Episode 9

Moderators: Brad D, Annie, Jonah, BookhouseBoyBob, Ross, Jerry Horne

User avatar
AXX°N N.
Great Northern Member
Posts: 601
Joined: Wed Mar 08, 2017 8:47 pm

Re: Episode 9

Post by AXX°N N. »

Mr. Reindeer wrote:
AXX°N N. wrote:
Mr. Reindeer wrote:I've written before about my confusion regarding the Mill subplot, and the ledgers, so I'll link to that post if anyone has anything to add: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3496&p=75847&hilit=mill#p75847 In terms of this episode, my main question is: Why does Ben seem to imply he's considering selling the Mill, when the whole point in the first season is that he wanted to tear the Mill down to use the land for Ghostwood?
I've always found it funny that in a show so dense with mysticism and narrative experimentation, one of the more obscure points are the logistics of a rather mundane double-dealings plot. This became, weirdly enough, a thing me and my viewing partner set aside special conversation time for during a rewatch, because it was almost beguiling how hard it was to keep firm track of it. I'm still not sure I have it down. Something similar happened with my TR viewing regarding the coordinates subplot and much of the off-screen Hastings events.

Anyway, iirc, the Estates development that Ben wants to do isn't something he wants to bankroll, it involves a Norwegian (or Icelandic?) businessman at that point. So he's already been shown to be parcelling the land off.
My understanding is that the development would be under the umbrella of Ben’s empire, but the Icelanders are investors providing necessary capital to make it a reality. He repeatedly refers to it as an investment opportunity. I guess he never outright says it, but the only logical reason he wants the Packard land is to knock down the Mill and use the land as part of his development.
Right, but that's what I mean by not wanting to bankroll it himself; it paints his dealings as strictly opportunistic or with the goal of using other's assets/getting what he can from any given variable. The problem with nailing down his motivation with the Mill is that it seems to shift by circumstance over episodes. The scene where he suggests selling it reads like he's teasing out options, and the Norwegians and Icelanders sort of drift in or out depending on how much of a handle he can wring out of the situation.

Which means it sort of goes back to square one. His motivations re the Mill seem extremely mercurial for the Mill to be the thing which all this gravitates around. Perhaps the simpler explanation is they moved away from the Mill as a setting and so, inevitably, it sort of fades from centrality in his scheming too. By the latter half of the show, the forests themselves become the big stake.
Recipe not my own. In a coffee cup. 3 TBS flour, 2 TBS sugar, 1.5 TBS cocoa powder, .25 TSP baking powder, pinch of salt. 3 TBS milk, 1.5 TBS vegetable oil, 1 TBS peanut butter. Add and mix each set. Microwave 1 minute 10 seconds. The cup will be hot.
User avatar
Mr. Reindeer
Lodge Member
Posts: 3680
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2015 4:09 pm

Re: Episode 9

Post by Mr. Reindeer »

AXX°N N. wrote: Right, but that's what I mean by not wanting to bankroll it himself; it paints his dealings as strictly opportunistic or with the goal of using other's assets/getting what he can from any given variable. The problem with nailing down his motivation with the Mill is that it seems to shift by circumstance over episodes. The scene where he suggests selling it reads like he's teasing out options, and the Norwegians and Icelanders sort of drift in or out depending on how much of a handle he can wring out of the situation.

Which means it sort of goes back to square one. His motivations re the Mill seem extremely mercurial for the Mill to be the thing which all this gravitates around. Perhaps the simpler explanation is they moved away from the Mill as a setting and so, inevitably, it sort of fades from centrality in his scheming too. By the latter half of the show, the forests themselves become the big stake.
Fair. “Mercurial” is definitely the right word. And then in TFD we learn that what actually got built was a private prison run by a shady investment group! One wonders if “Country Club and Estates” was always a cruelly humorous euphemism, a sort of inside joke between Ben and his investors. Maybe they were planning to have prison labor staff the Mill?
User avatar
AXX°N N.
Great Northern Member
Posts: 601
Joined: Wed Mar 08, 2017 8:47 pm

Re: Episode 9

Post by AXX°N N. »

Mr. Reindeer wrote:One wonders if “Country Club and Estates” was always a cruelly humorous euphemism, a sort of inside joke between Ben and his investors. Maybe they were planning to have prison labor staff the Mill?
That's as good a retcon as one could hope for. :lol:
Recipe not my own. In a coffee cup. 3 TBS flour, 2 TBS sugar, 1.5 TBS cocoa powder, .25 TSP baking powder, pinch of salt. 3 TBS milk, 1.5 TBS vegetable oil, 1 TBS peanut butter. Add and mix each set. Microwave 1 minute 10 seconds. The cup will be hot.
User avatar
Henrys Hair
RR Diner Member
Posts: 211
Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2007 10:28 am
Contact:

Re: Episode 9

Post by Henrys Hair »

The one Lynch-directed episode in the initial doesn't feel like 'an event' (as in it isn't a season premiere or finale, isn't the killer reveal and doesn't have a wtf game changer like the dream sequence added to the end of episode 2) - I'd actually forgotten what happens in this episode prior to the current re-watch. Turns out to be a strong episode though - certainly tighter and better focussed than the season 2 premiere. A few thoughts:

We hear the first mention of Windom Earle, quickly followed by a pan across to a sinister looking man we haven't seen before. Who shot Coop? Presumably this Asian guy in league with Agent Earle...

Creamed corn. Mrs Tremond's appearance makes such an impact it's hard to believe she and her grandson won't be seen again until FWWM.

Just You. All the Lynch directed episodes bar episode 2 have a musical performance, preparing us somewhat for the Roadhouse performances in The Return.

The brief mention of Hank's backstory doesn't seem to tally with Frost's books. Shelly & Bobby also seem more like a couple in the first throes of passion than the teenage sweethearts of The Final Dossier, although there's nothing to contradict their backstory as written in the book.

Series regulars like Pete, Doc Hayward, Ed & Norma feeling like they've got less to do than recurring characters like Hank Jennings & Jerry Horne at the moment. Blackie's appearance at the end is fantastic. Emory Battis's fetish for the hoover is... probably best not thought about too much...
User avatar
Jonah
Global Moderator
Posts: 2815
Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2007 8:39 am

Re: Episode 9

Post by Jonah »

Gabriel wrote: Fri Mar 10, 2017 1:03 pm I'm waiting for a character (maybe 'Good' Cooper) in the new show to make a phone call that travels through time to Lucy in this episode.
That would have been amazing!
Mr. Reindeer wrote: Sun Apr 12, 2020 5:00 pm This go-round, I imagined it was Harry's brother Frank calling, and that he knew Harry wouldn't pick up if he said who he was because they were estranged at the time (shades of The Straight Story). This is purely my head fan-fic, and certainly wasn't anyone's intent at the time, but it makes as much sense as anything, and is a fun way of inserting Frank into the original series narrative (and explaining why Harry never mentions him).
I like this idea too!
Gabriel wrote: Fri Mar 10, 2017 1:03 pm I always found the Just You sequence quite creepy. Sheryl Lee (and Lynch) deserve plaudits for one of those glances Maddy gives James, because in that moment of a sly glance she's playing Laura, not Maddy. When Donna runs away, Maddy seems disorientated, as if she'd zoned out for a moment. Having watched Laura in FWWM, I feel even more that way: Laura briefly replaces Maddy in that scene, leading to BOB appearing in the Hayward house.
I really like this interesting take and it sort of fits with the previous episode, 8, where Laura may have been influencing or taking over both characters - one to break her glasses, the other to wear sunglasses and smoke.
I have no idea where this will lead us, but I have a definite feeling it will be a place both wonderful and strange.
Post Reply