Episode #2.7 (10 Nov. 1990)

Cooper, Truman, and Cole take the one-armed man to the Great Northern Hotel which is hosting a USO stop-over in their search for Bob where 'Mike' shrieks and panics when Ben Horne ... See full summary »

Director:

David Lynch

Writers:

Mark Frost (creator), David Lynch (creator),

Stars:

Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean, Mädchen Amick

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Kyle MacLachlan	...	Special Agent Dale Cooper
Michael Ontkean	...	Sheriff Harry S. Truman
Mädchen Amick	...	Shelly Johnson (as Madchen Amick)
Dana Ashbrook	...	Bobby Briggs
Richard Beymer	...	Benjamin Horne
Lara Flynn Boyle	...	Donna Hayward
Sherilyn Fenn	...	Audrey Horne
Warren Frost	...	Dr. Will Hayward (credit only)
Peggy Lipton	...	Norma Jennings
James Marshall	...	James Hurley
Everett McGill	...	Big Ed Hurley
Jack Nance	...	Pete Martell
Kimmy Robertson	...	Lucy Moran (credit only)
Ray Wise	...	Leland Palmer
Joan Chen	...	Jocelyn Packard (credit only)

Storyline

Cooper, Truman, and Cole take the one-armed man to the Great Northern Hotel which is hosting a USO stop-over in their search for Bob where 'Mike' shrieks and panics when Ben Horne approaches. Hawk searches Harold Smith's house for Laura Palmer's secret diary only to find Harold dead from a suicide, and his house and Laura's diary torn apart by him. Meanwhile, Maddy says goodbye to James as she prepares to leave Twin Peaks. Shelley tells Norma that she's quitting working at the Double R Diner to care for Leo, while Bobby and Mike find a mini-cassette recording in Leo's boots that reveal Ben giving Leo instructions to burn down the sawmill. Audrey tells her father that she knows about Laura's employment at One-Eyed Jacks, and she tells Cooper about Ben's involvement in which Cooper and Truman arrest Ben as a suspect in Laura's murder. Also, Mr. Tojamura plans to buy the Ghostwood Estates and when he learns of Ben's arrest, Mr. Tojamura goes to the Blue Pines B&B and surprises Pete ...

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Plot Keywords:

murder | deliberate cruelty | brutality | woman in jeopardy | screaming | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 November 1990 (USA)

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

47 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Maddy Ferguson's murder sequence in the Palmer living room was shot three different ways, once with Killer Bob (Frank Silva), once with Leland (Ray Wise), and once with Ben Horne (Richard Beymer). As David Lynch explains in a 1997 interview with Chris Rodley, this was done to "keep the answer from getting out to the public; it would have leaked out in two seconds. Richard Beymer was really a great sport, because he knew it wasn't him."

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Goofs

Agent Cooper reads Harold Smith's suicide note: "J'ai une âme solitaire", translating as: "I am a lonely soul", while it actually means: "I have a lonely soul".

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Quotes

[introduction]
The Log Lady: A poem as lovely as a tree: "As the night wind blows, the boughs move to and fro. / The rustling, the magic rustling that brings on the dark dream. / The dream of suffering and pain. / Pain for the victim, pain for the inflictor of pain. / A circle of pain, a circle of suffering. / Woe to the ones who behold the pale horse."

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Crazy Credits

The credits play over a still image of Agent Cooper with "The World Spins", instead of the usual still image of Laura Palmer and end credit music.

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Connections

References The King and I (1956)

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Soundtracks

"Rockin' Back Inside My Heart"
Lyrics by David Lynch
Music by Angelo Badalamenti
Performed by Julee Cruise

User Reviews

Surreal, brilliant, terrifying

The conclusion and solution of one of the greatest and best known fictional mysteries in history deserved a great episode to surround it, and it didn't just get that, it got what was possibly the greatest television episode of all time. Mark Frost's perfect script, David Lynch's truly extraordinary abilities as a director, and Angelo Badalamenti's greatest musical score make this possibly the greatest forty five minutes ever made for television. I have rarely seen such capable use of color, imagery, or music on television or in movies, even by David Lynch. As for the conclusion itself, I won't reveal it for anyone on earth fortunate enough to watch this series without knowing the identity of the killer, it is more than satisfying, it is shocking, dramatic, and brilliantly executed.

No television episode is quite like this. I applaud David Lynch and Mark Frost not just for this sublime episode, but also for the creation of a story and characters who deserved something like this to finish off the show's earliest main storyline. Truly one of the greatest things ever committed to celluloid, although there was one more episode of this show to follow which could be considered as good or better than this.

Letter Grade: A++