Part 5 - Case files (SPOILERS)

[LostInTheMovies]

Just published my response to part 5: http://www.lostinthemovies.com/2017/06/ ... files.html

Hey Joel, I posted this as a comment originally on the actual blog post but it was marked as spam/not showing up so I'm posting my original response here:


Re: neighborly kindness of those around Dougie/Mr. Jackpots. it's fun to note that the positive energies of Cooper are still present even within the incomplete vessel/fragmented Coop. Dougie/Jackpots brings good fortune and happiness to those around him too, bettering their lives much the same way that cooper did before (see any moment of the original 2 seasons, and even in FWWM when he provides Laura a companion and a comfort). Examples within The Return: giving that poor old woman at the Casino a chance to win jackpots, giving Sonny Jim reasons to laugh/smile (and to be fair, this is symbiotic because Sonny Jim also gives Coop reasons to smile/shows his "father" kindness), and even in this episode, when Dougie takes Frank's coffee for himself, Frank is forced to try Green Tea Latte. And to frank's surprise, he really loves it! As much as Coop loves black coffee. I absolutely adore do when Coop and Frank are both euphorically consuming their drinks together. It's just such a moment of pure joy because they both look so happy with what they have. If it were not for Cooper taking his coffee, Frank would never have known that Green Tea Lattes were his thing.

On the rest of the episode, well it really was distinct from Parts 1-4, wasn't it? This episode just had its own identity, with increased music and warmth and color and emotion. I loved Parts 1-4 but it was clearly more of a cerebral affair. In fact when I first watched Parts 1-4, I had a feeling that was essentially to the Return what the Deer Meadow prologue was to FWWM: a distinct first act, thematically and narratively connected to the subsequent acts but with its own identity (aesthetic, style, tone). And Part 5 seems to verify this to me, with this episode beginning a transition from that first act/prologue into the more balanced visceral+cerebral opus I expect the return to be in the end.

It's amazing to watch these Parts and be able to see where Frost + Lynch were equal, and where the two diverge. Not to make it sound like they were not united on this Return, but what I mean is that it's interesting to see things that feel more Frostian or more Lynchian and then stuff that is more shared between them. Whether that's conceptually or textually, doesn't matter. For example, I love Wally Brando Brennan so much (hope we see more of him), but from the first time I watched his scene I just knew that he was a predominantly Frostian character: his voice, his concept, all 80% at least Frostian. The way the scene played out tho felt Lynchian and reminds me of On The Air too.

The Golden Shovel scene was pretty fun, also kinda felt like a modern invitation to love, especially since Nadine is a loyal viewer of his broadcasts lol. And it makes sense, in this age it is not a daily soap opera that we tune into as a collective but numerous streaming digital channels, YouTube Netflix Hulu on demand etc.

Frank Truman really interests me because he is obviously a Truman like his brother, sharing similar traits of patience and kindness and silent sturdiness. However, he is not just a simple proxy, but a unique individual. He's an older brother and as such he has those older brother qualities: he is a harder man than Harry, colder and tougher enough compared to the gentle sensitivity of Harry, as well as more pragmatic possibly and more willing to upgrade definitely (the updated tech and resources of the sheriff department including an expanded roster of deputies and other staff) but while these differences can be better in some situations there are of course demerits to it also (notably, the increased sheriff department and increased professional/superior-subordinate distance creates space for corruption to enter--see deputy Chad for a prime example of this, who evokes shades of Deer Meadow--whereas Harry's more intimate and close operation ensured that only good men and women were the law of the land) . Also, we get a lovely new dynamic we haven't seen on Twin Peaks before; whereas Harry was a bachelor in a turbulent love affair with the beautiful but dangerous Josie, Frank Truman is married with a family! He doesn't just have his sick brother to care for, but a frustrated wife, children and maybe grandchildren (need more info but it seemed like Frank is quite the patriarch), and even in-laws (his father-in-law at least)! This is fertile ground for character and story. Love it.

And lastly, man that scene with Becky in the car with the 50s pop song... damn amazing, like you said "rapturous". Wow.

Love those observations. Just published the comment btw; damn spam folder. (Especially ironic as I just got an extremely trollish comment that passed right through haha.)

[claaa7]

BTW here's the hip hop track used at the beginning of the episode:
https://soundcloud.com/jair-tesen/i-am- ... untedbeatz

as Pete the car mechanic would say... "I like that"

loved the omnious organ drone after the car bomb when the gamera lingered on the junkie girl, what a weird stand out moment

[claaa7]

Well, that is the challenge at the moment. If the show doesn't start improving really soon in terms of emphasis on character, characters you care about, allowing the viewer to build 'relationships' with the characters, this season will have almost no replay value whatsoever once all 18 episodes have aired. The first series did that right from the start, very successfully. But If all people are doing is trying to connect dots, once enough dots have been connected at the end of the run, not to mention that people are over the novelty of finally having new TP to watch, what is then the motivating factor driving people to return the world again and again? Slow pacing, flat digital aesthetic and deliberate contrarianism wont do that.

you can only speak for yourself. this might be a very challenging show for you, but it's getting great reviews and we're are already many extremely pleased fans. for me this is so much better than anything that came between episodes 14 and 29 of the original series. building relationships with characters is hardly the only thing that makes people relate to a movie or a series.. take for example "The Shining" or "2001", movies without any very relatable characters at all and yet they have proved immortal and discussed to this day. there's a beautiful sense of mystery in the new Twin Peaks, a grim sense of dredd mixed with absurd humor. just to have gotten that first half of Episode 3 in the so called Muave room is a wonderful presents that keeps on giving.. so many beautiful paintings within that piece of (digital) film. i'm certain i will rewatch this many, many more times.. i'm trying to restrain myself from going back in all too often.

[N. Needleman]

David Lynch's seething contempt oozes through every cursed digital frame like so much ripe garmonbozia and stinking engine oil!!!

I had to, I'm sorry.

[manalicream]

Do we think there's any link between the insurance guy looking for Sherrif Truman and Lucky 7 Insurance?

A potential case file for Dougie?

[Jasper]

Just published my response to part 5: http://www.lostinthemovies.com/2017/06/ ... files.html

Really nice write up, Joel. I've enjoyed all of them so far. I'm also awarding you extra credit for that Some Came Running mention.

[Rudagger]

Got a real "Secret History of Twin Peaks"/"Final Dossier" vibe from Tamara Preston sorting through those pages. Wouldn't be shocked to see them pop up in Final Dossier.

True! Also what is your profile pic? I can't make it out!


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It's a photoshop I made of Evelyn Marsh in the Red Room, ha

[Rhodes]

Well, that is the challenge at the moment. If the show doesn't start improving really soon in terms of emphasis on character, characters you care about, allowing the viewer to build 'relationships' with the characters, this season will have almost no replay value whatsoever once all 18 episodes have aired. The first series did that right from the start, very successfully. But If all people are doing is trying to connect dots, once enough dots have been connected at the end of the run, not to mention that people are over the novelty of finally having new TP to watch, what is then the motivating factor driving people to return the world again and again? Slow pacing, flat digital aesthetic and deliberate contrarianism wont do that.

you can only speak for yourself. this might be a very challenging show for you, but it's getting great reviews and we're are already many extremely pleased fans.

Definitely! I think the 'replay value'' of The Return is already ten times higher than that of Season 1/2. I think it is precisely the presence of all of the clues (literally thousands of them after 18 parts) that makes watching the show over and over again so rewarding.

Relationships with characters is great, but also a characteristic of 99,9% of television shows.

[KyleRickards]

Got a real "Secret History of Twin Peaks"/"Final Dossier" vibe from Tamara Preston sorting through those pages. Wouldn't be shocked to see them pop up in Final Dossier.

True! Also what is your profile pic? I can't make it out!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

It's a photoshop I made of Evelyn Marsh in the Red Room, ha

Ahhh!


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[Agent Earle]

Well, that is the challenge at the moment. If the show doesn't start improving really soon in terms of emphasis on character, characters you care about, allowing the viewer to build 'relationships' with the characters, this season will have almost no replay value whatsoever once all 18 episodes have aired. The first series did that right from the start, very successfully. But If all people are doing is trying to connect dots, once enough dots have been connected at the end of the run, not to mention that people are over the novelty of finally having new TP to watch, what is then the motivating factor driving people to return the world again and again? Slow pacing, flat digital aesthetic and deliberate contrarianism wont do that.

you can only speak for yourself. this might be a very challenging show for you, but it's getting great reviews and we're are already many extremely pleased fans.

Definitely! I think the 'replay value'' of The Return is already ten times higher than that of Season 1/2. I think it is precisely the presence of all of the clues (literally thousands of them after 18 parts) that makes watching the show over and over again so rewarding.

Relationships with characters is great, but also a characteristic of 99,9% of television shows.

Yeah, but once those clues are resolved, ie. when they'll lead up to some sort of resolution, what will we be left with?

I get the urge to furious re-watching right now, when we're mulling over all the little secrets and their possible part in some urgent, pulsing, central mystery, obsessively and meticulously going over the details trying to come up with our own solutions/nail the correct answers, but wouldn't it be safe to say that when all of this will be over, the need to see these parts over and over again will no longer be there? Whereas if the backbone of the show are characters, feelings, general atmosphere, and not so much plot-serving minutiae (though it can be argued that those, too, fall under this category), well then, a series (or a movie, for that matter) is a gift that keeps on giving - ones needs look no further than the original TP, anything but a simple whodunit (though it pretty much started that way and, dollops of style notwithstanding, stayed that way throughout the first season). Who feels the urge to re-read/re-watch a whodunit once he knows how it all turns out? So I'm very glad I have my second season and FWWM, thank you very much.

[KyleRickards]

-Bad Cooper. DoopleCoop has ties to Jefferies, our friends in the FBI and the murder in South Dakota. We think the military is getting involved with the murder, because of Major Briggs who may or may not be the headless body in South Dakota not the ones in New York. The body contains a ring from Dougie, so...

-Twin Peaks. Our Friendly Neighborhood is once again besieged by a drug trader that once again involves the Horne family. This time a super secret member, maybe, and a dirty Twin Peaks Cop. Speaking of our police force, we are minus one Harry Truman thus the entire force is diminished. The Log Lady has given Hawk a mission to find Agent Cooper. We have a new Office Truman who seems more stoic than a statue and probably doesn't care or give a shit about Cooper and has a nagging wife. We do get Bobby who may have to ties to Shelly. We don't know. Shelly's kid is a Laura Palmer wannabe with a potential Leo as a boyfriend. Then there is the Horne's themselves who still own the hotel and a new pot shop thanks to Jerry. All this plus Jacoby trying to scam people to buy shovels. James guest starred to for some reason.

-The Lodges. The Lodges...Those fucking Lodges. Zero clue. Like none. We know forces opened a doorway for Dale to return, but he was thwarted by a tree arm with a head who could be Bob. Could be. We also think that Bob has connections to Evil Dale and has given him supernatural powers. We also think that someone is trying pull something out of the Black Lodge and got a bunch of horny kids killed. A murder the FBI is looking into and we might. We might next week get someone to talk to someone out of these seven camps and forge a chain of events. Maybe.

Am I missing anything?

Are you missing anything? Yes, a few things:

"Briggs who may or may not be the headless body" - Episode 5 confirmed a finger print match between the headless body and Air Force records of Briggs. There is no longer any doubt.

"once again involves the Horne family" - I don't recall anybody in the Horne family being involved in drug trading in the original series or FWWM

"entire force is diminished" - Frank is filling in for (or has replaced) Harry and it appears that the force is larger than it used to be

"potential Leo as a boyfriend" - that slacker who is partnered with Becky is as far from Leo as North is from the South. Leo worked driving his own truck, spent weekends adding rooms to his house, "encouraged" Shelly to keep the house neat and still found time to take side work as an arsonist. That is a whole lot of (misplaced) drive and initiative. Becky's guy's idea of initiative was to take a half baked resume into a job interview and find satisfaction from the constructive feedback (Mike telling him how awful he was).

"Jacoby trying to scam people to buy shovels" - not sure how this is a scam. Selling a $10 shovel with $5 of added gold spray paint for $30 (plus S&H) is pretty straight. The buyer wants one of these novelties and is willing to pay a few bucks to have something to show to their friends.

Ben Horne was part of One Eyed Jacks in some way. He was funneling women there for prostitution and he knew about Leo's activities. Ben was involved in some way. I am sure Frank is a good cop, but Harry was the soul of that department. The department is diminished even if its a small way. Becky's boyfriend has that same creepy vibe Leo had. Jacoby is totally scamming people by using his rant to sell a false hope. He might as well be selling Miracle Water.

I thought Ben owned One Eyed Jacks?


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[MoondogJR]

Or at least 2 episodes a week for a solid 9-week limited series basis would have worked better than 1 a week.

I agree with this. I have very little (nothing) negative to say about The Return, but due to the slow pace of the scenes (which I love), I think that two episodes a week could work even better...

I don't see Ben Horne keeping a perfectly good room off limits to paying guests for 25 years. The real question is did Ben make Cooper pay to replace the mirror?

Haha, OR Ben Horne HAS kept his room empty in order to present him a massive bill for renting the room for 25 years ("hey, you never checked out, Coop"). In that case the 425.000$ could come in handy

So how are peole interpreting the car bomb sequence? Going into Part 5, we weren't clear on whether the device Gene and Jake plant in Part 3 is a tracker or a bomb. My initial interpretation in Part 5 was that the woman who reports to Buenos Aires (I'll call her the dispatcher) was fed up with Gene and Jake's incompetence and sent in the heavy hitters (the dudes blaring loud music). But these guys then unwittingly trigger a bomb and kill themselves.

As some others have stated here, I also think the people in the black car are random car theives. One of them is credited as 'punk leader'.
I think this is also a factor in Rancho Rosa that is 'helping' GoodCoop to find his way back. His car exploded, giving the hitmen a reason to believe he's dead and let it rest?

Going through the cast list, of the 217 actors (and singers) there are roughly 88 left to air that haven't aired yet.

There are, if I'm not mistaken, 106 actors from the 217 on the cast list that we have not seen yet. 10 of those I expect to be musicians.

[claaa7]

you can only speak for yourself. this might be a very challenging show for you, but it's getting great reviews and we're are already many extremely pleased fans.

Definitely! I think the 'replay value'' of The Return is already ten times higher than that of Season 1/2. I think it is precisely the presence of all of the clues (literally thousands of them after 18 parts) that makes watching the show over and over again so rewarding.

Relationships with characters is great, but also a characteristic of 99,9% of television shows.

Yeah, but once those clues are resolved, ie. when they'll lead up to some sort of resolution, what will we be left with?

I get the urge to furious re-watching right now, when we're mulling over all the little secrets and their possible part in some urgent, pulsing, central mystery, obsessively and meticulously going over the details trying to come up with our own solutions/nail the correct answers, but wouldn't it be safe to say that when all of this will be over, the need to see these parts over and over again will no longer be there? Whereas if the backbone of the show are characters, feelings, general atmosphere, and not so much plot-serving minutiae (though it can be argued that those, too, fall under this category), well then, a series (or a movie, for that matter) is a gift that keeps on giving - ones needs look no further than the original TP, anything but a simple whodunit (though it pretty much started that way and, dollops of style notwithstanding, stayed that way throughout the first season). Who feels the urge to re-read/re-watch a whodunit once he knows how it all turns out? So I'm very glad I have my second season and FWWM, thank you very much.

i strongly doubt everything will be resolved and presented in a tidy little packet.. most of Lynch's movies have lots of unanswered secrets and mysteries left inside of them which is a strong reason why i'm drawn back into them. like "Mulholland Drive" or "Inland Empire", i bet a lot will be up for interpretation once it has all settled. this is as strong a reason the original series has lasted for this long, even after all these years there are still mysteries within those classic episodes.

i hear you that it tends to feel a bit crowded with this enormous cast and storylines that gets revisited once every third hour but we'll see where it takes us. either way it's a blessing. Lynch is my favorite director together with Kubrick and Tarkovsky and his visual art has meant a lot for me. i was doubting i would ever see another Lynch movie so to just have been presented with these 5 hours (and still 13 to go) that carries so many of his distinct trademarks while also feeling like its own thing, can only be a blessing.

[mtwentz]

Definitely! I think the 'replay value'' of The Return is already ten times higher than that of Season 1/2. I think it is precisely the presence of all of the clues (literally thousands of them after 18 parts) that makes watching the show over and over again so rewarding.

Relationships with characters is great, but also a characteristic of 99,9% of television shows.

Yeah, but once those clues are resolved, ie. when they'll lead up to some sort of resolution, what will we be left with?

I get the urge to furious re-watching right now, when we're mulling over all the little secrets and their possible part in some urgent, pulsing, central mystery, obsessively and meticulously going over the details trying to come up with our own solutions/nail the correct answers, but wouldn't it be safe to say that when all of this will be over, the need to see these parts over and over again will no longer be there? Whereas if the backbone of the show are characters, feelings, general atmosphere, and not so much plot-serving minutiae (though it can be argued that those, too, fall under this category), well then, a series (or a movie, for that matter) is a gift that keeps on giving - ones needs look no further than the original TP, anything but a simple whodunit (though it pretty much started that way and, dollops of style notwithstanding, stayed that way throughout the first season). Who feels the urge to re-read/re-watch a whodunit once he knows how it all turns out? So I'm very glad I have my second season and FWWM, thank you very much.

i strongly doubt everything will be resolved and presented in a tidy little packet.. most of Lynch's movies have lots of unanswered secrets and mysteries left inside of them which is a strong reason why i'm drawn back into them. like "Mulholland Drive" or "Inland Empire", i bet a lot will be up for interpretation once it has all settled. this is as strong a reason the original series has lasted for this long, even after all these years there are still mysteries within those classic episodes.

i hear you that it tends to feel a bit crowded with this enormous cast and storylines that gets revisited once every third hour but we'll see where it takes us. either way it's a blessing. Lynch is my favorite director together with Kubrick and Tarkovsky and his visual art has meant a lot for me. i was doubting i would ever see another Lynch movie so to just have been presented with these 5 hours (and still 13 to go) that carries so many of his distinct trademarks while also feeling like its own thing, can only be a blessing.

You can bet the farm the new series will leave us with many unanswered questions. In fact, I am prepared for an ambiguous ending that we'll be debating for decades .

[claaa7]

Yeah, but once those clues are resolved, ie. when they'll lead up to some sort of resolution, what will we be left with?

I get the urge to furious re-watching right now, when we're mulling over all the little secrets and their possible part in some urgent, pulsing, central mystery, obsessively and meticulously going over the details trying to come up with our own solutions/nail the correct answers, but wouldn't it be safe to say that when all of this will be over, the need to see these parts over and over again will no longer be there? Whereas if the backbone of the show are characters, feelings, general atmosphere, and not so much plot-serving minutiae (though it can be argued that those, too, fall under this category), well then, a series (or a movie, for that matter) is a gift that keeps on giving - ones needs look no further than the original TP, anything but a simple whodunit (though it pretty much started that way and, dollops of style notwithstanding, stayed that way throughout the first season). Who feels the urge to re-read/re-watch a whodunit once he knows how it all turns out? So I'm very glad I have my second season and FWWM, thank you very much.

i strongly doubt everything will be resolved and presented in a tidy little packet.. most of Lynch's movies have lots of unanswered secrets and mysteries left inside of them which is a strong reason why i'm drawn back into them. like "Mulholland Drive" or "Inland Empire", i bet a lot will be up for interpretation once it has all settled. this is as strong a reason the original series has lasted for this long, even after all these years there are still mysteries within those classic episodes.

i hear you that it tends to feel a bit crowded with this enormous cast and storylines that gets revisited once every third hour but we'll see where it takes us. either way it's a blessing. Lynch is my favorite director together with Kubrick and Tarkovsky and his visual art has meant a lot for me. i was doubting i would ever see another Lynch movie so to just have been presented with these 5 hours (and still 13 to go) that carries so many of his distinct trademarks while also feeling like its own thing, can only be a blessing.

You can bet the farm the new series will leave us with many unanswered questions. In fact, I am prepared for an ambiguous ending that we'll be debating for decades .

yup my bet is that the main threads will be resolved (Cooper will be his own self, BadCoop will be dead or in the lodge, we will know what's up with Phlip Jeffries, the glass box and the millionaire, the Major Briggs connection, etc.) but there will be plenty of new mysteries opened up along the way, and hopefully some of the minor mysteries will remain unanswered or revisited (for example the ghostly man in the jail cell that floats up and disappears would work well just being there left to our imagination)