Draft:Part 4 (Twin Peaks)

"Part 4", also known as "The Return, Part 4" is the fourth episode of the

At the Silver Mustang casino, a disjointed Dale Cooper undertaking the identity of Dougie Jones continues to win the jackpot at every slot machine he uses with the assistance of Black Lodge apparitions, earning him the nickname "Mr. Jackpots". He is approached by Bill Shaker (Ethan Suplee), a friend of Dougie Jones, and his wife Candy (Sara Paxton), who believe he is Dougie and are confused by his catatonic state and up-kept appearance. As Cooper begins to leave, he is taken to the casino office, where he is given his winnings and called a limousine.

Cooper directs the limo driver with the details he knows about Dougie's house that Shaker gave him. He gets out of the limo and stands with the driver until Dougie's wife, Janey-E (Naomi Watts) angrily approaches and slaps him, as the real Dougie had been away for three days. She takes him inside, angry until she discovers his money from the casino, which she says can be used to pay off the family's debts.

FBI Deputy Director Gordon Cole (David Lynch) meets with Denise Bryson (David Duchovny), who is now FBI Chief of Staff. He informs her about his belief that Dale Cooper, who in reality is his doppelgänger, is held in a federal prison in South Dakota. Bryson displays suspicion about Cole interfering romance and the law with the decision to bring Agent Tamara Preston with him, but Cole reminds Denise of the support he has given her throughout her career and through her gender transition. ("And when you became Denise, I told all your colleagues, those clown comics, to fix their hearts or die!")

Sheriff Frank Truman (Robert Forster) meets with Deputy Tommy "Hawk" Hill (Michael Horse) to discuss the message from the Log Lady's log, with Deputy Chad Broxford present. Andy and Lucy enter and defend the Log Lady from Chad's arrogant remarks, which sparks conflict until Truman dismisses Chad. Bobby Briggs (Dana Ashbrook) enters the office and sees the homecoming photograph of Laura Palmer, which causes him to become emotional. Upon recollecting himself, Bobby notes that Dale Cooper was the last person to see his father Garland Briggs alive, which Truman and Hawk were unaware of. Bobby mentions that he does not know what Cooper and his father discussed.

Deputy Jesse Holcomb enters to inform the group about the arrival of Wally Brando (Michael Cera), the son of Lucy and Andy Brennan. The Brennans rush to Wally excitedly, while Holcomb announces that Wally Brando is here to "pay respect" to Sheriff Truman. Wally, dressed like his namesake Marlon Brando in the film The Wild One, greets Frank and tells him he hopes for the recovery of his brother Harry. When Lucy asks him to tell them about his travels, he goes on an awkward tangent, speaking in a Marlon Brando impression.

As Cooper sits on Dougie's bed, Mike faintly appears to him to say that he was tricked and holds up a small golden orb. Mike tells him that one of "them" (Dale Cooper and his doppelgänger) must die. With Dougie's tie lopsided over his head, Cooper goes to the breakfast table, where his son Sonny Jim helps him sit down and eat his pancakes. Janey-E brings him some coffee, which he appears enthused over, and he takes a sip. He immediately spits it out due to the heat, much to Janey-E's chagrin, and loudly says "Hi!"

Constance Talbot shows Chief Boyd and Detective Macklay the results of the male body found next to Ruth Davenport's severed head, but she is blocked access to the victim's identity and records, which require military authorization.

Gordon Cole, Albert Rosenfield, and Tamara Preston interview Cooper's doppelgänger in prison, who claims he has been working undercover with Phillip Jeffries since his disappearance and that he was on his way to inform Cole about his activities when he had his car accident.

Cole dismisses Preston so that he and Albert can speak privately. Albert admits to Cole that he authorized Jeffries to give Cooper information about their "man in Colombia" several years before, after Phillip said Cooper needed the information urgently. A week after Albert did this, the man had been killed. They then discuss the meeting with Cooper, feeling that something is wrong. They admit to each other that they do not understand the situation, classifying it as a Blue Rose. They discuss a certain person to bring to Cooper, and Albert notes that he knows where she drinks.

Production

"Part 4", like the rest of the limited series, was written by Mark Frost and David Lynch and directed by Lynch.^[6]

Frost had already written ten episodes of the original series—the "Pilot" and Episodes 1, 2 and 8 with Lynch, plus Episodes 5, 7, 12, 14, 16, 26 and the original series finale, Episode 29. Lynch also directed six episodes of the original series—the "Pilot", "Episode 2", "Episode 8", "Episode 9", "Episode 14" and "Episode 29".^[7]

Music

Almost every episode of the 2017 Twin Peaks series features a live performance by a band at the Roadhouse. In this episode the American indie pop band

Reception

Broadcast

"Part 4" was originally released on the Showtime Anytime app together with "Part 3" on May 22, 2017; the episode was subsequently broadcast on the Showtime network on May 28, 2017, and was watched by 195,000 viewers in the United States, the lowest number of viewers for the season.^[8]

Critical reception

"Part 4" received critical acclaim. On the critical aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the episode holds a 100% rating. Alexandra Pechman writing forW stated that "Part 4" was "full of highs and lows", specifically praising the "spot-on" debut of Naomi Watts as Janey-E, but "in David Lynch’s world, the audience almost never feels like they have a firm hand on the wheel." W also criticized the implementation of the musical segments in the Roadhouse, stating that "these slapdash musical endings with contemporary bands" come off as a "a strange attempt to keep the show trendy".^[9] The appearance of Michael Cera as Wally Brando was additionally lambasted as "pure fan indulgence" and "neat, but whatever".

For Slant, Budd Wilkins wrote in appraisal of the "truly affecting" scene in which Bobby becomes tearful over recognizing the homecoming photo of Laura Palmer. Wilkins also ironically writes of the "damn fine" spit-take response that Cooper has over Janey-E's coffee.^[10]

References