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Last Week in Twin Peaks Podcasts, Week of July 30th to August 5th

Part Twelve was a tricky one, and the podcasters ran the gamut from “not my favorite of the bunch but still had great moments” to “what in the world was THAT?” Everyone had something to say about the awkward introduction of Audrey Horne and it wasn’t just “why?” The two strongest scenes of Part Twelve both involved Sarah Palmer and Grace Zabriski’s phenomenal acting chops. All the podcasters loved the word choice for the Blue Rose task force to investigate “troubling abstractions,” that is if they were okay with the X-Files leanings rather than happily leaving it understood rather than explained. But much more loved was Laura Dern’s acting and the serious Red Room vibes of the Mayfair. Richard Beymer got high marks as well. Most shows picked up on the (absent) Fathers and Sons theme this Part and shared something smart about it.

Onto the podcasts:

EW’s A Twin Peaks Podcast began their coverage of Part Twelve by saying this was the last chance to chill out before the end game, hence the French Girl Exit scene? They mentioned how Dr. Amp brought up the ninth circle of Hell, said it was for treason and the punishment is being stationary, frozen in ice. Is that thematically how you felt the characters and plots were moving? The hosts thought the French girl scene was Lynch owning his obsessions and he doesn’t care. Darren had a Dune dream that involved two David Lynches (better to hear than for me to transcribe), the Warden Murphy scene was almost a Tarantino parody though the kid appearing at the end was a statement on the cost of violence. The hosts think supernatural forces subvert Sarah Palmer’s reality so often that when something is in a place that wasn’t previously occupied, it unsettles her. The also credit the grocery store sound cues the Phillip Jeffries convenience store scene in Fire Walk With Me. They think the show is telling Ben Horne “you loosed this evil, now literally pay for it” in the Ben/Frank scene. They saw the blue roses on Miriam’s hospital table, and then wondered if Audrey was really there…the less-than-top-notch intro to her new life didn’t work like it was supposed to. Richard Horne might have almost run Trick off the road or maybe it was DoppelCooper.

Afterbuzz’s Twin Peaks After Show covered Parts Eleven and Twelve in separate podcasts. At the beginning of Part Eleven, the hosts think it’s a show impossible to get ahead of and that’s great. They liked that Carl and Shelly cared about each other, and were genuinely worried about Shelly in the car hood scene. Based on Carl’s Secret History of Twin Peaks connections the hosts wonder if he’s White Lodge, and about the vortex they point out this is the first time we’ve seen a traditional portal in Twin Peaks. The hosts find it interesting how straightforwardly information is presented (just without the why), how Dougie is a bit Jesus, and frightened Scientology has a booth at Comic Con. They connect the Szymon’s coffee shop to New York, and love the Mitchums though “taking Dougie to a restaurant is like bringing a toddler to the bar and making her drink.” The hosts begin Part Twelve by noting how Tammy’s been dragged into the boys club, and keep going back to explore “is it aliens” especially with the seer Sarah’s body. Is Sarah Palmer an alcoholic or acted upon by an active force. They also suppose that the roadhouse table is essentially the setting for the new Invitation to Love.

Bickering Peaks began their coverage of Part Twelve by riffing on the Audrey/Roadhouse scene frustration points at the end, then endorsing Joanna Robinson’s idea from a few Peaks TVs ago that Lynch is making Parts like mixed drinks, adding scenes for flavor as needed. They wonder if the first Blue Rose case was the Girl in 1956 and she’s the one who named the project, and if Gordon is being groomed to take Gordon’s role. Also, they liked Tammy in the initiation scene. Are Diane’s clothes a tip-off that we’re seeing Buckhorn scenes out of order? And is Jerry A) out of the forest B) in a clearing or C) running towards something? Lindsay is calling Carl Rodd St. Carl from now on and “you’ve given enough blood” is somehow thematically relevant. The Palmer house fan (and the afterimages and shadows thereof) gave them goosebumps in part because it’s the “old visual language bumped up to eleven,” and they think Sarah’s somehow inhabited. They thought they’d be shown Audrey in the coma rather than Marion, Harry was brought up again after a number of episodes, and Aidan thinks his health is the canary in the coal mine: if there’s a happy ending we’ll get Michael Ontkean and if it’s a sad one it’s Harry’s funeral. They mention how Ontkean said he always felt he was the designated driver, and now the show is somewhat absent that role? The French woman scene is both sending a message to luxuriate in the moment, as well as a Lil-style code scene, and Cole wanted Albert to pick up on the clues but he probably didn’t. After the Warden Murphy scene put another father/son relationship into disrepair, the hosts talk about the only good father/son relationship on the show (besides the new information from Ben) was Bobby and the Major, and Bobby’s one of the few who’s turned out good. Audrey’s introduction was intentionally baffling, leaving us no idea what to invest in. The hosts are convinced this will be subverted later just like Jacoby’s shovels and the rest. Dreams hearken a truth is a lesson she learned while in her coma? IS this a stage play we saw? For Diane’s coordinates, as the Major would’ve figured out if the coordinates went to Twin Peaks is it a false conflict stage by Cole and Albert to smoke out Diane’s conspirator? The roadhouse scenes are officially just flavor and Cooper will finally become himself in Part Fifteen.

The hosts of Boob Tube Buddies began their coverage of Part Eleven by declaring the series “spending 18 hours to get to the point we thought we’d be at in Part One.” They mention the “is Candie Laura” theory, and get thematic by saying no one wants to get the golden shovel to dig themselves out of the shit so they keep doing the same thing over and over again. The guest interview in the middle is the best part of the show. Eleven in esoterism relates to magical increase, and judgement, and the two ones can represent two forms of judgement. The profane twists truth, that’s Diane here. Per masons, if you fail initiation at any level you’re out, and therefore when Bill Hastings wasn’t taking HIS initiation seriously enough he lost his lover and then himself. And CooperDougie is an elevated person who’s holding a capstone (the pie box) between two pillars (one white limo and one black limo) symbolically in an initiation ceremony, though instead of becoming a master mason he becomes the friend of the Mitchums.

In Bookhouse Podcast’s coverage of Part Eleven, they don’t dig too deeply but they have a good conversation as they try to figure out what happened. Their predictions section goes about as well as it ever has though Christian’s gotten in the habit of guessing what will happen TWO episodes down the road, and they all want to see the new Harry Dean Stanton movie Lucky. They declare Richard Horne scary through his impulsiveness only, not by his ability to be thorough (siting Marion’s appearance). They talk through the family dynamics of the Briggs, have no idea where the end game is on all these plots, find the Mullins insurance explanation questionable, though they’re enjoying the Mitchums fairly well. They think maybe the piano player IS Angelo Badalamenti, and they end with predictions as well as suggest following the Twin Peaks actors on Twitter.

In Chopping Wood Inside’s Part Twelve Preview, the hosts suggested Vegas might be done by the end of Part Thirteen, and Dougie and DoppelCooper have connected experiences based on CooperDougie rubbing his jaw when he said “dead.” Bill Hastings was a pawn and woodsmen were possibly sent to keep Cole out of the vortex house? The hosts don’t believe in alternate timelines, and all the “living within a dream” thoughts are probably setting us up for the show’s destination. There are probably two different realities. They can’t wait to see the visuals on Jackrabbits Palace, and guess the fourth diary page will be inside it. They guess DoppelCooper will return, and that before the end Monica Bellucci will play the ’56 Girl whose name is Judy and that Cooper is the Dreamer. In their Part Twelve coverage, they declare it not as climactic as they wanted. They uncomfortably enjoyed the joke that Chantal just wants to go to Wendy’s, and the French girl scene MIGHT be Lynch playfully trolling us. Jerry’s finally out of the woods, and since it’s ominous the hosts assume it’s the grocery store kid in Sarah’s kitchen making that noise. Carl’s an empath, Dr Amp uses recycled material, and connecting Audrey to anything was tricky after that too-long scene. Is she in Twin Peaks or is it a different Roadhouse? And about the Roadhouse scene, Lynch wanted to do Mulholland Drive where people go off on dream highways. Is this now?

Damn Fine Commentary covered Part Ten, noting Richard Horne’s reflection in the door and the good singing of Harry Dean Stanton. The themes of the week were women in peril and trailer parks. Janey-E figures out in a matter of days her husband A) is rich B) moves like a cobra and C) looks like a stallion therefore she knows what she has to do. Candie is at once the Lucy of Vegas and damaged goods, and the Dr. Amp scene reminded the hosts that Lynch has been on Alex Jones’ talk show before about TM. The hosts discuss the use of the C-word, how it’s an unnecessary extra step, proving Richard Horne’s disgust level, though at least he didn’t take the bear. The hosts, noting Chrysta Bell’s eyebrow acting, declare every one of her acting instincts is wrong. About Cole’s drawing they bring up actual Sioux Spotted Elk. They wonder if Candie has a small case of rebellion, and if the person in the DoppelCooper New York photo was a monk or Jeffries.

Damn Fine Podcast covered Part Twelve with their guest Bren Grant, a casual fan who understands if you’re into this kind of pace the show can work for you. The last two scenes seem purposefully full-on soap opera, they absolutely loved the Dougie reminder, and are all pro-Tammy here. Carl’s “keep your blood” scene is FOREBODING. Richard Horne could STILL be Johnny’s kid, but most likely still DoppelCooper’s. With the rotary phone the hosts want to know where are we in the Audrey scene (maybe she IS on Invitation to Love), And they assume Trick was run off the road by Richard Horne leaving town.

Dark Mood Woods always does good film industry-angled conversation in right around 40 minutes, and their coverage of Part Twelve with guest Willow Maclay (she’s loving it) is no different. Willow thinks this episode is one of the better Parts because Sarah’s return brings back WHY Twin Peaks is important. And Audrey’s always been a letdown of a character and rudderless so why not here too? The hosts found the Frank/Ben scene stellar because of history, mood and acting styles (Forster’s stillness against Beymer’s ticky acting). They think the Dr. Amp scenes’ rhythm and repetition will feel right when over, that Tammy’s initiation dooms her, that the show is running right at darker material, and DoppelCooper almost ran over Trick on his way into town.

Diane covered Part Twelve beginning with the thought this was an episode about the things Mark Frost saw good in the series, and they compliment Frost as a capable enough writer he can present something that seems Lynchean (though the ceiling tile cam example they use was from Todd Holland, because everyone’s bound to get something wrong eventually). The hosts thought Tammy worked in the recruiting scene, that this was the booziest episode of Twin Peaks ever, and then talk at length of the essence of Lynch’s women characters being elusive and can’t be pinned down and that there’s a foregrounding of the symbolic aspects of femininity. They think the French girl scene may have to do with remote viewing and definitely has to do with code, and that there’s not an edge to Sarah but there is to her experiences. They think Sarah’s the Baba Yaga of Twin Peaks and think the Palmer house should be up on chicken legs by now. They mention the alcoholic’s blind spot that the bottle is its own trauma, that selling blood is taboo pretty much everywhere outside of America, and they expected to see Audrey with some kind of deformity. The hosts note how the show isn’t getting its energy from characters and interpersonal drama anymore, that “there are bigger things pushing us around these days.” They all have a sense of tragedy that Audrey isn’t conquering the world. They end the show with some listener questions, among them “who exactly is a Bookhouse Boy,” where they call out Carl Rodd for serious and for comedy they say Wally Brando is a secret agent Bookhouse Boy.

Drink Full and Descend began covering Part Eleven by saying there was no Janey-E or DoppelCooper yet they were fully entertained. Per the threnedy music cue in the background, the hosts believe there’s a parallel between Becky’s emotional explosion, and the bomb in Part Eight, most likely that a cycle is beginning again. They noted the key on Gersten’s neck, that Cole and Albert have been around the likes of the woodsmen and vortex house before, that the zombie girl was literally referencing the Shining and Exorcist at the same time (and bet she’s frog/locust infected), and shine a light on Dana Ashbrook’s stellar face acting. They marveled the Part balanced humor, dark and action cop stuff so well, think Cole and Albert are setting Diane up, that Candie may  be trolling the Mitchums, and wonder if Diane’s drunk, speaking in code, or just plain lying most of the time. Dougie saying “dead” prompted the hosts to believe he and DoppelCooper share memories somehow. The hosts also dig into the true origins of Las Vegas and explain why it’s actually a great pairing with Twin Peaks and Lynch.

Endgame Podcasts covered Part Eleven with guest Jenny On The Job and they assume Becky’s freakout must have everything to do with proximity to the lodge. Based on Bobby’s turnaround the hosts can see how they would’ve let Stephen happen to Becky hoping for the same kind of behavior change. Norma’s learned from Hank with her quick “turn out the lights”, Red gives Shelly a personality shift, the hosts give another vote for zombie girl being a callback to the frog/locust from Part Eight, and they don’t think the electricity/fire thing quite lines up. They go into the Mitchum scenes and a general take on product placement, note how Candie seems to be cued to the piano music just like Cooper, and then the hosts go through their incomplete list of things that need resolutions by the end.

Fish In The Percolator covered Parts Ten and Eleven in two different episodes. In Part Ten, Richard’s reflection gave the hosts a Bob vibe, and they wouldn’t be shocked to discover the Mitchums were from Twin Peaks. They found Duncan Todd extremely expository and Anthony came on STRONG to the Mitchums, who the hosts think it would hysterical if they turned out to be legitimate businessmen. They couldn’t believe Johnny’s freaky teddy bear was still in one piece after Richard blew through. They wax poetic about how great Catherine Coulson was in and out of the show, and then we go onto Part Eleven. They loved Carl’s Willy Wonka ride, are Team Bobby for hero of the show, and are the first Podcast to acknowledge the yakuza activity at the RR from before. They think Deputy Jessie is the new Andy, and Cole may get possessed at the end of all this. They call next episode being when Tammy gets brought into the fold, and Hawk’s “you don’t want to know about that” non-explanation BUGGED them. The Mitchums are the new Horne brothers down to the food interest, and they don’t know if Mullins is simple or just too optimistic. The hosts give off an irreverent vibe but they do well picking out the hidden details that become most important later on.

The somewhat beaten-down hosts of Formica Table began their Part Eleven coverage by saying it was highly enjoyable and the opening sequence of the kids finding Marian was the best of the Return. They thought Becky and Stephen were the dark side of Lula and Sailor, and brought up Alicia Witt by way of that one good Hotel episode. They noted how political this season’s been, and how they want to take scissors to the editing. Also, keep an open mind but it appears Diane’s gone to the dark side. They lamented how Diane was a true protagonist at the end of Part Seven and now she’s someone we watch for signs. The hosts were dying for that piano scene at the end to let them care, begging it to make them care but the lack of interplay between characters couldn’t force it.

The Gifted and The Damned covered Part Twelve after doing their regular show reviews etc. The hosts got serious Ben and Catherine vibes from Audrey and Charlie, and gave credit for Dougie’s throw game scene not being Languid Lynch. The hosts didn’t think we NEEDED the Blue Rose task force explanation, think Tammy may end up a decoy, plant or bait, and remember how Albert and Gordon used to be a scene’s spices but now they’re the Cooper and Harry of the piece. The Sarah grocery store scene is exactly what Bubba was expecting Twin Peaks to be. The Audrey stuff is anti-nostalgia, and is there a false hope for seeing Harry?

How’s Annie Podcast covered Part Ten and split the difference (one host loved the character moments, the other thought too questions vs answers made it his least favorite). They think Sparkle is black lodge drugs and that it brings the Bob metaphor back to the evil that men do. They dodge consent issues for complimenting the acting of MacLachlan and Watts, specifically call out Richard Horne’s narcissism when getting what he wants at all costs, and wonder if Richard stole Jerry’s car. Also, Diane sure seems evil.

Laura Palmer is Dead covered Part Eleven with Nate as a regular co-host now. They call out the hyper-reactions everywhere beginning with Becky, and through the episode went on a tear making awkward references to Gingers beginning with Gersten (don’t think it was mean-spirited per se but it was really noticeable). They think Donna being Richard Horne’s mom would be such a cop-out, say that Cole sees “dugpas in the vortex,” and wonder if Laura Palmer had been “freed from her burdens.” Tammy is misused in The Return, and the host thinks Sycamore references around gateways is “Lynch being sloppy.” They think the Double-R has good terrorist/gun attack drills DOWN, that the Experiment/Mother symbol may be for a location rather than an entity, and that literal lodge mythology explanations go all the way back to Cooper’s first dream when MIKE mentions living above the convenience store. They call out Szymon’s for having the location in New York as well, and one of the co-hosts explains the giant pie box this way: “If you’re dreaming, the box is big so you’ll remember that you have it.”

Lodgers covered Part Ten without a guest and declared it a showcase of the blackest parts of the Return, and there’s more tonal whiplash here as well. Neither host was prepared for how upsetting it was, and after time they realized it was a STRONG episode, though there’s a brazen statement that we’re not much further than where we started. They note the noticeable pattern of repetitions, and compare favorably to Game of Thrones:  GoT is a fan service delivery system; The Return is anything but, and this is a higher level. Only Lynch can get away with the sheer physicality of Richard Horne’s brutality, and the hosts think the Return is a statement on violence: it’s everywhere, not just supernatural, not just one generation, and it just keeps coming back. And it’s not focused on just Laura this time, though when Candie hits a man it’s treated much differently. The hosts wish Janey’s total “seduction” of Dougie could’ve happened so there weren’t consent issues raised, but the two DO have an intimacy and it’s kind of nice the seduction remained private for them. The hosts think Gordon getting the Laura vision almost 100% proves that Gordon will die at the end, and they find it interesting that the show spins all over but simultaneously recenters around Laura.

Mr. Podcast With Claude and Justin covered Part Eleven in their latest six-hour-long podcast, and began with an interesting question: are the other pink girls WORSE at their jobs than Candie is? They noticed the pace of returning to plot threads has gotten faster recently, that Diane’s probably ACTING when badly memorizing coordinates, and noted how wood and fire have been part of the show since the beginning with the mill then brought in the Prometheus myth to the conversation. They have a giant tangent over what is and isn’t contrivance mostly settling on you won’t know for sure until it’s all over. They’re the second podcast to refer to Dougie as Chicken Boo, they think production issues cause at least half of what we think of as embedded “codes”, and wonder where in that vortex house exactly was Major Briggs hiding. The hosts, noting how lady slot-addict doesn’t have a name yet while some casino employees do, would love to hear the other story that is the specific production of this show, as far as why they made the arbitrary choices they did down to the names in the credits that are for some reason obviously part of the puzzle. I like what these guys choose to think about and enjoy how they discuss things, just figure out the time commitment before you listen.

Peaked (with a Lynch fanboy and Lynch skeptic as hosts) covered Parts Eleven and Twelve in two separate podcasts. They love how Becky was portrayed at the beginning of Part Eleven and noted the same crunching noises as Part Eight for Hastings’ off-camera death. The hosts assume “I guess we found out” meant something otherworldly was happening, and about Shelly they say she’s been “hypnotized by her cocaine wizard.” They note how sins are passed down the generations from the hunter father to the gun shooting kid, and also from Bobby and Shelly to Becky. And Bobby just wants his family back but after the gunshots he’s presented with the current state of America, even with an undercurrent of dark comedy. Michael Horse “made his own maguffin map”, Cole and Albert are luring Diane, and Phil Bisby lures Dougie with coffee. It was a Cooper Voice saying “damn good” about the pie, and the hosts want the sheriffs in the lodge by the end. In their Part Twelve coverage, they note how Tammy’s good here, so Tammy’s going to die? Was Carl a statement on social media (you can’t feed your family on likes)? If Audrey and DoppelCooper are NOT Richard Horne’s parents this will go down as the biggest red herring ever. They love that Ben’s really changed, think asking about the Dougie ring is what Cole and Albert are missing, they think Dr. Amp is becoming more poignant with repetition, and they have no choice but to connect Billy to the diner guy asking for a Billy. They love that Twin Peaks is finally connected to Buckhorn by way of Diane’s coordinates, though one of the hosts quit at the roadhouse table scene. “I stopped, I didn’t care.” From Audrey on, all the massed momentum was just killed. What was the point of all that? They’re not pessimistic it won’t turn into something more, but why was it executed like it was?

Peaks TV covered Parts Eleven and Twelve in one podcast, and found relief that the kids playing catch were only traumatized by finding Miriam rather than ran over. The hosts found a lot of touching human drama in these two parts, especially relating to Bobby. Shelly’s troubling, especially if Red doesn’t have her under some supernatural spell. There were so many great reactions to Hastings’ death, and Dougie is Forest Gump: Mob Edition. They like the softer version of Albert in the return, think Sarah might be suffering from dementia (and that she’s ’56 Girl for sure), and notes Lynch seems self aware of his younger woman thing it’s just not dealt with great. The hosts also worry about Lynch’s luxuriation of scenes and his repetitions, and wonder if the emperor has clothes on. They don’t think the Nadine/Jacoby/Roadhouse scenes have any meaning, they’re just for color. And you can have a ton of new names in a Roadhouse scene and it can still work, but not when it’s in that Audrey scene, which was the exact opposite of Better Call Saul’s Breaking Bad character introductions.

Sparkwood & 21 covered Part Twelve in one podcast followed by their top-notch listener feedback discussion in another podcast. They noted Chet Desmond is official a real character, think the dying woman who named the Blue Rose cases was talking about a vortex at night forming the shape of a blue rose. They think Diane’s entrance had lodge drape sound cues and they think she’s on her own, not in league with DoppelCooper. They wonder if Jerry Horne, finally out of the woods, got to his car and he’s the one who almost ran over Trick, They think Sarah may be Bobbed, may have been panic attacked, or there may be some third personality in play, though they do bring up the turkey in the corn. This episode was made up of nothing but conversations…the only action was Jerry getting out of the woods and Dougie and Sonny Jim playing throw. Could Candie’s real name be Linda? There are purple roses by Miriam and she was panned up like Ronnette, and the hosts (and my family too) thought it could’ve been Audrey so another proof for Lynch and Frost second guessing us. Ben had a father and has become good but Richard did not and has not, the hosts noticed that theme this episode. The French woman was Lil reminiscent, and Albert in that scene could be us watching Twin Peaks. Did it hypnotize Albert? Chantal’s just hungry so maybe the magic’s gone in hers and Hutch’s relationship, and the Dr. Amp scene may be a statement on belief but it was also misdirection setting us up for anything but Audrey. She and Charley have a Pete & Catherine vibe except we don’t have a soft spot for Charley yet. And like it or not the hosts really put together a solid connect-the-dots of the people’s names that could easily and plausibly connect Audrey’s situation well to Twin Peaks. They think the Roadhouse scenes take Twin Peaks’ temperature and show us how screwed up the town really is. In their feedback episode, they fielded listener concerns and questions and make us feel like we’re all hanging out in a room talking things out. Everything comes up from Audrey’s stuck in one place to the stain next to the woodsmen in the vortex house is probably from the nuclear blast, to Jacoby’s 9th Circle of Hell comment dissected, to heady theories and real world psychological terms that have everything to do with fortifying our Twin Peaks knowledge. Top notch as ever.

Time For Cherry Pie and Coffee (a subheading of the Time For Cakes and Ales podcast) have three podcasts in this column: Part Eleven, My Pod Has A Message From You, and Part Twelve. In their Part Eleven Coverage, the hosts feel like the stories are coming together, let’s start the third act. They note (in an episode that doesn’t include Janey or DoppelCooper) Marion has a Left Eye Injury, something weird has happened to the Hayward family, Cole’s vortex moment is localized, and they connect the Hastings death to New York, Red, and ’56. Conspiracy and plot threads are not far apart with the Ruth coordinates scene and the hosts think Cole and Albert are trapping Diane. They notice the exact mirror of Shelly and Red just outside the RR with Beck and Stephen in the car except this time it’s night and there’s electricity humming. Mark Frost built in a gun control moment, and the hosts connect car horn lady’s late for dinner, possibly with the Morgans, which is probably lively. Hawk’s living map connects electricity with fire but doesn’t explain Experiment at all. Deputy Jessie and Candie are similarly spaced out. Has Cole told Albert to keep an eye on Diane AND Diane to keep an eye on Albert? They see the Vegas strands wrapping up, and noted the Mitchums are from an orphanage so therefore they pick up strays? During the Starring Kyle MacLachlan credit, a lamp flickers. Is something announcing its presences? The next podcast is called My Pod Has A Message From You, which is a listener questions episode. They field a theory that there’s a ten-day differential between Cooper’s body arriving here and his consciousness so Cooper may just wake suddenly when it arrives. They also guess what roll Laura Palmer will play, share funniest moments, Arthurian references (most in Vegas), explain a thought about the threnedy music being used in Becky’s gun scene saying to us that could’ve easily ended in terrible tragedy and also that a cycle is repeating. Dougie’s stairs and ladders drawings on the case files may be genuinely prophetic later on, mention that callbacks echo both forward and backwards in the return, and that Parts One and Two have set up a LOT that still hasn’t been paid off. The hosts think Hawk and Margaret must talk somewhat regularly, Laura’s agency is discussed, they want Andy’s chair to be delivered, and they want to see Bushnell Mullins punch someone. In their Part Twelve coverage, the hosts think it might be a catch-up episode to line the various plots where they need to be, and also that Audrey’s story may have been put near the end because it wouldn’t have held up if drawn out like the others. Also, this was the false start of the third act though there are scenes of TREMENDOUS importance. Chet Desmond’s officially real, they deputized Diane so she can stay in the story, and “Let’s rock” set tone but not context. IS Jerry out of the woods, or is he just in a clearing? Does Sarah freak out over the turkey jerky just because it takes her out of her very narrow routine, and was she talking about woodsmen and the convenience store? They wonder if she has an inhabiting spirit or an albatross on her neck, and wonders if the jerky is giving her PTSD from Leland’s under the surface issues (which I quoted and added to here), and they figure Sarah hasn’t been released from her trauma by anyone (Laura hasn’t appeared to her to say you can go now) and she’s somehow being kept captive in that house. They noticed bird shadows in the Dougie/Sonny Jim scene that reminded the hosts of the flying shadows in the red room scenes. The hosts also notice no mention of contacting Richard Horne’s parents. Donna/DoppelCooper is a meta theory I could get behind, the French girl scene is a Lil code which the hosts do a fine job inturpreting but Albert may have only seen at face value. Dr. amp brought a sadness this go-around, then Audrey’s just there. They’re not prepared to take Audrey’s scene at face value.

Twin Peaks Log covered Part Nine a bit late, yet they’re still the first to mention the Eisenhower picture in the room where Johnny ran his head into the wall. The hosts were expecting Richard Horne but didn’t get bim. They also think we might have Dougie to the end though they’re worried about Janey-E. They loved the Bobby moments best.

Twin Peaks Peeks covered Part Eleven with their guest Jess Lane (who’s pro-John Justice Wheeler so I like her already). The hosts talk about binging vs watching week to week, how Becky has Bobby’s aggression, and they can tell the show’s having so much fun bringing back older characters like Gersten. Bobby saw himself in that gun shooting boy, the hosts thought it was less than investigative bring pit that living map, and they compare Twin Peaks to True Detective (hint: only one of them gives you supernatural blue balls). They’re surprised they like Belushi, really want to see Sarah Palmer in the next Part, and they think the waiting room (probably black lodge) is actively righting wrongs while not just protecting Cooper.

The Twin Peaks Podcast covered Parts Eleven and Twelve each in their own podcast. Part Eleven had their guest Stephanie who writes mystery novels and therefore spends a ton of time breaking down character motiviations, how characters could and should interact with others, and how the storytelling is working vs where it could be going. She only knows as much as the rest of us but the way she was asking questions (why kill Hastings but not the rest of them, what kind of info are we supposed to get from this show) made me think of the show from different muscle groups than I usually use. She was a great guest for sure who came in with zero expectations and she’s still feeling good about it. The process is the joy, and that can be more meaningful than the answers. And catharsis comes from if you accept Dougie where he’s at now. She made freak counterpoint to the hosts, who miss the whimsical and are still not thrilled with the product we’re getting. The pod has mostly become about the defense of those opinions, where people feel safe saying they’re frustrated over the show. Which in itself isn’t a bad thing until they start attacking the Lynch-can-do-no-wrong crowd (the OTHER extreme group of people I’ve never met in person) all over in their coverage of Part Twelve who had on guest Evan. They came up with the turkey jerky being a woodsman startup, noticed the narrative is a bunch of random scenes, ask a recurring question if this scene has given us anything we didn’t know before, and asked if Audrey was actually in a play, but these points are lost as they spend their whole episode attack part of the fan base they perceive somehow has no issues with the show. We all have issues with the show, your frustrations are valid and worth talking about, but please TPP stop the constant attack on your show toward the small-but-loud minority of Lynch Backers. It’s unbecoming and it really gets in the way of episode discussion.

Twin Peaks The Return covered Part Twelve with guests Thambi Suddell and Jess Pinney, who both actually love Tammy. The hosts wonder if Diane might actually be working for Denise, and if Diane’s clothes tell the chronological sequence of the Buckhorn story. They think a meta message of “stop looking into this show so much, enjoy the bordeaux” may be in play, and yet the French girl still delivers a Lil message. The Carl “keep your blood scene” may be a nod to The Straight Story as well as a sign of continuing decay. There is Paternalism all over this Part, and Ben works hard to make sure New Ben is always what people think of him. They field the Audrey scene as if it’s in Twin Peaks and there’s no talk of alternate realities etc. The Chromatics’ bass player still has on the Owl Ring, and theory fish asks if Audrey is captured  in the lodge or if she’s the mayor and Charlie is a Milford in charge of the Post.

Twin Peaks Rewatch covered Parts Eleven and Twelve in separate podcasts. The hosts loved Part Eleven and get excited to see Bobby every time now, and from the diner scene to the car horn it’s a generation-spanning culmination of dread and bad decisions. The zombie girl moved like Annie in the season two finale, and no one including us are supposed to know what Albert and Gordon are talking about. Echoes and resonances are happening more often and strangely, Hawk’s “you don’t need to know about that” was frustrating and possibly bad storytelling, and the Vegas scenes are so Breaking Bad it’s noticeable but why? In their Part Twelve coverage the hosts make fun of themselves a while for calling a band aid a wound, wonder if Audrey’s being gaslighted, Sarah definitely has PTSD, and before the show’s over its hard to make judgements on things like the warden’s kid coming out as he’s killed. The moon covered by clouds is the Return’s stoplight image, and they’d like to see positivity in the face of all the darkness.

Twin Peaks Unwrapped released their previously recorded interview with Sherilyn Fenn, who is at work promoting No Man’s Land and writing her autobiography. She really goes in on the Lara Flynn Boyle controversy and Lynch-wasn’t-there-in-the-second-season, but also verifies there was never going to be Audrey/Bobby. She asks “who wants to wear a mask all the time” and thinks kids are our teachers, otherwise we pass our screwed up issues down. They ended on a nice conversation about faith. In their normal weekly episode, the hosts cover Part Twelve wrh the help of Twin Peaks Fest attendees as they record at the actual Roadhouse. Scott Ryan and John Thorne were there too, if for nothing else than Scott attributing the death of the Dream Theory. We hear q&a moments interspersed, such as Sabrina Sutherland talking how Miguel Ferrer needed to work weekends so production needed to be restructured to accommodate. Had Sarah been to the convenience store and that’s why she’s confused at the grocery store? The coordinates reminded a guest of the golden orb, they ask if ANNIE’s kid (with the Good Cooper) is Linda, was that really Audrey we saw, and Wendy Robie gives all the credit of the Return being made to the fans. Chrysta Bell’s performance of the Polish Poem ends the recording. I’m glad this event was immortalized in a podcast…it paints the scene well and this year’s was an important one to have in our memories. Thank you, Ben and Bryon.

We’re Not Going To Talk About Judy (a subheading of the Another Kind of Distance podcast) began their coverage of Part Twelve with ruffled feathers because they were set up by the internet for expectations, and the only big thing was Audrey is here(!) except she disappoints. They discus the implausible farcical nature of Lynch as a ladies’ man, and they read literally nothing supernatural in Sarah Palmer’s grocery store scene, crediting her as having an episode, she tried to collect herself, had a fugue, and there’s nothing anyone there could do for those kind of folks having a fugue. These hosts utterly fascinate me when they only see the literal and are emphatically oblivious to that metaphysical higher space also in the mix. They think Sherilyn Fenn is still all Liz Taylor, and think of Audrey and Charley as the new Pete and Catherine. Libertarian values match up with Jacoby’s Amp rants, and also David Lynch’s own views (he wants no rules anywhere but for traffic). The hosts are all over the place with the show knowledge they remember and the stuff they forget, but their unique thought processes also lead them to connect different tangents than anyone else.

Wrapped In Podcast covered Part Twelve with its usual hefty gusto, beginning with the same Ken/Jeff Fallis name mix-up I made in one of my articles (probably just to make me feel better). They now have a funny sound cue for every time Kyle brings up color notes, which is funny and sensible, and they declared the Deer Meadow Dream Theory no more while shoeing the Blue Rose origin into Secret History. They note Lynch’s dismissal of Windom Earle’s name, and call out the Jeffries/Bureau office music cue from Fire Walk With Me is playing during the Sarah Palmer Grocery Store scene as a sign that Sarah’s staving off a dislocation of her own, possibly a transfer between two worlds? The Carl scene hangs up the hosts who thought he was the trailer park owner before but now seems like an intermediary landlord type only because otherwise he’d just pay these people at the beginning. The hosts thematically connect Audrey’s comment about her bleeding lover in a dream with Carl’s “keep your blood.” With the Hawk/Sarah scene the hosts wonder if the Palmer house is the weak link between realities, and they’re wondering if Ben ISN’T the most noble guy after all. Cole seems to be primed to die. The French woman makes four Parts in a row with red shoes, the presence/absence of fathers is spotlighted this episode, and trauma’s lingering presence is showcased as well from the Warden’s boy to Sarah herself. The hosts dig into Jacoby’s 9th Circle of Hell reference, which could just as easily refer to an owl story in the Access Guide as to Windom Earle, as to anyone treasonous. They wonder if the Audrey scene WAS her rehearsing for dinner theater, and have to assume the two Billy’s mentioned in the show so far are the same Billy. They also offer a theory that there was a truthful Diane before Part Eight and only a cagey Diane since Part Eight. What’s changed since then? Bob was removed from DoppelCooper. Does that mean he could be in Diane now? The hosts think since we’re not in full downhill mode now that we are being taught not everything will be resolved at the end of The Return, and that Lynch may resolve absolutely nothing. But this undervalues Frost’s contribution. “As long as they don’t end up in heaven, I’ll be fine.”

 

I wasn’t able to get to a large number of podcasts but they’ll be in next week’s column just like I always do. And I’ve enlisted help from the 25YL team to get me back in top timeliness. The list of podcasts I couldn’t get to this week are: (covering parts 11 and 12)
Lodgers, Brad Dukes Show, (covering part 12), Twin Peaks Peeks, Who Killed Laura Podcast, Drink Full and Descend, I’m Worried About Coop, Fire Talk With Me, There Will Be Drinking, Endgame Podcasts, Boob Tube Buddies, Bookhouse Podcast, covering parts 10 and 11) Twin Peaks Revival, Twin Peaks Log, Fire Cast With Us, (covering part 11) Ghostwood, How’s Annie, and Chopping Wood Inside (pt 13 preview) and Counter Esperanto (their episode 17). I apologize but I am one man and you are legion. Again I say, I’m bringing help next week.

Not on the list but you released a podcast last week? Leave a comment here so I can add you into my listening schedule. The Twin Peaks community needs to know about you!

Written by John Bernardy

John Bernardy has been writing for 25YL since before the site went public and he’s loved every minute. The show most important to him is Twin Peaks. He is husband to a damn fine woman, father to two fascinating individuals, and their pet thinks he’s a good dog walker.

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