Recap of Episode 4

That's not Dr. Lydecker!

Season 1 Episode 4

Written by: Robert Engels

Directed by: Tim Hunter

Original Air Date: May 3, 1990

"Did you tell them about the necklace?"

At the Palmer's house, Sarah tells Sheriff Truman about the gray haired man she saw at the foot of Laura's bed while Andy tries to draw his face. Donna sits next to her as Maddy serves coffee. Doc Hayward sits nearby observing. Leland pops out in his bathrobe and makes a snarky comment about Sarah's visions. He says to Sarah, "Did you tell them about the necklace?" He glances at Sheriff Truman and remarks, "She's had two visions!" Then Leland walks out in a funk. After Harry asks Sarah what she saw. Sarah recounts seeing a gloved hand taking Laura's broken heart necklace out of the ground. Donna listens intently. A nervous expression comes across her face as Sarah describes the scene where Donna thought she buried the necklace with James.

"What's going on, here?"

At the Sheriff's station, Lucy watches Invitation to Love. Sheriff Truman comes in with Andy and asks for a status update. Lucy quickly gives them the full run down of what's happening on Invitation to Love. Watch here --- > Emerald & Chet. Sheriff Truman looks bewildered and asks more directly, "What's going on...here?" Lucy tells him that Cooper is waiting in the conference room with Dr. Jacoby. After Andy asks Lucy why she didn't spend the night with him last night. She coldly ignores him and asks if Andy wants coffee.

"The problems of our entire society are of a sexual nature!"

In the conference room, Cooper tries to question Dr. Jacoby about Laura Palmer. Jacoby says he can't say much because of his client patient confidentially restriction. Cooper asks if Laura's problems were of a sexual nature. Jacoby answers, "The problems of our entire society are of a sexual nature!" Jacoby notices a map of Tibet and starts telling Dale about his interests in Hawaii. Then Sheriff Truman walks in as Dr. Jacoby is telling Cooper that he wasn't one of the men who Laura had sex with the night she died. Jacoby explains that he followed a man in a red Corvette that night, but insists that's all he can say. After Jacoby leaves, Cooper asks the Sheriff if Leo Johnson drives a red Corvette. Then he takes a call from Gordon Cole, Dale's boss at the FBI. Gordon tells Cooper that the marks on Laura's shoulder were bird bites. Gordon also says Albert filed a report against Sheriff Truman for punching him. Harry looks upset, but Cooper defends Harry and hangs up on Gordon.

After Andy brings the picture he drew of the man Sarah saw in her vision for Cooper to look at. Dale looks at it and says that's the man he saw in his dream. Harry is surprised so Dale explains that he's a "strong sender" and didn't go with them to speak with Sarah, because he didn't want to influence her. Then Hawk calls in to say he found the one armed man at the Timber Falls Motel.

"Giant Wienie Roast In the Woods!"

At the Timber Falls Motel, Josie parks outside while taking pictures. Inside one of the rooms, Catherine tells Ben about how she hid the extra ledger from Josie and she's ready to torch the mill. Ben jokes that they want the headlines to read that Josie torched a bankrupted mill in an insurance fraud and not, "giant wienie roast in the woods." Catherine laughs hardily at the thought. Outside Truman, Andy and Cooper arrive with Hawk looking for Mr. Gerard aka the one armed man. As they knock on his door, Andy drops his gun and it accidentally fires. Ben immediately peaks out his room window to see what's happening. Then Ben drops a chip from One Eyed Jacks on the floor before entering the shower. Catherine picks it up curiously and studies it.

"MOM!"

Meanwhile next door, Harry and Dale show Philip Gerard the drawing of the gray haired man from Sarah's vision. Mr. Gerard says he doesn't know him. Dale asks if he has a friend named Bob. Philip says Bob Lydecker is his best friend, who's also a veterinarian that's currently in a coma. Hawk makes a call and confirms that Philip is clean with no warrants. Dale asks how Philip lost his arm. Mr. Gerard says it was from a car accident. Andy snoops around and ends up dropping Philip's suitcase, which is full of right shoes. Mr. Gerard explains he's a shoe salesman and that's his sample case. Agent Cooper is still suspicious and asks if his arm had a tattoo on it. Philip gets upset. Harry advises Mr. Gerard to settle down. Then Philip starts crying about how his tattoo said, "Mom!" After Hawk tells Truman that he saw Josie staking out the motel.

"In real life there is no Algebra!"

Over at the high school, Audrey approaches Donna in the girl's bathroom while smoking a cigarette. She says she's been doing research and in real life there is no algebra. Donna suggests that Audrey should escape by joining the circus. Audrey starts talking about her fantasies involving Dale Cooper and says she's going to help Dale solve Laura's murder. She runs down some of Laura's factoids such as her taste for nose candy and her secret relationship with James. Audrey also informs Donna that she found out that Laura was seeing Dr. Jacoby and might have worked at One Eyed Jacks. They agree to work together to find out if Laura was working there, but Donna wants it to stay a secret. Audrey agrees and says she found out that Ronette and Laura both worked at the perfume counter at her father's department store.

"It was fate!"

Norma goes to the prison for Hank's parole hearing. Hank is pleased to see her and asks Norma to back him up. He says he's got to get out and promises to change if Norma puts in a good word for him. Once the hearing begins, Hank speaks to the board and claims fate put him in prison thus forcing him to change. When one of the parole members asks Norma how she will help Hank, Norma answers that she'll give him a job and they'll live together as man and wife. As she speaks, Hank plays with his domino. Then the board says they'll give Hank an answer by the end of the day.

"Cooper, I'd think you'd be afraid to go to sleep at night!"

Dale, Andy and Harry head over Dr. Lydecker's veterinarian hospital/One Stop Gas Station/ Convenience store. Cooper says in his dream Bob said he lived above a convenience store. Harry responds, "Cooper I'd think you'd be afraid to go to sleep at night!" Then Cooper asks Andy to go into the One Stop and get some twine. After he and Harry go into the animal hospital, where they are greeted by a llama. They show the elderly receptionist the sketch of Sarah's gray haired man, but she laughs and says, "that's not Dr. Lydecker." After the llama grunts in Cooper's face before going into the exam room. (I love how Michael Ontkean tries not to laugh during this scene) Then Andy comes in with the twine and Cooper deduces that the bird that attacked Laura is a client of Dr. Lydecker's.

"Fix me first."

At Leo's house, Bobby and Shelly make out in the kitchen. Bobby tells her that James was seeing Laura behind his back and he's going to fix him. Shelly softly insists that Bobby, "Fix her first." She tells Bobby that Leo won't be back for awhile because Leo's with Jacques, the creepy canuck, at the Roadhouse. Bobby gets upset by the news and tells Shelly a story about how Jacques and Leo are dealing drugs and probably gave some to Laura. Shelly shows Bobby the bloody shirt she found in Leo's laundry. Bobby thinks it's the answers to their prayers and says he's going to take the shirt. He makes Shelly promise that she never saw the bloody shirt. After Shelly shows Bobby her gun. She starts rubbing the gun against her chest and asks Bobby to teach her how to use it.

"I feel so dumb!"

Back the station, Sheriff Truman, Cooper, Hawk and Andy bring all of Dr. Lydecker's files into the conference room. Truman asks Lucy to look through them and pick out the bird files. Meanwhile Andy apologizes to Cooper for his gun going off at the motel earlier and claims he's been feeling high strung. Cooper thinks Andy just needs practice. Truman tells Andy to meet them in the firing range. Before heading down, Andy tells Lucy how dumb he feels for his gun going off. She coldly blows him off again by saying she needs to go check the bird files.

"I don't why she's doing what she's doing!"

After Truman, Hawk, Cooper and Andy meet in the basement firing range. Cooper asks Andy what's going on with Lucy. Andy responds that Lucy won't talk to him and doesn't know why. He says, "I don't know why she's doing what she's doing!" Cooper says woman are drawn from a different set of blueprints. Then they all practice their shooting. Everyone does well, especially Cooper, but Andy has trouble. Cooper tells Andy he needs weekly practice. Then Truman asks if Cooper was ever married. He answers no, but says he knew a woman once who taught him about the pain of a broken heart. Hawk chimes in with a poem he wrote for his girlfriend. Then Lucy comes on the intercom saying Dr. Lydecker's files are organized by the name of the pets. Realizing how long it will take to review them Cooper says, "We're going to need more coffee!"

"A hot guy in a flashy car."

At the Double R Diner, local customer Toad leaves Norma a meager tip before Shelly returns to work. Shelly complains about how Leo hits her, but says he was great at first. She describes him as a hot guy in a flashy car, but says after they got married she realized all Leo wanted was a maid he didn't have to pay. Norma hugs her and tells her that Hank might be coming home. Shelly asks if she's going to tell Hank she's divorcing him for Ed. Norma says her plans are up in the air. Shelly announces that she's got plans for Leo. Norma listens and then offers to treat so they can get their hair and makeup done tomorrow. Norma says they'll be the knockouts of the Double R.

Meanwhile James Hurley walks into the diner and calls Donna from the pay phone. Donna tells him they need to talk and invites him over. As he's talking with Donna, Madeline walks in. James is awestruck by her. James gets off the phone and asks who she is. Madeline introduces herself and explains that she's Laura's cousin. Maddy asks if he thinks she looks like Laura. James answers yes with a smile. Then Maddy goes on to tell him how sad it is that Laura died and how she wishes she knew Laura better. Nearby Norma gets a call from the prison and learns that Hank is being released.

"Audrey, you're my daughter!"

In his office at The Great Northern, Ben uses his exercise bike while talking with Jerry on the phone. They discuss the Norwegians and the Ghost Wood Estates deal. After Audrey slinks in and asks if Ben is ashamed of her. Ben gets uncomfortable and oddly answers, "Audrey, your my daughter." Audrey gets emotional and says she wants to change her life. She talks about Laura's murder and claims she wants to help him run the business one day. Audrey asks for a job at the department store. She also asks Ben to let her be his daughter again. Ben is moved and they hug. While embracing, Audrey notices a picture of her and Laura on Ben's desk. Ben gets a phone call so Audrey excuses herself. Before she walks out Ben thanks her. Once alone, Ben tells the person on the phone to meet him down by the river in an hour.

"That's our connection!"

Cooper and the gang continue to sort through Dr. Lydecker's files at the station. Cooper gets a call from Gordon saying Laura was attacked by a parrot or a myna bird. Then Hawk brings them the test results from the lab. It shows that the fragment found in Laura's stomach with the letter J was part of a poker chip. Harry recognizes it as being from One Eyed Jacks. Right then Andy finds a file about a myna bird named Waldo, who is owned by Jacques Renault. Cooper thinks that's important information. Then they head to Jacques' apartment right as Bobby is planting Leo's bloody shirt inside. Bobby sneaks out in time to avoid detection. Immediately after Dale enters the apartment and finds the bloody shirt. Realizing this proves Leo and Jacques know each other Harry says, "that's our connection!"

"If you don't like it, get somebody else!"

Ben meets up with Leo in the woods. Noticing Leo's red Corvette, Ben snarks about Leo bringing it for a secret meeting. Never one to mince words, Leo responds, "if you don't like, get somebody else." Then they talk about Leo's drug business. Ben scolds Leo for his lack of ambition and for working with a bunch of glue sniffing squish heads aka Mike and Bobby. Leo gets defensive saying he's out 10 K, which is big money for him. Then Leo says he broke up the Renault brother's act. He shows Ben Bernard Renault's dead body and says he told Jacques to keep his distance or he'd kill him too. Ben seems somewhat pleased and hands Leo money to burn the mill down.

"I'll catch you later!"

Donna and James head into the woods looking for Laura's necklace. Donna tells James about Sarah's vision. They go to the spot where the necklace was buried and find it missing. Right then an owl hoots in the trees above them. After Donna and James agree to continue their investigation into Laura's murder, but in secret. Then they kiss. Donna whispers, "James...I want to be with you!"

At the Packard's house, Harry calls Josie and asks if she was at the Timber Falls motel earlier. Josie tells Harry to call her tomorrow and quickly gets off the phone. After she offers to make Pete a turkey sandwich. Pete invites her to join him in a fishing contest. Josie agrees and Pete takes his sandwich upstairs. After Josie looks through her mail and opens a letter with a sketch of a domino inside. She appears upset at the sight of it. Then the phone rings and it's Hank calling from prison. He sucks on his domino and tells Josie, "I'll catch you later." 

End of show!

I love this episode, but Hank's domino always drove me crazy. It seems like it's supposed to mean something, but (spoiler alert) it never really goes anywhere. This episode plays out more methodically setting up layer's of the investigation through humor, rather than anything particularly surreal. Between Andy's lines, Dr. Lydecker's Llama and Philip Gerard breaking down over his "mom" tattoo, I would say this episode airs on the lighter side. It's a nice mix of all the character's though, showcasing a little bit of everyone's drama. This episode leaves the mystery of who killed Laura Palmer open to many possible suspects. We dive in a little deeper with the discovery of Waldo the bird and Ben's hand in multiple nefarious dealings. Audrey shows both her vulnerability and cunning while securing herself a job at the department store. Its apparent in the scene with her and Ben, that although there is a disconnect between Audrey and her father, there is also complicated love there. Audrey clearly feels sidestepped by Ben's fondness of Laura and there is a sense that's she struggled with that for a long time. 

It was also nice to learn a little about Cooper's romantic past and Hawk's poetic nature. I must note that Gordon Cole was noticeably quieter in his phone debut than he becomes in later episodes. I should also note that the name Gordon Cole is a reference to a character from the famous movie, Sunset Boulevard, which David Lynch has said is one of his favorite films. The names Lydecker and Waldo are both references to the old movie 1944 movie, Laura. It's also likely that the name Laura Palmer was inspired by that film. 

Random Thoughts: My friend has a theory about Andy that I believe is true. His innocence might be the key to saving Dale in the new episodes. I will reference examples in future recaps, but in this episode notice he finds Waldo's file at just the right moment.

Also note that there was an owl watching James and Donna in the woods right as they discovered Laura's necklace was missing. Why?

Recap of Episode 3 <--------------> Recap of Episode 5