Recap of Episode 27

Season 2 Episode 27

Written by: Harley Peyton & Robert Engels

Directed by: Stephen Gyllenhaal

Original Air date: April 18th, 1991

"Styrofoam never dies."

At the park, the police struggle to get Windom's deadly chess piece out of the Gazebo. Nearby Harry and Dale talk to a friend of Rusty Tomaski aka Heavy Metal Youth. He explains to them how Rusty met Windom. His friend gets choked up, as does Andy. Dale tells Harry that he thinks Windom is playing off the board now. After they head to the station, Lucy calls Andy aside and asks him what he knows about saving the planet. Andy answers that he knows it's in trouble. Then Lucy says in 24 hours she's going to decide who the father of her baby is. Lucy tells him she wants to win the Miss Twin Peaks contest for the money, and needs help writing a speech. Andy advises her that Styrofoam never dies and people have to stop sinking their beers cans in the lake.

"Goodness in you is like a time bomb."

Doc Hayward examines Ben in his office at The Great Northern. Doc tells him to stay away from Eileen. Ben tells him he can't as long as the lie survives. Doc says goodness in him is like a time bomb, and he shouldn't ruin lives. Then John Justice Wheeler walks in. Doc Hayward advises Ben to be careful before walking out. John then tells Ben that he needs to see Audrey. He explains that a friend of his has been murdered and he needs to leave town. They talk further and Ben realizes that John isn't coming back. Ben fears his efforts to be better will be lost without him. John assures him he'll be fine and hands Ben a letter for Audrey.

Donna looks at her birth certificate in the attic of her house. She sees that there is no father's name listed. She also finds old pictures of her mother with Doc Hayward and Ben Horne. Then Eileen calls to her saying Deputy Hawk is on the phone and needs to speak with her. Meanwhile Audrey returns to The Great Northern and collects her messages. Hawk approaches her and says Dale needs to see her at the station as soon as possible.

"Perhaps a walk in the woods will clear my mind."

At the Station, Major Briggs works with Cappy, a bookhouse boy, and advises him to look for any curious nomenclature. Harry and Dale walk in. Briggs tells them that he discovered that Earle became obsessed on Project Blue Book when his work began involving Twin Peaks. The Major shows them a video he found of Windom Earle talking about evil sorcerers called Dugpas. On this video, Windom says that the Dugpa use a place called The Black Lodge to harness their evil. Dale seems concerned. Then he tells Harry and Major Briggs that he thinks Windom Earle has engaged them in red herring, which is a fish he doesn't particularly care for. Dale thinks Windom has been after The Black Lodge all along. Then he says they need to find out what The Black Lodge has to do with the Owl Cave petroglyph. Dale advises Cappy to find out everything he can about the Dugpa. Then he tells Briggs to get some rest. The Major says he'll take a walk in the woods to clear his mind

"If you were outside you'd have trouble with pigeons."

Meanwhile Windom Earle listens to their conversation via the Bonsai tree and laughs about how lost Dale is. He sits at his computer and studies the Owl Cave petroglyph. Windom says he'd like to speak with Major Briggs, and suggests that he and Leo go take a walk. While Windom's not looking, Leo takes the zapper remote for his electric collar. Windom then orders him to stop dawdling and notes, "if you were outside you'd have trouble with pigeons."

"You've been pretty crumby."

At the diner, a patron at the counter eats pie and suddenly is struck with a shaky hand. Nearby Bobby and Shelly go over the speech he wrote for her to give at The Miss Twin Peaks contest. Bobby gets serious for a minute and tells her he realizes he's been acting like he's more important than everyone else lately. Shelly agrees and says, "you've been pretty crumby." She tells him she misses him. Bobby admits that when he saw her kissing "that guy" (Gordon Cole) he realized what's important. Bobby says he loves her. Shelly likes what she hears and they kiss. Then Shelly gets a call from Agent Cooper and has to step away.

"Stop it you, vixen you!"

Mayor Milford goes to the Roadhouse and tells Lana he's got great news. He says Norma and Dick are the other judges so her winning the contest is a sure thing. The Mayor thinks if Lana gets Dick alone, puts on a sexy dress, and let's him smell her French perfume, she'll win him over. Dwayne looks into Lana's eyes and they kiss. Then he tells her, "stop it you, vixen you!" He asks why they can't just elope. Lana says she will only marry him when she wins the contest. He moans and cries that she's so strict.

"Shelly wins Miss Twin Peaks, Shelly dies!"

Dale talks with Audrey, Donna and Shelly at the station and asks if they've met any unusual strangers lately. They all mention their various experiences. Dale asks Shelly if she recognizes the handwriting on the poem, which she does as Leo's. Dale tells them to very careful, because they're all in danger. Meanwhile in Windom's cabin, Leo notices a playing card with Shelly's picture on it. He whispers, "Shelly." Windom laughs that she has some modern views on fidelity, but claims she's still fit for a queen. He asks if Leo would mourn her passing. Windom tells him, "Shelly wins Miss Twin Peaks, Shelly dies." Leo gets upset, says he loves Shelly, and pulls out the zapper. Windom pretends to be afraid as Leo zaps himself. Then Windom starts laughing maniacally, pulls out a collar, and tells Leo he needs to learn the value of hate.

"Josie I see your face!"

At The Great Northern, Audrey passes Pete in the foyer and says hi to him. Pete seems impressed with her and smiles. Then Audrey walks into Ben's office. She wants to know where John is, but Ben tries to talk her into entering the Miss Twin Peaks contest. She's insistent that she wants to see John so Ben gives her John's letter. Audrey decides to take off after John. Right after, Ben appears to be startled by something unseen. Audrey heads back out to the lobby, where Pete is talking to the mantle saying, "Josie I see your face!" Audrey grabs him and asks for a ride.

"Hello Wilbur!"

In the police station conference room, Dale tells Andy and Harry that he thinks the Owl Cave petroglyph symbols suggest a time. Then he asks where Major Briggs is. Harry tells Andy to call Mrs. Briggs to see if he's home yet. Cooper looks through the blinds on the window and tells Harry he's thinking of Annie Blackburn. Harry seems a bit saddened by the talk of love. Then Dale's hand spontaneously begins to shake. Meanwhile Major Briggs goes walking in the woods. He stops to admire a tree and then appears to feel a pain on his neck where his marking is. He turns and sees Windom coming toward him in a cow costume saying, "Hello Wilbur!" Then he takes out a stun gun and shoots the Major. Windom starts laughing. He removes his cow mask as the Major falls to the ground. Then Windom laughs looking at the back end of his costume and says Leo finally found his calling.

Dale heads to the diner and chats with Annie. He suggests that she enter the Miss Twin Peaks contest. Annie says maybe next year. Then she gets him coffee and asks if he wants to talk about what's troubling him. They both admit that they've been distracted thinking of each other. The camera starts to slowly pan out as they talk, suggesting trouble ahead. Dale notes that attraction is chemical. Annie says she has faith in them. Then she tells him, "what we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning." Dale seems impressed and responds, "Heisenberg!" Then he asks her to go dancing with him. Annie agrees and they kiss. As they do, some dishes break on the floor next to Annie. 

"I'm a virgin."

Audrey has Pete haul ass to the airport and drive up on the runway. She manages to get John Justice to stop his plane. When John steps out, Audrey runs to him. She tells him she loves him, and that she's a virgin. She tells him she wants him to make love with her. John is taken aback, but Audrey reminds him that it's his jet. John smiles, "thank god for that," and they go into his jet together. Pete watches them and gets teary eyed. Then his hand begins to randomly shake. Later after dark, Audrey emerges as John flies off. She tells Pete that love stinks. Pete offers to take her fishing, since John had promised to and now is gone. Audrey tears up. Then she smiles and agrees to go with Pete. 

"The possibility that love is not enough."

At Windom's cabin, Major Briggs is awkwardly tied to a large bullseye. Windom starts asking him about the meaning of the Owl Cave petroglyph. The Major refuses to answer him so Windom shoots darts next to his head. When that fails to get him to open up, Windom injects Briggs with truth serum. Once it takes effect, Windom asks Briggs what he fears the most in the world. The Major answers, "the possibility that love is not enough." Windom laughs at his response, then he starts asking more about the petroglyph. Briggs tells him he first saw it in dreams. He also says there is a time and place where if Jupiter and Saturn meet, "they will receive you." 

Catherine and Andrew look over the box from Thomas Eckhardt and wonder what it means. Andrew tries to touch the moon phases in such a way to open the box. He tries entering the date when the gift arrived and the box pops open. It reveals a smaller black box, which Andrew smashes with a rolling pin. Inside that is an even smaller metal box. Catherine wonders what it is. 

"A map to the Black Lodge."

At the Roadhouse, Dale gets a nervous Annie to dance with him in front of the Miss Twin Peaks stage. He tells her to follow him and notes her body feels nice against his. Annie kisses him, but Mayor Milford interrupts them by practicing his speech for the contest. He bungles it which distracts them. Annie ends up telling Dale that she's not afraid anymore, and she thinks maybe she'll enter the contest afterall. She notes it's like a fairy tale. Dale says, "And you're the queen." Then he has a sudden vision of the Giant on stage, waving his hands while silently mouthing the word,"no!"

Back at Windom's cabin, Leo and Major Briggs struggle while Windom studies his computer. He determines that the Owl Cave petroglyph is a map to The Black Lodge. Then we flash to the woods and see the circle of sycamore trees. Bob's hand emerges from the light and a reflection of red curtains can been seen in the oil in the middle of the circle.

End of show!

This episode is full of great moments. It also provokes some interesting questions. The first thing that comes to my mind is Pete talking to Josie in the mantel at The Great Northern. Could he have really seen her there? Next question I have is, why is everyone's hand shaking? There seems to be a collective energy askew in the town. My guess is that it has something to do with Windom inverting the owl symbol in Owl Cave. By the end of the episode we learn that there is a time and place where "they" will receive you at The Black Lodge  Perhaps Windom inverting the symbol released or opened some sort of door. 

On the cover of Mark Frost's book, The Secret History of Twin Peaks, is a grid. The moment I bought the book it intrigued me. Last year when Mark Frost did a Q&A on Reddit, I asked if the lines on the cover (the grid) had any relevance. He answered that it did. Of course he could have just been nice, and I know he couldn't reveal anything, but then when I saw the cover of his upcoming book, The Final Dossier, there was the grid again. If you're familiar with what ley lines and the world energy grid are, it would seem that is exactly what is being portrayed on the covers. If Twin Peaks were to be sitting at a point on the planet where these lines intersection, it is said that great power or energy could theoretically be harnessed there. 

In Twin Peaks lore, it makes some sense that The White & Black Lodges could get their power from that very energy. Of course this is just my opinion, and I admit that I'm partial to this type nerdy scientific theory, but still so much of these recent episodes has me feeling like Windom definitely altered something significant in Owl Cave. Also given that Briggs is the Archivist in Mark's book, it makes his relevance seem even more important in this episode.

Watch the scene of Windom questioning Briggs below!

Recap of Episode 26 <-------> Recap of Episode 28