In this episode of Twin Peaks, we get a healthy dose of characterization across the board. To start, we get more acquainted with the Mitchum Bros (Rodney and Bradley) and their pink bunny trio of ditzy blonde girls. What’s not to love about these three staring off into space, unaware of the violence and mayhem happening around them? There’s something concretely Lynchian about these avatars of pure innocence and their 60’s aesthetic.
Next up is Richard Horne, a dirty dog for offing Miriam due to her being the only witness to his mindless automotive murder of a little boy. And he’s a double dirty dog for roughing up his own grandma, Sylvia, just for some extra pocket cash. Clearly he’s Evil with a capital E, and I hope he gets his due justice later on in the season. Also, since this means the still-missing Audrey is Richard’s mom, I hope she returns to the screen to give him a proper spanking. All the while Johnny Horne watches on while horrified and his freaky headless bear plush toy keeps repeating the same phrase (“Hello Johnny. How are you today?”), adding extra-thick tension to the scene.
And by the way, Chad intercepts the letter written by Miriam about Richard’s violence, so he’s officially on the naughty list. Hope he also gets his dues soon. No one likes Chad, honestly.
I’ve realized that Dr Jacoby as Dr Amp is a sort of an Alex Jones-inspired mouth-frother, but on the other end of the spectrum: passionately encouraging self-actualization instead of nutty conspiracy theories. Nadine listens intently from her business “Run Silent, Run Drapes.” I expect to see these two interacting more, as I see some sort of relationship forming there, however platonic.
Now… onto the lighter elements of this episode! Surprisingly, Albert went on a date with Constance. It was a lovely moment to see this rough and no-nonsense agent smile.
And of course we have to mention that Dooper and Janey-E had sex. It was… well, silly. He flailed his arms and rolled his eyes in delight. She screamed—no, sang!—“Dougiiieee!” in ecstasy. Sonny Jim heard the sounds and bolted upright in innocence-lost shock from another room. An all-around hilarious scene when Lynch usually does sex stuff with harshly negative overtones.
You know, the whole relationship dynamic between Janey-E and Dooper makes no sense from a logical perspective, and her infatuation with him is probably meant to be viewed as a bit of low-key comedy. Or, thinking about it with “Mulholland Drive” in mind, it’s probably more like a mockery of that perfect Hollywood couple: the gorgeous yet empty-headed blonde trophy wife and her doofus husband having wild orgasmic sex. Ultra Hollywood for sure.
David C Bates 