Fire…Blog With Me: ‘Twin Peaks’ Rewatch, Chapter 6, “Cooper’s Dreams”

David Lynch’s ground-breaking drama Twin Peaks finally returns to television with a two-part broadcast premiere on May 21, 2017 on Showtime — Episodes 3 & 4 will be immediately available to watch on Showtime’s streaming services afterwards. Join Decider as we revisit the genre-bending series in an epic rewatch leading up to the big premiere. Every Tuesday and Thursday we will tackle an original episode in an effort to conquer the entire 30-episode-long original series before the new episodes arrive. So grab a seat and get yourself some cherry pie.

Season 1, Episode 6

Title: “The One-Armed Man“
Original Airdate: May 10, 1990
Director: Leslie Linka Glatter
Writer: Mark Frost
Synopsis: Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) can’t sleep. A boisterous group of Icelanders is visiting the Great Northern Inn — another deal engineered by the Horne brothers. Leland Palmer (Ray Wise) is also still haunting the hotel. He invades a meeting between Ben (Richard Beymer) and Jerry Horne (David Patrick Kelly).

The investigation into Laura Palmer’s (Sheryl Lee) murder continues. The blood test on Leo’s (Eric Da Re) shirt comes back negative for Laura’s blood — but it could be Jacques Renault’s. Cooper also discovers a copy of Flesh World in Jacques’ apartment. It’s soon discovered that Jacques was receiving letters for ads placed in the magazine by both Ronette and Laura. Cooper also notices Leo’s truck in the advertisements section. In the end, Cooper settles on a theory that Renault was photographing Laura in a red-curtained cabin in the woods.

Bobby (Dana Ashbrook) and Shelly’s (Madchen Amick) latest afternoon hook up is interrupted when Andy (Harry Goaz) pops by from the Sheriff’s department. Shelly is able to handle him, but things get tense when Leo calls and announces he’s coming home. Bobby decides to leave the gun with Shelly — the implication is she should kill Leo. Later, Bobby’s parents bring him to Dr. Jacoby (Russ Tamblyn) for family counseling. When Jacoby is alone with Bobby, he taunts him about crying after sleeping with Laura and soon Bobby is spilling Laura’s secrets — including that Laura wanted to die. Dr. Jacoby gets Bobby to say that Laura corrupted Bobby and it’s her fault he started selling drugs.

Elsewhere, Norma (Peggy Lipton) tells Ed (Everett McGill) that Hank (Chris Mulkey) is coming home. Ed is hesitant to leave Nadine as she’s not completely well. Audrey (Sherilyn Fenn) manipulates her way to working the perfume counter at Horne’s Department Store. After a heartfelt meeting about trust, James (James Marshall) and Donna (Lara Flynn Boyle) decide to bring Maddy (Sheryl Lee) in on their secret investigation into Laura’s murder. Hank overhears the whole conversation in the diner. Later that night, Maddy discovers a cassette tape in Laura’s secret hiding spot.

Dr. Hayward (William Frost) accompanies Sheriff Truman (Michael Ontkean), Agent Cooper, and Hawk (Michael Horse) to a cabin in the woods. They encounter the Log Lady (Catherine E. Coulson), who invites them in for tea and cookies. She speaks in riddles and says her log saw something. “Something significant.” It’s a tale of two girls, Laura and Ronette, and three men who were gallivanting in the woods the night of Laura’s murder. The men investigate the surrounding areas and discover Jacques’s cabin. They find a bird, Waldo, twine, blood, and a camera with film on it. A poker chip from One-Eyed Jack’s falls from the cuckoo clock.

There’s a huge party for the Iceland party at the Great Northern Inn. Audrey Horne sneaks into her eavesdropping room and sees Catherine Martell (Piper Laurie) fuming at Ben for going to One-Eyed Jack’s. The two quickly succumb to passion and reveal their plans to burn the mill. A spacey Leland Palmer crashes the party and begins to freak out when music starts. When he begins dancing like a madman, Catherine is asked to join him. She makes his hysterics look like a real dance. Audrey sobs as she watches.

Ben leaves the party to parlay with Josie (Joan Chen). She brings Ben Catherine’s secret ledger, suggesting that they are planning on bringing Catherine down. Still, Leo is planning on burning down the mill. However, Hank shows up out of nowhere to beat Leo and threaten him for selling drugs without him. When Leo gets home, he angrily shoves Shelly. She pulls out the gun in self-defense and after he taunts her, she shoots him.

Finally Agent Cooper comes back to the hotel and sees someone is in his room. He draws his gun but discovers a naked Audrey in his bed, pleading to stay.

Decider’s Favorite Parts Of Twin Peaks, “Cooper’s Dreams”:

Seeing Things In 3-D

Longtime David Lynch collaborator Patricia Norris won an Emmy for designing the Twin Peaks pilot costumes, a role she reprised for Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. I want to take a second to commend the work of Norris’s successor on the series, Sara Markowitz, who informs us that Dr. Jacoby (Russ Tamblyn) is wonderfully wack before he opens his mouth. In one scene, he sports two-toned eyeglasses (with one red eye, one blue eye), and tie-turtleneck combo under a bowling shirt. — Jenna Marotta