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Twin Peaks
"What Story is That, Charlie?"
Season Three, Part 13
Written by Mark Frost & David Lynch
Directed by David Lynch
Original air date: August 6, 2017 |
Mr. C faces a challenge; Sinclair plots a
move against Dougie; Jacoby bumps into his former patient,
Nadine; Big Ed and James pine for the women not in their lives.
Read the episode summary at the Twin Peaks wiki
Characters appearing or mentioned in this episode
Rodney Mitchum
Bradley Mitchum
Candie
Mandie
Sandie
Agent Cooper
Anthony Sinclair
Bushnell Mullins
Janey-E Jones
Duncan Todd
Roger (mentioned only)
Sonny-Jim Jones
Mr. C
Ray Monroe (dies in this episode)
Renzo (dies in this episode)
Muddy
Phillip Jeffries (mentioned only)
Bill Hastings (mentioned only, deceased)
Betty (secretary of William Hastings, mentioned only, deceased)
Richard Horne
MIKE
Detective T. Fusco
Detective "Smiley" Fusco
Detective D. Fusco
Mrs. Fusco (mother of the Detectives Fusco, mentioned only)
Phil (mentioned only)
Detective Clark
Hutch
Chantal
Leslie
Shelly Briggs
Becky Burnett
Bobby Briggs
Big Ed
Norma Jennings
Major Briggs (mentioned only, deceased)
Walter Lawford
Nadine Hurley
Lawrence Jacoby
Sarah Palmer
Audrey Horne
Charlie
Billy (mentioned only)
MC at Roadhouse (unnamed)
James Hurley
Renee
Didja Notice?
The Mitchum brothers give Mullins three gifts: a box of
Montecristo Number Two cigars, diamond cufflinks, and a
BMW
Convertible (the Mitchum's say the car is a match to
Dougie's new car as well, so it must be a 2015 BMW M4, seen
in the Jones' driveway at 5:11 on the Blu-ray).
The desk phone Anthony uses at 3:44 on the Blu-ray is a
Cisco 8800
model.
At 3:49 on the Blu-ray, the name of the
claimant on the insurance claim form seen on Anthony's
monitor is Nancy Steiner. Steiner was a costume designer for
the series.
The monitor brand is
AOC.
The delivery truck that delivers Sonny-Jim's gym set at 4:42
on the Blu-ray is a 1985
Ford
Econoline.
The music that plays as Sonny-Jim plays on his new gym set
is "Dance of the Swans" from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's 1877
ballet Swan Lake.
As Sonny-Jim plays on his new gym set, Janey-E tells
Dougie-Cooper, "He's in seventh heaven."
This is a reference to the seven heavens described as part
of the cosmology of many religions, such as Judaism and
Islam, among others.
When Janey-E tells Dougie-Cooper, "I love you so much," he
then mouths the words, "so much".
The military vehicle seen at "the farm" at 7:09 on the
Blu-ray is a British Humber FV 1611 Pig.
The pick-up truck driven by Mr. C is seen to be a
Chevrolet
C/K Silverado at 7:17 on the Blu-ray.
At 11:54 on the Blu-ray, one of Renzo's men is carrying what
appears to be a small bottle of
Seagram's Seven whiskey. Another man is drinking a
bottle of Dos Equis beer (currently owned by Heineken!).
Ray says that a prison guard he had never seen before gave
him the Owl Cave ring and told him to put it on Mr. C right
after he killed him. How did the guard get the ring? Was it
really a guard? Or some manifesting agent of the Black
Lodge?
Ray tells Mr. C that Phillip Jeffries was rumored to have
been last seen at the Dutchman's.
The Final Dossier
states a
matchbook from the Dutchman's Lodge motel in Montana was
found in Monroe's pocket when his body was recovered.
At 22:48 on the Blu-ray, notice that Mr. C is looking right
at the ceiling camera as he leaves the room, indicating he
knows he's been observed.
At 24:01 on the Blu-ray, a woman is heard screaming in the
background at the Las Vegas police station, with cops
responding to her:
|
- Hey, hey, hey! She can't piss on the floor!
- Get her out of here!
- She's still pissing, Phil.
- Cocksuckers! I'll shit in your mouth!
- I'll get her.
- And she's got a knife!
- Fuck you, twinkies! I'll cut your nuts off!
- Tase her, tase her!
- Phil, tase her!
- Get her out of here.
- We want to report a cop!
- Take a seat, ma'am. I'll be with you in a minute. |
Detective Fusco tells his brothers they got the Douglas
Jones fingerprints back from AFIS. AFIS stands for Automated
Fingerprint Identification System, instituted by the FBI in
1999.
Anthony Sinclair asks Detective Clark what kind of poison he
could use (to kill Dougie Jones). Clark tells him to use
aconitine. This is an actual toxin derived from the plant
known as devil's helmet or monkshood.
Detective Clark tells Sinclair to meet him outside of
Crosley's for the toxin. This appears to be a fictitious
establishment in Las Vegas.
At 27:21 on the Blu-ray, Dutch and
Chantal pass a freeway sign for highway 189 south to
Provo
and highways 52 to 15 for
Orem.
These are real world highways to actual cities.
During their drive, the two discuss Mormons. This
is a reference to the Mormon religion, also known as the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
based out of Salt Lake City, Utah. Members of this religion
avoid alcohol and caffeine, as suggested in Chantal's dialog
here.
At 29:17 on the Blu-ray, the
receptionist desk at the Lucky 7 building is seen to have
Dell
monitors at the computer terminal. The application window
open on it is AMAG Professional Edition, software allowing
for control of security technology in business environments.
As Dougie-Cooper enters the Szymon's Famous Coffee cafe, a
sign for Szymon's famous cherry pie is seen. The barista
(her badge identifies her as Leslie) brings him a slice.
At 32:40 on the Blu-ray, Dougie-Cooper brushes some white
"dust" off of Anthony's coat. It seems the "dust" is
dandruff, as bits are seen in his hair as well.
The man using the urinal in the men's room who says, "That
bad, huh?" when Anthony dumps out Dougie-Cooper's coffee cup
is Mike Malone, a set dresser not only on this series, but
also the original series and
Fire Walk With Me!
He also played a fellow FBI agent alongside Chet Desmond
during the school bus scene early in
Fire Walk With Me.
At 34:36 on the Blu-ray,
Bunn
coffee makers and a
Server
condiment dispenser are seen in use at the RR Diner. The
diner's soda fountain features Coca-Cola, Sprite, Barq's,
Minute Maid, Hi-C, Mr. Pibb, Fanta, and Diet Coke, all real
world brands.
Bobby tells Ed and Norma that he, the sheriff, and Hawk
found something of his father's "today". But the tube and
notes of his father's that they found at Mrs. Briggs' house
was a couple days ago now in the timeline (Part
9: "This
is the Chair"). Assuming time is
still flowing normally.
When Walter Lawford arrives at the RR to
meet with Norma, the two share a quick, chaste kiss on the
lips in greeting. Are they lovers? In the United States it
is not common at all to see a kiss on the lips unless the
pair are either lovers or, at times, relatives. The
implication would seem to be that the two are either lovers
now or had been in the past, but are still close friends.
When Big Ed and Bobby move out of Norma's
booth so she can have her business meeting with Walter,
notice that the two men sit two booths down and during
Norma's meeting, you can see in the distance that Ed keeps
looking up at them, possibly sad, maybe a bit jealous at the
relationship she has with Walter.
During Norma's meeting, we learn that in addition to the RR
itself, she co-owns four more franchised diners called
Norma's RR Diner throughout the state.
At 46:15 on the Blu-ray, a reflection in the storefront
window of Run Silent, Run Drapes shows the neon sign for
Boxley's. This was a jazz club in North Bend, WA, now,
sadly, closed.
It appears that Sarah Palmer's living room was shot on
location in the actual house in Everett, WA because the
house across the street seen through the window is the
actual house across the street from the exterior shooting
location at 708 33rd St, Everett.
At 47:36 on the Blu-ray, there is a photo that appears to be
of Laura and Donna (Lara Flynn Boyle...I think!) in Sarah's
living room. Is this an indication that director Lynch
considers Boyle to be the true Donna? Boyle portrayed Donna
in the original series but not in
Fire Walk With Me,
allegedly due to scheduling conflicts, being replaced by
actress Moira Kelly in that film. Twin Peaks fans
debate which actress is the "best" Donna. Rumor has it that
Boyle was approached to reprise the role for the third
season and she declined; the character does not appear at
all in this season. I have not been able to determine
whether Moira Kelly was approached for the season at all.
Sarah still has piles of cigarette butts in several ashtrays
in her living room, just as she did in
Fire Walk With Me.
As Donna said in that film, "If I had a nickel for every
cigarette your mom smoked...I'd be dead."
Sarah is seen watching what appears to be a very old boxing
match (it's black-and-white with a mono-sounding
sportscaster) on TV. The same 10 seconds or so of the match
play over and over. What is going on? Is it an indication of
a time loop? If that were the case, Sarah's actions would
also occur over and over, wouldn't they (they don't, except
that she checks the same empty vodka bottle twice, probably
more of an indication of her drunkenness than a time loop)?
Unless the presence of Judy (if Judy is, indeed, in
possession of her body) shields her from the time loop as it
takes place around her..? Maybe the repeated playing on the TV
is indicative of Sarah's being stuck in the tragic past of
her daughter's murder and her husband's complicity in their
daughter's molestation and eventual fate.
Could one of the boxers in the match be a young Bushnell
"Battling Bud" Mullins? (In reality, the footage is of a match fought
on Monday, February 4, 1935 at the New York Athletic Club
between Stephen Rozakis and Michael Juppe, as discovered in
research conducted by Matt Marrone in his article "Punch
Drunk" in Blue Rose #8, a Twin Peaks
fanzine that is the heir apparent of the classic TP fanzine
Wrapped in Plastic; visit them at
bluerosemag.com.)
When Audrey says, "I'm not sure who I am, but I'm not me,"
Charlie sarcastically retorts, "This is Existentialism 101."
Existentialism is a philosophy that accepts a sense of
confusion and disorientation in a meaningless and absurd
world. By adding "101" to the term, Charlie is equating
Audrey's mindset as akin to what a student has learned in
the most basic university-level class on Existentialism.
In this episode, Charlie's dialog to
Audrey is vaguely suggestive of his being her psychiatrist.
His words evoke the feeling that he is trying to lead her
into a certain mental direction that she is resisting. But
is he doing it for her own good or some other purpose? He
asks, "...are you gonna stop playing games, or do I have
to end your story, too?", which seems like a threat,
something I would think a doctor should not make with their patient. The use
of the word "story" also makes me think of a writer and a
script...and then to my personal speculation of whether the
"dream" ("we live inside a dream", "who is the dreamer?") is
a reference to the characters of Twin Peaks being
just characters on a TV show called Twin Peaks in
the "real world". Is the dreamer the script writer?
Co-creators Frost/Lynch? The TV viewing audience?
When Charlie asks if he has to end her story, Audrey
asks, "What story is that, Charlie? Is that the story of
the little girl who lived down the lane? Is it?" This
may be a reference to the 1974 novel and 1976 film The
Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane, about a teenage
girl who lives alone in a house and who manipulates, and
is manipulated by, adult males. But, how would/could Charlie
"end" her story?
At the end of Audrey and Charlie's conversation, Charlie
remarks, in regards to their proposed visit to the Roadhouse
to look for Billy, that she now looks like she wants to stay
and she responds she wants to stay and she wants to go, "I
want to do both." She continues, "Which one would you
be? Charlie, help me. It's like Ghostwood here."
Ghostwood, of course, refers to the Ghost National Forest
around Twin Peaks. Perhaps Audrey's statement reflects the
idea that ghosts are both dead and living, their physical
bodies deceased, but their souls still hanging around Earth,
thus neither dead, nor alive, wanting to both ascend to the
afterlife and linger in the physical world to achieve
something that was left unfulfilled; this again (as I
speculated in
Part 12:
"Let's Rock") possibly suggests that
Audrey is left with questions about a possible relationship
with Billy Zane (the actor who played her love interest John
Justice Wheeler in the second season of the original
series).
At the Roadhouse, Renee has a tattoo "7663" on her left arm.
Not sure what that means, if anything.
Renee is clearly moved by James' rendition of the song "Just
You" at the Roadhouse. The song was first performed by
James, Donna, and Maddy in
Episode 9:
"Coma". Why is Renee so moved by the song? Yes,
she is aware of James' eye for her since
Part 2:
"The Stars Turn and a Time Presents Itself",
but she seems to barely know him at the time. Could it be
that they do know each other, if distantly? Is the song
actually about her? The lyrics of the song state, "We go
strolling together, In love, We go strolling forever."
Did James and Renee take a walk together as kids and now,
hearing the song, she realizes he wrote it about her? Does
this lead her to regret marrying Chuck (who seems like a bit
of an asshole in
Part 15:
"There's Some Fear in Letting Go")
when the sensitive and caring James was potentially
available?
At Big Ed's Gas Farm at 56:53 on the
Blu-ray, Ed seems to squint at his reflection in the window
across from him. His reflection can just barely be seen in
between the two gas pumps when the window is shown. Notice
that the reflection does not seem to sync up with Ed's
movements though; at 56:57, it appears as if the reflected
Ed still holds the cup of soup in his hand, while the real
one has already set it down on his desk. His head movements
also appear to be off. Are we seeing two timelines running at
once? Does Ed actually see it as well, since it seems like
he briefly notices the reflection?
Another thing happens at 57:45 as the scrolling end
credits reach about the midway point on the screen. The
wall, window, and the objects outside suddenly shift just
slightly...you have to pay close attention to notice it. I
suppose it could just be the result of a focus adjustment on
the camera, because that background does get slightly
blurrier with the shift. But if it were a focus adjustment,
I would expect the foreground to get slightly sharper in
contrast and that does not seem to be the case. Is the shift
an indication that time has warped back to one timeline
again? Ed's reflection is arguably gone after this shift,
though with the credits scrolling over the screen, it's hard
to say that for sure. It's also interesting to note that a
sign reading "Frame Straightening" is seen prominently
hanging over the pumps and is one of the objects effected by
the shift.
What is the piece of paper Ed burns at his desk? It appears
to be a small, tightly-folded piece of paper, possibly a note.
Was it a note he had intended to give to Norma earlier but
didn't after seeing her with Walter? Was it a note she gave
him and he is burning it unread?
Memorable Dialog
winning.mp3
I love you so much.mp3
what is this, kindergarten?.mp3
you're spending too much for pie.mp3
those drapes are completely silent.mp3
out of the shit.mp3
I feel like I'm somewhere else.mp3
I'm not sure who I am.mp3
this is Existentialism 101.mp3
what story is that?.mp3
the little girl who lived down the lane.mp3
the Roadhouse is proud to welcome James Hurley.mp3
it's like Ghostwood here.mp3
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