Resolutions are coming at a faster pace, in a mixture of baffling, heartwarming, and heartbreaking.  It’s exactly what I was hoping would happen once we arrived at the third act of the season, and it underscores the notion that this is the grand finale of the Twin Peaks saga.  I can’t begin to imagine why there would need to be more, given how many mysteries are being brought to an end.

 

 

For example, there is what appears to be the final statement on the love triangle of Big Ed, Norma, and Nadine.  I suppose it makes sense that Dr. Jacoby/Dr. Amp is the one to get through to Nadine after all this time, but it does seem to come out of left field.  It even feels like this is something that could all too easily be reversed.  But no matter how minor a subplot it has been, it’s good to see blue skies ahead for Big Ed and Norma, and it brings a sense of closure to their story.  (This is especially true given that it was a minor miracle to get Big Ed back at all.)

 

Far more crushing is the final appearance of Margaret, The Log Lady.  Considering that Catherine Coulson was also dying at the time that filming was conducted, and how close she had always been to David Lynch, her passing is handled with a fitting amount of respect.  Not all characters received that level of consideration, so it’s actually very gratifying to see.  The episode is also dedicated to the character’s memory, which is an unusual step to be taken.

 

 

Set against these more established character dynamics and moments of closure, the seemingly neverending scene between Gretchen and Steven seems shallow and even slightly intrusive.  Not that I mind seeing a gorgeous Alicia Witt staring in wonder at the sky, but unless that bullet hole in the window of the trailer means something more ominous for Becky (and therefore Bobby and Shelley), I can’t say I’m sad that Steven is gone.

 

Meanwhile, minor players are being removed from the board, specifically those that were the middle men for Dark Cooper.  Chantal takes out Duncan Todd and Roger in a matter of minutes, and then goes on to eat fast food and ponder the violent nature of American society with Hutch.  Is this the end of their involvement with the series?  It seems unlikely, since they are in position to go after Dougie themselves, and Dark Cooper is closing in on whatever plan he has to remain outside of the Black Lodge.

 

 

The big question now is how long Dougie will continue to be Dougie.  For the first time since the third episode of the season (!), Cooper seemed to rouse out of the stupor of Dougie’s personality at the sound of Gordon Cole’s name.  One has to wonder if sticking that fork in the socket is going to be what it takes to snap Cooper out of it, or if it will delay matters until the final episode.  I suspect it will be the latter, given the title for the season and the pacing thus far (and the fact that the story was written when Kyle MacLachlan was the only confirmed returning cast member!), but this is a good sign for anyone hoping for progress on this long-fermenting plot thread.

 

The scenes with Audrey continue to be almost incomprehensible, adding to the hopes that it is merely evidence that she is still in that coma and walking through the door is a metaphor for waking up.  Would she be able to tell people what transpired between her and Dark Cooper if she did?  And if that’s not what is going on with the character, then why is her material so bizarrely disconnected from everything else happening in the story?  I’m beginning to see why Sherilynn Fenn was so unhappy with what Lynch and Frost wrote for her.

 

 

Last, but far from least, we get to see Dark Cooper’s adventures above the “convenience store”.  It was good to see that there were callbacks to Fire Walk With Me, in terms of the spaces above the store and how it looked, but it also led to what looks like the motel where Leland Palmer was supposed to meet with Theresa Banks and her girlfriends in the film. That was also a place where denizens of the Lodge appeared, so it all connects on some level.  And of course, this is where we saw what became of Philip Jeffries.

 

David Bowie’s health (and eventual death) made it impossible for him to reprise his role as Jeffries, so Lynch naturally replaced him with a life-sized cross between a Dalek and a teapot.  More importantly, we are told yet again that there is an importance to “Judy”, something Dark Cooper finds threatening, and that Dark Cooper was being manipulated by someone posing as Jeffries.  It seems that this will be a key plot point going into the final three episodes.