Seriable’s Mark Jones reviews Twin Peaks Episode 3 — “Rest In Pain”
Opening with Cooper once again recording a message for Diane it becomes clear that Episode 3 is going to be dominated by one thing, the funeral of Laura Palmer. Before it gets to that tumultuous scene at the cemetery though there’s work to be done as Cooper has to tell Harry about his dream where he was told who killed Laura Palmer.
Before he meets Harry in the Great Northern, Audrey ambushes him on his way to breakfast. She’s oozing sexuality but still can’t penetrate Cooper’s steely emotions. Even when he notes the slant in her handwriting during their conversation, which “indicates a romantic nature, a heart that yearns”, there’s not even a flicker that shows he might know he’s the object of her affections despite his proven skills at picking up on people’s hidden romantic feelings.
Any expectations that viewer might have had about the killer being revealed are bluntly squashed by Cooper as Harry asks him the all important question of “who killed Laura Palmer” to which he replies “Harry let me tell you about the dream I had last night”. He does and though the identity of the killer was whispered in his ear he unfortunately can’t remember it. The revelation about the killer is one that will have to be decoded and as the great detective said “my dream is a code waiting to be broken, break the code solve the crime”. It won’t be long before the first clue is confirmed as when Albert delivers his findings it’s revealed that Laura Palmer had her arms bent back when they were tied together.
This episode is light on the comedic scenes compared to previous instalments but does offer a classic Cooper line just before the scene where he is told about the Bookhouse Boys, “this must be where pies go when they die” he exclaims tucking into a piece of huckleberry pie.
The scene where Harry, Hawk and Big Ed tell Cooper about their secret society is an important one as it’s the first time that he steps out of his jurisdiction in order to help solve the case. Before they get down to business Cooper instantly detects Big Ed’s relationship with Norma, as he did previously with Harry and Josie, which seemed to impress Ed and ease his reluctance about letting him in on the secret. There’s also an insightful speech by Harry about the nature of the evil that lurks in Twin Peaks;
“There’s a sort of evil out there. Something very, very strange in these old woods. Call it what you want. A darkness, a presence. It takes many forms but… its been out there for as long as anyone can remember and we’ve always been here to fight it.”
It hints of darker things to come but for now the Bookhouse Boys’ main mission is to stop the flow of drugs coming into Twin Peaks and question Jacques Renault’s brother Bernard.
Another new and significant character is introduced in Episode 3 and that’s Laura’s cousin Madeline. Played by the same actress, Sheryl Lee, the cousin comes across as the complete opposite of Laura. She looks a bit dorkier with her big glasses, seems to be a fairly innocent person and her hair is jet black compared to Laura’s blond locks. Her arrival stirs up a lot of emotion in Leland who seems to be getting crazier each episode and this one is no exception.
Up to the point of Laura’s funeral there’s tension building everywhere in town. It starts at the morgue where Albert is refusing to release Laura’s body for her funeral. One of the great Albert Rosenfield scenes it sees him get punched in the nose by Harry, a punch which lays him out over the top of Laura’s dead body, and he also amusingly picks up on Benjamin Horne‘s “irritating” way of expressing himself. Despite his negative attitude to the small town world of Twin Peaks his appearances are always welcome and he has some of the best written, and best delivered, dialogue in this episode.
Later on we get a glimpse of the stress that the Hornes are put under by their slow eldest offspring Johnny who still acts like a child (although the copy of Peter Pan he is clutching at Laura’s Funeral and frequent visits from Jacoby hints that his the condition is the result of some childhood trauma rather than a disability) and refuses to take his Indian head-dress off for Laura’s funeral, but is persuaded to do so by Dr Jacoby. We hear them arguing through the door but our viewpoint of their argument is from Audrey’s spy hole in a secret room, suggesting that it hasn’t just been since Laura’s death that she’s been suspicious of her father.
All this tension culminates in the funeral scene itself, specifically at the moment when James turns up during Bobby’s speech and starts a fight. Once again Bobby threatens to kill James and in slow motion we see them lunge at each other while the funeral goers attempt to restrain them. This upsetting moment also sees Leland struggle to contain his grief and jump in the grave with Laura at which point the machine that lowers the coffin malfunctions causing it to repeatedly go up and down.
While there might not be so many obviously funny scenes it’s hard not to read something into the fact that the dead Laura Palmer has had two men on top of her in this episode, however dark the implications might be.
The funeral scene sees all the key characters gathered in one place, with the exception of Dr Jacoby that is. In a touching scene after the funeral Cooper approaches the Dr and asks him why he hadn’t attended. Jacoby explains how he’s not a good man because he doesn’t care about his patient’s problems, apart from Laura. Even though we know he’s really a dirty old man it’s clear he has a genuine affection for Laura which seems to appease cooper for the time being.
There’s no cliff hanger ending this time round and the day ends with Cooper and Hawk taking Leland home, after he starts acting oddly at the Great Northern. It might not have the same impact as the previous episode but Episode 3 indicates that things are getting darker in Twin Peaks and the audience is left to ponder the significance of the red traffic light which the final shot lingers on.
Episode Rating: 9/10 Seriable Stars
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