Episode 25

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Jonah
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Episode 25

Post by Jonah »

Even though Lynch didn't direct this episode, it almost feels like he did. Great to see him return as Gordon Cole. Not a lot happens but it's one of the best of the final few IMO - the diner scenes, especially the penguin joke where Truman looks so pained but is smiling and Coop is so genuinely happy and the great music, are so amazing. Even though he didn't direct, he was there so I wonder if Lynch improvised some of these scenes or were they in the script? Does anyone know?

Didn't think much of the Owl Cave sequence though...but overall great episode!
Last edited by Jonah on Thu Oct 01, 2015 8:21 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Episode 25

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Jonah wrote:Didn't think much of the Owl Cave sequence though..
Neither did I. Perhaps that's why I find this episode enjoyable but overall I don't think so much about it... After all the Owl Cave is supposed to be climax, it's the final part of the episode, provides a cliffhanger (not very impressive). I find this episode like a good comic relief in a movie. Not a stupid one, a fine one, but no more.
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LostInTheMovies
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Re: Episode 25

Post by LostInTheMovies »

Jonah wrote:Even though Lynch didn't direct this episode, it almost feels like he did. Great to see him return as Gordon Cole. Not a lot happens but it's one of the best of the final few IMO - the diner scenes, especially the penguin joke where Cooper looks so pained but is smiling and Coop is so genuinely happy and the great music, are so amazing. Even though he didn't direct, he was there so I wonder if Lynch improvise some of these scenes or were they in the script? Does anyone know?

Didn't think much of the Owl Cave sequence though...but overall great episode!
I've heard that he pressed the issue of Cole hooking up with Shelly (although they don't kiss till the next episode)! He infers as much in Slice of Lynch.

This is probably the most "fun" Twin Peaks episode out there. Almost pure light fun from beginning to end whereas in season 1 you have fun episode that also have a haunting darkness to them. Even the Owl Cave sequence is fun in a B-movie/Indiana Jones kinda way.

It is probably episodes like this that made FWWM seem so jolting...after all, episode 29 is pretty dark but if fans had the bulk of the back half of season 2 in mind, that movie comes from a different universe.

The diner scene is definitely my favorite Twin Peaks scene from ep. 17-28.
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Twin Peaks Out of Order #15: Episode 25

Post by LostInTheMovies »

Re-watching Twin Peaks from my least favorite to favorite episode...

Previously: Episode 16 (http://www.dugpa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=43721#p43721)

Picking my favorite moments or episodes of Twin Peaks, I definitely lean more toward the darker side. This isn't particularly unusual among Twin Peaks fans; arguably the most popular chapters in the saga are the ones with the least happy endings. We are, after all, talking about a show whose premise is the brutal murder of a homecoming queen, with even more disturbing, surreal, and horrifying twists on the horizon. And yet the cheerful, positive, joyous side of Twin Peaks gets just as much play, maybe more, when people celebrate the show. The culinary comforts of the RR Diner, the gleeful thumbs-up enthusiasm of Agent Cooper, the sweet romantic moments between characters...at times even the spooky woods and mythic lore seem fun and inviting. No episode better embodies this side of the show than 25. David Lynch, usually more associated with the more abrasive, nightmarish sequences of the series, is the one who steps into this episode to kick off the happiest six minutes Twin Peaks has ever experienced, a classic sequence that embraces all four of those features mentioned above. Reappearing as Gordon Cole for the first time in eleven episodes (only his voice was heard way back in 18), Lynch's boyish good cheer is infectious and it sweeps over the show like a summer breeze. It's impossible to watch the following events without a smile on your face, savoring the sublime ridiculousness of Cole's "counter-Esperanto" with Shelly, overjoyed at a brilliantly on-point Log Lady cameo, and applauding with relief as Cooper luxuriates in his black suit once again. It's remarkable what a difference that suit makes; out of flannel, Cooper radiates confidence and comfort in his own skin. Hell, I even dig that penguin joke. The episode is ranked so highly because of that sequence but there are other highlights too, despite some patches of mediocrity. Ben's absurd speech to Audrey is delivered with panache, Coop's "date" with Annie at the Great Northern bar has a nice mellow mood to it, and I especially like the subtle mix of rivalry and camaraderie in Shelly's interactions with Annie behind the counter. Windom Earle mostly bores me here but Gordon Cole redeems that story a bit too, by tying Windom to Project Blue Book and the One-Armed Man (so that he feels less like this non-Twin Peaks element forced into the plot) and especially via the arch-mockery of yelling into his ear via bonsai bug. Owl Cave is...mostly kinda cheesy, but I often find it fun in an Indiana Jones/Legends of the Hidden Temple kind of way. This is one of the least Lynchian episodes and at the same time it's David Lynch who makes it so great: another Twin Peaks paradox for the record books.

Next: Episode 10 (http://www.dugpa.com/forum/viewtopic.ph ... d2a#p43828)
Last edited by LostInTheMovies on Wed Oct 28, 2015 6:25 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Episode 25

Post by Audrey Horne »

To me, Annie will always be the Cousin Oliver of Twin Peaks.
God, I love this music. Isn't it too dreamy?
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Re: Episode 25

Post by LostInTheMovies »

Audrey Horne wrote:To me, Annie will always be the Cousin Oliver of Twin Peaks.
And both shows end with those character's names being spoken.

Hm.
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Re: Episode 25

Post by LostInTheMovies »

And John Justice Wheeler is Poochy.

(Although a good case could be made for Windom Earle as well.)
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Re: Episode 25

Post by Audrey Horne »

Aha!! I knew it!
God, I love this music. Isn't it too dreamy?
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Re: Episode 25

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One of my favorite episodes. 24 may have injected a certain sense of purpose, but 25 makes good on that promise and then goes further in giving us such a delightful atmosphere of romance and of possibilities in the air. It's as if the show had been suffocating for nearly ten episodes and then all of a sudden took a great breath in. 25's value isn't only in its enormous relief after such stagnation, it's also just a damn fine hour. Dunham shows himself to be one of the better multi-ep directors as his Episode 1 was also excellent and Episode 18 being weak was more down to the script than his efforts. Here, like earlier, he offers an elegant, subtle streamlined confidence. That's the word this ep conjurs: confidence. The show knows what it's doing, all of a sudden. And it's a pleasure to have it back.
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Re: Episode 25

Post by Aerozhul »

This episode generated a lot of questions for me on this rewatch, and some observations:

1. Annie's characterization in this episode is much more interesting seen through the lens of TSHOTP, and makes her so much more enigmatic. Her talking about how out of place she feels to Shelly and especially later to Coop at the bar made me think that maybe she really is from another time and place. I mean, how much time did this chick spend in that convent, and certainly she lived a life out amongst people before she went to the convent? It's like she's experiencing brand new life as a human, not that she spent a few years living with nuns. It makes me wonder if Lynch/Frost did a rewatch and picked up on this thread and decided to run with it. It just kind of clicked for me this time in a way it never has before.....hmmmm.

2. Someone remind me again what the point is of Earle insinuating himself into the lives of Audrey, Donna and Shelly? I mean, I find these sequences pretty interesting, but in the long run I don't understand it. Just Windom killing time with pretty girls and taunting Coop at the same time by threatening them? I mean, did he assume one of them would win Miss TP and become his queen?

3. This storyline sort of contradicts the complaining I see from a lot of fans on this forum that Audrey, Donna and Shelly have little to do in the latter half of the second season. All three of them got a lot of screen time in this episode, both with the Earle arc and with their own subplots. Season 1 characters with little to do at this point are Bobby (where the hell is he, he's seemed to have disappeared for several episodes) and Norma, who is also conspicuously absent from this episode, despite the fact that much of the action takes place at the diner.

4. So apparently Harry and Cole dropped Coop at the hotel to change into his suit between leaving the station and on the way to the diner. LOL....would have loved to hear the conversation in the car while they waited. Poor Harry.

4. Coop and Cole giving Harry shit for his hangover seemed a bit insensitive. I mean, the guy didn't just have a few too many cocktails at Thursday night golf league. He went on a bender because the love of his life died tragically.

5. Does everyone really hate the pine weasel bit? I find it pretty hilarious....though maybe not so much in execution of the previous episode's fashion show, but just the concept in and of itself.

6. Doc Hayward seems to approve of James traipsing around the country on his motorcycle instead of finishing up high school. Why not? Oh, and Audrey flying off to Seattle too instead of going to school....unless this episode was on a weekend...

7. Andy/Lucy scenes much more tolerable without Dick.

Overall a good episode. Kind of nice to have a breather from the Packard stuff and definitely nice to not have the Millfords around, though I know they're just around the corner again.
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Re: Episode 25

Post by TwinPeaksFanatic »

This episode, in my opinion, is a vast improvement over the previous few. Gordon Cole's return is so much fun, and I thoroughly enjoy the owl cave expedition. Not to mention, it's great to see Dale back in his suit. I wrote a recap for this episode here ---> http://twinpeaksfanatic.blogspot.com/20 ... de-25.html :D
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Re: Episode 25

Post by Gabriel »

David Lynch walks on to the set and Twin Peaks springs back to life as if two electrical pads had been placed on its chest and Lynch had shouted 'CLEAR!!'

The diner sequence is one of my favourite scenes in all of Twin Peaks and demonstrates how important the light side of Twin Peaks is to enhance just how dark the other side can be.

The Owl's Cave material is very Indiana Jones and the Windom Earle/Blue Book material pure proto-X-Files. It's strange seeing all this, years later, given how Mulder's and Scully's adventures have coloured how we perceive secret government projects involving extraterrestrials. One could be forgiven for kneejerk complaining that TP was copying The X-Files before remembering which came first.

The more I see of Annie, the more I feel she isn't quite real. She's not that old, so can't have been a nun for that long, yet she seems completely innocent of anything in the town. One has to wonder about Audrey's involvement with John Justice Wheeler as well. Billy Zane, like Heather Graham, has a kind of ethereal 'beauty' which makes him seem less 'real' than everyone else. Also, it's Annie who sends Coop and the gang to Owl's Cave, conveniently enough. Perhaps 'How's Annie?' is the wrong question. Maybe 'Who's Annie?' Is a better one to ask...
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Re: Episode 25

Post by Mr. Reindeer »

It's funny: Lynch pushing the out-of-the-blue romance with the much-younger Amick should play as an uncomfortable abuse of power, but his boyish enthusiasm just makes it feel so innocent and sweet. (Of course, it helps to have 'A Slice of Lynch' to let us know that the admiration/enthusiasm for the storyline was mutual. After all, who else besides Madchen and Isabella Rossellini can say she's kissed David Lynch on screen?) There is undeniably something uber-endearing about seeing Lynch/Cole and his protege MacLachlan/Coop, in back-to-back sequences, both twitterpated and head-over-heels in love (as a "having-none-of-it" Coulson/Margaret builds a matchstick house -- held together by blink-and-you'll-miss-it pitch gum!). I'll go with the consensus; this is arguably the single happiest sustained sequence in all of TP. And, yeah, I'll admit it -- I find every second of the Coop-Annie romance charming. Graham (who went on to become a hell of a character actress) is by turns charmingly awkward and just, well, awkward in this early role. It's an uneven performance, albeit a likable one. But MacLachlan once again proves that he can have explosive chemistry with anyone he shares the frame with. Coop usually comes across as supremely comfortable in his own skin, but this episode has several beautifully vulnerable moments, all related to Annie. I think my favorite is when he admits that he knows what it's like to be viewed as weird. On this viewing, I'm enjoying Coop/Annie as a nice contrast to Coop/Audrey: in the latter, he had to be the adult. In the former, he feels comfortable being the blushing awkward man-child. (Yeah, yeah, I know what the actresses' actual ages were.)

All that being said, I still just can't see this episode as "the comeback," as many people seem to believe. The Donna/Eileen/Ben subplot is soapy TP at its worst, the Ben/Audrey reconciliation (as close as the show comes to resolving, you know, Ben inadvertently trying to have sex with his own daughter and screwing her late classmate) is forced and wildly anticlimactic. The Owl Cave stuff played a bit better for me this time around, keeping in mind the history and ambience Mark Frost built around the Cave in TSHoTP, but it still feels goofy, with the shaking walls and cheesy flying-owl effects shots. My favorite moment in that damn Cave is Harry noting that the "ghosts" must be beer drinkers -- a nice touch of realism in a scene that otherwise feels way too self-consciously "TV."

It's struck me on this rewatch that a lot of Cole's dialogue revolves around Windom Earle (see also Episode 13). It's sort of funny that so much of Lynch's time on screen is spent in service of a storyline he seemingly had little investment in, and which feels completely counter-intuitive to the version of the show he made when he was in control. Yet another of those Peaks paradoxes!
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Re: Episode 25

Post by Agent Earle »

Mr. Reindeer wrote:It's funny: Lynch pushing the out-of-the-blue romance with the much-younger Amick should play as an uncomfortable abuse of power, but his boyish enthusiasm just makes it feel so innocent and sweet. (Of course, it helps to have 'A Slice of Lynch' to let us know that the admiration/enthusiasm for the storyline was mutual. After all, who else besides Madchen and Isabella Rossellini can say she's kissed David Lynch on screen?) There is undeniably something uber-endearing about seeing Lynch/Cole and his protege MacLachlan/Coop, in back-to-back sequences, both twitterpated and head-over-heels in love (as a "having-none-of-it" Coulson/Margaret builds a matchstick house -- held together by blink-and-you'll-miss-it pitch gum!). I'll go with the consensus; this is arguably the single happiest sustained sequence in all of TP. And, yeah, I'll admit it -- I find every second of the Coop-Annie romance charming. Graham (who went on to become a hell of a character actress) is by turns charmingly awkward and just, well, awkward in this early role. It's an uneven performance, albeit a likable one. But MacLachlan once again proves that he can have explosive chemistry with anyone he shares the frame with. Coop usually comes across as supremely comfortable in his own skin, but this episode has several beautifully vulnerable moments, all related to Annie. I think my favorite is when he admits that he knows what it's like to be viewed as weird. On this viewing, I'm enjoying Coop/Annie as a nice contrast to Coop/Audrey: in the latter, he had to be the adult. In the former, he feels comfortable being the blushing awkward man-child. (Yeah, yeah, I know what the actresses' actual ages were.)
YOU'RE MY GUY! :)
All that being said, I still just can't see this episode as "the comeback," as many people seem to believe. The Donna/Eileen/Ben subplot is soapy TP at its worst, the Ben/Audrey reconciliation (as close as the show comes to resolving, you know, Ben inadvertently trying to have sex with his own daughter and screwing her late classmate) is forced and wildly anticlimactic. The Owl Cave stuff played a bit better for me this time around, keeping in mind the history and ambience Mark Frost built around the Cave in TSHoTP, but it still feels goofy, with the shaking walls and cheesy flying-owl effects shots. My favorite moment in that damn Cave is Harry noting that the "ghosts" must be beer drinkers -- a nice touch of realism in a scene that otherwise feels way too self-consciously "TV."
Hey, I like the shaking walls and cheesy flying-owl effects shots! :)
It's struck me on this rewatch that a lot of Cole's dialogue revolves around Windom Earle (see also Episode 13). It's sort of funny that so much of Lynch's time on screen is spent in service of a storyline he seemingly had little investment in, and which feels completely counter-intuitive to the version of the show he made when he was in control. Yet another of those Peaks paradoxes!
Wow, what an interesting observation! Kudos. I hope somewhere down the line there's an opportunity for Lynch to address the Earle issue and explain his feelings regarding the character (in hopefully more than a few syllables :) ), as I think the whole saga built around it/him by fans over the years could really do with a word or two from the Master - it could put a lot of speculations to rest, and maybe the whole Lynch-hated-the-Earle-character schtik would turn out to be nothing but an urban legend.
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Re: Episode 25

Post by MoondogJR »

Rewatched this episode tonight and I kinda relate to what Lost is saying.

I normally prefer the darker side of Twin Peaks, but in my opinion in this episode the lighter and funnier scenes are way better than the darker parts. Don't like the Owl Cave scenes very much and Earl bores me out...

On the other hand, the flickering romance between Coop and Annie and the funny interactions between Gordon Cole with Cooper / Shelly / Log Lady really hit a right note.

Overall I enjoyed this rewatch, but mainly because of the knowledge that after this episode things are going to be better and better.
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