Mr. Reindeer wrote:I personally love the first Dr. Amp scene, primarily because Tamblyn is SO much fun to watch. And I do think TSHoTP does a good job of filling in Jacoby’s backstory and bridging the gap between original series Jacoby and S3 Jacoby so that it feels like a natural evolution of the character. Honestly, I was happy to see the character given a darker edge again after his whitewashed cuddly S2 incarnation. However, I do agree that they went back to the well too often by revisiting this shtick, with diminishing returns, and I really hate the reuse of a large chunk of the exact same monologue from an earlier Part. I know people have hypothesized that this was supposed to be some statement on the malleability of time and space (a la Sarah’s boxing match), but honestly it just feels lazy. None of this diminishes my love for that first Dr. Amp scene, though, with Jacoby apopleptically raving about açai berries.
Btw, since you referenced Alex Jones, it’s worth noting that Lynch did once upon a time endorse Loose Change. So who really knows how much of this material was Lynch vs. Frost after all....
Great thread!
At first I disliked the reuse of Dr. Amp's footage in Part 12, especially since it came in Part 12, which grew more and more frustrating as it went along, intentionally, and the reuse of that footage was the point of no return for me. However, on second viewing, I didn't mind the reuse at all, and now I love it. It makes perfect sense, even if you don't think of it in metaphysical terms, but merely in the way of people being stuck in one place, the nature of a personality like that repeating himself ad nauseum, etc, etc. Plus, the 9th circle of hell that he references which awaits Audrey, also standing still. These things all make perfect sense, and there are plenty of instances in The Return that folks have pointed out as "lazy," but which strike me as pointedly repetitious, such as the reused footage of Norma shuffling her bills. Also, for what it's worth, I now love the entirety of Part 12, which I think is one of the most beautiful Parts of the entire series, especially when watched in a binge.
I also wanted to re-address Freddy's green glove, since it's obviously a large sticking point for a lot of people. In a perfect Twin Peaks world, would I have wanted Freddy to abruptly defeat Bob? Absolutely not. Yet as you and I discussed, I thought the scene was executed with intense and audacious artistry, so I personally can't fault it for that, so I enjoy watching it in and of itself. But ultimately, it's another moment, like Jacoby's aforementioned scene, that I think you're meant to question and intellectualize. Isn't the point most likely the opposite of what we're shown: that there is no magical green glove out there that can just defeat the ultimate evil in the world? It can't be defeated, and that's the point of depicting its defeat in the most ridiculous, out of nowhere way possible. That's what I think/feel is going on there, and why it's brilliant.
I also would like to point out that I distinctly recall Mark Frost being asked how much of the entire production he was involved with, and he replied "40%." I don't have a source for this but I remember talking about it at length with a friend before the series started. To me, this doesn't mean that Lynch was involved with 60% of it, but rather that Lynch was involved 100% from top to bottom, whereas Frost was involved 40% of the time. So even though Lynch was involved all of the time, Frost has stated that he was involved in nearly half of the creative decisions, and that seems right to me since Lynch wears so many more hats. I agree with most of the speculation in this thread, especially from you Mr. Reindeer, and I see Frost's fingerprints all over this thing. The one thing I do wonder is whether Frost ever watched and came around on Mulholland Drive, given his previous comments and given that The Return's structure certainly resembles that of Mulholland Drive. In other words, was the screenplay also reminiscent of the structure of Mulholland Drive, or did Lynch rearrange the pieces in the editing room?