Twin Peaks, third season, thirteenth episode: What story is that, Charlie?

Thirteenth episode: What story is that, Charlie? / The Return, Part XIII

Content: The Mitchum brothers bring Bushnell gifts at Lucky 7 Insurance. Duncan Todd orders Tony to kill Dougie. Cooper's doppelgänger arrives at a building in Montana where Ray and a gang await him. He kills the gang boss, and Ray tells him Philip Jeffries ordered Cooper's doppelgänger dead, and that a prison guard gave him a ring. After obtaining coordinates from Ray, he kills him. Richard Horne is also in the building and observes Cooper's Doppelgänger killing Ray. The ring and Ray's spirit appear in the red room, where MIKE picks up the ring. The Fusco brothers refuse to believe Dougie's fingerprint analysis. Tony asks the corrupt policemen for poison to kill Dougie. Hutch and Chantal drive through Utah. Tony poisons Dougie's coffee, but dumps it out and confesses his collusion with Todd to Bushnell. Big Ed and Bobby have dinner at the Double R, watching Norma meet with Walter, who has helped her franchise her business. Nadine and Jacoby meet for the first time in seven years. Sarah Palmer watches a loop of a boxing match at home. Audrey tells Charlie she doesn't know who or where she is and can't leave the house. Renee cries while watching James perform at the Roadhouse. Big Ed lights a piece of paper.

Analysis: The fact that Richard Horne Comes to the place where Evil Cooper kills Ray seems to prove that Evil Cooper is actually Richard Horne's father. They could team up and become very dangerous along with Hutch and Chantal. Another thing I have observed is Audrey Horne's state of confusion. Maybe she got infected by an evil spirit when Evil Cooper raped her. Audrey Horne acts differently from the first two seasons and such a possession by an evil spirit would explain this radical change. An important element to observe in this episode is time. Sarah Palmer's television seems to have interferences and loops a short part of a boxing match over and over again. Since we know that the spirits from the Black Lodge travel and communicate through electricity and time, this could mean that Sarah Palmer's house is used as a portal by evil spirits. It's also possible that she is a vehicle for those spirits herself which would confirm my theory that she is the girl from the eighth episode. Another element related to time is the fact that Bobby Briggs mentions that the police has just found a message from his father when he comes to the Double R Diner. However, this has happened several episodes earlier and Bobby Briggs has already been to the Double R Diner to talk to Becky and Shelly before. However, the way he talks about his father's message sounds as if it had just happened. This could mean that this series isn't chronological at all. I don't think this is a coincidence. Maybe the portal to the Black Lodge is opening up and not only influencing machines via electricity and people by making them feel more aggressive, confused and emotional, but also by influencing the space-time continuum. Perhaps the entire town of Twin Peaks is caught in a loop and cut from reality because of the Black Lodge. Something similar might have happened in New York and South Dakota which explains the gruesome murders that nobody could explain. In all other places such as Montana, Nevada and Utah, the space-time continuum doesn't seem to be affected. Maybe the conclusion of this third season could lead to the fact that all characters in Twin Peaks travel back twenty-five years in the past and continue to live in an undisturbed space-time continuum. This would be a happy ending since all characters of the first two seasons have changed for the worse. In the cases of Audrey Horne or Doctor Jacoby, These changes seem obvious but even those who seem to be successful such as Bobby Briggs and Big Ed have lost the loves of their lives and don't seem as happy as they could be. A return in time would mean a second chance for everyone. This could also be the moral of the series: take your chances, enjoy every day and don't let yourself down.

Description: One great sequence doesn't make a great episode yet. While the sequence involving Cooper's doppelgänger, Ray and the gang of criminals was a highlight of this season, this episode also had several repetitive and redundant moments. I wasn't impressed by Big Ed's return on screen at all, the meeting between Doctor Jacoby and Nadine Hurley was just awkward, the conversation between Becky and Shelly seemed pointless, the scene involving Sarah Palmer overstayed its welcome and even the conversation between Audrey and Charlie that gave this episode its tagline could have been a little bit more fleshed out. Thanks to a great opening half and several interesting elements to analyze, this episode isn't the weakest of the new season but it came very close.

Favorite scene: The entire sequence involving Cooper's Doppelgänger, Ray and the gang of criminals was absolutely brilliant and a highlight of this episode and the entire season. The acting was stunning, we got some important background information and the atmosphere was very tense.

Rating: 7/10