Windom Earle storyline- what was wrong, what was right

[Agent Earle]

I love me some Windom Earle, prancing about in his underwear!!!

[Rudagger]

For me literally the only redeeming quality I find about the character is that he gives the show narrative focus again. So, like. . 'literally better than nothing!' (or literally better than having Cooper get kicked out of the FBI while they try to figure out an actual reason for his character to stay in Twin Peaks for the rest of the season ..)

There are only really a few moments of actual menace (rewatching that VHS scene, which I didn't remember, is a good vibe .. it's a shame he never had that the rest of the show!), but as everyone has already said to death, he's just so ludicrous, so silly, so pontificating .. it drives me nuts because Cooper says that Windom Earle's mind is like a diamond, cold and calculating .. but, I really never felt like we saw that. I suppose technically his plans all panned out, but, when you throw on top the giant silly chess pieces, it really doesn't *feel* evil or intelligent. And the disguises are just .. brutal, and frankly baffling, because I'm not sure what the intent was; Are we supposed to find the disguises funny? Cause they aren't. Are we supposed to find them realistic or impressive? Because they aren't that either. Are we supposed to be scared at him dressing in disguise? Er. It just falls into that area of Twin Peaks that tends to be the worst; 'weird for the sake of weird', which you find a lot of in the episodes in the nadir, with the weaker writers/directors. And I say that because finding the right balance of darkness and humour is *really* hard to do, it's a very fine line. Lynch does it well. People like the Coen Brothers do it (Fargo .. come to think of it, the Fargo television series does it). But, when it's done without thought it just becomes the worst of both worlds, because it fails in multiple ways (neither sickly funny nor shocking/dark/dramatic).

I know some people thought he was handled better in Lynch's episode, but, I only really like how he's dispensed by Bob (it is creepy how his life is just sort of sucked out of him leaving an empty husk). Even Lynch couldn't salvage that character to me, as he was just so tainted by that point. Mind you, I don't think Lynch is perfect in that regard, as even he, when fully involved, fell into some of the same trappings that turn me off of parts of Season 2, namely the overlong Naked Gun-esque slapstick (Andy hitting the wood plank .. not sure if he was involved, or which episodes, were the ones with Andy and the ball of tape or .. Andy and the post-it notes ..)

It's just a bummer, because as many have said, the broad concept of an FBI agent foil to Dale Cooper is fine. But just like how Lynch never wanted Coop out of his suit, I feel like Windom Earle should've always been dressed straight faced and serious.

I can't help but think a bit about Jeffries, when talking about Earle, just because as brief his appearance is, it superficially has some similarities to Earle (FBI agent, crazed), but, Jeffries gets under my skin. He's twitchy, you really don't know what his agenda is. Coop seems genuinely on-edge around him, and he just sounds batshit looney in a way that comes off more scary than silly. Obviously very different situations (cameo vs. major role), but, it does go to show you that all this Black Lodge raving stuff can be sold to the audience as compelling (particularly when wearing a suit .. and not playing a flute). And god, to bring up that VHS tape scene again, which as I said, I just rewatched and had forgotten completely about; *that* works, and it's such a bummer that no one realized it back then, even his speaking voice there sounds better (probably because he's not smoking on a pipe, raising his eyebrows and doing an old Hollywood voice while reading a speech ..)

[mtwentz]

For me literally the only redeeming quality I find about the character is that he gives the show narrative focus again. So, like. . 'literally better than nothing!' (or literally better than having Cooper get kicked out of the FBI while they try to figure out an actual reason for his character to stay in Twin Peaks for the rest of the season ..)

There are only really a few moments of actual menace (rewatching that VHS scene, which I didn't remember, is a good vibe .. it's a shame he never had that the rest of the show!), but as everyone has already said to death, he's just so ludicrous, so silly, so pontificating .. it drives me nuts because Cooper says that Windom Earle's mind is like a diamond, cold and calculating .. but, I really never felt like we saw that. I suppose technically his plans all panned out, but, when you throw on top the giant silly chess pieces, it really doesn't *feel* evil or intelligent. And the disguises are just .. brutal, and frankly baffling, because I'm not sure what the intent was; Are we supposed to find the disguises funny? Cause they aren't. Are we supposed to find them realistic or impressive? Because they aren't that either. Are we supposed to be scared at him dressing in disguise? Er. It just falls into that area of Twin Peaks that tends to be the worst; 'weird for the sake of weird', which you find a lot of in the episodes in the nadir, with the weaker writers/directors. And I say that because finding the right balance of darkness and humour is *really* hard to do, it's a very fine line. Lynch does it well. People like the Coen Brothers do it (Fargo .. come to think of it, the Fargo television series does it). But, when it's done without thought it just becomes the worst of both worlds, because it fails in multiple ways (neither sickly funny nor shocking/dark/dramatic).

I know some people thought he was handled better in Lynch's episode, but, I only really like how he's dispensed by Bob (it is creepy how his life is just sort of sucked out of him leaving an empty husk). Even Lynch couldn't salvage that character to me, as he was just so tainted by that point. Mind you, I don't think Lynch is perfect in that regard, as even he, when fully involved, fell into some of the same trappings that turn me off of parts of Season 2, namely the overlong Naked Gun-esque slapstick (Andy hitting the wood plank .. not sure if he was involved, or which episodes, were the ones with Andy and the ball of tape or .. Andy and the post-it notes ..)

It's just a bummer, because as many have said, the broad concept of an FBI agent foil to Dale Cooper is fine. But just like how Lynch never wanted Coop out of his suit, I feel like Windom Earle should've always been dressed straight faced and serious.

I can't help but think a bit about Jeffries, when talking about Earle, just because as brief his appearance is, it superficially has some similarities to Earle (FBI agent, crazed), but, Jeffries gets under my skin. He's twitchy, you really don't know what his agenda is. Coop seems genuinely on-edge around him, and he just sounds batshit looney in a way that comes off more scary than silly. Obviously very different situations (cameo vs. major role), but, it does go to show you that all this Black Lodge raving stuff can be sold to the audience as compelling (particularly when wearing a suit .. and not playing a flute). And god, to bring up that VHS tape scene again, which as I said, I just rewatched and had forgotten completely about; *that* works, and it's such a bummer that no one realized it back then, even his speaking voice there sounds better (probably because he's not smoking on a pipe, raising his eyebrows and doing an old Hollywood voice while reading a speech ..)

Excellent analysis Rudagger. I would only disagree in the sense that I personally feel all the Earle scenes in Episode 29 worked pretty well. Well, actually, he only has two scenes, but I thought both were very effective.

As for Andy and the wooden plank- yeah, it was kind of corny, but pretty much everything with Andy was corny. My fave Andy scene is when he's practicing spelunking in the Sherriff's station. That, I thought was very funny.

[Snailhead]

Rudagger - wonderful post, I fully agree. I always cringe when Frost talks about how to fix Season 2, he would have had the Earle storyline start sooner. Er... even more Earle would not have been a solution.

[Audrey Horne]

Anyone who watched this back when Earle was revealed in Feb '91... I remember I had just seen The Silence of the Lambs (released at the same time) And I always thought it stole the Earle plotline's thunder.

[Agent Earle]

Anyone who watched this back when Earle was revealed in Feb '91... I remember I had just seen The Silence of the Lambs (released at the same time) And I always thought it stole the Earle plotline's thunder.

How so?

[mtwentz]

Anyone who watched this back when Earle was revealed in Feb '91... I remember I had just seen The Silence of the Lambs (released at the same time) And I always thought it stole the Earle plotline's thunder.

How so?

I am assuming because Hannibal Lector is also an insane asylum escapee.

[Audrey Horne]

Sorry. Yeah the film and that story arc were coinciding at the same time. And it was so FBI heavy with the protagonist pitting wits with a mad man genius. And I even remember their opening credit fonts echoed Peaks'. Guess it was just me.

[Rudagger]

As for Andy and the wooden plank- yeah, it was kind of corny, but pretty much everything with Andy was corny. My fave Andy scene is when he's practicing spelunking in the Sherriff's station. That, I thought was very funny.

Yeah, it's a different strokes thing. I'm more a fan of just kind of the .. subtle small town vibes. Something about Doc Hayward (RIP Warren Frost) tossing the grapes out that he's feeding Waldo because "They're right on the edge .." just gets me. I'm not really too into slapstick (unless it's in an appropriate context, like, straight comedy film).

Rudagger - wonderful post, I fully agree. I always cringe when Frost talks about how to fix Season 2, he would have had the Earle storyline start sooner. Er... even more Earle would not have been a solution.

I think, for what it's worth, it would've helped the season in so much that it wouldn't have had that like .. (as memory serves) three or four episode gap where nothing of substance really happens. But, yeah, there are just such fundamental problems with Earle as a character that introducing him earlier would not have fixed the season as a whole.

My hope is that whatever antagonists we in the coming season (hell, possibly Bad Coop himself) are dark, scary and serious.

[nonemoreblack]

Yeah, I hope with Bad Coop they will go in more of a scary direction with him than campy. Seeing such a kindhearted character be evil has potential to be really unsettling.

I think his character would've been effective if he had remained in the background rather than having those awful scenes with Leo, and if he had random people give out the pieces of the poem. The idea of him based solely on the VHS tape and then his final appearance would've been scarier.

[oliolioli]

^ Hell yes brother/sister. That is a beautiful post. Exactly my thoughts on the matter.
In an ideal Season 2, Episode 29 would have been the first time we saw Earle, with one exception - the video shown by Briggs (black and white on a lil TV). I vaguely remember feeling quite tense the first time watching the series whenever the name Earle was mentioned ... til he actually showed up. Damn was he lame, totally overexposed.

I would have also hated BOB if every episode in season 1/early season 2 we would occasionally cut to him chilling in the Black Lodge giving evil speeches about what he was gonna do next.

You're on to something here, but I'll propose an alternative-

That first scene with Leo meeting Earle in the cabin was, I think most of us agree, very well done. What if, in the following episodes, it is left to our imagination what is happening to Leo in the Cabin with Earle, and we get little glimpses here and there of Earle, but the character gets very little screen time. Then finally, Earle gets significant screen time once his connection to the Black Lodge is revealed.

I think most of us agree that with Windom Earle, less would have been more, at least in the beginning.

By the way, one poster (don't remember who) speculated things might have been different if Lynch had directed the Diane Keaton episode. He might have gotten the character on more solid footing.

I agree with both of these posts - either scenario would've been a much more effective use of Windom Earle. I think they missed a trick, he could've been a much more potent character.

I remember the first time I watched TP, I thought Windom Earle was badass, probably because the way he crept into the story through mentions and hints as this messed up sinister adversary who has bad blood with Dale Cooper. For me Cooper was the focus of the show at the point Earle was introduced. But after I watched FWWM for the first time though, I think I view TP on the whole as Laura's story.

Having said that, the only real Windom Earle scene I think is too hammy is the one where he's sat in pyjamas playing the flute. Otherwise, despite it being a missed opportunity, I quite like his comic capers.

[Mr. Reindeer]

Hope it's ok to revive a thread that's been dormant for a few months, but I just came across this deleted scene in the Episode 28 script, and I think it beautifully encapsulates the issue the writers had with Earle. The scene starts out incredibly promising, with Earle as a silent spooky "ghoulish" figure. The stage directions say that Earle says nothing ("oddly").........and then IMMEDIATELY after that stage direction, Earle starts yapping for half a page! They just couldn't help themselves. Appropriately, Earle giggles at one point and says, "I'm sorry, I amuse myself." This almost acts as a self-aware apology from the writers for their over-indulgence.

There's also an interesting tidbit in here: Earle says that by entering the Lodge, he's keeping a promise he made 20 years ago. I wonder if this referred to something specific, or was just something recurring freelancer Barry Pullman threw in? We know Earle worked for Blue Book from 1965-67; his promise "twenty years ago" would have been 1969, if he was being precise.

[mtwentz]

Hope it's ok to revive a thread that's been dormant for a few months, but I just came across this deleted scene in the Episode 28 script, and I think it beautifully encapsulates the issue the writers had with Earle. The scene starts out incredibly promising, with Earle as a silent spooky "ghoulish" figure. The stage directions say that Earle says nothing ("oddly").........and then IMMEDIATELY after that stage direction, Earle starts yapping for half a page! They just couldn't help themselves. Appropriately, Earle giggles at one point and says, "I'm sorry, I amuse myself." This almost acts as a self-aware apology from the writers for their over-indulgence.

There's also an interesting tidbit in here: Earle says that by entering the Lodge, he's keeping a promise he made 20 years ago. I wonder if this referred to something specific, or was just something recurring freelancer Barry Pullman threw in? We know Earle worked for Blue Book from 1965-67; his promise "twenty years ago" would have been 1969, if he was being precise.

I wonder if Lynch had the take that out? By the next episode, he had the character back on track using a 'less is more' philosophy.

[MoondogJR]

I am rewatching the season 1 & 2 in anticipation of The Return. Yesterday I made to the second to last episode.
I must say, the Windom Earle-scenes made my toes curl more then ever... The over the top costumes, his elaborate speeches, his pointless actions... I don't know, it's almost as if it took multiple viewings (10, 20? ) for me to really accept how horrible it all is, in my opinion.

As for now, I liked to scenes: the one where Cooper finds the mask and a tape with Earle's voice starts to play en (most of all) the VHS that is played in which Earle gives his whole dugpa/black lodge-speech. I don't understand how the VHS-scene can be so well executed and acted on the one hand and the other stuff that made it into the show on the other...

[StrangerDanger]

For me, TP rests on 5 key scenes:

Laura's corpse
Coop's dream
Leland's death
Windom Earle
Coop enters Black Lodge, COOP escapes Black Lodge


Everything about Windom Earle in the film was spot on. He's like a Simon Magus, l guess, but he's hated by Good and Evil alike.

He's somebody you feel you could really get to like, get a smile out of him, get his sympathy. So close to being human. But sadly, he'll never untie you, he'll look into your eyes, studying you, as you die.