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<\/p>\nThere are many brilliant episodes of Twin Peaks,<\/i> and Episode 2 is definitely in the top five in terms of quality. Although it can be argued that a few may be stronger, this one will always mean the most to me because it was the first one I ever saw. My dad watched the first series when it originally aired, telling me about how he and his friends would watch it together week to week with an Indian takeaway and then go to bed and have weird dreams. Ironically, he still had this particular episode recorded from the TV on an old VHS tape, and it deals with the theme of dreams more so than any other. I distinctly remember him showing it to me at a young age, and it made an indelible impression that hasn\u2019t faded since.<\/p>\n
The iconic, earth-shattering dream sequence at the climax of the episode was unlike anything I\u2019d seen on TV before or since, and I remember my dad laughing at how stunned I was by it when it finished. I can only imagine how much more of an impact it must have had on audiences some 10 years or so before I got to see it. However, although the infamous dream sequence is certainly the highlight, the whole episode is packed with memorable moments and other scenes that accentuate its dreamlike feel. The Log Lady sets the tone from the start in her intro, where she explicitly states, \u201cSome ideas arrive in the form of a dream,\u201d something she feels the need to repeat and emphasise.<\/p>\n
This is a vital part of the first series. The Pilot (a film in itself) and the first episode have already introduced the characters, along with the titular town, and established the tone. The show is still building up at this point, but this is the first opportunity the audience gets to really settle in and immerse themselves in the mythology, the essence of Twin Peaks<\/i>. It\u2019s no coincidence that David Lynch himself is directing\u2014he wasn’t on duty for the previous or the following episode, so there must have been something special that appealed to him about this one. He\u2019s always been an exponent of the unconscious mind, whether it\u2019s through dream logic that helps him to create or transcendental meditation, for which he is a global ambassador.<\/p>\n
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This feeling is established from the very long, drawn-out opening shot of the Horne family eating dinner in silence. Simply allowing the scene to linger with no dialogue (just the ambient sounds of cutlery against plates) for so long says so much without any unnecessary words uttered. It tells you all you need to know about the family\u2019s dynamics and their tense relationships, juxtaposed by the irritating bravado between Benjamin and his annoying brother Jerry when he bursts in\u2014although their childish behaviour does offset the darker themes of the episode nicely, albeit in a quirky way. The dark undertone is present though, especially as they make their way by boat to their brothel\/casino, One-Eyed Jack\u2019s, to the backdrop of Laura’s theme, one of my favourite pieces of the score.<\/p>\n
The way the girls who work at Jack\u2019s parade out to display themselves and the cavalier way the Horne brothers toss a coin to see who gets the new girl is unsettling, especially after the statement that she’s \u201cfreshly scented form the perfume counter,\u201d having been poached from their very own department store. It\u2019s sinister, predatory behaviour that you don’t expect to find in this pleasant town. This is just one of a few ways the episode begins to reveal the seedy underbelly of Twin Peaks. Another is Bobby and Mike\u2019s nightmarish meeting with Leo in the woods. The former venture out at night, therefore it\u2019s pitch-black aside from their torchlight.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard to convey to other city folk like myself just how dark it gets in these small American towns at night. When my partner and I went to visit the filming locations for the show, we often got lost trying to drive back to where we were staying, as the roads were barely lit; so try to imagine the intense fear and isolation you\u2019d feel wandering around in pitch-black woods at night with nothing but a torch that would only attract attention. We find out that they\u2019re out there for a drug deal that\u2019s gone wrong, and tensions are high. Leo greets them with a shotgun and tells Mike to take his hand out of his pocket. It\u2019s yet another exchange in quick succession that you don\u2019t expect to see.<\/p>\n
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During the meeting, we also get one of the biggest, unresolved mysteries in the show, as a masked man is seen prowling in the distance through the trees. When Bobby asks Leo if someone is with him, he gives a strange reply (\u201cNever mind\u201d) that doesn\u2019t confirm it one way or the other. The only hint there is to the man\u2019s identity is that he\u2019s wearing similar attire and the same kind of balaclava that Leland wears when he attacks Dr. Jacoby in a later episode. We can then only assume this is also Leland, and that he\u2019s been stalking residents of the town for a lot longer than we\u2019re led to believe later on\u2014an interesting notion indeed. This is a perfect tease to peak curiosity in the viewer.<\/p>\n
Other triggers include Hawk telling Cooper about the One-Armed Man, Audrey\u2019s note with a reference to One-Eyed Jack\u2019s, and the scene where Cooper and Harry inspect the bloody rag. The other main theme of the show, that of the soap opera, is represented by James and Donna\u2019s blossoming love affair. James is over at the Hayward house for a saccharine dinner followed by intense words and kisses after her parents have gone to bed. The closeup shots of their faces together as they\u2019re talking are reminiscent of a similar moment in the Pilot just before they bury Laura\u2019s necklace in the woods. This whole part of the story is echoed in the TV soap within the show, Invitation to Love<\/i>, and by including this the writers are hanging a lantern on it in a meta way.<\/p>\n
What the episode also boasts is the memorable rock-throwing scene. It\u2019s a \u201cdeductive technique\u201d that Cooper says came to him in a dream, directly referencing The Log Lady in her intro. Everything about the scene is exquisitely unique and surreal, from the unused seats set up in front of the blackboard to Hawk\u2019s oven mitts with which he holds the bucket of rocks. By setting up a bottle at a distance, saying the names and relationships to Laura for each of the suspects aloud to each rock, and then casting them at the bottle, the technique utilises \u201cmind-body coordination operating hand-in-hand with the deepest levels of intuition.\u201d What\u2019s more, it works, as we find out later that what happens with each throw perfectly represents how much each suspect has to do with Laura\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
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The way the scene is edited, with each character flashing up before each throw, is exciting and builds up to a climax when he smashes the bottle. It\u2019s such an effective way to link dream logic with reality and Laura\u2019s case; it adds yet another layer to the theme of dreams in the episode. Yet another memorable moment is Audrey\u2019s beautiful dance in the Double R Diner. It tells us a lot about her character, and before doing it, Audrey exclaims, \u201cDon\u2019t you just love this music? Isn\u2019t it too dreamy?\u201d before getting up and gently swaying in a trance-like way to the song suitably titled \u201cDance of the Dream Man.\u201d Notice a pattern at all? The episode isn\u2019t subtle with its symphony of references to dreams in a m\u00e9lange of different ways.<\/p>\n
Leland continues the theme of dancing as he spins around his living room holding Laura\u2019s picture. He seems beside himself with grief, and when Sarah tries to stop him, they fall and break the picture, leaving a mess of glass and blood. Sarah shouts, \u201cWhat is going on in this house?!\u201d and then repeats and emphasises it, much like The Log Lady\u2019s intro once again. This is clearly a reference to the supernatural elements of the story and is a perfect build-up to Cooper\u2019s dream sequence. No matter how many times I see it, it always catches me off guard, as if there\u2019s no right time for it to emerge. It\u2019s so wonderfully surreal and always excites me as the scene starts.<\/p>\n
Everything about it is innovative, from the editing of the light flashes and sound effects to the dialogue. Sarah’s descent down the stairs, shouting Laura\u2019s name in slow motion is haunting, as well as the infamous \u201cFire Walk With Me\u201d poem. For the pi\u00e8ce de r\u00e9sistance, we enter the Red Room for the first time and thankfully not the last. The set design and art direction for the space also known as The Black Lodge have to be the greatest achievement in the field. From the iconic chevron floor and red drapes to the Art Deco chairs and Venus de’Medici statue, everything about it is compelling. As if this wasn\u2019t enough, the actions and dialogue match the set with an achingly simple but effective use of actors being filmed moving and talking backwards and then playing the footage in reverse.<\/p>\n
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What it creates is a strange, uncanny type of movement and distorted speech that requires subtitles. The Little Man From Another Place and Laura, unbeknownst to anyone at the time, provide clues to Cooper that end up being pearls of wisdom, and the former dances in an odd way, tripling the dancing in this episode (a large clue in itself). Seeing Cooper interact with the girl whose murder he\u2019s trying to solve is a unique and metaphysical motif. The sequence was originally filmed for the European version of the Pilot, as they thought that audience needed it to have an ending for a self-contained film<\/a>. The fact that Lynch and the writers masterfully weave it back in later shows they knew exactly what they were doing.<\/p>\n The episodes Lynch directs are the most dangerous and otherworldly, yet also playful. The dream sequence was apparently an improvised scene, like visual poetry, but it\u2019s crucial. Not only does it drive the plot narratively, as it contains a code that will help Cooper solve Laura’s case, but the way it’s filmed makes it a revolutionary game-changer as well. The Lodge space itself will be the metaphysical place that anchors the town to supernatural forces. As the entrance to it is hidden deep in the woods that surround Twin Peaks, Cooper dreams of it soon after he arrives there, as he\u2019s so in touch with the mystical; much of the original two series are about his journey from his own dream of it to its physical manifestation, and what trials await him there.<\/p>\n In Fire Walk With Me <\/i>and throughout The Return<\/i>, everything\u00a0<\/i>Cooper does is tied to the Lodge. In the former, Laura also has her own dream of entering it through The Dutchman\u2019s, also known as \u201cthe space above the convenience store.\u201d We see the Little Man and BOB cross over easily from one to the other, showing how there are multiple entrances to this dark dimension; this is cemented further when we see Gordon Cole find another such portal in North Dakota in The Return<\/i>. Lynch uses these mysterious spaces to whip fans up into a frenzy, teasing us with just short trips into them that leave us with as many questions as before we entered. What we clamour for is a deep exploration of this other world that\u2019s parallel to ours, but even when we get one, it\u2019s never what we expect it to be.<\/p>\n