The Fourteenth Hour Of Twin Peaks The Return Is A Welcome, Fiery Comeback

"We've come to the end of a long walk, Pete." 

Like a long held breath, the fourteenth hour of Lynch's 18 hour event is a most delicious of exhales.

Burning rubber with Albert at long last explaining the origin of the Blue Rose, and dropping the names of those involved, this is an episode that is both an incredible wealth of core Peaks mythology, but also the most propulsive storytelling the show has displayed since the start thirteen hours prior. And the bombs continue by way of the connections between Diane and Dougie Jones laid out for all to hear. And the concept of a tulpa, or rather the means of creating someone seemingly out of nowhere for the purposes of manipulation upon our plane of existence. Beings like those who came about during the Blue Rose case, like Dougie, like Bob. 

Meanwhile, the law at last catches up with Chad.(Thank Science), and also begins its trek deep into the woods as Bobby leads them toward "Jackrabbit's Palace". Easily for me, one of the defining series of dramatic images this incredible series has been generous enough to grant us. Lynch, understands the gravity of this entire sequence, as Bobby, Frank, Hawk, and Andy at last are confronted by forces none of them are prepared to comprehend. Both wondrous and suspenseful, the scene surprises by both who encounters these otherworldly beings, and who they leave with. It's a set of choices that once seen, make perfect sense to the overall story, and is satisfying in ways unexpected. The post script to the sequence being that the town, and everyone in it are at last dead in the center of something major that is just around the bend..

And can we give a huge shout out to Andy Brennan with this episode? Once again, like Bobby, we are at last seeing the good rise regardless of the dark that surrounds the cast. It too also feels perfectly organic to the Andy we've known since 1990. Our heroes are truly lucky to have such innocence in their corner. It's an earnest bit of climactic narrative that could continue to surprise. 

Then there's Freddie(Jake Wardle)'s strange tale of the whys of his journey from cartooniest Britain to Twin Peaks, Washington. A tale of destiny that comes hot on the heels of learning the name of the Giant; The Fireman. A scene that is both welcome in its patience, and charming enough to make viewers become James, listening intently to this bloke's wild story. It's pretty clear, Freddie's gloved hand of justice will be making a crucial appearance later. It's such a fun little scene that we almost forget that these guys are in fact doing security work for the Great Northern. Where that strange sound continues to emit from deep within the bowels of the hotel. 

And ending this incredible comeback of a segment by giving us both one of the most overtly horror-esque moments in Lynch history, and potentially important reveals regarding Sarah Palmer, is what makes this one of the strongest hours of the entire series' run. Juxtaposed with how we saw Laura in the lodge hours before, Sarah seems to be another shade of the exact same color. It also drives home Lynch's own feelings regarding toxic masculinity in public places. It helps close things on an anticipatory high.

But let's get back to our friends of the Blue Rose Society, where Gordon further fills the others in on further goings on, including recalling apparently one of many Monica Belluci dreams. And in it, she imparts to him a passage that is possibly at the deepest heart of The Return, and possibly Twin Peaks as a whole,

 "We're like the dreamer..

Who dreams, and then lives inside the dream.. "

But who is the dreamer?

Circles are almost complete. It's near time for summation. Beyond mere economic concerns, the episode seems more about preparing for a final wind-up. The end is coming fast. And despite a few bumpy parts along the way, this journey has been endlessly rewarding. It remains such a shock that this exists. Nothing in theaters this summer has quite come close to being this heartfelt, courageous, insane, frightening or exciting. Every hour has been a gift. And like my love for much of the original, I'm perfectly happy with closing this book soon..