Rewatching TP, I am viewing Harold in a very different light to the way I saw him the first time. In the first run through, I saw him as at best, a very creepy guy who obsesses over girls much younger than him and obviously at worst, one of the prime suspects for Laura's murder. The main emphasis then was the brilliant tension in those scenes, and is it just me, or was Donna really stupidly reckless? But now, watching Harold knowing his eventual fate, I feel really sympathetic towards him. When he gives his speech when he scratches his face, you kind of assume it's mostly bullshit, that anyone acting that innocent is a murderer. But now I can see the pain of being corrupted by Donna, who did seem to genuinely like him at times but was caught up in trying to find Laura's killer, which you can hardly blame her for.  I think that Harold is definitely one of the best things that came from season 2 and Harol'd Theme from the new CD is great, I just wish it was longer.

 I suppose that I felt sympathy for him, a close friend of mine's mother was an agoraphobic, however, there was something of the spider about him as well. Poor fellow, trapped and misunderstood.

All I know is that Donna never looked hotter than when she was looking at Harold's flowers....

All I know is that Donna never looked hotter than when she was looking at Harold's flowers....

 That's true. I thought that Lara Flynn-Boyle did look amazing throughout the whole show but I liked the idea of James and Maddy together better than when he effectively  chooses Donna at the end of episode 13.

 But now I can see the pain of being corrupted by Donna, who did seem to genuinely like him at times but was caught up in trying to find Laura's killer, which you can hardly blame her for.  I think that Harold is definitely one of the best things that came from season 2 and Harol'd Theme from the new CD is great, I just wish it was longer.

 I've got a lot of sympathy for Harold. And the way he got treated by Donna, it places Donna in a really unsymphatetic light. She's really egoistic and mean towards him. But you've got a point, Donna has a strong reason for obtaining the diary. And i get the impression that Harolds place was like a safe haven, the one place or one of the places in Twin Peaks that didn't get visits from the dark forces in the woods. I'm not sure why i get that idea..... 

Poor Harold, he really got the screws put to him. He's one of the few characters on the show that seems to be genuinely pure of heart-- lacking the duplicity present in most other characters. His only "darkness" seems to be his collecting people's stories, and even then, we are given no indication that he forces or otherwise manipulates people into telling him things, or uses what he learns in any kind of malicious capacity. He's just a sad, lonely man with a terrible affliction, and Donna takes advantage of all of those things during the course of her time with him.

Really, Donna should've just let Harold read the damn thing to her. Or gone to Coop off the bat; I got no indication that Harold would try and screw with the cops. He'd be reluctant because of his friendship with Laura but I believe in the end he would've let them take the diary; I believe Cooper, with his compassion and general way with people, would have convinced Harold that he could catch the person who hurt his beloved Laura so and Harold would've seen the light and helped. Instead, he got put through the ringer by a manipulative and short sighted high school girl-- a final insult in a lifetime of insults that lead him to give himself the coup de grace.

Harol'd Theme from the new CD is great, I just wish it was longer.

Me too, and I wish it didn't have that weirdly fast synth keyboard intro and overlay on the slow part.  I don't remember ever hearing that synth accompaniment in the series, but maybe I'm wrong.  It makes it sound like the credits theme to a bad soap opera.

I didnt notice that synthy thing either- but it is played, when James and Donna hug and make up whilst Maddy glares at them outside of Harolds place...

Harold is

Harold is

 ... A bolshevik?

I felt pretty bad for Harold Donna screwed him over even if she had good reasons for what she did. But Donna was a teenager and they do reckless things without thinking, whether they think they are doing the right thing or not.

i changed my mind about Harold. I watched the episode today, it's a scene I forgot about, I havent watched the show in  a few years. but it's the scene where Donna is talking about when her and Laura were 13 they went skinny dipping with two 20 year old guy and how one of them kissed her. The scene makes Harold out to be a pervert when he tells her the story is beautiful. How is it a beautiful thing two much older guys skinny dipping with some kids and kissing with one of them.

i changed my mind about Harold. I watched the episode today, it's a scene I forgot about, I havent watched the show in  a few years. but it's the scene where Donna is talking about when her and Laura were 13 they went skinny dipping with two 20 year old guy and how one of them kissed her. The scene makes Harold out to be a pervert when he tells her the story is beautiful. How is it a beautiful thing two much older guys skinny dipping with some kids and kissing with one of them.

 Maybe he was just reacting to her actions and imagining her as she was. Harold is a bit of a perv anyway but that doesn't mean he deserved what he got.

Hey how old do you figure Old Weird Harold is anyway?  I'm thinking 30ish.

rb

Hey how old do you figure Old Weird Harold is anyway?  I'm thinking 30ish.

rb

Lenny von Dohlen was around 33 when he was in TP.

I'm sure Harold was picturing Donna in the present day skinny dipping and doing all of that stuff, not a thirteen year old girl. I don't really get a pedophile vibe out of him. Remove the "we were 13" part of Donna's tale and it turns into a letter to Penthouse.

 What creeped me out is Laura recalling the story in her diary. I felt like I needed to either burn the book or scrape out my brain afterwards.