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TWIN PEAKS’ 7 Most Lynchian Moments in Episode 6

With chapter six, we are officially one third of the way through David Lynch and Mark Frost’s return to Twin Peaks on Showtime, and this new iteration of the series continues to defy almost all television conventions. Characters disappear for episodes at a time, and some characters are probably never going to be heard from again. Some scenes serve only as vignettes, while others have mythological importance to the canon of the show. One thing no one will ever be able to accuse this show of: being conventional.

In this week’s episode, the focus continues to be on our newly reborn and addlebrained Agent Dale Cooper (or, as his doppelgänger is known to the world, Dougie Jones), played by Kyle MacLachlan. And just like previous episodes, there are moments in this episode that only David Lynch could have directed, and simply no one else. Here are the seven most Lynchian moments from Twin Peaks 2017.

Dougie Jones and the Case File Scribbles

In the previous episode, Cooper/Dougie was assigned a stack of case files by his boss at the Lucky 7 Insurance Company. While sitting down to go over them, as much as he’s able to considering his mental condition, Cooper/Dougie has vision of the One-Armed Man MIKE in the Black Lodge, who tells him to “wake up”–good advice, since he seems to have the brain function of a two-year-old at this point.

After MIKE repeatedly tells Coop not to die, we are treated to a scene of MacLachlan scribble bizarre drawings all over the documents beneath a soothing jazz score. As it turns out when he goes to work the next day, those scribbles actually seem to inspire some kind of interesting revelation to his boss. (Although what that revelation is will just have to wait.)

After 25 Years, Enter: Diane

Just who the hell Diane is has been a mystery since the very first episode of the original Twin Peaks. Agent Dale Cooper has been relaying messages to this mystery woman via his mini tape recorder since he was first introduced in the 1990 pilot. But was Diane a real woman, or just a figment of his imagination? Once Diane began to send Coop packages later on in the original series, there didn’t seem to be much question left as to whether she was real or not…but it was becoming doubtful that we’d ever meet her.

But when Gordon Cole mentioned at the end of episode four only one woman would be able to tell if the Evil Cooper was the real deal or not, fans everywhere guessed it would be Diane, who had been privy to all of Dale Cooper’s innermost thoughts. And they were right!

In this episode, Albert Rosenfield (Miguel Ferrer) goes to a bar in a downpour, clearly not feeling like “singin’ in the rain” at all  (“Fuck Gene Kelly, you motherfucker!”). Sitting at the bar–wearing a platinum blonde bob wig and holding a cigarette in one hand and a martini glass in another–is Diane, played by none other than Lynch favorite Laura Dern.

“Hello, Albert,” She says. And that’s all we get. For now. But that’s a Lynchian entrance if ever there was one.

Richard and “Red”

After last episode’s introduction to the clearly crazy Richard Horne (still unrevealed just how he’s related to Twin Peaks‘ most wealthy family), we catch up with him in a warehouse, where he’s having a taste of a new drug. We are introduced once again to Balthazar Getty, who we last saw at the Roadhouse at the end of episode two. Turns out, he’s a drug dealer named Red, probably the one responsible for all the designer drugs coming into town from across the Canadian border.

Flanked by his machine gun toting bodyguard, Red reminds Richard why he shouldn’t mess with him. He then takes out a coin and flips it, and it (magically?) stays up in the air for a long time before it lands… in Richard’s mouth. Red catches another coin a second later, then Richard realizes the one he held is gone. “Just remember this, kid,” Red tells Richard. “I will saw your head open and eat your brains if you fuck me over.” This is classic Lynch, going from funny to weird to chilling all in one scene.

Miriam Loves Cherry Pie

At the Double R Diner, we are introduced to Miriam (Sarah Jean Long), an overly chipper elementary school teacher who just loves her some Double R cherry pies. (I mean, doesn’t everyone?) She explains how the Double R had not one, but two cherry pies that day with her name written on them. This makes Heidi, the Double R’s immigrant German waitress, giggle with glee. Actually, that’s pretty much all Heidi does throughout the scene.

Heidi, played by Amanda Hays, appeared in only two episodes of the original series: the first one and the last one. And all she did there was giggle, too. The whole scene may just be an excuse for Lynch to fetishize cherry pie, something we haven’t seen much of on this iteration of Twin Peaks yet, but that is indeed pure Peaks and pure Lynch. At the end of the scene, both Heidi and Shelly (Madchen Amick) decide to treat Miriam to some cherry pie next time she stops in. I say she deserves it.

The Hit And Run

After feeling humiliated by his encounter with drug kingpin Red, a very high Richard Horne is driving his truck through town like a madman. At the same moment, we see a mother and her young son running through a local park, while trailer park owner Carl Rodd (Harry Dean Stanton, reprising his small role from Fire Walk with Me) watches on. We know this is not going to end well.

The little kid runs out into the street, and is hit and instantly killed by Richard in a hit and run. While his grieving mother (Lisa Coronado) runs out and cradles his bloody body, the locals gather, and Angelo Badalmenti’s sad, mournful music plays. Then, Carl Rodd sees a light emerge from the body of the child and disappear into the electrical wires. This all takes place at the same intersection that Laura Palmer and her father Leland had a meltdown in Fire Walk with Me. Coincidence? Don’t count on it.

Ike the Spike

Here’s a scene that is pure, 100% David Lynch. In a motel in Vegas, a very short man who is credited as “Ike the Spike” (Christophe Zajac-Denek) receives an envelope with a black dot on it is slipped under his door. He opens it to reveal a picture of Tammie, the woman from the previous episode, who wrote a secret code in her Blackberry while listening to hip-hop, along with a photo of Dougie. Tammie was meant to get rid of Dougie and failed, so now Ike the Spike must remove her. Picking up an ice pick, he stabs her picture and then Dougie’s, leaving the ice pick in the middle of his face.

We later cut to an office where we see Tammie working, while her hip-hop jam plays. The little guy runs into her office and stabs her mercilessly with his ice pick in a bloody scene straight out of a horror movie. A woman in the office who sees the murder take place is then chased down and also killed, although this happens off screen. As the small man leaves his carnage behind, he becomes sad to realize his ice pick was bent during the killings. Poor Ike.

Hawk Finally Finds a Clue

Since the first episode of the new series, Deputy Hawk (Michael Horse) has known that he has to find something that is missing, and that something is in relation to Agent Cooper. The way he would find it would have “something to do with his (Native American) heritage,” according to the Log Lady. Well, while in the station bathroom, Hawk drops a Buffalo nickel coin, which rolls into a stall. The coin has an Indian Chief Head on it, and at that same moment, he notices that the stall door is made by a manufacturer called Nez Perce, which has a similar Native American chief for a logo.

Hawk then notices that the door isn’t screwed on right, so he loosens it up and retrieves several pieces of paper with handwriting on them. Now, I have no idea how they got there, but my bet is those are pages from the secret diary of Laura Palmer. And I’d bet those pages have information relating to the true whereabouts of Dale Cooper. If I’m right, someone better send me a donut. And maybe some pie too.

What were your favorite weird moments and scenes from episode six of Twin Peaks: The Return? Let us know down below in the comments.

Images: Showtime

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