Around the Dinner Table

So are you recovered from Episode 8 yet?

Two weeks after the art house episode 8 we return once more to Twin Peaks .This weeks episode is much more story driven.There almost seems to be a pattern from week to week.One episode is focused on story with the one that follows introducing the more nontraditional elements of Lynch visuals.

Episode 9

Lets play connect the dots.

          This episode does a lot to bring characters closer together and show their connections to others.

We open on the Bad Dale walking a dirt road.He is caked in his own blood but surprisingly mobile for someone who was shot several times the night before.Apparently BOB removal does wonders for the soul AND the body.

           He has places to be, people to kill so no time to waste. Odd thing to notice on his clothing.A Safety Pin?I think it stands out because it was not covered in blood like the shirt it was pinned too.Is this a costume error.Someone forgot to remove the pin that held the scene label for the clothes before filming? Its probably nothing, but its such an unusual item to be in such a prominent location on the actor that how could everyone miss it before the camera started to roll?

High up in the air, Gordon,Tammy,Albert & Diane are flying home to Philadelphia. I think it is interesting that, considering Dianes volatile verbal nature, both she and Albert were sleeping in seats across from each other.

           Gordon receives a call from the Colonel . Informing him about Buckhorn,SD and the body of Major Briggs,where LT Knox is waiting for them at the Buckhorn Police Dept.Gordon’s selective hearing issue results in a minor misunderstanding in the name of the city.Cole informs Diane that they are going to make a slight detour.Fuck you,She just wants to go home.But when Gordon indicates it has something to do with an old case involving a man Agent Cooper once knew.A case that could be of interest to her? Diane guesses it has to do with the Blue Rose.So she has familiarity with what type of case is a Blue Rose would entail and its importance.Has she seen things herself?Could that be what her and Agent Coopers conversation involved on that last fateful night?Has she herself had an experience?

           Diane takes a moment to check her phone. She appears to swipe her finger three times.Could it be that she is just denied access? Or is she going through emails or text messages? I'm not overly familiar with smart phones.On mine, I swipe left to delete a email and right to select a specific option. She quickly swipes left three times and then stops and we are shown her phones screen. It says BLOCKED.

           Is this because she is on a FBI plane? Restricted access?No sharing of sensitive information. Her frustration is most likely due to the fact that for the past few days she has been removed from her life back home and just wants to connect. The block message serves the purpose of forcing her to check her messages at a later point in the story once off the plane.

           So with a little more Dutch courage for the rest of the flight ,its Fuck you,Gordon ,we are going to Fuckhorn!

Connect the dots.

          The FBI is now going to go to the body of Major Briggs.Which in turn connects them to William Hastings and the murder of Ruth Davenport. Which will also connects to Hastings wife who was involved in some way with the Bad Coop.Im sure the Bad Coop tried to work his way into her life as a way to extract information from her husband. But most importantly, it connects to the information that the Bad Dale sought.Which once discovered could lead the FBI to where the Bad Dale will be going to next.The FBI also now knows that Cooper ,flew the coop.The Bad Dale is on the loose

          Meanwhile, down on the farm.The same farm that Ray wanted to go to once they escaped prison?Probable.As how would the Bad Dale know to go to this specific farm on foot? The owners are resting ,permanently, out back so its unlikely they were involved with this crew but this was a planned meeting place.

          And on this farm we have a Hutch and a Chantel,married couple who were expecting the Bad Dale last night.The first time we saw Chantal,the Bad Dale told her she had to get her husband and wait for his coordinates he'd send her where he needed her and Hutch to be in a few days. The Bad Dale requests a proper gun and a couple of clean phones. As he likes to toss them frequently to prevent tracking.Chantel checks out one of the Bad Dales wounds.The only one he indicates though we know he was shot multiple times.This one looks to have gone clean through him.He was lucky.Even luckier that for some reason this married couple has a kit just for occasions like this

         Later, the Bad Dale,cleaned up,has been provided with a convenience store temporary phone.On which he makes a odd lowercase text :

around the dinner table,conversation is lively.

         What happens around a dinner table? People who know each other come together,plans are made.Bad Coop letting someone know that he is with his crew and they are talking intently about what is to be done next. The lively part being a dark joke as the conversation is about who is to die next.

         Then the Bad Dale makes a phone call to Duncan in his office in Las Vegas.Duncan is asked if it is done.To which he replies "not yet". The Bad Coop informs him that it better be done the next time he calls. This clearly has to do with the attempted murder of Dougie. Which brings to question, why would the Bad Dale want Dougie dead? If Dougie was intended to be taken back to the Lodge in his place he would need him alive.The intended assassination came after the Bad Dale had his Lodge experience on the road. Could the Bad Dale sense that the Good Dale is now on this side? And since only one of them can live outside ,the Good Dale has to die. But the Bad Dale is cautious of getting near the Good Dale as who knows what Lodge magic this might disrupt.So someone else has to do the deed.

Connect the Dots.

        We now have a direct connection between Duncan and the Bad Dale.Duncan to Ike the Spike, to the office worker who farmed out the hit to the bad cops.And now to Dougie Jones.

Hutch does good work.He's got new weapons for The Bad Dale who then instructs him to kill the Warden. Hutch asks if is should be quick or can Chantel make him sing.The Bad Dale doesn’t care, just kill him Hutch likes to share.Especially his wife.

        The Bad Dale also has a "Double Header" for him in Las Vegas. Details to come.This could mean many people in Las Vegas. Could he mean the office worker and Dougie.This was a double header that hadn’t occurred according to the Duncan call.He couldn’t know that the woman was dead. Could it mean Dougie and Janey-E? Why would he be interested in killing Janey-E? Could it be Ike and Dougie? Ike is a connection to him and the Bad Dale might not want to leave any loose ends. Could it be Duncan and Ike?Duncan and Dougie?Someones going to have a bad day.

          After Chantel’s kiss with the Bad Dale she gives him one of her favorite treats, a bag of cheese snacks. Manufactured Garmonbozia? The kind you would find in a second hand.....I mean a convenience store?

         Now at the police station in Las Vegas we find the Good Coop and Janey-E waiting patiently outside the office of the three Fusco detectives. "Dougies" boss,Bushnell, is being questioned.His body language calls back to Fire Walk With Me and Lil. One hand in pocket ,the other in a fist. Hiding something,and belligerent. Is this the cops or "Dougies " boss? But I think its more to do with the "damn strange business of first his car blows up and then someone tries to kill him" I think in this moment Bushnell connects dots of his own and believes it to be "Dougies" coworker who has been trying to kill "Dougie" .Especially with the recent false insurance claims that "Dougie" has brought to light.

Connect the dots. 

        "Dougie" had a car accident 12 years ago before coming to work at the insurance company and every once and awhile he has episodes like we have been witnessing.Explaining why everyone is so used to this behavior.Twelve years of this happening on and off around the people he knows would create this level of familiarity.12 years to meet his wife and have a child. But its likely that this was not a car accident.Rather,He was hit by the Lodge. This is the moment when he came into existence. Who really manufactured him? Was it the Bad Dale? Or could it have been someone else? Perhaps the ??????? ? Major Briggs?

        Whomever manufactured the body, they failed to create documents. Drivers license,passport,social,birth certificate,class or taxes records.Nothing prior to 1997. The three detectives theorize :witness protection

         The cops go to talk to "Dougie". Its like talking to a dog but Janey-E does all the barking.Love Janey-E. They take his coffee cup with intention of using the fingerprints and DNA to identify.Entering The Good Dales fingerprints and DNA into a search data base will ring the cherries with the FBI. This could send Gordon and the gang in the Las Vegas direction.Connecting them even closer to the Good Dale.The FBI is aware of the name Dougie Jones thanks to the wedding ring .Poor Diane, she's never going to get home.

             If this does occur, what will Diane see if presented with the Good Dale in his current mental condition. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Diane is the one who brings Cooper out of his mental fog?

            The Good Dale connects with the American Flag.He hears America the Beautiful. Like a stack of mash potatoes, this means something to him.. A secretary in red heals walks in front of him.Catching his eye.Her outfit and shoes give off a Audrey Horne feel from the pilot,light top,dark skirt,red shoes.Is she coming back soon?Diane is also wearing red shoes in this episode. Might the way the secretary is dressed recall Diane for him more than Audrey considering the ladys secretarial role at the moment. Especially following his hearing the "America the Beautiful" music in his head. He's not thinking about Twin Peaks, he's recalling the core of his  being.That part of him that made him want to be an FBI agent in the first place."Dougies" wife is wearing red flats as well. The Good Dale takes note of an electrical outlet. Memories without context for him.

            At the Twin Peaks sheriffs station we have a odd, but oddly sweet moment between Andy and Lucy.Few things I take away form this. 1) This is a peak into their home life, they really love each other 2) I think something happened to Lucy,maybe as a result of the birth of their child.And she has been mentally off even more so than in the original series,early onset dementia?With ever loyal and loving Andy by her side.3) They might have a shopping problem We've seen Andy with an expensive watch on.And now, at work they are shopping online?Twin Peaks police can't pay that well, if Sheriff Truman and his wife have arguments over spending.

          We next visit the Horne family. A less happy home if there ever was one.Someone or something has let Johnny Horne out of his room and he is running around the house. Moments before he runs into a wall there is a FLASH of white light,possibly from a broken lamp.Though, no lamp is seen near the body on the floor.Johnny is still breathing.

          What if this head conk makes Johnny revert back to his actual mental age again? Twining what the return of the Good Dale from his slow mental state.Johnny was revealed as having been pushed down the stairs by Audrey in a deleted scene from the original series.His dramatic return to a normal mental state for his age would certainly be reason enough to bring Audrey home.AMEN!

Benjamin and Beverly share an similar home life connection.Both have a loved one who is in need of special care at home.

         Johnny’s head injury twins what happened to Benjamin at the end of Season 2.But what if his head injury results in death?A funeral would bring Audrey home to the family.

Would her return reveal that Richard is Audrey's son? Could it have been Richard who let Johnny out?The violent tendencies of Bad Dale and Richard Horne.(see how they both restrain women) Did Cooper actually rape a comatose Audrey and get her pregnant in the process?Audrey thinking all these years that it was John Justice Wheeler's kid.

         Random thought:What if we were to discover that Richard is Donna's child? There is a visual cue that makes a connection with Donna: How they both hold their cigarettes.And the type of cigarette as well (thin).In the end of season 2 it is revealed that Donna is actually Benjamin Hornes child.Maybe Richard, in an act of defiance against his mother goes by his blood name and not the family name of Hayward. There is no mention of what has happened to Donna over the last 25 years. Her characters exclusion is most likely due to the troubles that L.F.Boyle caused while on set and her refusal to take part in FWWM. By tainting her characters history by connecting it directly to this awful person,shows its just another reason not to piss off your bosses. Ala the Evolution of the Arm.

BETTY BRIGGS!!

          Bobby,Hawk and the Sheriff stop by to see Mrs Briggs.Before they can finish the sentence she stops them and tells them a story about the day before Garland died.How he spoke of this meeting happening.And when they come, to give them something.

I LOVE this moment. You can tell that she is feeling the importance of her husbands words and work in this moment.That she senses the big picture of his actions and subsequent "death".I so want to hug this woman in this moment.

         Betty speaks to Bobby.How he was a long way from where he is now.How her husband Garland saw this life for him."You Father never lost faith in you".What a wonderful thing for a son to hear so many years after his death.That a dream he had for his son came true.That he,Bobby, didn’t let his Father down after all.This is a fantastic call back to that Double R conversation between the Major and Bobby in season 2 of the original series.

         Back at Buckhorne, Gordan and the gang have arrived at THE FUCKING MORGUE. Diane lights up and has no interest in seeing a dead body this morning.Why would they invite her anyway? She takes a few curious glances in the direction they went before taking out her phone.Impatiently she turns it on and begins looking though messages. One of them contains the same message we saw the Bad Dale enter into his phone and send. The contact is unknown. Curious, this time the message is in complete capital letters ,where as before it was lower case. Could it have been sent through a service that retyped it in all caps? Could someone else have received the original message and then sent it to her from a different phone? Her final reaction doesn’t give much away. Shes thinking about something. What does this mean? who is this from? Could the original message been sent to Phillip and he sent it to her?Fuck you ,text!

        The Buckhorn detective fills them in on what has happened.The discovery of Briggs body,sans head along with Ruth Davenports head.The arrest of William Hastings who was having an affair with Ruth.The death of Hastings wife and arrest of his lawyer for hte crime.The subsequent death by car explosion of Hastings secretary.Though since we have not seen this,how can we be sure it was the secretary in the car at the time.

What happens in season 2 ?

Good question Albert. If only we got a season two

        I am shipping Albert and the Coroner. If only we cold have a spin off with the two of them.When did he lose his marbles?

       Its revealed that Hastings and Ruth worked together on a website/blog about alternate dimensions. And bless the creators, there is an actual website :http://thesearchforthezone.com/

           Its straight out of the 90's. Several links take you to Rhino records an the upcoming release of Twin Peaks soundtracks.Meta. Several connect to articles.

           If you hover the mouse over a secret spot near the bottom of the page, just above the trees, it reveals a series of Coordinates ....clicking on them takes you to distorted footage of the convenience store .The address is in western South Dakota

The final message posted on the blog is :

Today we finally entered what we call the zone and we met the Major

Connect the dots

         .The age of the body is discussed.Its too young to be the Majors at what would be his current age,72, in this year.It would match the age of a body from 25 years ago, when he probably died in a fire in the government facility outside of Twin Peaks. Cooper knew Briggs.Briggs was last seen with Cooper 25 years ago.Cooper has flown the coop.

          The Coroner shows the ring : to Dougie,Love Janey-E .Dot....to dot...to dot

         Back in Twin Peaks, poor Jerry,still lost in the woods, has perhaps done some really bad drugs and is now in a battle with "not his foot" foot..Has he been messing with Red's Sparkle? Or is he growing his stuff to close to the Lodge?Was that the sycamore trees of Glastonbury Grove in the background when he lost the battle with his non foot?

         There is no sex in the champagne room and no eating in the conference room Chad. How many time do we have to discuss this? I enjoyed how Hawk didn’t make any eager move to help Chad with the door and how Sheriff Truman’s first response after Chad left was to have window opened.Chad stinks,in more ways then one.

         At the sheriffs station the boys look into the object from Major Briggs chair.Bobby knows how to open the item. His Father showed him once. The first toss onto the concrete creates a sound that ends in a click.Does the tone of the device match the tone we hear later in the Great Northern?

The second toss opens the device.

           Inside are two slips of paper: 252 yards east from Jack Rabbits Palace. Before leaving place some soil from that area. in your pockets. Two dates :10/1 and 10/2 with a time 2:53 .The familiar filled in "owl" image.Planet signs.Jupiter and Saturn meet,it will open.

253 continues to echo through the show. Walk 252 yard, because at the 253 you will cross over into the other side.

The Sheriff says :Two days from now. making today in Twin Peaks 9/29

          Bobby is hit in the heart by the name Jack Rabbits Palace(and they said it wasn't about the bunny?!!). Major Briggs faith in Bobby turning out good was so strong that he left a message that only Bobby could help decipher. Both Sheriff Truman and Hawk had never heard of this place because it was something that only Bobby and his Father knew. Bobby named it.It was there make-believe world.Major Briggs saw this future and knew that Bobby would be here to help.

Bobby:That’s my Dad.

          Such a wonderful tribute to the character of Major Garland Briggs.To the relationship to his son.To the dream he shared. I love how this character that couldn’t return to the series because of the passing of the actor Don Davis has been made such an integral and emotional part of the season.

           The second slip of paper is very familiar to Peaks viewers. It is a portion of the received communication Major Briggs shared with Agent Cooper. The one where Cooper name appeared multiple times within the numbers. Here it is shown twice with the third cut off. Two Coopers, with a third not a partial Cooper. Good Dale,Bad Dale ,Manufactured Dougie. In the original series, I seem to recall that the word Cooper, appears four times on the paper.Three mentioned by Major Briggs, the fourth seen under the his hand.

           Did you notice what looks like the old smokestack from the original opening credits across the street from the Sheriffs Station?

          Diane,Tammy and Gordon share a smoke and a awkward moment.Test of wills, and Gordon gives in to the call of the cigarette. We learn that they used to share a smoke back in the day.It's a nice little moment that reminds us how these characters related to each other before all the bad happened.

William Hastins has a lot to cry about and he cries a lot. Tammy conducts the interview.Why is Diane watching this? Shes not with the FBI?

           Hastings discussed different things on his blog.Different dimensions.Ruth Davenport was good at uncovering hidden records (Did she discover the Secret History Dossier?)and she discovered: Certain place at a certain time you would enter the dimension and make contact with a certain person.

There they found the Major.Hiding there or hibernating as he said so people couldn’t find him.He wanted to go to a different place. So he requested information,important numbers,coordinates.They would be found in a secured military database that the Major instructed them where to look.Ruth had the numbers on her hand, obtained the last Thursday.Then something terrible happened.These others came in and pushed him to the floor demanding to know what his wife’s name was. Where was he when this happened?

          Tammy then asks William to identify the Major from a series of 6 photos.Sign,circle and date the one that is correct.The date he writes looks as if  it is 9/20. Connect the Dots. But close examination of the photo one can make out the tail of the nine along the lines of the photo next to Mr Briggs. And in Williams mumbling, he does sound like he is saying nine twenty nine.
          Its an interesting detail..Is it intentional or just a case of penmanship?

          If the events of Buckhorn,Gordon and the Bad Dale are taking place days before the events in Twin Peaks. Its 9/20 here , 9/29 in Twin Peaks . This explains how the Great Northern hotel key was able to get to Twin Peaks by the next episode.Maybe the key arriving at the Great Northern occurs days later and the two storylines inch closer to the same day with each episode If he has written 9/29, and the tail is not just an accident of his writing while in a agitated state then at least these two events are occurring on the same day.

         When Coop was about to exit from nonexistence and American Girl's watch alarm went off at 2:53, the date was 10/1, one of the same days that Major Briggs left on his note.Does this mean that when Cooper was tricked,and now he wont appear at that time and place because he is now in the place of "Dougie"? What time is the Good Coop in?

          So they were able to give Major Briggs the numbers. How could they meet Briggs,obtain the numbers, and then return to Briggs if to enter you had to be at a certain time and place. Is it just a certain time and not a date? Or was Ruth able to obtain the information using a computer on the spot?

Why would the Bad Dale want these numbers?

          Major Briggs started to float up.He spoke "Cooper,Cooper" and then his head disappeared. Was this the Major entering the Lodge only to have the door closed on him before he could completely cross over? Severing his head.Which is the only part of him we saw later within the Lodge.

Did he float up like the Woodsman in the jail cell?

Hastings then describes what he believed to be a dream.Ruth is dead.There were so many people there.Woodsmen?

         He held her.And then he woke up and he was in his home.

         William Hastings is having a bad day.He swore up and down that he didn’t kill Ruth. He loved her. They were going to go to the Bahamas! All he wanted to do was go Scooby-diving.(yeah, I said it)

         Round of applause to Mr Matthew Lilliard for his performance in this scene.Having to maintain an emotional state of distress while doing a major(no pun intended) info dump.

         
        Evening at the Great Northern, and the sound is still in the air. No new discoveries despite security searching.Interesting that Benjamin is still at work this late considering his son has seriously hurt himself earlier that day. Very interesting that Mr Horne doesn’t follow through on the advances of Beverly. is he really a "good man" after all these years? He doesn’t know why

At the Roadhouse , two worn out and drunk young ladies Ella and Chloe are having a conversation over drinks.

        One has recently lost her job serving burgers only to get the same job across the street.She has a serious rash.From the effects of the new drug Sparkle?She scratches her rash several times.These are the hands that serve your food in Twin Peaks. Could this cause an epidemic in the town among the high-schoolers that leads to a drug connection ?

         They talk of a Zebra and a Penquin.Both animals are black and white

"Do you know that Zebras out again?" Is this a reference to someone who sells drugs being out of product or an old boyfriend out of jail(striped prison pajamas)? Penquin?A suit?business man? another connection to drugs?

Who are these two and why now are we meeting them?

Is it future, or is it past?

Tune in next week, Same OWL time, Same OWL channel.