As remarkable as Showtime’s revival of Twin Peaks has been, it’s a disappointment when an episode is merely “good.” I don’t believe we’ve had one of those yet, but the adjective describes hour ten. In general, it features subplots that haven’t been visited lately and just aren’t as compelling as the overall mystery surrounding Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan). The story comes as close as it’s been to spinning its wheels. Even the humor that was so strong in hour nine seems clunky and unfunny in hour ten.
It begins with Richard Horne (Eamon Farren) driving a beat-up car to a cute little trailer. From behind its closed door, a girl named Marianne Hodges announces that she’s not only told the police about him running over the child (hour six), but that she’s also sent a letter to Sheriff Truman. Violence erupts from Horne as he bursts through her door and we witness only the noises from inside as he brutally kills her. Afterwards, we hear gas from the open oven and see a candle burning on the counter as she lies in a pool of blood.
Richard Horne is without a doubt the vilest human being to appear in Twin Peaks… ever. If the scene described above does not convince you, he later arrives at his grandmother Sylvia Horne’s (Jan D’Arcy) house, where Johnny Horn (Erik Rondell) is recovering from last week’s self-inflicted accident. He chokes Sylvia until she whispers her safe combination, then steals all her cash, jewelry and silver. As a thank you for her trouble, he calls her the “c-word” as he exits, leaving poor, restrained Johnny tipped over on the floor.
Both these scenes are hard to watch. However, they reveal a little more about what has become of the Horne family during the show’s absence from the airwaves. Benjamin Horne (Richard Beymer) is apparently estranged from his wife. When she calls to tell him what happened, he asks if Johnny is OK. She replies, “No concern for me, as usual!” (What is it with resentful wives on Twin Peaks? First Doris Truman, now Sylvia Horne.) He’s not sending her any more money, and she’s calling her lawyer “right now.”
The other major time-filler in episode ten features the Mitchum Brothers, Rodney (Robert Knepper) and Bradley (Jim Belushi). If you recall, they own and operate the Silver Mustang Casino where Dougie Jones won big from the slot machines. Watching the news on TV, they learn that Ike “The Spike” Stadtler (Christopher Zajac-Denek) was apprehended, which means they can cancel the hit they ordered on him. They then see Dougie and Janey-E (Naomi Watts) being interviewed following their incident with Ike the day before.
Meanwhile, Duncan Todd (Patrick Fischler) directs Anthony Sinclair (Tom Sizemore) to visit the Mitchum Brothers and pin the insurance fraud on Dougie. They’ll then sit back and watch them take care of their Mr. Jones problem. When Sinclair delivers the information, though, they seem oddly nonplussed. Little does he know they will go home fuming. “He took us for $30,447,000. You f*%$ us once, shame on us. You f*%$ us twice, shame on you. You’re dead.” The saga becomes more convoluted, but it’s safe to say everyone wants Dougie dead…
…well, everyone except for Janey-E. During his examination at the doctor’s office, she realizes how good he looks shirtless. Both she and the doctor comment that he has lost a lot of weight. That night at home, she stares at him lustfully and asks if he finds her attractive. “Well, do you?” Then they’re in bed. She’s riding him wildly as his arms plop up and down on the bed and her screams of pleasure wake Sonny Jim (Pierce Gagnon). The next morning, she can’t stop thinking about last night while Dougie maintains a goofy grin.
While several short scenes of strangeness are sprinkled throughout the hour, perhaps the most significant is one with Gordon Cole (David Lynch). He answers his hotel door to a giant image of Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) that fades to reveal Agent Albert Rosenfield (Miguel Ferrer). He delivers news of the text Diane received after Cooper escaped from prison. Tammy traced it to Mexico. I don’t know if it’s the translation of code or Diane’s response, but one of them texted, “They have Hastings. He’s going to take them to the site. Keep her close.”
When Agent Tammy Preston (Chrysta Bell) shows Cole a surveillance photo of Bad Cooper, he acknowledges, “This is something.” Yes, I agree. But what is it?!? It’s as cryptic as another phone conversation Margaret Lanterman, The Log Lady (Catherine E. Coulson) has with Deputy Chief Hawk (Michael Horse). “Hawk, electricity is humming. These days, the glow is dying. The Truman brothers are both true men. They are your brothers. Now the circle is almost complete. Watch and listen to the dream of time and space. It all comes out now flowing like a river, that which is and is not. Hawk, Laura is the one.”
At only 53 minutes, including what seems like a complete vocal performance at the Bang Bang Bar (Rebekah Del Rio, wearing a dress that looks like the floor of the black lodge, sings “No Stars”), hour ten of Twin Peaks is the shortest episode yet. The thing that sticks with me most about it is one of the shortest scenes in it. We learn that Nadine Hurley (Wendy Robie) may have realized her dream with her silent drape runners. We see a store called, “Run Silent, Run Drapes.” Hanging in its display window? One of Dr. Jacoby’s golden shovels.
