Twin Peaks Episode 10 Recap: Looks Like Trouble Coming for Everyone
Episode 10 of Twin Peaks is heavy on plotting that gets us from A to B, presumably gearing up for some big reveals—and it’s a bit shorter than other weeks as well. This is one of those Twin Peaks episodes where we just have to enjoy the ride. The developments are either minor, or fulfilled ones we already saw coming. The FBI is onto Diane; the real Cooper, trapped in Dougie Jones’s body, is in for more trouble; and someone is close to cracking how and why all these body swaps occurred. Follow the recap by location, not chronology, to keep everything straight.
Chrysta Bell and David Lynch in a still from Twin Peaks. Photo: Suzanne Tenner/SHOWTIME
South Dakota
In the FBI plot line, Albert and Constance from the local police are on a date. Cute! Tammy and Gordon laugh flirtatiously. Meh. Later, Gordon sees a vision of Laura Palmer when Albert comes to his hotel bearing news. Albert has the record of Diane’s text about the conversation at the dinner table (the one we know came from Bob/Cooper). It seems she has a stable of male suitors (Diane is cool) but this one came off a server from Mexico, and she sent back an encrypted message: “They have Hastings. He’s going to take them to the site.” They decide to keep her close. Tammy arrives. “Remember the penthouse murders?” Oh you mean the people who had their faces torn off? Yes. She shows them a picture from one of the earliest sightings. It’s Bob! I mean Cooper.
Robert Knepper and Jim Belushi in a still from Twin Peaks. Photo: Suzanne Tenner/SHOWTIME
Las Vegas
Rodney Mitchum, owner of the Silver Mustang Casino, fills out a casino surveillance form in a luxe, completely period midcentury-style apartment. A woman, Candie, wears a pink satiny getup and a feather in her hair tries to kill a fly. (Let me guess, it’s going to land on his head.) She grabs a remote. The fly lands on his shoulder and she hits him in the face. Hysterics ensue. Enter Bradley Mitchum (Jim Belushi). On TV, a local news channel shows the arrest of Ike, and the brothers take note. “Remind me to call out that hit on Ike,” Rodney says. Then the news story turns to the attack on Dougie Jones, and the two men give each other a look. “That’s our Mr. Jackpots.”
Dougie/Cooper finally gets to that doctor’s appointment. (This is a real relief. I also want to mention Kyle MacLachlan looks pretty damn good with his shirt off.) The doctor immediately mentioned Dougie has lost a lot of weight, and his health has remarkably improved. Later that night, Janey-E watches a slender, fit Dougie eat some chocolate cake and tries to seduce him. This makes sense since we just got some gratuitous MacLachlan ab shots. They have sex, and it’s pretty judging by Janey-E’s performance. He also looks pretty happy.
The unknown man in the office—he’s billed in the credits as Duncan Todd, and he’s shown up enough times; someone comes to tell him about Ike getting nabbed. (Lots of midcentury modern décor!) They call in Anthony from Dougie’s office. It turns out Anthony’s insurance claim he conspired to deny was done with this guy and it was to screw over the Mitchum brothers—but they’re going to pin it on Dougie. Then the Mitchum Brothers will take care of it themselves. “If you fail to deliver on this, then you’ll have to kill Mr. Jones yourself,” Duncan warns.
Back at the Silver Mustang casino, the Mitchums aren’t too happy to see Anthony, who shows up to deliver a message. Anthony tells them when their casino burned down– a casino covered by a policy he sold them– it was ruled arson by an official investigation, even though these guys haven’t seen any money. He tells them the claim was done by Douglas Jones. “Seems to have a personal vendetta against you,” he adds. Uh oh.
Wendy Robie in a still from Twin Peaks. Photo: Suzanne Tenner/SHOWTIME
Twin Peaks
We open this week’s episode with the still-unexplained Horne offspring– Richard Horne, who ran over a little boy in a hit-and-run a few episodes back. The woman from the diner, Miriam, says she has already sent a letter to the Twin Peaks police department. She says if anything happens to her they’ll know who did it. He weighs this, and breaks in the door. We get an eerie shot of her cutesy trailer as we hear sounds of the attack.
When Richard’s done, he calls Chad (from the police force). “Don’t let that fucking letter get to the sheriff.” Inside, Miriam is bleeding from the head. Might have been a stronger move not to go there, but, hey, this is Twin Peaks.
Elsewhere at the Fat Trout Trailer Park, Carl Rodd, proprietor, is singing a song as coffee cup breaks through a window. It’s Steven and Becky Burnett (the latter we know as the daughter/relative of Shelley). Steven looks even more strung out than usual and screams at a cowering Becky about money– they almost look unrecognizable.
Dr. Jacoby is still doing his podcast which sounds like a weird Facebook news rant: “They’re fucking us at the bank, at the grocery store,” etcetera. He goes on and on about overly processed food. Dr. Jacoby, author of the Moon Juice Cookbook, everyone. “Buy yourself a shovel! Dig yourself out of the shit!” Nadine Hurley is a big fan
Jerry Horne is still crazy in woods.
At the station, Lucy and Chad have some small talk—he insists on taking the mail. Lucy gets suspicious. He stuffs the letter from Merriam in his shirt. Does Lucy notice? He messages Richard that it’s done.
In the next WTF Twin Peaks moment, a teddy bear with a plastic ball for a head appears, saying, “Hello Johnny, how are you today?” to a horribly beat-up Johnny Horne, who was injured in an earlier episode (so bad we thought he was possibly killed). He’s being looked after by his mother, Sylvia Horne.
Richard pulls up. “Don’t even think about getting out of your car, Richard,” Sylvia Horne says. He greets her, “Grandma!” (More hints that this may be Audrey’s son.)
Richard demands money—he chokes her and gets her safe code. Johnny struggles trying to help, but he’s chained to his chair and still badly hurt. (Still unclear if that was self-inflicted, or perhaps Richard paid an earlier visit.) Richard robs the house—takes her jewelry, money, and purse. Later, Sylvia phones Ben at the hotel and demands he take care of it or her lawyer will take care of it (they’re divorced). He asks Beverly if she wants to have dinner.
Then there’s…Log Lady! She tells Deputy Hawk “Electricity is coming. You hear it,” a reference to what we the audience know are the transitions from the Red Room to our world. “Laura is the one,” she finishes.
Last but not least, there’s the Bang Bang Bar, where up tonight is Rebekah del Rio (who sings Llorando a capella during a pivotal scene in Mulholland Drive) with Moby, self-proclaimed holder of insider information on Trump, on guitar.
A Field Guide to Recognizing Your Favorite Twin Peaks Actors Now, 26 Years Later
Though Kyle MacLachlan has since starred in other cult series, even when he was Charlotte’s impotent husband on Sex and the City and a murderer on Desperate Housewives, he’ll always be known as Special Agent Dale Cooper, a man never too far away from a slice of cherry pie or cup of strong, black joe. (No word yet on whether Diane will be returning, too.)
Death be damned, Laura Palmer is coming back with a bang by starring in all 18 episodes of the new series—that is, unless Sheryl Lee, whose first post-Peaks role was Salome opposite Al Pacino, and who has since showed up in Winter’s Bone and Woody Allen’s Café Society, is simply reprising her role as Laura’s suspiciously identical cousin, Maddy.
Dana Ashbrook has kept up acting with a steady roster of smaller films, including 2012’s The Agression Scale with Ray Wise, aka Leland Palmer, and more than a few appearances on Dawson’s Creek, presumably making him more than up to the job in reprising his role as the annoying ultimate bad boy Bobby Briggs—even now that his hair’s gone gray.
Though she’s now a long way from a schoolgirl, the ever flirtatious Audrey Horne may have a chance at getting together with Coop after all, especially since actress Sherilyn Fenn has been keeping up her acting chops on shows like Gilmore Girls and Shameless (not to mention appearing on the cover of Playboy in the ’90s).
At 70, Peggy Lipton scarcely seems to have aged since she last played Norma Jennings, the owner of the Double R Diner, though she has since raised another actress, her daughter Rashida Jones.
Richard Beymer‘s eyes seem only bluer than ever since the now 79-year-old actor last turned up as Benjamin Horne, Audrey’s father and the owner of the Great Northern Hotel (not to mention an appearance in West Side Story, which helped to earn him a Golden Globe for New Star of the Year that he shared with Warren Beatty). Not that viewers have been able to appreciate them: Twin Peaks is only Beymer’s fourth on-screen appearance so far in the 2000s.
From blue streaks to twin top knots, Kimmy Robertson seems to have as much appreciation for an out-there hairdo as Lucy Moran, her curly-haired secretary in the sheriff’s office. Robertson has since lent her high-pitched voice to shows like Batman and The Simpsons, plus appeared onscreen on an episode of Drake & Josh—all good practice for appearing on all 18 episodes this season.
Like Leland Palmer, Laura’s potentially murderous father, actor Ray Wise has since gone gray, a new look he’s shown off in shows like Mad Men, Fresh Off the Boat, Gilmore Girls, 24, and How I Met Your Mother. That’s range.
Another face who’ll be showing up in the full series, Mädchen Amick has lately turned up on Riverdale, plus a host of cult shows like Mad Men, Gossip Girl, ER, Gilmore Girls, and Dawson’s Creek. Fortunately for her character, the waitress Shelley Johnson, though, her abusive husband Leo won’t be back.
Since playing Deputy Hawk, one of the most reasoned voices in the sheriff’s office, Michael Horse has gone on to not only appear in shows like Malcolm in the Middle, but pick up a full-on artistic career as a jeweler and painter.
Though Michael Ontkean has maintained his curly head of locks since starring as Sheriff Harry S. Truman, the actor, who last showed up in The Descendants in 2011, has decided to leave Coop hanging and won’t be returning to Twin Peaks.
Lara Flynn Boyle won’t be returning to this season but she’ll always live on as Donna Hayward, Laura’s best friend of sorts who was never short on spectacular sweaters.
Russ Tamblyn‘s daughter Amber has since gone on to become an actor and even director herself, but Tamblyn has kept up an acting career of his own since playing the ever eccentrically-outfitted psychiatrist Dr. Lawrence Jacoby, recently picking up roles in films like Django Unchained.
Like the actor who plays fellow bad boy Bobby Briggs, James Marshall, aka James Hurley, Big Ed’s nephew who can’t get enough of riding his bike, has also gone gray, but still showed up on-screen with a few films and an appearance on CSI.
Like her on-screen daughter, Laura, the grief-stricken Sarah Palmer will be returning for all 18 episodes, although actor Grace Zabriskie has turned up in shows like Charmed and Big Love.
Fittingly, like her beau Sheriff Harry S. Truman, sawmill owner Josie Packard won’t be returning to the series—like fellow mill worker Piper Laurie, aka Catherine Martell, David Lynch apparently never asked her back. But actor Joan Chen has been looking young as ever lately in shows like Netflix’s Marco Polo.
Read W‘s recap of Part Nine of Twin Peaks.
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Read all W‘s Twin Peaks coverage here.
Laura Dern, Naomi Watts, Patricia Arquette, and Hailey Gates Open Up About Working with Legendary Director David Lynch:
