie around the living room, attacking her. BOB’s image is superimposed on Leland’s, as if feeding on Maddie’s fear. Leland smashes Maddie into a painting on the wall, killing her. He then places a letter under her fingernail with a pair of tweezers.

The Giant disappears. The elderly bellhop who worked at the hotel comes up to tell Cooper he’s sorry. Donna is in tears. James moves over to comfort him. Bobby looks around, confused.

Thoughts

Laura Palmer’s murderer is finally revealed — to the audience at least. Cooper and the authorities are still in the dark. It’s a great episode, mostly because it’s directed by David Lynch. Whenever he retakes directing duties, the show somehow rises to a higher level.

Clues:

• We finally learn that Leland Paler is BOB — or BOB possesses Leland Palmer.
• The giant and the elderly bellhop seem to be the same person, or somehow connected.
• The “burning smell” was mentioned by Dr. Jacobi when Jacques was killed in the hospital.
• The clues lead Cooper to Ben Horne, but they’re wrong.

Next Episode: Drive With A Dead Girl
Previous Episode: Demons

Synopsis

James runs into Harold’s house, and frees both Donna and Maddie. In the scuffle, Harold reclaims Laura’s secret diary. After the traumatic experience, Donna and James are back on good terms. Later, Donna tells Harry about Harold’s secret diary.

Lying on a bed, Audrey emerges from her near drug overdose, and is happy to see Cooper. Harry identifies Blackie’s killer as Jean Renault, Jacques Renault’s older brother. Cooper returns the ransom money to Ben. He’s happy to have his money back, but feigns concern about his daughter.

Bobby and Shelly are disappointed with the amount first insurance check — after the medical bills are paid. Meanwhile, Leo mumbles, possibly emerging from his vegetative state.

Cooper’s supervisor Gordon Cole shows up. He has an annoying habit of yelling as he’s hard of hearing. He says torn paper found from the rail car murder scene are from a diary (presumably, the one coveted by Harold). Mr. Gerard the one armed man is brought in for questioning.

Ben visits Audrey to voice his worry. Audrey is wary — surely because she was being held at her father’s own brothel.

Jonathan tells Josie that she must return to Hong Kong or Harry will die. Maddie tells James that he belongs with Donna, not her.

Josie meets with Ben. She has a contract (ownership of the Packard Mill) with Pete’s signature and asks Ben for her share of the money. Ben tries to blackmail her with incriminating information he has collected. Josie counters she has her own dossier of evidence about him. Reluctantly, Ben gives her the $5 million check from Mr. Tojimura, in exchange for the contract.

Bobby and Shelly party with Leo. As Bobby and Shelly make out on the kitchen table, Leo’s head moves slightly.

Cole warns Cooper that he may be getting in over his head. He gives Cooper a letter containing a chess move, from Windham Earle, an old partner and adversary.

Ben tells Leland that although they took payment from the Icelanders for the Ghostwood project, they may have a better offer from Mr. Tojimura. Leland says they can easily stall for time.

Harry comes buy Josie’s house to see her hastily leaving town with Jonathan. Harry is duly surprised. She says she sold the mill and is going home to Hong Kong.

Over dinner, Mr. Tojimura asks Ben why the deal hasn’t gone through yet. Annoyed, Ben tries to stop Leland from singing.

The authorities question Gerard, the one armed man. As his drugs wear off, he’ll “point” to Laura’s killer (as advised by the Giant). Gerard is taken over by an outside force. He says his name is MIKE, an inhabiting spirit. BOB is another spirit, like a parasite that feeds. BOB needs a human host and feeds on fear. MIKE says he used to be a partner with BOB but then saw God and stopped. He cut off his arm and now hunts for BOB to stop him. MIKE says BOB’s location as the Great Northern hotel.

Thoughts

• I find it amusing that although Ben is the owner of One Eyed Jack’s, he doesn’t have a clue as to what’s going on up there. For example, his own daughter was held prisoner there, for several days.
• Gordon Cole (David Lynch) shows up and adds a needed dose of eccentricity to the show. Loved the part where he takes Cooper into another room for privacy, and everyone outside can hear what he’s saying.
• We return to the cheesy romance from the beginning of the show in Maddie and James’ conversation on the lake.
• Although Leo is a vegetable, this episode has some horrifying hints that he may suddenly spring out of his chair and take revenge on Bobby and Shelly.
• Chill-inducing moment: the whole ending bit with Gerard babbling about MIKE and BOB — yikes.

Clues:

• The scraps of paper found at the rail car where Laura was murdered are pages from Laura’s secret Diary, that Harold has.
• Josie is forced to return to Hong Kong and in the process hands the mill over to Ben.
• MIKE suggests the crazy man everyone has been seeing is BOB, and BOB is an inhabiting spirit that has taken residence in the person who is Laura’s killer.
• MIKE says the location of BOB is the Great Northern hotel, indicating Laura’s killer to be Leland or Ben.

Next Episode: Lonely Souls
Previous Episode: The Orchid’s Curse

Synopsis

Cooper finds a note left under his bed, left by Audrey quite some time ago. It reveals Audrey’s location as One Eyed Jack’s.

Lucy goes on a trip to take care of her “problem.” A salesman tries to sell Bobby and Shelly a fancy motorized chair for Leo. It doesn’t work very well.

A sentencing is held for Leland regarding the murder of Jacques Renault. The prosecution says it was premeditated and the crime is murder. Harry presents the defense, saying the murder of his daughter Laura must have traumatized him. The judge releases Leland under the condition he remains in town until the trial.

Donna has dinner with Harold and offers her story in exchange for Laura’s diary. Harold gets the diary from a secret drawer in a bookshelf. Donna grabs the diary and runs out the door. Harold chases her, but as soon as he leaves the building he falls to the ground, unable to handle the outdoors. Donna bends down to help him, and Harold reclaims Laura’s diary.

Leo, still a suspect in Laura’s murder, is claimed a vegetable and unfit to stand trail.

Ed returns home with Nadine, who still thinks she is in high school. She doesn’t recognize James, and demonstrates super human strength by tearing off a refrigerator door.

Mr. Tojamura offers Ben Horne $5 million for the Ghostwood project.

Cooper meets with Ben to determine how to save Audrey. Jean Renault calls with instructions on where to deposit the ransom money. Ben gives Cooper a suitcase with the cash. After Cooper leaves, Ben secretly sends Hank to bring back both Audrey and the briefcase.

Donna and Maddie conspire to sneak into Harold’s apartment and steal Laura’s diary. Donna will distract Harold from the front room long enough for Maddie to sneak in.

At One Eyed Jack’s, Blackie hooks a secret knife onto Jean’s arm, and plans to overdose Audrey with drugs.

Andy is told his sperm results are normal. He tries to contact Lucy but realizes she’s gone to an abortion clinic.

Hawk searches for the one armed man and finds vials of medicine in a motel room

At the RR diner, Maddie runs into James en route to Harold’s, and James secretly decides to follow her. Inside Harold’s house, Donna tells Harold how she and Laura went to the Roadhouse to pick up some guys, a warm kiss, and falling in love. Harold is mesmerized.

Cooper and Harry sneak into One Eyed Jack’s, not intending to drop off the suitcase filled with cash, but instead rescue Audrey. They see Jean and Blackie preparing a fatal drug dose for Audrey.

Donna leads Harold into a back room room where he grows orchids. Laura signals to Maddie, hiding outside Harold’s place, with a flashlight.

Cooper finds Audrey tied up in a bed and frees her. Jacques kills Blackie with the knife. He shoots at Harry and vanishes. Cooper and Harry run out with Audrey in Cooper’s arms. A hoodlum is killed by Hawk with a knife. The four run out into the night. Observing from outside, Hank calls Ed to say the plan fell apart. From behind, Jean captures Hank.

Maddie struggles to find the diary hidden in the bookshelf. Harold catches both Donna and Maddie. Angry and disturbed, he produces a garden tool as if to kill them. As Donna and Maddie cower in a corner, Harold scratches his face with the garden tool, drawing blood.

Thoughts

• Donna’s story about picking up guys with Laura is much like a scene from the Twin Peaks movie, Fire Walk With Me.
• The phallic implications of the orchid were not lost on me.

Clues:

• Leo could still be Laura’s killer, but since he is deemed a vegetable, it will be hard to prosecute.
• Ben continues to double cross and act extremely suspicious.
• Hawk finds medicine used by the one-armed man (Mike).
• Mr. Tojamura offers Ben $5 million for the Ghostwood project.

Next Episode: Demons
Previous Episode: Laura’s Secret Diary

Synopsis

Leland, questioned by Cooper and Harry, admits killing Jacques Renault in the hospital, believing Jacques murdered Laura. Cooper and Dr. Hayward believe Leland may be insane.

Andy decides to take a sperm test, and Lucy catches him going into a bathroom with a copy of Flesh World.

A travel writer named Went may be visiting the Great Northern hotel. Jean Renault (Jacques’ brother) shows Ben a video of Audrey tied up, and tells Ben he wants Cooper to bring a large ransom in exchange for Audrey. Meanwhile, Hank and Norma decide to decorate the diner in case Went stops by to have a meal.

A traffic light turns to red. Over dinner, Harold tells Donna he has Laura’s diary and reads a passage from it.

Ben shows Cooper the videotape, and asks him to take a suitcase containing $125K cash to One Eyed Jack’s. At One Eyed Jacks, Jean murders Emery. Audrey cries.

Josie returns from Seattle with a lot of packages. She hugs Pete, who sadly tells her Katherine died in the mill fire.

Cooper confronts Lucy, who admits she doesn’t know if Richard Tremaine or Andy is the father of her baby.

Norma serves a customer in a black hat who might be Went. At another table, Donna tells Maddie that she intends to steal Laura’s diary from Harold.

Harry asks Josie if she really went to Seattle, and if she had something to do with Catherine’s death. Josie plays innocent and they start making out on the couch. A mysterious man peers through the window.

Richard Tremaine stops by the sheriff’s office to give Lucy 650 dollars to take care of her “problem.” Lucy angrily tells Richard to leave.

A mysterious visitor named Mr. Tojimura arrives at the Great Northern. A clerk thinks he may be Went.

Josie meets with her cousin, Jonathan Lee, who has been poking around for the past few episodes. He asks Josie about the turnover of the land and if anyone suspects their plan. He pays a visit to Hank at the RR diner and beats him up.

Thoughts

Additional characters seem to be taking over the show (Mr. Tojimura, Josie’s cousin, Richard Tremaine), distracting from the core of interesting characters.

Clues:

• Leland admits to killing Jacques Renault.
• Harold has Laura’s diary.
• Josie returns and is up to something with her cousin, Jonathan.
• Nobody knows who Went is.
• A strange man named Mr. Tojimura shows up at the Great Northern.

Next Episode: The Orchid’s Curse
Previous Episode: The Man Behind Glass

Synopsis

Ronette has emerged from her coma, and Harry, Cooper, and Albert find a letter “B” beneath a fingernail, placed by Laura’s killer. Cooper recounts his vision of a giant and three clues, two of which have come to pass.

Donna visits Harold, who grows orchids in a dark, gloomy house. He says he can’t go outside, and Laura wanted him to get in touch with Donna. He asks her to place one of his orchids on Laura’s grave.

Cooper writes “R, B, T” on the chalk board and that the crazy long haired man (BOB) has been seen by Mrs. Palmer, Maddy, Ronnette, and himself. Albert thinks this mystical stuff is silly, still believing Leo is responsible.

Cooper tells James that the cocaine in his bike was planted and he can go home. Richard Tremaine, an employee at Horne’s department store, comes into the sheriff’s office to take Lucy out.

Palmer tells Cooper that he also recognizes BOB, as his grandfather’s neighbor. His name was Robertson, and he would flick matches at Palmer saying, “you want to play with fire, little boy?” Intrigued, Cooper begins a search for “Robert.”

Richard and Lucy eat at the RR Diner. He hadn’t called for several weeks, and Lucy tells him she is pregnant, and he might be the father. James and Maddie confer about Donna’s odd behavior. She comes into the diner to see Maddie holding James’ hand. Jealous, she plays up Harold as someone interesting she just met.

Cooper and Harry question Shelly, who doesn’t want to testify against Leo. Cooper escorts her out and then tells Harry she probably wants to keep Leo in her house to collect the insurance money.

Harry looks at various shoes sold by the one-armed man. The one armed man sees the wanted poster of BOB and becomes disoriented. He goes to the bathroom to take medicine, but freaks out in a bathroom stall, muttering about BOB.

Cooper asks Mr. Horne about Audrey. Horne doesn’t know where she is. Meanwhile, at One Eyed Jack’s, Blackie and Emery have her tied up and drugged. She awakens to find Jean Renault (Jacques’ brother) feeding her chocolate and more drugs. Blackie and Emery see Cooper on a casino security tape, and plan to lure Cooper to them.

Harry says the one armed man felt bad and went to the bathroom. Cooper remembers his dream, where the one armed man (MIKE) knew BOB. In the bathroom, they find a syringe of medicine. Cooper recalls the giant’s third clue: without chemicals, he points.

Ed sings a song to Nadine as she sleeps in her hospital bed, when she breaks free from her restraints with super-human strength. There’s something wrong with her memory, and she thinks she’s eighteen and still in high school.

Cooper and Harry visit Doctor Jacobi, having him recall Jacques’ death which took place in the hospital. Jacobi identifies the murderer as…

Donna places an orchid on Laura’s grave, and confesses all her mixed up feelings.

Donna walks in on James and Maddie kissing. A street lamp changes from green to red. Later that evening, Maddie tells Leland that she’s not Laura. He comforts her. Cooper and Harry arrive to arrest Leland for the murder of Jacques Renault.

Late at night, Harold hears Donna knock on the door, crying. He puts a blanket around her and goes to get Donna a drink. She looks around the room and notices a book on his desk, titled: Laura’s diary.

Thoughts

Season two saw the introduction of many characters I don’t think were necessary to the show (Dick Tremaine, Jean Renault, Harold), although any could be suspects for Laura’s killer.

Chill inducing moment: The one-armed man goes into a bathroom stall and flips out with convulsions, flushing the toilet in the process and mumbles about looking for BOB.

Clues:

• The letter “B” is found under Ronette’s fingernail.
• The one armed man is the man “without chemicals” mentioned by the Giant.
• Leland claims BOB was his grandfather’s neighbor, who tossed matches at Leland as a young boy, and talked about playing with fire.
• The one armed man is looking for BOB.
• Harold has Laura’s diary.
• Dr. Jacobi names Leland Palmer as Jacques’ murderer.

Next Episode: Laura’s Secret Diary
Previous Episode: Coma

Synopsis

Ronette — who was in a coma for all of season 1 — is about to emerge, and Cooper plans to ask her about BOB. While having coffee at the Great Northern, Albert mentions that Windham Earl — an coworker who went insane — recently escaped from prison.

Donna makes her first Meals on Wheels delivery to an old woman and her grandson. The woman complains about the creamed corn, which vanishes and reappears in the boy’s hands. She says the neighbor knew Laura. Donna knocks on the neighbor’s door, but there is no answer.

Cooper and Harry show Ronette a sketch of BOB. She freaks out and goes into convulsions.

Jerry and Ben discuss burning the Packard mill ledgers, one of which is real and the other fake. Unable to choose, they decide to roast marshmallows.

At the RR, the Log Lady tells major Briggs to “deliver the message.” He understands.

Andy confronts Lucy about the pregnancy, saying he is sterile, so how can she be pregnant? Lucy doesn’t answer.

Hank comes to see Cooper and Harry for a weekly parole check. He signs a paper with a big “x” and laughs. After he leaves, Harry tells Cooper that Hank used to be a Bookhouse Boy.

The Icelanders heard about the mill fire, and Ben and Jerry fear the land deal will fall apart. Leland recognizes BOB’s face on a wanted poster lying on Ben’s reading table. At his grandfather’s summer house, BOB lived next door. Leland runs off to inform the authorities.

At One Eyed Jacks, Audrey sees Emery, a manager at Horne’s department store, tied up with nail polish on his toes with a woman in a cowboy outfit running a vacuum. In a compromising position, Audrey asks him about Laura Palmer. He says Ben owns One Eyed Jacks and recruited Laura and Ronnette.

Doc Hayward tells Shelly that the bullet has crippled Leo and turned him into a vegetable. Shelly cries. Later, Shelly and Bobby decide to take care of Leo so they can collect his disability checks.

Major Briggs visits Cooper at the Great Northern. He says part of his job is monitoring space radio waves — usually just sheets of static. But during Cooper’s shooting, a message appeared: “the owls are not what they seem.” The Giant told Cooper this phrase the night of his shooting.

James plays the guitar while Donna and Maddie sing backup. Donna looks at James lovingly, but James looks at Maddie instead. Donna runs away.

Maddie sits on the carpet alone. She sees BOB approach from the other side of the room, with a maniacal grin. He clambers over the couch and charges at her. She screams. Donna and James come over to comfort her. BOB is gone.

That night Cooper dreams of the Giant who says “owls are not what they seem”. An owl image is superimposed over BOB’s face, hiding behind Laura’s bed.

The phone rings, waking Cooper. It’s Audrey. But before she can reveal her whereabouts, Blackie hangs up the line. Audrey is trapped at One Eyed Jacks.

Thoughts

We get the first mention of Windham Earle, who becomes Cooper’s nemesis later in the season.

Clues:

• Ronette recognizes BOB from the train car.
• Leland recognizes BOB from his childhood, as his grandfather’s neighbor.
• Major Briggs saw the message “Owls are not what they seem” and “Cooper” during military surveillance of space radio waves.
• Maddie has a vision of BOB attacking her in the Palmer’s living room.
• Donna meets an odd old woman and her grandson who say their neighbor was Laura’s friend.

Next Episode: The Man Behind Glass
Previous Episode: May The Giant Be With You

Synopsis

Cooper has been shot, and lies nearly unconscious on the floor of his hotel room. An elderly bellhop brings him some warm milk, and is frustratingly oblivious to Cooper’s situation. Near death, Cooper is visited by an otherworldly Giant, who predicts three things: A smiling bag, the owls are not what they seem, and without chemicals, he points.

At One Eyed Jacks, Ben is eager to meet the “new girl” unaware that she’s his daughter, Audrey. In a bedroom, she dons a mask and plays hard to get. Ben eventually leaves.

Cooper is found by the deputies and is taken to the hospital. Luckily, he had a bullet proof vest on. Lucy brings him up to date: Leo is shot, Jacques strangled, the mill burned, Shelly and Pete have smoke inhalation, Catherine and Josie are missing, and Nadine is in a coma. All this happened the night before. Cooper says it’s time to search Leo’s house.

Maddie tells Sarah her scary dream concerning the carpet. Leland appears, singing a song about lambs eating ivy. His hair has turned completely white. Maddie sees a disturbing pattern form on the carpet — she screams and recoils in horror.

At Leo’s house, Cooper determines Leo was trying to kill someone, but was shot from outside by someone else. Hawk finds a copy of Flesh world and some clothes reeking of gasoline. The latter connects him with the mill burning. Albert drives up, scaring Andy who walks into a plank of wood, beneath which are a new pair of boots and a bag of cocaine.

Maddie meets Donna at the RR Diner and gives her Laura’s dark glasses. Norma gives Donna a note which says “Look into the Meals on Wheels.”

Andy learns that Leo was in a jail the night of Teresa Banks’ murder — and therefore couldn’t have killed Teresa. Cooper believes the same person killed Laura, so suddenly Leo is no longer a prime suspect.

The one armed man drops by the station to sell Cooper some shoes. Finding Cooper busy, he leaves.

In a questioning room, James tells Harry he doesn’t know how the cocaine got in his gas tank. He says Laura talked about playing with fire and “BOB.” Cooper asks James for the other half of Laura’s necklace.

Donna flirts with James in his jail cell, smoking a cigarette while wearing Laura’s sunglasses. Her behavior seems altered by the shades.

Cooper tells Lucy and Andy to sort through a box of Flesh World magazines, looking for Teresa Banks in the sleazy ads.

Doc Hayward questions Dr. Jacoby in his hospital bed, who has just emerged from sedation. Cooper asks how he got the half of Laura’s necklace. Jacoby admits that he followed James and Donna into the woods and dug up the necklace after they buried it. He theorizes that Laura allowed herself to be killed. He adds that just last night, when Jacques was murdered, he smelled an odor like scorched engine oil.

Cooper and Harry talk to Ed, distraught over Nadine’s attempted suicide. He says he married Nadine because Norma chose Hank.

Down a hall of the hospital, Cooper sees a body bag hanging in a curved shape. He mutters about a smiling bag.

At the RR Diner, Bobby’s father, Major Briggs, describes a vision where he had a good relationship with his son. Bobby sees Hank in the diner, and suddenly remembers Hank shooting Leo the night before.

At the station, Cooper summarizes where they are with the case:

• On the night of Laura’s murder: Laura got a phone call from Leo.
• Laura met James, then went into the woods to meet with Jacques, Leo and Ronnette.
• Jacques, Leo, Laura, and Ronnette hiked to the secret cabin in the woods. The log lady heard them.
• The girls had sex with Leo and Jacuqes.
• Waldo the bird attacked Laura.
• Leo hit Jacques in the head with a whiskey bottle.
• The third man was outside the window.
• The third man took the girls to a train car to kill Laura in particular. Ronnette escaped.
• The blood in the note saying “Fire Walk With Me” is that of the mystery man. Scraps of faded paper were sent to Washington for testing.
• Laura, Jacques, and Waldo are dead, and Leo and Ronnette are in comas. The third man is still at large and who they need to find.

Harry takes Pete home. Josie left a note saying she went to Seattle for business. An unidentified man calls, asking for Josie.

Ben and Jerry walk through the Great Northern, discussing some snack. They find Hank waiting for them in Ben’s office. He tells Ben and Jerry that Leo is in a coma and Catherine is missing. Ben is confident that the mill burning will be blamed on Catherine and Leo. Meanwhile, Blackie tells Audrey that she did a bad job and the “owner” was disappointed in her performance.

The Palmers are having dinner at the Haywards. Harriet reads a strange poem about Laura Palmer, and Donna’s sister plays the piano. Leland starts singing “Get Happy,” but starts singing too fast, and passes out.

That night, Cooper lies in his bed, talking to Diane. Audrey is locked in a room at One Eyed Jacks, and prays that Cooper will save her. A note explaining her whereabouts lies under Cooper’s bed, forgotten.

The Giant returns. The smiling bag was found, and Jacoby was the man without chemicals. The Giant tells Cooper that someone saw the third man, and that he has forgotten something. There is a flash of light that goes into Cooper.

The hall of the hospital is empty. Ronnette Pulaski (who was in a coma all of season one) drifts into consciousness. She sees the rail car and BOB running toward her. Visions flash of BOB killing Laura, and a note saying “Fire walk with me.”

Thoughts

Now that Leo is eliminated as a suspect, Laura’s killer is still at large. It’s a bit frustrating to start out season two not any closer to closing the case.

Three characters are literally out of the picture: Leo (the prime suspect through all of season one), Josie, and Catherine. Norma is still in a coma.

Two of the giant’s predictions — the smiling bag and without chemicals, he points (Jacoby) are understood by Cooper. The third one — “the owls are not what they seem” is yet to be understood.

Clues

• Leo was in jail the night Teresa Banks was murdered. Since Cooper is certain the same person killed Laura Palmer, Leo is suddenly eliminated as a suspect.
• The third “mystery man” becomes the focus.
• Jacoby mentions a smell like scorched engine oil the night Jacques was murdered in the hospital.
• The Giant tells Cooper that someone saw the third man, and that Cooper forgot something.
• There are some scraps of paper found near the rail car that have been sent to Washington for further testing.
• Josie and Catherine are missing.
• The one armed man is looking for Cooper.

Next Episode: Coma
Previous Episode: The Last Evening

Synopsis

Donna and James sneak into Dr. Jacoby’s office. Donna opens a coconut to find the other half of the necklace and the last cassette tape Laura recorded. They drive away on James’ bike.

Meanwhile, Dr. Jacoby sneaks up to Maddie, still dressed as Laura, behind the gazebo. A masked man attacks him from behind. Unaware of Jacoby’s situation, Donna and James pick up Maddie and leave the scene.

At One Eyed Jacks, Cooper talks to Jacques, a creepy card dealer who is now the prime suspect in Laura’s murder. Cooper hands him the broken poker chip, and claims to know Leo. Jacques says Waldo the bird was in love with Laura, and pecked her while she was tied up. To get her to be quiet, he made her bite the poker chip. Jacques agrees to do a job for Cooper, who tells him to go to a designated location for further instructions.

Blackie tells Audrey that the owner of One Eyed Jacks (Ben) likes to meet all the new girls. Everyone is unaware that she’s his daughter. Meanwhile, Leo attacks Shelly at her home.

Harry and Andy wait at the designated spot for Jacques to arrive. When he drives up, Jacques is arrested for murdering Laura. Jacques grabs a gun, so Andy shoots him.

Donna, James, and Maddie listen to Laura’s final tape. On it, Laura says she’s bored, mentions a mystery man, and sex being strange. James believes Jacoby didn’t kill her and was only trying to help. Donna still wonders how Jacoby found that buried necklace.

Leo collects cans of gasoline to burn down the mill. He has tied Shelly up at the mill, and sets up a detonator to set the whole mill on fire. He then plans to kill Bobby.

Nadine is having a picnic in her living room. Sad about the failure of her drapes, she fills a bowl with two bottles of pills and swallows them. Later, Ed finds her passed out, and feels terrible that this has happened.

Josie gives Hank a cash payment for an earlier job. It turns out Josie killed her husband disguised as a boating accident. She’s worried that Catherine might find out, and now wants Catherine killed. Hank wants more money to keep this secret. He takes out a knife, cuts his and Josie’s thumbs, and presses them together, while saying “partner.”

Catherine tears up an office looking for the second ledger. Pete says he doesn’t have it. Catherine apologizes and they find some common ground. Hank calls Catherine, disguising his voice. He tells her, what she’s looking for is at the mill. Catherine gets a gun and leaves for the mill.

As the deputies celebrate Jacque’s capture, Andy learns that Lucy is pregnant. Pretending to be Leo, Bobby calls the office, telling Cooper to check out James.

Cooper and Harry question Jacques, who admits taking Ronnette and Laura to the cabin to take some pictures, but he didn’t go to the train car where the murder took place. He suggests Leo may have done that.

At the Sherriff’s department, Lucy tells Harry that Leo called, and that she heard the clock at Easter Park in the background. Cooper sends some cops to surround Easter park. Leland Palmer walks in, and asks Harry if they caught the killer. He overhears the cops mention the hospital. James gives Cooper Laura’s last tape, and Harry finds a bag of cocaine in James’ gas tank.

Hank calls Ben to say he’ll make house call to Leo Johnson. Ben wants to bump Leo off to get rid of the evidence of the mill burning.

Bobby arrives at Leo’s house, looking for Shelly, and Leo attacks him with an axe. Suddenly, Leo is shot through the window. Bobby sees that Hank was responsible. Leo collapses on the couch as Hank leaves the scene.

Catherine walks into a shed at the mill to find Shelly tied up. They see the detonator light, starting a huge fire. Catherine unties Shelly as the mill burns around them. Meanwhile, Leland sneaks into the hospital, and suffocates Jacques with a pillow.

After the Icelanders sign the Ghostwood contract, Ben decides to check out the “new girl,” having no idea it’s his daughter, Audrey.

Cooper returns to his room, believing that Leo is the killer of Laura Palmer. He gets a phone call from Andy, saying Leo was shot. Cooper answers a knock on the door, and a masked person shoots Cooper three times in the chest. He collapses on the floor.

Thoughts

The last tape Donna, James, and Maddie listen to is the one that Dr. Jacoby was listening to at the end of Traces To Nowhere.

For the entire first season, Josie seemed like an innocent person that Catherine and Ben were conspiring against, but it turns out she has a much darker side.

Several plot threads meet at the climactic burning of the mill. Josie, Catherine, Pete, and Ben are all involved, but Leo ties up Shelly there as a solution to his marital problems. In addition, Leo works for Ben and Hank works for Josie. So Hank shooting Leo is an additional layer.

Hank, previously a minor character is very evil, and has his hands in many things as does Ben. He directs Catherine to the mill, shoots Leo, and torments Josie.

Two mystery people:

• Who beat up Dr. Jacoby? Hank? Leland? Someone else?
• Lastly, somebody shot Cooper. Was it: Hank? Leland? Someone Else?

Clues

• Jacques says Leo made Laura bite the poker chip.
• Leland kills Jacques, believing Jacques was the killer of his daughter.
• Laura’s last tape talks about a “mystery man” — likely that same third man from the night of her murder, but not Leo or Jacques.
• A masked individual beats up Jacoby.
• A masked individual shoots agent cooper.
• Ben has his fingers in everything.
• Josie is more evil than we thought.
• Hank is more evil than we thought.

Next Episode: May The Giant Be With You
Previous Episode: Realization Time

After finding Audrey in his bed, Cooper turns her down gently, saying since he swore to certain values as an FBI agent, he can’t become romantically involved with her.

The next morning, Harry and Doc Hayward try to get Waldo the bird to talk, as he was witness to Laura’s last night alive. Cooper places a voice-activated tape recorder near Waldo’s cage. Cooper says he and the Bookhouse Boys should visit One Eyed Jacks and question Jacques Renoir, who works there as a card dealer.

Watching from a distance through binoculars, Leo watches Bobby visit Shelly. His arm is bleeding — Shelly didn’t kill him. He plans to shoot Bobby with a shotgun. Inside the house, Shelly is hysterical, and scared that Leo will murder her. Bobby says he’ll take care of everything. Meanwhile, Leo hears on a police radio that Waldo is in police custody. He decides that’s more important to take care of, gets in his truck, and drives off.

Donna, James, and Maddie listen to the tape that Maddie found in Laura’s bedroom. On it, Laura talks to Dr. Jacoby about dreams and secrets, and wonders why it’s so easy to make men like her. After listening to the tape, the realize a tape from the night of Laura’s murder is missing. They decide Dr. Jacoby must have that tape, and devise a plan to retrieve it.

At Horne’s perfume counter, Audrey sees her boss Emory call another counter girl to his office. Audrey sneaks in and hides in a closet. Emory gives the girl a small glass unicorn, and offers her a job at One Eyed Jacks. He gives her a card with a phone number to call if she’s interested. Back at the counter, Audrey gets the phone number from the girl, pretending that she’s already been asked to work at One Eyed Jacks and lost her card.

Harry (again) asks Josie what she was doing outside the motel. She says she followed Ben and Catherine to take photographs of their meeting, and prove to Harry that they’re up to something. Harry vows to protect her.

As Harry, Ed, and Cooper get dressed for their trip to One Eyed Jacks, Harry mentions Josie’s fear of Ben and Catherine. Cooper says he’ll look into it.

A life insurance agent visits Catherine to have her to sign a new policy. She scans the documents and realizes the beneficiary is Josie — which is totally inappropriate. Catherine doesn’t sign and sends the agent away. She opens up the desk to discover that someone has stolen the second ledger.

Audrey slips a note under Cooper’s door.

Meanwhile, Waldo begins talking. Laura? A shot rings out. Leo has killed Waldo through a window. He drives off, undetected. Blood spattered on a row of donuts, Cooper rewinds the tape recorder and plays it back.

Waldo mimics Laura’s voice on the night of her murder: Birdie, Birdie, Birdie. Hello Waldo. Don’t go there. Hurting me. Stop it. Leo, no.

At One Eyed Jacks, Blackie greets the Bookhouse Boys, and invites them to gamble as scantily clad hostesses mill about. Cooper whispers over a microphone to Hawk, waiting in a van monitoring the proceedings.

Leland overhears Maddie sneaking out of the Palmer’s house. James meets her at a gazebo. Wearing a blond wig, she looks very much like her cousin Laura. Donna arrives with a video camera.

Ben and Jerry hope to get the Icelanders to sign the Ghostwood contract at One Eyed Jacks. Ben calls Josie to tell her that Catherine has to be at the mill. Hank was with Josie, and he quickly departs for some ill purpose.

Audrey arrives at One Eyed Jacks, hoping to work there. To prove her qualifications, she ties the stem of a cherry into a knot using only her tongue. Blackie is duly impressed.

Jacoby is watching Invitation to Love when his phone rings. It’s Maddie pretending to be Laura. He’s understandably skeptical. Maddie instructs him to check his door, where he finds a video tape. On it, Jacoby sees Maddie dressed as Laura, holding a newspaper showing today’s date. Over the phone, Maddie tells Jacoby to meet her at a particular location.

Jacoby recognizes the gazebo in the background of the video, and decides to drive to that location instead. Once Jacoby has left his office, Donna and James sneak in to find that last cassette tape.

Bobby, sneaking about, watches James and Donna enter the building. He puts a plastic bag of cocaine in a compartment on James’ motorcycle.

Maddie waits for Dr. Jacoby in the dark night. Meanwhile, someone watches her from behind some bushes.

Clues

• Girls are invited to work at One Eyed Jacks after working at Horne’s perfume counter.
• Waldo reveals that Laura’s words before her murder involved pain and Leo’s name.
• Leo is a total asshole, plotting to kill Bobby, Shelly, and shooting a defenseless bird.
• Bobby plants some evidence to frame James.
• Josie took out an insurance policy on Catherine.
• Hank is helping Josie.

Next Episode: The Last Evening
Previous Episode: Cooper’s Dreams

Synopsis

After being awakened by the singing of Icelandic businessmen, Cooper has coffee in the hotel restaurant, where Audrey informs him she just got a job. Meanwhile, Ben and Jerry decide to take the Icelanders to One Eyed Jacks to help sell the Ghostwood land project.

The police search Jacques’ apartment. They haven’t found Jacques yet. Doc Hayward says the blood on Leo’s shirt (found there and planted by Bobby) was not Laura’s. Cooper finds a copy of Flesh World hidden in a light fixture. It’s a publication where people write letters to hook up with each other. Leo’s truck appears in the magazine. Later, Cooper finds a picture of a house with red drapes. In the magazine, they find a personal ad written by Laura, which he identifies by a girl’s photograph in front the same red drapes.

Andy visits Shelly and asks where Leo is. She tells him that he and Jacques were arguing about something the night of Laura’s murder. After Andy leaves, Leo phones Shelly, asking if anybody has come by, looking for him. Shelly says no, and asks him to come home.

Norma sadly tells Ed that Hank got parole and is returning home. Ed confesses that he can’t divorce Nadine. Norma is disappointed, and says since her and Ed never want to hurt anyone, they can’t be together. Ed is dumbfounded.

At her job interview at Horne’s department store, Audrey tells the manager, Emory, that she wants to work at the perfume counter. He’s reluctant, so she threatens to accuse him of sexual harassment. He relents.

Donna meets with James in a gazebo by the lake. They decide to find Laura’s killer, and later meet Maddie at the RR Diner to enlist her help. Hank, at the table near them, overhears everything.

The Briggs are having family counseling with Dr. Jacoby. Bobby is disinterested, so Jacoby asks to speak with him alone. After some tense questioning about Laura, Bobby admits that Laura made him sell drugs so she could have them. After Bobby’s confession, a raven flies over an outdoor expanse.

Cooper, Harry, Hawk and Doc Hayward hike through the woods to a remote cabin, where they find the Log Lady. She invites them in for tea and cookies, saying the owl won’t see them inside. Once inside, she says the log saw something significant the night of Laura’s murder. Her husband met the devil, who is fire. Hawk nonchalantly agrees that the woods hold many spirits. Cooper asks the log what it saw that night. The log lady says: dark, laughing, the owls were flying. Many things were blocked. Two men, two girls, in the woods over the ridge. The dark was pressing in on her. Quiet. One man passes by. One voice, a girl screams. The owls were silent.

The two girls were Laura and Ronette, and the two men, perhaps Jacques and Leo. The third man is a mystery.

The men venture further into the woods, and find another cabin — with red curtains. They barge in, guns drawn, to find a record player playing a morose song, Waldo the mynah bird, and a camera on a tripod. Hawk finds twine and blood on the floor. A cuckoo clock spits out several poker chips, one of them broken. Its missing piece was found in Laura’s stomach.

That evening, Ben throws a party at the Great Northern. Catherine and Pete arrive, and she quickly gulps down a glass of champagne. Catherine walks over to Ben and pours her drink on his shoe. Ben agrees to meet her in his office in two minutes. Overhearing this, Audrey sneaks over to a secret passage to eavesdrop. In Ben’s office, Catherine why he had a One Eyed Jacks poker chip. Ben nervously blames his brother, Jerry. Catherine slaps Ben, angry that he would visit that brothel. He bends her over the desk and starts kissing her. She reiterates her desire to burn the Packard sawmill. Audrey disturbed by all of this.

Jerry tries to make a speech about the Icelanders, when jazz music comes on. Leland starts crying, and starts dancing alone in the middle of the hall. Embarrassed, Ben orders Catherine to dance with Leland so he doesn’t look like a complete moron and ruin the Ghostwood project.
Maddie calls Donna. She found a cassette tape hidden in Laura’s room.

Back at the Great Northern, Josie is waiting in Ben’s office, smoking a cigar. Ben enters, and Josie gives Ben the second ledger, stolen from Catherine’s desk. There is a counter-plan to Catherine’s plan going on — Ben will double-cross Catherine.

Outside his house, Leo collects several cans of gasoline. Hank drops by and confronts him, for some unknown reason prior to his going to jail. After Hank leaves, Leo goes back into his house and angrily shoves Shelly. She pulls out the gun she’s been hiding, and shoots him.

Cooper returns to his hotel room and finds his door propped open. He enters cautiously with his gun drawn — and finds Audrey there, in his bed.

Thoughts

Things are definitely coming to a head with the police closing in on Jacques’ cabin in the woods where Laura and Ronnette were tied up. The broken poker chip, bird, twine, and Flesh World all lead there. The prime suspects are Jacques and Leo. Meanwhile, Shelly finally gets to shoot Leo.

The creepiest part is when the Log Lady recites what the log saw the night of Laura’s murder.

Clues

• The twine, blood, Waldo the bird, and broken poker chip indicate that Laura and Ronette were tied up in Jacques’ cabin.
• The Log Lady’s log says two girls followed by three men went through the woods. The two girls are Laura and Ronette, and the two men presumably Jacques and Leo. The identity of the third man is unknown.
• Ben and Catherine have hired Leo to burn down the mill, but Ben is preparing a double-cross with Josie.
• Leland Palmer is emotionally unstable and cries often.
• Maddie finds a cassette tape in Laura’s room.
• Laura made Bobby sell drugs so she could have some.
• Laura had a sleazy ad in Flesh World.
• Leo’s truck appears in a copy of Flesh World.
• Hank is pissed at Leo for some reason.

Next Episode: Realization Time
Previous Episode: The One-Armed Man

Synopsis

At the Palmer’s, Andy makes a police sketch of the person Sarah saw in her vision: “BOB.” She also recalls the gloved hand digging up Laura’s necklace. Donna buried the necklace with James, but says nothing. She wonders how Sarah knows about the necklace being buried to begin with.

Cooper questions Dr. Jacoby, who is wearing red and blue eyeglasses. Cooper asks him if Laura was using cocaine or having sexual problems. Jacoby mentions the doctor / patient relationship, and that he’s into Hawaii and ginger. He does offer that he followed a man in a red Corvette the night after Laura died. Cooper knows Leo Johnson owns such a car.

Cooper receives a phone call from his supervisor, Gordon Cole. He says the scratch marks on Laura’s shoulders were made by a bird. Cole mentions that Albert is angry about the confrontation Harry. Cooper sticks up for Harry.

Andy shows Cooper the police sketch of BOB, who Cooper recognizes as the man from his dream. Hawk then calls to say he found the one-armed man.

Josie is in a car taking a picture of the Timber Falls motel, where Catherine and Ben are having a clandestine meeting. Catherine says the second ledger spells “bankruptcy” and it’s hidden. She reiterates wanting to set fire to the mill. Ben accidentally drops a token from One Eyed Jacks on the carpet. Catherine picks it up.

Harry, Andy, Hawk, and Cooper arrive at the same motel: the one-armed man is there. As the four of them sneak up to the hotel. Andy drops his gun, firing it accidentally. They break in to find Mike, the one armed man. Cooper asks if he knows BOB. Mike mentions a veternarian. Cooper asks if Mike’s missing arm had a tattoo on it. Mike says it said “Mom” on it. Basically, none of this lines up with Cooper’s dream.

In a high school bathroom. Audrey jokes with Donna about falling in love with Cooper. Audrey wants to impress him by helping find Laura’s killer, and she wants Donna’s help. Audrey itemizes what she knows: Laura was Dr. Jacoby’s patient, she worked at One Eyed Jacks, and both her and Ronette worked at the perfume counter of Horne’s department store. Donna says she’ll help but whatever they learn will be a secret between them.

Norma nervously goes to the jail to help Hank at a parole hearing. She tells the parole board that she’ll give him a job. Later, she is told that Hank has made parole. Norma isn’t overjoyed to hear this.

Harry, Cooper, and Andy visit a vet office next to a gas station and convenience store. The receptionist says the police sketch of BOB is definitely not the vet, Bob Lydecker. But Cooper says the bird that attacked Laura is a client of that vet office. The police confiscate boxes of patient files.

Shelly is making out with Bobby — Leo is with Jacques. Bobby mentions that Leo and Jacques were running drugs across the border, and he thinks they were giving them to Laura. Shelly shows Bobby Leo’s bloody shirt. Bobby says the shirt could be the answer to their prayers. He takes the shirt and tells Shelly to say she never saw it. Shelly then shows Bobby a gun she has hidden.

Back at the police office, Lucy is avoiding Andy for some reason. Cooper takes the deputies down to the pistol range, where he asks Andy what’s wrong between him and Lucy. Andy says he has no idea. Harry asks Cooper if he was ever married. He says once knew someone that taught him the pain of a broken heart.

At the RR diner, James sees Maddie for the first time, and is mesmerized.

Audrey asks her father if he’s ashamed of her, and says she wants to learn the family business. Ben is reluctant at first, but agrees to let her work at the department store, specifically the cosmetics counter.

Cooper and the deputies are looking through the vet files for birds. Andy finds a file for a myna bird named Waldo, owned by Jacques Renault. The results from Laura’s autopsy have revealed the piece of plastic in her stomach had the letter “J” on it — and was a piece of a poker chip saying “One Eyed Jacks.” Inspired, Cooper decides to talk to Jacques.

They run up a hill to an apartment complex. Bobby climbs out the window and runs off. Inside, Cooper finds Leo’s shirt covered in blood — that Bobby just planted there.

Ben meets Leo down by the river. Leo says he’s out ten grand, and points to Bernard’s corpse lying on the ground, covered in a bag. He also mentions that Jacques is back in Canada. Ben tells Leo to burn down the mill as agreed.

Donna and James return to the woods, and dig up the place where they buried Laura’s locket. There is nothing there. James worries that someone saw them bury the locket, and wonders if they should talk to the police. An owl hoots from a tree. Donna says they should help find Laura’s killer.

Josie picks up the phone. Harry says they got a break in Laura’s case, and asks Josie if she was at the Timber Falls motel earlier that day. She is evasive. After Harry leaves, Josie opens a letter to find a drawing of a domino. She then gets a phone call from Hank, who asks if she got his letter. Josie is scared.

Thoughts

Cooper is following the clues of his dream, which seem to point to Jacques Renault and Leo Johnson. He’s also learned that Mike, the one-armed man is real, but hasn’t located BOB.

Shelly and Bobby plan to do Leo in, with her getting a gun and Bobby trying to frame him with the bloody shirt. We also learn that Ben Horne is in cahoots with Leo, whom he asks to burn down the Packard saw mill.

Donna, Audrey, and James decide to start their own searches for Laura’s killer.

Lastly, Norma’s husband Hank gets out of jail. He has an unclear connection to Josie.

Clues

• Dr. Jacoby mentions someone in a red Corvette with a relationship to Laura. This is Leo Johnson.
• The bite marks on Laura’s body were from Waldo, a myna bird owned by Jacques Renault.
• Leo killed Jacques’ brother Bernard and is asked by Ben Horne to burn down the Packard mill.
• Catherine’s fraudulent second ledger reveals the Packard sawmill is about to go bankrupt.
• The piece of plastic in Laura’s stomach bearing the letter “J” was part of a poker chip from One Eyed Jacks.

Next Episode: Cooper’s Dreams
Previous Episode: Rest In Pain

Synopsis

Audrey is dressed in red, hanging out in the Great Northern hotel, waiting for Agent Cooper. She admits to slipping the note under his door that said “Jack With One Eye.” Audrey says it’s a place that men go to play, and women to work. She also confirms that both Laura and Ronette worked at the perfume counter at Horne’s department store.

Harry and Lucy arrive, eager to know who killed Laura Palmer. Cooper describes details of his dream: A one armed man named Mike (not Mike and Bobby the teenagers) had a tattoo saying “Fire walk with me”. He with another guy named Bob above a convenience store, and they killed people for fun. Mike got sick of it, cut of his arm, and shot Bob. There was also a midget and Laura Palmer’s cousin, who whispered the name of Laura’s killer… but Cooper doesn’t remember.

Ben Horne and Doc Hayward want Laura’s body released for her funeral. Albert insists on performing the autopsy first. He fires off a bunch of insults and Harry punches him. Cooper orders Albert to release the body to the family.

At the RR Cafe, Norma learns her husband Hank will be up for parole soon. With Norma’s support, he could be released. Norma says she would offer him a job at the diner.

Cooper questions Leo Johnson, who is busy chopping firewood. He says he didn’t know Laura Palmer, insists he was on the road that night, and Shelly is his alibi.

Albert presents his autopsy report to Cooper: Bites and claw marks on Laura’s neck and shoulder, and a small plastic object in her stomach. After the deputies leave, Albert wants Cooper to sign a complaint against Harry. Cooper refuses to sign, saying he’s inspired by the townspeople of Twin Peaks. He tells Diane he may buy some property there.

Nadine says she used to watch Ed and Norma as a couple back in high-school. Ed is not really all that into her anymore. James announces he isn’t going to the funeral.

At the Great Northern, Audrey sneaks into a wall passage and peeks through a peep hole. She spies on Dr Jacoby getting Johnny to take off his Indian head-dress in preparation for Laura’s funeral.

At the funeral, with the townsfolk gathered around Laura’ coffin, James arrives and watches from a distance. Cooper watches the expression on Bobby and Donna’s faces. After the final “amen,” Bobby calls everyone in the town a hypocrite for not helping her. Angered, James attacks Bobby and they threaten to kill each other. A sobbing Leland throws himself atop the coffin as it lowers to the ground.

The lights change from yellow to red. At the RR, Cooper, Ed, Hawk, and Harry are having coffee and pie. Harry reveals that there is a drug operation in Twin Peaks, and Jacques Renault is the middle man. He tells Cooper that generations of Twin Peaks men have formed a secret club called the Bookhouse Boys to fight against the evil in the woods.

Ed, Hawk, and Harry take Cooper to the Bookhouse to meet with James and Joey Paulson — who are also Bookhouse boys. They have captured Bernard Renault, Jacques’ brother, and janitor at the roadhouse. He had cocaine in his bag, but denies being a mule and claims to not know where Jaqcues is.

Walking toward the roadhouse, Jacques sees a red light flashing on its roof — it’s a warning signal. He turn and runs the other way. He then calls Leo to say Bernard is trouble, and needs a ride. Shelly asks Leo where he’s going she doesn’t need to know. After he leaves, Shelly takes a gun out of her hand bag, placing it in a secret panel where the bloody shirt is also hidden.

Josie tells Harry that Catherine and Ben want to hurt her. But Catherine is secretly listening to their conversation via intercom. Josie says she saw the mill accounts in two books — separate ledgers. She opens the safe to show Harry, only to find one ledger there. Catherine smiles — she has the other ledger, and hides it in a secret panel in her desk.

That night, a flamboyantly dressed Dr. Jacoby leaves flowers on Laura’s grave. Cooper is there, waiting for him. Jacoby says he’s a terrible person, saying he doesn’t really care about most of his patients — except for Laura.

Back at the Great Northern hotel, Cooper and Hawk are enjoying some drinks. Leland stands by himself in the middle of the dance floor, dancing by himself. Nobody wants to dance with him, so he bursts into tears and cries. Cooper and Hawk come over to take him home.

The traffic light stays on red.

Thoughts

Several shady instances of sneaky behavior — peep holes, secret panels, and the “Bookhouse Boys”. In the pilot, Donna is escorted by Joey to meet James in the woods, and in the first episode James mentions the “Book House Boys.” Harry mentions an “evil in the woods” which is explored in season two. It’s more than just bad people getting into Twin Peaks — something more sinister and supernatural.
Note the color red, as in the red traffic light at the intersection, and the red light on the Roadhouse, signaling for Jacques to turn away.

Clues

• Laura had bite and claw marks on her neck and shoulders.
• Laura had a plastic object in her stomach.
• Jacques, Bobby, and Leo Johnson are involved in a cocaine smuggling operation.
• Leo says he was on the road the night of Laura Palmer’s death, which is most likely a lie because he offers Shelly as an alibi.
• Josie is scared of being murdered by Catherine and Ben Horne who want the land the mill is on. She believes her husband was murdered, too.
• Leland Palmer is totally nuts.

Next Episode: The One-Armed Man
Previous Episode: Zen, Or The Skill To Catch A Killer

Synopsis

The Hornes are having a quiet family dinner when Ben’s brother Jerry arrives, carrying some French baguettes with brie and butter. Ben bites into it with relish. His wife rubs her forehead with disdain. The two brothers leave the room, and Ben says there’s a new girl at One Eyed Jacks, a secret brothel and casino. Ben calls her freshly scented from the perfume counter at Horne’s, the department store he owns.

Ben and Jerry pay a late night visit to One Eyed Jacks. They’re greeted by the proprietor, Blackie. The new girl, a blond dressed in lingerie, leads Ben to a back bedroom.

Hawk calls Cooper at the Great Northern Hotel with additional information on Ronette Pulaski. She recently quit her job at the perfume counter. Hawk also saw a one-armed man snooping around the hospital. After Cooper hangs up the phone, someone slips a note under his door, that reads “Jack with One Eye.”

Bobby and Mike drive to a remote location in the dark woods. They dig up a football containing a plastic bag of cocaine. Leo emerges and asks for the money they owe him. Bobby sheepishly admits the money is in Laura’s safe deposit box. Leo says Laura was a wild girl, and that Shelly is sleeping with someone else (it’s Bobby). Angered, Leo orders them to run. The boys panic and run back to the car. An empty football lands on the hood. Later, Shelly turns off the television which as showing the soap opera Invitation to Love. She has a bruise on her jaw where Leo hit her. Bobby drops by and threatens to kill Leo if he hits her again.

Nadine is exercising while Ed enters their house, his hands covered with black oil. Ed steps all over her homemade runners, breaking them, and dripping oil on some cotton balls. Furious, Nadine screams at Ed and bends the handlebars of her exercises machine. Later, Ed returns home to find Nadine insanely happy. The grease he dripped on the cotton balls were the secret to creating silent runners. Nadine believes her invention will make them rich.

The next day, Cooper is with the police team in the woods, setting up a blackboard, a glass bottle, a bucket of rocks, and a table full of donuts and hot coffee. Cooper mentions that the coffee is damn good and hot. He tells everyone to take a seat, points to a map of Tibet, and launches into a bit of history. He had dream in which he learned a deductive technique based on intuition. On the blackboard he has written several names that may be the “J” in Laura’s diary. The names are: James, Josie, Dr. Jacoby, Johnny Horne, Norma Jennings, Shelly Johnson, and Jack with One Eye… which Harry comments is not a person; it’s a casino up north.

Harry is instructed to read each name in the list while Cooper pitches rocks at the glass bottle off in the distance. All the rocks miss except for Dr. Jacoby — the bottle is struck. When Cooper throws the stone for Leo Johnson — the bottle breaks. His connection to Laura is unknown.

Audrey stops by the diner where the Haywards are eating, and chats with Donna about Laura, Cooper, and coffee. Audrey saunters over to the jukebox and slowly dances by herself, while the Haywards stare.

Harry and Cooper are examining a towel coated with blood found at the murder scene, when Albert Rosenfield and his forensics team arrive. Albert is abrasive and rude, and calls Twin Peaks a backwater. Harry tells Albert off while Cooper gives him thumbs up.

Pete sneaks a safe key away from Catherine and lends it to Josie. She uses it to open a secret safe behind a bookshelf. Inside, she finds two ledgers.

Leland Palmer picks up a framed picture of Laura and starts to cry. He rotates around the room, trying to dance with his murdered daughter. As Sarah attempts to stop him, he breaks the frame on a table, cutting his hand on the shattered glass. He smears blood on Laura’s photograph as he continues weeping.

Back at the Great Northern, Cooper goes to bed and begins to dream. The light changes and a much older Cooper is seated in a red, curtained room. Sara descends a staircase and sees BOB crouching behind a bed. The one armed man (Mike) reads recites a poem containing the line “fire walk with me.” He cut his own arm off. BOB is the man behind the bed, and he vows to kill again. A circle of candles surrounding a dirt mound is extinguished.

Back in the red room, The midget (The Man From Another Place) shivers in the corner. He sits on a couch and a girl who looks like Laura Palmer sits next to him. The midget speaks backwards-forwards: “I’ve got good news. That gum you like is going to come back in style. She’s my cousin. But doesn’t she look almost exactly like Laura Palmer?” As the midget dances in the middle of the room, The Laura-look alike leans over Cooper and whispers something in his ear.

Cooper wakes up. He makes a phone call, inviting Harry to breakfast. He knows who killed Laura Palmer.

Thoughts

Awesome stuff: The classic nuttiness of Ben and Jerry eating brie and butter baguettes. Cooper’s odd Tibetian deductive technique and increasing love of coffee.

The glimmers of horror in the two previous episodes come to a head with Cooper’s bizarre dream that explains nothing but lays out so many strange concepts that the show never fully explains. Perhaps this was just David Lynch’s way of providing a crap load of otherworldly ideas for the writers to explore over the rest of the season. A backwards-talking midget in a red room will forever go down in television history. Meanwhile, I’m already tiring of Nadine’s runners and Donna’s new romance.

Clues:

• Leo Johnson is the “J” in Laura’s diary and has a strong connection to Laura’s murder.
• Leo is still a complete asshole.
• Dr. Jacoby is also connected to Laura Palmer.
• A towel coated with blood is found at the murder scene.
• Ronette worked at the same perfume counter as the new girl at One Eyed Jack’s.
• Someone slipped a note saying “One Eyed Jacks” under Cooper’s door.
• Ben Horne and Jerry Horne are regulars at One Eyed Jacks.
• The one armed man (Mike) seen creeping around the hospital appears in Cooper’s dream.
• Bob also appeared in Cooper’s dream. Up until this point, he only appeared in Sarah’s visions.
• Audrey has the hots for Cooper.
• Cooper’s dream had clues to the identity of Laura’s killer.

Next Episode: Rest In Pain
Previous Episode: Traces To Nowhere

Synopsis

Cooper hangs upside-down in the hotel room at the Great Northern, talking to Diane, his trusty tape recorder. He finds a damn fine cup of coffee in the hotel restaurant. Audrey Horne introduces herself, shows him her ring, and asks Cooper if his palms ever itch.

At the police station, Doc Hayward gives an autopsy report to Cooper and Harry. Laura Palmer died sometime between midnight and four AM. She had numerous shallow wounds, was tied up, and had sex with three men. Ronette Pulaski was attacked by the same perpetrator. Ronnette is psychologically damaged and can’t give testimony.

Busy cleaning his truck, Leo meanly demands that Shelly clean his clothes. She notices blood stains on his denim shirt. Flustered, she hides it in a dresser.

Cooper and Harry question James, who admits to shooting the picnic video in the woods, and that he and Laura were secretly dating. He mentions that Laura was using cocaine, and that she had become scared of something. Cooper asks James if he recognizes the heart necklace, leading to a flashback of a cheesy romantic moment. Saddened, James says he doesn’t know what happened.

Still in jail, Bobby and Mike discuss some money the Leo has, and the rest given to Laura for safekeeping in her safe deposit box. Cooper later lets the two boys go, but warns that if anything happens to James they’ll be questioned first.

Donna tells her mother that she was the only one who knew James and Laura were seeing each other. Donna admits having feelings for James, but feels guilty about betraying Laura.

Ed Hurley comes to pick up his nephew James from the police station. Cooper reiterates his belief in James’ innocence. Ed was at the Roadhouse the night before, and mentions to Harry that his beer was drugged. Jacques Renault was tending bar. As Ed and James leave the police station, James mumbles that the “Bookhouse Boys” need to watch his back.

At a store, Norma bumps into Nadine, who says she was up all night building silent drape runners using cotton balls.

As Pete offers coffee, Cooper and Harry question Josie. Laura was tutoring Josie in English. At their last lesson, Laura said “I think now I understand how you feel about Andrew’s death.” Cooper guesses correctly that Josie and Harry are seeing each other. Pete suddenly returns to take the coffee back — there was a fish in the percolator.

Katherine telephones Josie to say that the shutting of the mill for a day cost $87,000. She toasts Ben Horne, with whom she’s having an affair. They’re conspiring against the mill, and joke about setting it on fire.

Donna visits Laura’s parents, Sarah and Leland Palmer, who are still reeling from Laura’s death. Sarah cries, “I miss her so much.” Sara looks at Donna’s teary-eyed face and sees Laura’s, superimposed. Suddenly, she sees a long-haired man, hunched over and hiding at the end of a bed. Sarah bursts into hysterical screaming, and Leland hurriedly reappears to comfort her.

At the hospital, Hawk learns that Ronnete worked as a sales girl at a perfume counter. A one-armed man exits the elevator and goes to the morgue via a hallway lit completely blue.

At the Double R Diner, Shelly serves Cooper and Harry coffee and pie. Norma tells them that Laura helped organize a meals on wheels program. The log lady tells them that the log saw something that night and one day, will have something to say about it. Cooper really likes the cherry pie.

Leo cuts open a football and hides it above a kitchen cabinet. As Shelly walks in, he immediately demands his “favorite shirt.” He then comes at her, swinging a sock containing a bar of soap. Shelly cowers in fear in the corner of an unbuilt room.

In a bizarrely decorated Hawaiian room, Doctor Jacoby listens to a secret tape recording of Laura’s voice. She mentions becoming lost in the woods tonight, and a “mystery man.” Jacoby dons earphones and we can’t hear the rest. He opens up a coconut — reveals the other half of the heart locket. He starts to cry.

Thoughts

This is the first episode where Cooper openly voices his love for a “damn fine cup of coffee” and the iconic cherry pie which he scarfs down.

Chill-inducing moment: Sarah sees the face of a long haired, freaky guy hiding at the foot of a bed (later revealed to be BOB).

Clues

• Laura Palmer was killed between midnight and 4 am, had numerous shallow wounds, was tied up, had sex with three men, and Ronette Pulaski was attacked by the same person.
• Ronnette worked at a department store perfume counter.
• Laura Palmer tutored Audrey Horne’s mentally challenged brother.
• Laura saw Josie for a tutoring lesson.
• Laura helped Norma with a meals on wheels program.
• Bobby and Mike are linked with the 10 grand in Laura’s safe deposit box.
• Bobby and Mike hate James Hurley.
• Sara Palmer is deathly afraid of a long haired freaky guy hiding at the foot of a bed.
• Jacques Renault, bartender at the roadhouse put drugs in the beer.
• The log lady’s log saw something that night.
• Leo has a shirt with blood on it.
• Leo beats his wife, Shelly.
• A mysterious one-armed man visits the hospital morgue.
• Ben Horne and Catherine Martell are conspiring to ruin the Packard saw mill.
• Ben and Catherine are having an affair.
• Ben has a strained relationship with his daughter, Audrey.
• Dr. Jacoby dug up the other half of the locket that James buried.
• Dr. Jacoby has a secret tape.
• Dr. Jacoby has an unhealthy Hawaiian fetish and hides things in coconuts.

Next Episode: Zen, Or The Skill To Catch A Killer
Previous Episode: Pilot

With the recent release of a complete Twin Peaks DVD set, it’s time to revisit that out-of-touch small town coping with the unspeakable murder of Laura Palmer. We begin with the movie-esque pilot that sold ABC on this odd series.

Synopsis

Jocelyn Packard (Joan Chen) gazes in a mirror as Pete Martell (Jack Nance) goes out fishing. Behind the saw-mill he sees something wrapped in plastic — the corpse of Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) has washed up on the shore. Pete calls the sheriff, and confused receptionist Lucy Moran (Kimmy Robertson) notifies sheriff Harry S. Truman (Michael Ontkean). They visit the crime scene with Doc Hayward (Warren Frost) and deputy Andy Brennan (Harry Goaz), who bursts into tears.

Laura’s mother Sarah (Grace Zabriskie), calls up Laura’s boyfriend Bobby Briggs’ house, the school, and finally the Great Northern hotel where husband Leland (Ray Wise) is in the middle of some business negotiations. The Packard saw mill is about to go bankrupt and there may be an opportunity to buy the property. Benjamin Horne (Richard Beymer), owner of the Great Northern, is selling land to some Norwegians. Sheriff Truman informs Leland that his daughter Laura has been murdered. Leland bursts into tears.

Bobby Briggs (Dana Ashbrook) and Shelly Johnson (Madchen Amick) are driving to her house — they’re having an affair. They see Shelly’s husband’s truck in the driveway. Bobby drops Shelly off and speeds off in a hurry. It’s implied that hubby Leo must be a bad, scary dude.

At the local high school is bratty Audrey Horne (Sherilyn Fenn) and somber Donna Hayward (Lara Flynn Boyle), James Hurley (James Marshall) and Mike Nelson (Gary Hershberger). The news of Laura’s murder spreads around the school and Donna bursts into tears (repeatedly). Donna was Laura’s best friend. Andy and Thomas “Hawk” Hill (Michael Horse) come to the school to question Bobby (Dana Ashbrook).

The police visit Sarah Palmer, on the edge of a nervous breakdown. They find a diary and video camera in Laura’s bedroom. Andy breaks the news that another highschool girl, Ronette Pulaski (Phoebe Augustine) has gone missing.

Ronette’s father is an employee at the mill, so Jocelyn wants to close for a day. Catherine Packard Martell (Piper Laurie) doesn’t think this is a good idea.

Ronette appears in a daze, walking across a bridge from the woods toward town in a soiled nightgown and with ropes on her wrists. An old man says, “What the hell?” (my thoughts exactly.)

Distraught by Laura’s death, James rides a motorcycle to Big Ed’s Gas Farm. His uncle Ed Hurley (Everett McGill) comes out to reassure him. Ed’s wife Nadine (Wendie Robie) shouts at Ed about drapes.

Special FBI agent Dale Cooper is driving to Twin Peaks to lead the investigation (Kyle MacLachlan). He’s eccentric and obsessed with minute details like the types of trees in town, about which he rants to a tape recorder he calls “Diane.” He meets with the sheriff Harry S. Truman and asks to see the body of Laura Palmer.

As Cooper and Harry ride the hospital elevator, a one armed man rides with them. Cooper and Harry run into psychiatrist Dr. Jacoby (Russ Tamblyn), wearing earplugs and a red tie. He reveals that Laura was his patient.

While examining Laura’s body beneath flickering fluorescent lights, Cooper finds a small letter “R” lodged under Laura’s fingernail.

Donna visits Ed’s Gas Farm, where Ed gives her a note left by James instructing her to meet him at the Roadhouse later that evening.

Back at the police station, Cooper looks over the clues found so far. The diary has references to someone named “J.” Taped to a page is a safe deposit box key and the residue of cocaine.

Andy and a team of cops with dogs visit the location of Laura’s murder, an abandoned rail car in the rainy woods. Andy bursts into tears and Lucy tries to comfort him over the phone.

Harry and Cooper question Bobby. Cooper plays him the video tape which features Laura and Donna happily dancing around a campfire in the woods. Bobby has never seen this video before. Cooper decides Bobby is innocent.

Back at the Great Northern, mischievous Audrey walks into a meeting room filled with Norwegians, and announces that her friend Laura was killed and found on a beach, completely naked. The Norwegians watch her oddly, confused — and then decide to leave Twin Peaks. Ben tries in vain to stop them.

Donna is next to be questioned. She refuses to reveal the identity of the person holding the camera. Cooper asks if the person’s name begins with “J.” Donna bursts into tears (again). Cooper releases her. Harry and Lucy come in to talk to Cooper and mention that Mike and Bobby talked about a “biker”. Cooper pauses the video and reveals the reflection of a motorcycle in Laura’s iris.

Cooper visits to the rail car where Laura Palmer was murdered. He finds a hammer and half of a gold heart locket and a pile of dirt. A piece of paper has the words “Fire walk with me” written in blood.

(It’s revealed to us that the motorcycle belongs to James, and he also has the other half of the necklace.)

Cooper and Harry open the safe deposit box to find ten thousand dollars cash and a a copy of Flesh World (adult magazine) . Inside is a sexy photograph of Ronnette Pulasky, and a truck — which belongs to Shelly’s husband, Leo.

Leo (Eric Da Re) orders Shelly to turn off the television, complains about strange cigarettes in the ashtray, and threatens to break her neck if the house isn’t clean. He’s a brute and treats her like a child.

At Big Ed’s Gas Farm, waitress Norma Jennings (Peggy Lipton) calls up Ed for a secret rendezvous (they’re having an affair) at the Roadhouse.

Cooper calls a town meeting, where he reveals the previous murder of a Teresa Banks in another town. He believes the same person murdered Laura and nearly killed Ronnette. He believes the killer lives in Twin Peaks and the crimes occur at night.

A traffic light changes from green to red.

Doc Hayward tells his wife Eileen (who is wheelchair-bound) about the necklace the police found. Donna overhears her parents’ conversation. As night falls, she sneaks off to the Roadhouse to meet James.

Bobby and Mike drive up in a car to the Hayward’s house and ask Doc if Donna is home. Bobby is drinking and pretending to surf on the hood of the car. Doc goes upstairs to find his daughter missing. Mike and Bobby drive off to the Roadhouse where they suspect Donna is. Doc Hayward calls the police. Harry and Cooper are parked in a police car right outside the Roadhouse, hoping Donna will lead them to the mysterious biker.

Inside the Roadhouse, Ed and Norma are meeting over drinks as Julee Cruise performs a retro song. We learn Norma is married to Hank who’s in jail. Bobby and Mike enter and sit down at the bar as Donna enters the Roadhouse. Mike shouts out to her. They used to be an item, but Donna is resistant. A fight breaks out between various men. A friendly biker offers to take Donna to James. They ride off on a motorcycle together.

James is waiting for Donna, deep in the dark woods. He tells her that Laura was like a different person recently, ranting about Bobby having killed someone. Laura was involved in some deep, scary stuff that not even Donna knew about. James starts to cry. Donna tries to reassure him as they kiss (perhaps a romance is beginning between them). Donna tells James that the police found the other half of the heart necklace. James digs a small hole and buries his half of the locket. They drive off on his bike.

Cooper and Harry see James and Donna drive by. James is arrested as a murder suspect. As James is escorted to a cell, Bobby and Mike peer at him from an adjacent prison. They stare and bark like angry dogs while James fumes.

Harry shows Cooper a table in the station laden with donuts and coffee. He sets Cooper up at the Great Northern hotel for what will likely be a long stay in Twin Peaks.

After work, Harry pays a late night visit to Jocelyn up at the mill — they’re having a secret romance, too. Catherine calls an unidentified person and says “He’s here, again.”

We then see Sarah Palmer lying on a couch, nervous. She screams. Someone in the pitch-black night is digging up the buried half-locket.

Thoughts

• The small-town characters are dorky yet endearing in their strangeness and ordinariness. They blend in seamlessly with the retro-cheesy environments — garish dark colors, wood, red kitchen cabinets, and green linoleum.
• The show is about a character who is already dead.
• My favorite moment was the final scene where Sarah, through some sixth sense, knows that someone has dug up the locket. Scary stuff on the level of Kubrick’s The Shining.

Laura Palmer clues:

• Ronette says “don’t go there.”
• Laura Palmer was a patient of Dr. Jacoby.
• Cooper finds a small letter “R” beneath Laura’s fingernail.
• Laura had a safe deposit box containing 10 grand and a copy of Flesh World.
• A sexy photograph of Ronette and another of Leo’s truck appears in the copy of Flesh World.
• Laura’s diary has traces of cocaine.
• Donna Hayward cries many, many times.
• Leland Palmer cries many, many times.
• Audrey Horne is a brat.
• At the crime scene is half a heart locket and a piece of paper with the words “Fire walk with me.”
• James had the other half of the locket and filmed Laura and Donna in the woods.
• Ben Horne wants the Packard land.
• Harry and Jocelyn are having an affair.
• Ed and Norma are having an affair.
• Bobby was Laura’s boyfriend but he’s also having an affair with Shelly.
• Bobby killed someone.
• Leo is a total asshole.

Next Episode: Traces To Nowhere