Twin Peaks season one notes

Taiiku Podcast listeners once again become Taiiku Podcast readers. We’ve made a few written posts throughout the years, but it’s of course not our forte; we’re not called the Taiiku Blog or whatever.

With the encouragement of friend and fellow podcaster, Dawn, here are my unadulterated notes on Twin Peaks season one. Partial season two notes coming alongside a podcast episode post, so keep on the look out.

It is literally unedited, so apologies for typos, incorrect information, or anything else.

s1 pilot

• Soundtrack is incredible
• Laura’s mom calling from the yellow phone to the…whatever the very red kitchen was is good color contrast. (Her hair! Her entire aesthetic!)
• Laura’s dad selling a new life to Norwegian while he’s about to learn about his daughter’s death. Also good contrast.
• The cop just letting the scene sit there for a moment, while Leland gets the chance to say “My daughter’s dead.”
• Hearing Laura’s parents say “she’s probably with Bobby” then seeing Bobby two-timing her is messed up.
• Bobby being a jock-y idiot that’s just caught up in Laura’s death, trying to defend himself from accusations.
• Seeing more of the soon-to-be key characters in the school, around the town. Good low key way of setting the stage for the entire show.
• This whole damn town, even places seemingly unrelated, are shutting down for Laura Palmer’s death. Small town mentality? Population 51,201.
• It’s been like 30 minutes and Kyle MacLachlan finally shows up. 12 miles south of Canada.
• Going from Douglas Fir to the autopsy report. David Lynch.
• Two, unrelated(?) crimes. Unrelated girls. Laura Palmer’s dead and another girl has been raped and is unconscious, in shock and suffering from exposure.
• Creepy, weird psychiatrist that was treating and seeing Laura, stroking under his hula girl tie skirt.
• Ring finger, under the nail. A letter R.
• Factions forming: Protect Bobby and solve Laura’s death
• Audrey has been shown at school smoking at her locker, poking a pencil into a filled styrofoam cup of coffee, and going directly against wishes of telling the Norwegian about Laura Palmer. What a rebel.
• Bobby’s girlfriend he was cheating on Laura Palmer with Shelly, who has some fucked up father husband who will snap her neck like a twig if she smokes the wrong cigs?
• James, the biker, was with Laura the night before she died. “Even Donna doesn’t know me” – Laura.
• He has the other half of the heart necklace!
• This town is so incestuous.

s1e1

• Audrey Horn sitting with Cooper, very suspicious
• Everyone at the police station eating donuts. Literal mouthfuls. Why.
• Shelly washing Leo’s bloody jacket. But he was looking for it later; he didn’t want it found?
• Laura wanted to keep her relationship with James a secret. He knew she was using cocaine.
• Bobby and his buddy owe Leo $10k? For what?
• Is this show about love? The nature of love, and what it means to love someone.
• This police receptionist could not exist in a David Lynch movie.
• Josie had Laura as an English teacher. Josie and Harry have been dating six weeks.
• Catherine Martell (sister-in-law of the mill owner) and Ben Horne having an affair. Sleaze in several ways.
• Donna appears to be going mad with grief and seeing things, or it’s just one of those real things that David Lynch puts in there to fuck with us.
• The doctor has tapes on Laura saying James is too sweet and she can’t take much more. And another half of the heart necklace!!

s1e2

• Ben is eating this brie sandwich like a maniac. Why are you eating it from the side.
• Ben has a brother named Jerry, and they have yet to eat ice cream together.
• Ben runs a…casino / gentlemen’s club. And seems to partake in the gentlemen’s side quite frequently.
• Bobby + friend is buying drugs from Leo.
• Laura was dating three guys. What was she looking for?
• Johnny Horne, Laura’s special education teacher
• Jack with one eye. One-eyed Jack.
• Lucy is reading a book on Tibet after hearing Cooper’s treatise on Tibet and the Dalai Lama.
• Leland and Donna Palmer are not ok
• It’s time to get weird, huh?
• Mike and Bob?
• Cooper has some weird ass dreams. 60’ 6” rock throw with Tibet was weird too.
• Laura does the same finger to nose acknowledgement as Hawk and Ed did to each other.

s1e3

• Audrey is kinda lewd, making eyes at Cooper, getting compliments on her perfume.
• “Rightward slanting in your handwriting suggests a romantic nature.”
• Leaving a note under Cooper’s door. I like how there’s finally time for something like this can happen two episodes ago, and have it pay off now.
• Cooper sees the town of 5k (according to Chris, tv show says 50k) as one that has been affected by Laura’s death. Albert sees his job as investigating a murder at any cost, especially the feelings of everyone involved. What’s more important: solving Laura’s murder or caring for feelings?
• Everyone about to go to Laura’s funeral acting very differently. Bobby and his father getting on his ass again. Ed and Nadine discussing her inventions. Audrey spying on her family, going into secret doors to the wiring of the hotel, seeing her brother struggle with taking off a probably appropriating Native headdress.
• Bobby proclaiming that Laura would have laughed at the words spoken at her own funeral. James charging at him, and Bobby charging back. Leland collapsing onto the coffin, which then breaks and begins ascending and descending. This whole town is fucked up.
• Ed helps with the police work. Also a few scenes ago when Nadine was saying Ed was in love with Norma in high school, and Cooper immediately sees that he still is.
• Also like how the scene played as if they don’t believe Cooper will solve Laura’s murder, but it’s just about Ed and Norma. Everyone knows about Ed and Norma. They believe in Cooper.
• “This must be where pies go when they die.”
• Shelly has hidden Leo’s bloody jacket along with a gun in some secret compartment.
• Josie talking to Harry about Catherine, Catherine holding the bookkeeping that Josie’s missing.

s1e4

• They’re now addressing the man with long hair that Laura’s mom, Sarah, saw.
• This family isn’t ok
• Gloved hand takes out a necklace, broken in half. Like James burying it.
• Jacoby is nuts. There’s a map of Tibet behind him as he does magic with golf balls.
• Jacoby followed a man in a red Corvette down the sawmill road.
• Bird bites on Laura’s shoulders?
• The man Sarah saw is the man from Cooper’s dream. “I’m a strong sender.”
• One-armed man, last name Gerard. Mike. Bob Lydecker, a vet, his best friend. Tattoo on his lost arm that said mom.
• Audrey, who seems to just like to meddle, and Donna have formed a pact to try to find out more about Laura.
• Norma sees her husband in prison, and he claims he’s changed and needs another chance. Like that this is only revealed now. It’s given time to first see Norma, see her and Ed. Then boom, she’s already got a husband just like Ed has a wife.
• The bird that attacked Laura is a client of Bob Lydecker! Cooper says.
• Lucy and Andy having trouble. Andy high strung as a result, and also dropped his gun and it went off. Now they’re at target practice. He appears to not know what a gun is.
• Ah and now we know that Norma and Shelly have something in common. Their deadbeat husbands.
• Laura’s cousin has shown up, and chatted up James. Maddy Ferguson.
• Audrey: “I’m willing to start at the absolute bottom.” Ben: “Start by making beds.” Audrey: “Not that far bottom…I have an agenda here.”
• Bobby in Jacques’ apartment as Cooper and co knock. Placing Leo’s bloody jacket in there.
• Leo and Ben working together. Jacques is staying in Canada. Bernie is dead at the hands of Leo presumably.
• Ben is paying Leo to burn the mill.
• Is everyone some weird clairvoyant in this town?
• Josie received a sketch of a domino in the mail. The same domino Hank was messing with at his hearing. Then a call from him.

s1e5

• 4:28a, Cooper is complaining about the singing and dancing of the Icelanders. He does not like noise as he brought earplugs to New York.
• Ben and Jerry have moved on from the Norwegians to Icelanders.
• Cooper looking for Jacques. Leo has told Jacques to stay in Canada.
• Bobby acting like a tough guy in front of imaginary Leo for Shelly. It…does not seem like he would do that in front of real Leo.
• Ed and Norma talking, Hank got parole. She seems to want to try again. They’re conflicted over these two people they like, and each other, who they love.
• Audrey probably loves nepotism.
• Her telling her dad that she’s gonna work from the bottom up, then manipulating the shit out of the boss there so she can work in perfume like Laura is very Audrey. Can’t be trusted.
• James has a complicated family. Dad went west (? where?) to be a musician. Mom is an alcoholic who sleeps with people in other towns every so often.
• Laura’s in this, uh, ladies magazine? Seems to be a catalogue of women. One-Eyed Jacks if memory serves.
• Cooper has his dreams. James and Donna have loose evidence from knowing Laura. Like the contrast between the two and flipping expectations.
• What does Hank know about Laura? He was threatening Josie.
• Jacoby asking about Bobby and Laura having sex is weird. “Did you cry?”
• Bobby telling Jacoby that Laura wanted to die. She told Jacoby a lot about herself, and Bobby. She seemed to have an idealized vision of the world, and kept seeing this incestuous weird town being bad to each other. She wanted a better world, saw no avenue to it, and just acted bad in defiance.
• Is Laura worse than Audrey?
• Was the town enamored with Laura, or the idealized version of her she presented to everyone. Who knew the real Laura? Bobby, who was being used by her? Jacoby, who was confided in?
• Cooper has ended up at the log lady’s house after finding it in the magazine of women. Was Laura here? Ah, no, the cabin is further than the log lady’s house. But the log lady was expecting them, so they stopped in for tea and cookies.
• The log saw three men that night.
• In the cabin: They found Jacques bird, Waldo. The rest of the chip from One-Eyed Jacks is found.
• Why are Catherine and Pete Martell even married? What does this town do to marriages.
• Catherine is pissed Ben went to One-Eyed Jacks. They’re having an affair already. What is wrong with literally everyone.
• Pete drinking a whole damn glass of milk with his napkin bib.
• Leland is at this party for some reason, and breaking down over the music being played and…dancing. These people are broken.
• Maddy found a tape in a secret compartment in Laura’s room.
• Josie is in Ben’s office. He told her about Catherine’s cooked book and where the real one was hidden. How is he stabbing literally everyone in this town in the back.
• Hank is now threatening Leo. Leo appears to have taken over Hank’s business and is not doing it right.
• Shelly shot Leo??
• Audrey is naked in Cooper’s bed.
• Theme of this episode is “betrayal”

s1e6

• why are they objectifying Audrey like this? at least Cooper denies her pretty wholly.
• “secrets are dangerous things, Audrey” “do you have any secrets?” “no” “Laura had a lot of secrets”
• we finally get some intel on why Lucy is mad at Andy. answering the phone for herself, it’s a doctor. pregnant?
• Cooper doesn’t like birds.
• Jacques had three guests, including Leo and Laura and someone else. case breaking open.
• Jacques deals at the casino.
• Leo watching Bobby go into his home. he’s got a sniper for Bobby. guess he’s not dead.
• how old is Shelly? how old was Leo when they started dating?
• tape from Laura’s bedroom is a recording for Jacoby. seems lewd.
• Audrey is not good at customer interaction.
• now she’s hiding in an office closet smoking, but who’s not gonna notice the smell? I guess if it’s already a smoking office.
• the boss is charming young women for a…job transfer. to One-Eyed Jacks. these guys are sleazy.
• he’s literally got a notebook of women who probably worked at the department store, and are One-Eyed Jacks prospects. I think they’re rated.
• Audrey! getting the number from Jenny is actually kind of brilliant.
• what is this absurd soap opera that’s been going on? Invitation to Love.
• Josie followed Ben? because Harry needed evidence. heard Catherine talking on the phone about a fire at the mill. she’s got some complicated things going on.
• Harry has found out that Ben and Catherine are planning to burn down the saw mill, and want to get rid of Josie too. Cooper digs deeper into whether Josie is involved in some suspicious way, but trusts Harry’s opinion and love. good character moment of the bond between the two leaders here.
• Josie is taking out a life insurance policy on Catherine? Josie and Ben????
• the bird is now saying “Laura” and someone is shooting at the bird? it’s Leo. he appears to have killed the bird. blood is spilling on donuts. “Laura. don’t go there. hurting me. stop it. Leo no.”
• Audrey gave Hester Prynne, from the Scarlet Letter. adulterous for *gasp* having a child without a husband.
• Audrey is let into One-Eyed Jacks, thus confirming my own memory, by eating a cherry and twisting the stem in her mouth.
• Cooper is playing blackjack, dealt by Jacques.
• Maddy is dressed as Laura, speaking like her, and calling Jacoby. they left him a VHS at his door of Maddy-dressed-as-Laura with the day’s paper.
• is the constant references to 21st Street and blackjack intentional?
• James and Donna going into Jacoby’s office, while Bobby is right behind them in also trying to do something sneaky around here. oh, filling James’ motorcycle with something bad in the gas tank. seems like it might explode, which seems bad.

s1e7

• James and Donna enter Jacoby’s office. They find…a cache of umbrellas. He seems to have eyes for several women who he should not have eyes for.
• They find the other half of the necklace in a coconut, with a tape. Bobby mines shooting them as they drive off.
• Jacoby sees Maddy-Laura and is beaten by a masked man as James and Donna get back.
• The zoom into Jacoby’s eye to the roulette wheel is maybe the most Lynch thing am far, besides the dream room.
• Cooper gives Jacques the broken chip, says he’s a friend of Leo’s. Jacoby, seemingly not wise, falls for this.
• Audrey, modeling for the Black Rose, sees Cooper on the monitor and is told she’ll audition tonight. What’s her plan?
• Lol @ Cooper duping Jacques into doing a job across the border for him. Busted (soon).
• Why is Shelly washing her hair in the sink? Well, Leo has her now.
• Jacques gets out of police hands, steals the gun, and is shot by…Andy!!
• Laura had another side to her, that hated James. What did she want? Why was she with Jacoby?
• Come to think of it, what did Bobby put in James’ motorcycle, and why hasn’t it done anything yet?
• Leo doesn’t give a shit about his own heart, not when it comes to Shelly.
• James and Donna solve whether Jacoby is a suspect. Jacques is captured. Nadine appears to be committing suicide. This season ending episode is about endings.
• Josie and Hank in some sort of agreement. Hank killed, or took the fall for, the death of Josie’s husband?
• Pete and Catherine had a fling, a summer of love. The boss’s daughter, a handsome young man. And then years later, a failed marriage as Catherine tries to use the memories to manipulate information out of Pete. He’s too kind for this whole fucked up town.
• Lucy is pregnant. Andy has obviously not noticed, and does not seem pleased. Though they have somewhat made up for five seconds due to Andy’s heroics.
• Laura had been out to the cabin before. She had the idea for the Flesh World magazine photo shoot.
• Hank gave Catherine the book location, and that storyline has just gotten far more complicated.
• “I’ll make you proud” Hank says to Norma as he collects a large sum of money from Josie and backstabs her to Catherine.
• Ah he stuck some cocaine in his bike. They found out a high schooler had been dealing, and well, here’s a connection.
• Hank is working with Ben too. House call to Leo? About what?
• Oh a house call from Hank. Leo has been shot again trying to kill Bobby with an axe. Quite gruesome, Leo.
• Damn, Hank sent Catherine to die with Shelly in this shed. This town is so fucked up and incestuous.
• Leland killed Jacques?? This town is fucked up.
• Pete, you are too good of a man for this town. Catherine doesn’t deserve a heroic run into a burning building just to see if she’s still in it.
• Further ending themes: Ben’s deal with the Icelanders.
• Lol Ben going to see the new girl…Audrey.
• Cooper has been shot at the end, taking a call about Leo. Death all around.