Episode 9
Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2014 5:00 pm
The German fan title for this episode is "Coma".
The Barbershop Quartette in the background provides more fun little bizarre “Lynchian” window dressing to the scene. All the directors seem to enjoy staging quirky little events or conventions going on in the background, but I feel Lynch always takes the cake.
Note: Albert mentions that he personally questioned the “world’s most decrepit room service waiter”, so we can safely say he is a real person employed at the hotel and not some ghostly hallucination brought on by Cooper’s blood loss after being shot.
The mysterious man spying on Cooper in a less than inconspicuous manner provides another possible suspect for Cooper’s shooting. Note, however, that he is *not* the same Asian gentleman seen by Audrey checking in to the room across the hall from Dale’s in ‘Realization Time’ just before leaving for OEJ.
The surreal scene where Donna delivers food to Mrs. Tremond and her grandson is one of my favorites in the whole series. Donna seems like she is either hiding her unease very well or doesn’t find it particularly strange when the grandson clearly makes the creamed corn physically teleport from the plate to his hands and then completely disappear without a trace, while Mrs. Tremond brushes it aside as a mere magic trick. Like in the episode preceding it, we find that Lynch once again pushes the envelope with the supernatural goings on being more explicit. Of course, the little boy in the tuxedo was played by David Lynch’s son Austin, which is why he looks like such a perfect miniature clone of Lynch. These two characters are revealed to be the same kind of spiritual entities as Mike and Bob in the film, where we see them convening together with the rest in the room “above the convenience store”, the same film where we also learn the creamed corn is a physical representation of the “pain and suffering” such entities feed on. In light of this, I interpret her fearful rejection of Donna’s corn to be because she is not allowed to consume more than her share (a tiny bowl is resting at her Grandson’s feet in the store scene). This further makes sense in light of the fact that, in the film, Mike vehemently hunts Bob down and, when confronting him, shouts about how he “stole the corn” that he had “canned above the store” and promises punishment, implying this was a dire breach of their laws. This begs the question, however, why is it that Donna stumbles in upon these two at all? Why can she see them? Is she one of the gifted as well?
Cooper and Harry having to figure out how to work the stool before they can question Ronnette is one of those nice little awkward but natural moments.
I love how Major Briggs keeps looking over at Andy struggling to tape up the wanted poster for Bob and he almost seems to want to get up and go help him. The energy created by the Log Lady and the Major being being together is really something.
Hank was once a Bookhouse Boy. One of the best, in fact. These are the episodes I really found Hank cool in. Not so much later.
When Jerry asks if this is “real or some strange and twisted dream”, I cannot help but hear David Patrick Kelly, portraying T-Bird in ‘The Crow’ (1994), saying “this is the really real world man!”
I see a few different possibilities for the identity of the person on the phone with Lucy trying to get in touch with Sheriff Truman but who won’t give their name:
1) The man who has been watching Cooper, trying to call Truman about something related to Josie ("Jonathan").
2) Leland Palmer, calling to tell the Sheriff about recognizing Bob in the wanted poster from his childhood summer home.
3) Philip Gerard, the one-armed man, just because we saw him skulking around before trying to get in to see the Sheriff and sell him some shoes without an appointment.
If it is Leland, whose scene directly precedes it when he “had to tell the Sheriff about this right away”, then it is very interesting that he doesn’t want to give his name and wants to share his information on Bob anonymously, considering he is, in fact, Bob, and there is a question as to whose identity is dominant now. By sharing the story of ‘Mr. Robertson’, perhaps Bob throws off Cooper and Truman by keeping them focused on finding a real man in the material world, a place they could never find him.
BUT, you would think Lucy and Truman would both recognize Leland and anyone else from the regular townspeople's voices so that is actually pretty unlikely.
Audrey is such a badass here, though I’m not sure why she doesn’t just try to escape immediately after she gets the info she wanted out of Battis. Surely she doesn’t think he won’t report this after she takes that cord from around his neck.
Clearly neither the Sheriff’s Department nor even Albert made a very thorough sweep of Cooper’s room for evidence after he was shot because Audrey’s damn note is still (!) barely an inch under his bed.
Here the delightful Major Briggs functions as a mouthpiece for the Giant’s second clue, “The owls are not what they seem”, but it is frustrating that, though this is referenced, what it might mean is not any more explained. The Air Force later reveals that these messages came not from outer space, as had been supposed, but were traced to be emanating from the woods around Twin Peaks.
The “Just You And I” demo being cut on Hayward’s living room floor is one of the most excruciating but yet comically hilarious moments in the show, because it really drives home that nothing like this would ever happen on literally any other tv show. And it also serves as such a great set up almost lulling you to relax and be amused before surprising the hell out of you by what happens next as poor Maddy sees Bob simply stroll into the house, climb over the freaking couch and assault her mind in one of the most disturbing visuals.
Once again the Giant seems to appear in Cooper’s room at the end, waving his hand over his sleeping form to transmit some kind of knowledge to him through his dreams. With the image of the owl superimposed over Bob’s face, it would seem there is some kind of sinister connection between the owls and Bob.
We distinctly hear the ominous whoosh of the ceiling fan in the background of this dream, along with such familiar images as Sarah Palmer descending the staircase and Bob crouching at the foot of Laura’s bed. This same sound is played in the background of the film ‘Fire Walk With Me’ while Leland is confronting Laura with the truth about her life’s tormentor.
The Barbershop Quartette in the background provides more fun little bizarre “Lynchian” window dressing to the scene. All the directors seem to enjoy staging quirky little events or conventions going on in the background, but I feel Lynch always takes the cake.
Note: Albert mentions that he personally questioned the “world’s most decrepit room service waiter”, so we can safely say he is a real person employed at the hotel and not some ghostly hallucination brought on by Cooper’s blood loss after being shot.
The mysterious man spying on Cooper in a less than inconspicuous manner provides another possible suspect for Cooper’s shooting. Note, however, that he is *not* the same Asian gentleman seen by Audrey checking in to the room across the hall from Dale’s in ‘Realization Time’ just before leaving for OEJ.
The surreal scene where Donna delivers food to Mrs. Tremond and her grandson is one of my favorites in the whole series. Donna seems like she is either hiding her unease very well or doesn’t find it particularly strange when the grandson clearly makes the creamed corn physically teleport from the plate to his hands and then completely disappear without a trace, while Mrs. Tremond brushes it aside as a mere magic trick. Like in the episode preceding it, we find that Lynch once again pushes the envelope with the supernatural goings on being more explicit. Of course, the little boy in the tuxedo was played by David Lynch’s son Austin, which is why he looks like such a perfect miniature clone of Lynch. These two characters are revealed to be the same kind of spiritual entities as Mike and Bob in the film, where we see them convening together with the rest in the room “above the convenience store”, the same film where we also learn the creamed corn is a physical representation of the “pain and suffering” such entities feed on. In light of this, I interpret her fearful rejection of Donna’s corn to be because she is not allowed to consume more than her share (a tiny bowl is resting at her Grandson’s feet in the store scene). This further makes sense in light of the fact that, in the film, Mike vehemently hunts Bob down and, when confronting him, shouts about how he “stole the corn” that he had “canned above the store” and promises punishment, implying this was a dire breach of their laws. This begs the question, however, why is it that Donna stumbles in upon these two at all? Why can she see them? Is she one of the gifted as well?
Cooper and Harry having to figure out how to work the stool before they can question Ronnette is one of those nice little awkward but natural moments.
I love how Major Briggs keeps looking over at Andy struggling to tape up the wanted poster for Bob and he almost seems to want to get up and go help him. The energy created by the Log Lady and the Major being being together is really something.
Hank was once a Bookhouse Boy. One of the best, in fact. These are the episodes I really found Hank cool in. Not so much later.
When Jerry asks if this is “real or some strange and twisted dream”, I cannot help but hear David Patrick Kelly, portraying T-Bird in ‘The Crow’ (1994), saying “this is the really real world man!”
I see a few different possibilities for the identity of the person on the phone with Lucy trying to get in touch with Sheriff Truman but who won’t give their name:
1) The man who has been watching Cooper, trying to call Truman about something related to Josie ("Jonathan").
2) Leland Palmer, calling to tell the Sheriff about recognizing Bob in the wanted poster from his childhood summer home.
3) Philip Gerard, the one-armed man, just because we saw him skulking around before trying to get in to see the Sheriff and sell him some shoes without an appointment.
If it is Leland, whose scene directly precedes it when he “had to tell the Sheriff about this right away”, then it is very interesting that he doesn’t want to give his name and wants to share his information on Bob anonymously, considering he is, in fact, Bob, and there is a question as to whose identity is dominant now. By sharing the story of ‘Mr. Robertson’, perhaps Bob throws off Cooper and Truman by keeping them focused on finding a real man in the material world, a place they could never find him.
BUT, you would think Lucy and Truman would both recognize Leland and anyone else from the regular townspeople's voices so that is actually pretty unlikely.
Audrey is such a badass here, though I’m not sure why she doesn’t just try to escape immediately after she gets the info she wanted out of Battis. Surely she doesn’t think he won’t report this after she takes that cord from around his neck.
Clearly neither the Sheriff’s Department nor even Albert made a very thorough sweep of Cooper’s room for evidence after he was shot because Audrey’s damn note is still (!) barely an inch under his bed.
Here the delightful Major Briggs functions as a mouthpiece for the Giant’s second clue, “The owls are not what they seem”, but it is frustrating that, though this is referenced, what it might mean is not any more explained. The Air Force later reveals that these messages came not from outer space, as had been supposed, but were traced to be emanating from the woods around Twin Peaks.
The “Just You And I” demo being cut on Hayward’s living room floor is one of the most excruciating but yet comically hilarious moments in the show, because it really drives home that nothing like this would ever happen on literally any other tv show. And it also serves as such a great set up almost lulling you to relax and be amused before surprising the hell out of you by what happens next as poor Maddy sees Bob simply stroll into the house, climb over the freaking couch and assault her mind in one of the most disturbing visuals.
Once again the Giant seems to appear in Cooper’s room at the end, waving his hand over his sleeping form to transmit some kind of knowledge to him through his dreams. With the image of the owl superimposed over Bob’s face, it would seem there is some kind of sinister connection between the owls and Bob.
We distinctly hear the ominous whoosh of the ceiling fan in the background of this dream, along with such familiar images as Sarah Palmer descending the staircase and Bob crouching at the foot of Laura’s bed. This same sound is played in the background of the film ‘Fire Walk With Me’ while Leland is confronting Laura with the truth about her life’s tormentor.