Part 9 - This is the chair (SPOILERS)

Discussion of each of the 18 parts of Twin Peaks the Return

Moderators: Brad D, Annie, Jonah, BookhouseBoyBob, Ross, Jerry Horne

User avatar
mtsi
RR Diner Member
Posts: 253
Joined: Sat Sep 26, 2015 8:56 pm

Re: Part 9 - This is the chair (SPOILERS)

Post by mtsi »

She loves Andy and because he gave in, she is showing her love by surprising him.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
We live inside a dream.
User avatar
Mr. Reindeer
Lodge Member
Posts: 3680
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2015 4:09 pm

Re: Part 9 - This is the chair (SPOILERS)

Post by Mr. Reindeer »

In light of TSHoTP, it's a little odd that the name "Dougie" doesn't ring a bell for Gordon, especially in connection with Garland Briggs. According to the book, Cole worked with Milford for years. Or maybe Gordon does make this connection, and that's why he becomes alarmed and says they have to talk to Bill?

Phyllis's role in everything is still tantalizingly unexplained. She knows DoppelCoop, and he seems to have somehow manipulated her; and in this Part, we learn that people in the Zone (Woodsmen?) ask Bill his wife's name.

I know a cat's eye is a type of marble. Does "dog" have some special meaning in marbles? I haven't been able to find one online. Is the "joke" simply that a dog ate Bill's marble (because dogs hate cats, har har?). Like many of Albert's lines this season, this feels like it's trying to be a lot more clever than it is, and I don't really buy it as a joke that impresses Albert. However, Jane Adams is absolutely charming, and her performance sells the moment even where the writing falls flat.

I really like the little detail that Betty says Garland held her shoulders when he told her what was going to happen. The very first time we see them in the Pilot, Betty is rubbing Garland's shoulders. This is a beautiful little parallel, intentional or (probably) not.

So Betty told Bobby that Cooper was the last person to see Garland alive. But then in this Part, she says Garland talked to her after Cooper left. Wouldn't that make BETTY the last person to see him alive? Hrrmm. (Of course, DoppelCoop likely saw him again the next day when LPA burned down, but Betty doesn't seem to know/suspect that.)

For an unseen/deceased character, Garland really has one of the most moving character arcs of this season. I had figured that TSHoTP was to be our goodbye to the good Major, but I'm delighted that DKL clearly had great affection for the character. While Garland was an original L/F Pilot creation, and had that brilliant character-defining moment in the diner scene in the DKL-directed Episode 8, he didn't truly come to prominence as a major character (no pun intended) until the latter part of season 2, which DKL had little involvement in creating, and may not have even fully watched! Garland's increased prominence in that era is pretty much the only element of Episodes 17-28 that is universally lauded as a solid development, and I'm so glad DKL saw fit to pay tribute to Garland, both as a key player in the show's mythology and as a kind beautiful human being and father. I know some people have said that Garland deserved better than to end up as a bloated, headless corpse repeatedly showed off in gruesome fashion. I think those people are ignoring the fact that the show -- and Part 9 in particular -- pay tribute to his bravery, intelligence and humanity (how beautiful that his message on how to get to the Lodge serves a triumvirate of purposes: it also reminds Bobby of happy childhood memories AND lets Bobby knows that his dad saw his future and is proud of him). When I listen to "The Chair" on the soundtrack album, I see not Betty or Bobby in my mind's eye, but Garland himself. The track's subdued majesty and quiet emotion suit his character perfectly. That is the series' true sendoff to the character, not the corpse.

(Little sidebar that may give a sliver of insight into DKL's love for the character, even very early on: Tina Rathborne says on the Episode 3 audio commentary that she planned to direct Garland's monologue to Bobby about death as if Garland were a stodgy, out-of-touch fool. DKL corrected her and explained that Garland is a very wise man.)

A little thing has bugged me since Part 9 first aired: there is a banner in front of Ike's motel for a Los Angeles event (Occidental College's "3rd LA" project -- see https://www.oxy.edu/news/third-la-annou ... rging-city). The "LA" on the sign is very prominent in the shot. When we first saw this establishing shot, I figured Ike is staying in LA when he first gets Duncan's envelope, but Part 9 makes clear that this motel is meant to be just off the Vegas strip. Stupid careless detail that could have been easily fixed in post.
Poiuyt
Roadhouse Member
Posts: 87
Joined: Tue Feb 28, 2017 3:26 am

Re: Part 9 - This is the chair (SPOILERS)

Post by Poiuyt »

kyle maclachlan's stilted delivery of "i'll take a rain check" at the beginning of this part creeps me out.
User avatar
Mr. Reindeer
Lodge Member
Posts: 3680
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2015 4:09 pm

Re: Part 9 - This is the chair (SPOILERS)

Post by Mr. Reindeer »

Nice little self-effacing blooper DKL left in which I hadn’t caught before: as Gordon exits the police station to join Diane for her smoke break, the door smacks him in the arm. He finishes his line with a smile like a true professional, aside from hitting the word “join” a little hard in surprise when he is struck.
User avatar
Mr. Reindeer
Lodge Member
Posts: 3680
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2015 4:09 pm

Re: Part 9 - This is the chair (SPOILERS)

Post by Mr. Reindeer »

Does anyone know if the Briggs home was shot in the same location as was used in FWWM/TMP? The “chair” room looks like it could conceivably be the same space as the room where Garland read the Bible to Betty, with a fireplace newly added.
User avatar
Panapaok
Bookhouse Member
Posts: 1025
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 9:07 am

Re: Part 9 - This is the chair (SPOILERS)

Post by Panapaok »

Mr. Reindeer wrote:Does anyone know if the Briggs home was shot in the same location as was used in FWWM/TMP? The “chair” room looks like it could conceivably be the same space as the room where Garland read the Bible to Betty, with a fireplace newly added.
It was definitely filmed in Washington state so there's a chance it's actually the same location.
This is - excuse me - a damn fine cup of coffee.
User avatar
Henrys Hair
RR Diner Member
Posts: 211
Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2007 10:28 am
Contact:

Re: Part 9 - This is the chair (SPOILERS)

Post by Henrys Hair »

Something I noticed on the latest rewatch: the Au Revoir Simone song that starts off during Sky Ferreira's scene opens with the Be My Baby drumbeat. Twin Peaks wasn't the only return Sky Ferreira featured in during 2017 - she also sings on the Jesus & Mary Chain's comeback album Damage & Joy. The Jesus & Mary Chain's first album also opens with the Be My Baby drumbeat. Admittedly this is unlikely to be proof of some grand unifying theory and more likely to be a series of (slightly tenuous) coincidences, but at least it distracted me from that underarm rash. :)
claaa7
Great Northern Member
Posts: 715
Joined: Sun Oct 19, 2014 2:47 am

Re: Part 9 - This is the chair (SPOILERS)

Post by claaa7 »

Mr. Reindeer wrote:In light of TSHoTP, it's a little odd that the name "Dougie" doesn't ring a bell for Gordon, especially in connection with Garland Briggs. According to the book, Cole worked with Milford for years. Or maybe Gordon does make this connection, and that's why he becomes alarmed and says they have to talk to Bill
this ould be, but i think Dougie Milford is certainly not a chracter Lynch would remember very well. he is very important to the overall narrative in TsHofTwinPeaks and Final Dossier but the series, not really at all (though having read and seen everything surely adds to the experience). so i think all of that stuff was Frost's take on the material (the two books) and Lynch's was of course te series. they are telling the basic same story closely, but Frost is explaining it a lot more and giving it more fan-service moments a long the way. I like both approaches, but i really noticed that for me, the best way to experience TP:TR if we're talkng about mythology is to watch FWWM, see Between Two Worlds, and read as many solid iternet discussions from the real fans. Mark and Daivid's workng relationship is one of the all time greats, imo.. the push and pull of what to put on screen. the series is more or less understanabde with the books but with them in place they become even more easy to penetrate and theoroize around.. Highly recomended it!
baxter
Great Northern Member
Posts: 565
Joined: Sun Mar 06, 2016 4:12 pm

Re: Part 9 - This is the chair (SPOILERS)

Post by baxter »

Reached this episode on my rewatch. I forgot how amazing it was! One of the best single episodes.

I'm now confused though. I've always assumed (and this episode sort of confirmed it) that Cooper killed Briggs, and the woodsmen that were accompanying him killed Ruth. In that case, shouldn't he already have the coordinates? Why does he need to hunt for them? Clearly the answer is that he didn't in fact get them "in the zone" and was still hunting for them, but in that case who killed Ruth?
User avatar
Mr. Reindeer
Lodge Member
Posts: 3680
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2015 4:09 pm

Re: Part 9 - This is the chair (SPOILERS)

Post by Mr. Reindeer »

baxter wrote:Reached this episode on my rewatch. I forgot how amazing it was! One of the best single episodes.

I'm now confused though. I've always assumed (and this episode sort of confirmed it) that Cooper killed Briggs, and the woodsmen that were accompanying him killed Ruth. In that case, shouldn't he already have the coordinates? Why does he need to hunt for them? Clearly the answer is that he didn't in fact get them "in the zone" and was still hunting for them, but in that case who killed Ruth?
It seems to me that someone took Ruth’s body before Mr. C could get the coordinates, leaving him with only her head. The question is, who took it? “There were so many people there.”

Presumably, most of the people there were Woodsmen. The relationship between Mr. C and the Woodsmen is so ambiguous to me. Sometimes they seem to be his allies, but they also seem to have their own agenda (they also appear to be allied with Jeffries, who gives Mr. C bad coordinates that would kill him).
Poiuyt
Roadhouse Member
Posts: 87
Joined: Tue Feb 28, 2017 3:26 am

Re: Part 9 - This is the chair (SPOILERS)

Post by Poiuyt »

As I understand it, Mr. C wanted multiple coordinates, so he DID get the ones from Ruth, one way or another (The Final Dossier seems to indicate that Tammy believed he got them in the Zone, but then why did "Diane" memorize them from Albert's photograph and text them to Mr. C?)
baxter
Great Northern Member
Posts: 565
Joined: Sun Mar 06, 2016 4:12 pm

Re: Part 9 - This is the chair (SPOILERS)

Post by baxter »

Glad I'm not the only one confused. I had missed the "multiple coordinates", but will reread the Final Dossier.

Am totally loving the series on my rewatch. I had already watched Parts 1-9 again, so they were quite fresh in my mind, but I had forgotten how good the next stretch was. Also, I had forgotten how much conventional material there was, and how the series actually did have a fairly sensible plot for most of its running (albeit an obscure one). Post-finale, it's only the strange metaphysical mystery that stuck in my mind.
User avatar
Mr. Reindeer
Lodge Member
Posts: 3680
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2015 4:09 pm

Re: Part 9 - This is the chair (SPOILERS)

Post by Mr. Reindeer »

I don’t think there’s anything in the series or TFD to indicate that the coordinates Mr. C is searching for are different from the coordinates Ruth & Bill were bringing to Briggs. If anything, every indication seems to be that they’re the same.
Poiuyt
Roadhouse Member
Posts: 87
Joined: Tue Feb 28, 2017 3:26 am

Re: Part 9 - This is the chair (SPOILERS)

Post by Poiuyt »

looking for the same place, aware that people were gonna try to trick him, so more coordinates = better chance of getting the right ones
User avatar
Mr. Reindeer
Lodge Member
Posts: 3680
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2015 4:09 pm

Re: Part 9 - This is the chair (SPOILERS)

Post by Mr. Reindeer »

Ahh I see what you mean. I agree with that. I thought you were saying he was trying to get coordinates to multiple different “locations.”
Post Reply