“Fellas, let’s pack a lunch. We’re taking a walk in the woods.”
Three investigative teams went exploring in secret places this episode: Cooper and the sheriff’s boys in Jacques Renault’s cabin; Audrey in the space that shouldn’t exist in the walls of the Great Northern; and Donna, James, and Maddie in Laura’s hiding place. Each investigation seems to be moving towards something, but if that’s something useful for understanding who killed Laura and why is still undecided.
Cooper, Harry, Hawk, and Doc Hayward ventured away from civilization in two distinct stages: first, the last unhomely house of the Log Lady. Then, following her directions, Jacques Renault’s dark, creepy cabin with the red drapes that are so evocative of Cooper’s dream. This isn’t the red room of that dream, though: Cooper is getting closer, but he’s not there yet. Just getting to the cabin nearly did Doc Hayward in—when it comes time to return to the red room, can Cooper make the journey successfully?
The Log Lady was her usual cryptic self. (Or, her log was.) Her husband died in a fire the day after their wedding, and she seems to have a sense of fire being evil, owls being scary observers (if not more). Her house is even more in the woods than Shelly’s and Leo’s, and because she is so isolated she seems more tapped into the spookiness of the woodsy darkness that Harry talked about a few episodes ago. The cabin, despite being abandoned, felt very alive: music, chiming clocks, myna bird—it is an active place that just happens to be missing people.
It was the search of Renault’s apartment that spurred the trip to that weird cabin. That search also revealed yet another copy of Flesh World, which is a fascinating example of how hard people had to work to get anonymously laid before the Internet. Even more fascinating is how hard Jacques Renault worked to hide a prostitution/porn magazine in his own home. Nonetheless, it’s also an interesting clue that makes the connections between Leo, Jacques, Laura, and Ronette even more apparent to our intrepid detectives. Shelly and Bobby are doing their part, too, in framing Leo for a crime he might have in fact committed.
Audrey’s quest to discover the connection between the perfume counter, Ronette, and Laura continues apace. Her hidey-hole in the walls of the Great Northern is giving her far more information on her father than she wants, but her interests seems less prurient and grossly Freudian than before. Now, she wants to accumulate knowledge to help Cooper catch Laura’s killer.
While Donna and James are not the most riveting characters, James’s revelation spoke volumes about his possible attraction to Laura, who—like his mother—had a tendency to “shack up” with strange men in bad places. It also bring a poignant quality to James’s quest to find Laura’s killer: he isn’t just searching for her killer but for a solution to his mother’s problems. Whether or not James can remember that he’s with Donna now, and that Maddie is not Laura…Well, we’ll see what they make of the tape Maddie found in Laura’s bedpost.
In this week’s love report, Norma and Big Ed are on the outs: with Hank on his way home and Nadine on her way to crazy town, the cutest grown-up couple in the show still can’t manage to put their own needs first. Audrey continues to pursue Cooper, who continues to rebuff her youthful wiles. And Shelly, Bobby, and a gun are having an exciting breakfast delight to go along with their frame-up.
Bits and Pieces:
• Cooper: “Wednesdays were traditionally a school day when I was your age.”
• Cooper: “Not the cabin we’re looking for.”
Hawk: “Maybe. Maybe not.”
• Log Lady: “C’mon, then. My log does not judge.”
• Log Lady: “The owls won’t see us in here.”
• Log Lady: “Shut your eyes and you’ll burst into flames.”
• Pete: “Now, let me get this straight. Your entire country is above the timber line?”
• Lara Flynn Boyle’s hair looked more red than usual this week. Also, I used to have that headband.
• Yet again, the score and the music within the show merged.
• The Ghostwood development project continues.
• Another random hidey-hole: Leo’s gasoline storage area under the house.
Clues, Questions, and Answers
• The blood on Leo’s shirt was AB negative, and probably Jacques Renault’s.
• The Log Lady said there were two men, two girls, and then one man passed by. Is that one of the original men returning, or a third man? Assuming it’s a third man, who is it?
• Leland continues to dance. Is this a clue, or just a weird way of keeping him involved in the story without actually going anywhere? Any who turned on the music, anyway?
• Why did Leland’s dancing make Audrey cry? Does she think her father wouldn’t be that sad if she died?
• Hank has had a hand in Leo’s drug-running business.
The last minute of this episode really comes out of nowhere. Sure, it’s Chekov’s shotgun law: we saw Shelly holding a gun in the first act, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that it went off in the last one. But it still is. We don’t know how it turned out, either: The overhead light seemed to swing back and forth, which might mean Shelly hit it instead of Leo, or that Leo bumped into it. And, of course, it means there’s some sort of massive consciousness shift at play. Because that’s what flashing lights mean in Twin Peaks.
Three and a half out of four Icelandic legs of lamb. It’s rotisserie heaven!
Josie Kafka is a full-time cat servant and part-time rogue demon hunter. (What's a rogue demon?)
Just answering to one of these and it's only my interpretation. Audrey cried because she felt sorry for Leland, and the mocking way his emotional outburst was masked. I don't think the scene was a big deal, just showed that Audrey had an empathetic side to her also.
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