Twin Peaks Rewatch Project - Season 2, Episode 10 to Episode 16
We now know who killed Laura Palmer. It was her father Leland, possessed by the evil spirit of Bob. "That's it, right? That was the big watercooler mystery surrounding the show, and it's wrapped up now. Why would we continue?", I'm sure that's what many viewers thought back in 1990 and 1991, and the decline in ratings and public interest showed that that was the case. But there isn't a third season coming 25 years later for no reason. If you're reading this, chances are you're invested in the characters and the strangeness, and there's still a whole lot more of that to come. Over the next six episodes, we meet some new characters, while old favorites go through new struggles, and our favorite small town experiences a few extraterrestrial threats.
Three days after Leland's passing, the townsfolk of Twin Peaks gather for his wake. Later, the FBI and DEA unexpectedly pay a visit just as Agent Cooper is he's saying his goodbyes. Cooper is under investigation, having to answer for the botched raid on Canadian soil at One Eyed Jack's that left multiple dead, one by his hand. Luckily our hero isn't deposed for long as nobody at the station is willing to sell him out, and the Mountie in charge of the Canadian side of the investigation is revealed to be working with Jean Renault. The criminal Frenchman is still alive and well, cooking up a new scheme to take down Cooper and spread his cocaine operation. With the help of an old friend, Denise — a landmark transgender character played by David Duchovny — Cooper brings ends at a farmhouse in a sting operation that leaves Renault dead.
James, still reeling from learning so much about his deceased girlfriend, decides it's about time he heads out of town as well. He says his goodbyes and takes off on his motorcycle. He stops at a bar where he encounters a woman, Evelyn Marsh, who asks if he could fix up her husband's car. James agrees, and he spends the next several days working and lodging in her loft. Evelyn's husband arrives and drives off in the now working car which promptly crashes, a plot designed by Evelyn to kill her abusive husband and run off with her lover, Malcolm. James is framed and on the run from the cops. This whole arc end with Evelyn shooting Malcolm in a horrific scene reminiscent of Leland killing Maddy a few episodes ago.
On the more whimsical side of things, Nadine, now fitted with superhuman strength after a failed suicide attempt, thinks she is a teenager again and goes back to high school where she falls in love with Bobby's friend, Mike. At first Mike is reluctant, but after a few episodes, Nadine wears him down and the two go steady, prompting her to leave Ed and open him up to pursuing his longtime crush on Norma. Hotel magnate Benjamin Horne also has a sudden breakdown after losing his longtime business partner and being tricked out of Ghostwood. He inexplicably becomes obsessed with the Civil War, dressing as a General and meticulously working on a re-enactment miniature.
Things aren't all fun and games for long though, as Agent Cooper's foe decides to show his face — Windom Earle, Cooper's former partner. Earle prints an ominous ad in the local paper directed at Cooper. The ad is a chess move demanding a return play, every time Cooper loses a piece in the game Windom will take another life. Windom also kidnaps Leo (making him a personal slave of sorts) and forces him to write a poem that divides into three pieces and gives them to Audrey, Donna, and Shelly. Windom seems to setting his sights on these three in a plan to get to Cooper.
We also get a few more hints as to why Twin Peaks is such an eventful small town. While on a fishing trip with Agent Cooper in the woods one night, General Garland Briggs goes missing in a bright flash of light. Cooper is visited by a government official that informs him of odd readings off their satellites, possibly suggesting alien contact. Days later his wife and son, Bobby, are opening up to each other, worrying about his missing father. In another flash of light, General Briggs reappears, warning that things aren't quite right.
Finally, Catherine is still proving herself to be perhaps the biggest villain in town (no small feat), this time by manipulating Josie into being her maid, to answer to her every whim. She achieves her cruel goal by revealing that Josie's former husband, Andrew Packard, is still alive and that they've been in cahoots. They've chosen to reveal themselves now to force Josie into luring Thomas Eckhardt into town. Josie meets with Eckhardt and the encounter ends with Josie shooting Eckhardt in bed. Cooper bursts in, gun raised, and figures out that it was Josie who shot him at the end of season one. Truman comes in right behind him and orders that Josie drop the gun. She passes out and dies right there; Truman, who was in love with Jose, is devastated.
In the final moments of "Episode 16", Cooper sees Truman crying over Josie's body on the bed. Then, Bob appears, laughing as he screams, "Coop, what happened to Josie?" The dancing man from the Black Lodge also appears, suggesting that the fear and darkness from the other side still haunts Twin Peaks. We then see Josie's face in the nightstand's drawer handle as she screams in pain. The handle then morphs into her face, as she continues to scream. It's another haunting image that ends another arc in Twin Peaks, one that makes room for the season's final storylines.
