Oh, yeah, that reminds me of one of the most insulting things about episode 16... the statement (which some still take to be canon) that Leland was in no way responsible for what he did to Laura. I really dislike that part, it just softens the whole show down... one good thing about FWWM is it helped to disprove that notion.
That god damn trailer's more popular than Uncle's Day in a whorehouse!
Now, I'm probably in the minority on this one, but Ep. 14/Maddie's death had no real effect on me. I thought that it simply went on for far too long, to the point that it seemed like a "Family Guy" gag where we're expected to laugh because the same thing keeps happening for a very long time. I think that the intensity of the scene could have been increased tenfold had it happened in a much shorter amount of time. The part of the sequence that I blame for ruining it is the seemingly three-minute long shot of LeBob kinda-sorta groping Maddie in slow motion. It seemed as though it was originally supposed to be more graphic, but the network wouldn't allow them to get away with it, so they just toned it down but kept it the same length it normally would have been. Plus, the seemingly weak ramming of Maddie's head into the wall... I just didn't buy that as a death blow.
Really, I'd have been happy had the scene cut off when LeBob chased Maddie offscreen and we heard those ungodly screams. This was a case where less would've been more.
Wow, I could not disagree more. It is a strangely shot murder scene, the Leland/Bob switching, the spotlight, the slow motion, etc. But I find it amazingly effective. The set up gets me every time... Sarah crawling down the stairs, seeing the horse, Leland primping in the mirror, the record player scratching.... This is better than TV should ever be. I would definitely put it in the top 10 of Lynch's best scenes.
Yes, that scene is my favorite murder scene of all time... it may seem like hyperbole, but I have never seen a scene that captured the horror of the act of murder so perfectly. The fact that it's not particularly realistic or violent actually helps it; we're seeing the act expressed in an extremely different way from how we're used to seeing it. We're so conditioned to seeing normal violence, that it's far more disturbing when it's presented in an unrealistic or abnormal way. Lynch is always good at finding new and unusual ways to scare us, but I think this is his most frightening scene, strange that it came out of a project in which the content was restricted.
That god damn trailer's more popular than Uncle's Day in a whorehouse!
I wonder what the difference is for people who watched it when it originally aired, compared to those who watched one episode after another on video or DVD.
This episode actually aired two weeks after the last episode in the early December. For the fans, the momentum was interrupted (this was the first episode to not air consecutively the week after the last). And also the shock of Leland dying was lost since TV Guide and other sources were already detailing that the next episode would involve a wake.
Also, so many of us had been analyzing and wondering about the clues in the dream, so to have it come down to "My father killed me," felt like a letdown and afterthought. It's a really hard episode to fill -and the need to wrap up everything seems like it belongs in another show. And this also brought in the first digital effect with the owl at the end, and it seems out of place with the beautiful imagery in all the episodes before it that never had to rely on special effects.
I think this gets a lot of praise because it's an event episode, and Wise gets a juicy death scene. Not to discredit Wise, but death scenes and monolgues always gets praise. I like his work at the beginning of 2.04 much better. Again, anyone playing that death scene would get praise because of the event of what's happening -it's not to say he's not a good actor, he's an exceptional one.
I just never rewatch this episode, it's one of the ones I've seen the least over the years. At the time though, I remember being more mad that there wasn't an Audrey scene. But looking at it more objectively, I still don't think it works. Again, though it's much better than most things on TV.
But it lacks the genuis nuances of Piper Laurie's scenes, or the small pause Fenn takes before answering Donna's "Isn't that an Old Western with Marlon Brando?" in 1.04's bathroom scene.
Mister Grey, I think Maddy's death works so well because we are shown it -and it is awkward, and brutal, messy, slow and fast -and just unsettling. It makes it both realistic and ethereal. It's like a car wreck that you can't seem to look away from, and jolts you back into really investing in the series, knowing that this type of event can happen at any moment.
Again, the Maddy murder gets a lot of attention, but the whole episode is just great. All the characters are working.
Yeah, episode 14 has so many great moments. The scene with Nadine in the diner is one of Lynch's funniest scenes, and the whole moment is so brilliant... it's hilarious, but in an uneasy way, the scene continually verges on the disturbing. So many great moments there (the only flaw is that every single storyline, except for Bobby and Shelley's culminated in this episode, which didn't help the show find it's feet later).
That god damn trailer's more popular than Uncle's Day in a whorehouse!
really, you feel the characters were wrapped up?
I thought for everyone it was a good turning point-
The obviously most exciting one is the power structure flipping between Audrey and Ben; and then her meeting with Cooper has no pretense of flirtting but giving up her father, I thought that was a pretty good set-up for that triangle.
Nadine is a more threatening wedge between Ed and Norma.
Ghostwood has flipped for Catherine and now she has the power.
James and Donna have a moment of happiness but will be torn apart with the death of Maddy.
I thought it was a great launching ground.
Oh, yeah, that reminds me of one of the most insulting things about episode 16... the statement (which some still take to be canon) that Leland was in no way responsible for what he did to Laura.
I thought that it simply went on for far too long, to the point that it seemed like a "Family Guy" gag where we're expected to laugh because the same thing keeps happening for a very long time. I think that the intensity of the scene could have been increased tenfold had it happened in a much shorter amount of time. The part of the sequence that I blame for ruining it is the seemingly three-minute long shot of LeBob kinda-sorta groping Maddie in slow motion.
The whole point of BOB murdering Maddie though is for the pleasure (and garmonbozia, I think?) he gets out of it. So it makes perfect sense for the murder to be protracted and almost overlong. BOB's making the most of it at a point where it's obvious that he's being more flamboyant than with Laura's murder which was more carefully planned (despite letting Ronette go). And it's inevitable after Maddy's death that his time in Leland is going to end soon.
On this point, when BOB/Leland goes golfing and shows Coop his club, if Cooper hadn't been called by Harry away d'you think that BOB would have hit him with the club. He looks so menacing in that shot, where he has the club pointing up with a grin on his face.
Yeah, I noticed that too. It's like he can't wait to strike.
Really? In my view episode 21 is one of the weakest episodes of the entire series. Of course, the script doesn't exactly help matters - "It's WRONG!" "Love isn't wrong, James" is my favourite quote, but there are several to choose from. I don't really like anything in this episode except Catherine and Thomas Eckhardt. That scene is cool. I was terrified of Windom Earle after the exposition dialogue, his great first tape, and the episode 20 cliffhanger. After Leo walked in the door, it was all a big 'meh'. Not to mention the lake confusingly being used as establishing shot for the Marsh residence, etc. It doesn't seem like anyone cared about this episode.
Episode 22 (and 28) is probably worse, but I find 21 to be significantly worse than 20 and 23. Episode 20 has a great cliffhanger and some nice Andrew Packard scenes. And 23 feels like it's back on track.
"What credit card do you want to put that on?"
"Caash, prease."
We are talking about the same episode aren't we? Uli Edel directed, Scott Frost wrote it. I liked the Leo attacking Shelley scenes (seemed to be a horror throwback) and the dark scenes where the body is being dealt with at the station. The darkness of those scenes is just really well done, the photography stands out amidst some flatly visualised and uninteresting episodes. One of the things that stood out was amidst the more dull episodes of Twin Peaks, the photography became duller and less interesting. I thought Edel's episode was visually interesting, yeah it had a kind of hokey quality to it as if it was a knowing reference to horror films/ b-movies, but it also had a bit of grit that was so lacking in many later TP episodes.
Nor can I see what was so bad about Scott Frost's script.
I love the Shelley and Leo scene, which is without a doubt my favorite single scene of eps 16-23, and Catherine's always great, but aside from that I remember the episode as being terrible. Maybe I'll give it another look sometime... I believe I've only seen it once.
That god damn trailer's more popular than Uncle's Day in a whorehouse!
For me those scenes are really nothing compared to the brilliance of the cliffhanger that came before it. The lights and record player part scared the shit out of me, and more importantly it felt like a Twin Peaks cliffhanger. Yes, the first act of episode 21 is pretty decent. I don't really have a big problem with that. It's well-done, but the story didn't interest me at all apart from the line when Cooper says that the could feel Earle's presence. Unfortunately he passes right by Earle wearing a really bad disguise in the next episode, so that wasn't allowed to stay, I guess, though that's not Edel's or Scott Frost's fault. But overall, it felt like a huge step down from the ably handled and well-directed episode 20. The fact that episode 21 might be the worst episode Evelyn-wise doesn't really help matters.
On the script, you don't find "Love isn't wrong, James" to be, well, terrible? It's not a rhetorical question.
"What credit card do you want to put that on?"
"Caash, prease."
Well, that's just one line, Evelyn's right? It sounds a bit corny yeah.
I just liked the scenes in the station and those in Leo's house. I liked the shots of the torn plastic and all that part. It just seemed well done to me. I thought it was something new but it seemed resonant and symbolic, in want of a better description. Why weren't you interested in the storyline in the police station scenes? I preferred that kind of thing, involving Cooper and so forth. It seemed tense at this stage, before Earle had been made into a rather hokey and unscary character.