Twin Peaks Recap: “The Return Part 6”

While Twin Peaks has always unraveled its mysteries with a slow-burn, “The Return Part 6,” begins to show the cracks in the series slow pace.

How many more episodes are we going to have to watch Kyle MacLachlan act as intelligent as a toddler as his character navigates the real world? In a particularly slow hour of television, Twin Peaks, “The Return Part 6,” seems to be setting certain events in motion that will have a larger impact on the rest of the season but for now, it seems like it’s taking forever to make any progress in the main storyline.

Dougie/Coop may be struggling to survive in the real world but MIKE sure isn’t ready to let the real Coop get sucked back into the Red Room instead of BOB. After the poor soul finds his way home from work with the help of some police officers, MIKE once again helps him sort the case files from work out. His work manages to save Dougie’s job, so much so that his boss has a newfound respect for his most unusual employee.

Image Credit: Showtime

It’s good that things are going well for Dougie professionally because his home life seems to tank by the minute. His wife, Janey, discovers his affair but is unable to express the depth of her anger because her husband no longer understands simple phrases. Despite his deep frustrations, she does take the time to go pay off the gangsters who Dougie owes money to. Naomi Watts delivers a powerful speech which at its hurt criticizes the criminals for taking advantage of lower-class people who they know will be unable to ever pay them back. Watts has been criminally underused since her introduction so it’s nice for, “The Return Part 6” to finally see her do something other than cook.

On a more unusual note, a bald midget in a motel room seems to have it out for Dougie as well. He spends his time rolling dice and recording the numbers until he receives two pictures, one of Dougie and the other of the woman who seems to be looking for him. While his ice pick pierces the former’s picture, he still pursues the latter at her office. After murdering the building’s occupants with crazed aggression, it’s unclear what his motive is and how he ties into everything.

Image Credit: Showtime

Back in the titular town of Twin Peaks, the drug problem seems to be emerging onto the scene. Eamon Farren’s bad-boy drug dealer (in the credits his name is Richard Horne) is getting mixed up with the wrong crowd when he accepts a bump of coke from a big time criminal. The guy pulls off an impressive magic stunt where he makes it perfectly clear that there is no scenario where Richard comes out a winner working for him but there’s no way out either way.

The younger man, who is high and has a temper, reacts to this disrespect by yelling in his truck as he drives back into town. Unfortunately, his anger leads him to speed down the wrong side of the road where he proceeds to plow down an innocent boy who was playing with his mother.

It makes sense that Twin Peaks would have another murder send shock waves through the town twenty-five years later. However, unlike Laura, who was not exactly the beacon of innocence everyone assumed she was, this young boy is. His death is senseless and heartbreaking but won’t remain a mystery like Laura’s.

Image Credit: Showtime

With plenty of eye-witnesses, including a poor mother who adores the pie from the Double R Diner, it’s only a matter of time before Richard is caught for the murder. While “The Return Part 6” may not reach the legal closure on the boy’s case, it seems like only a matter of time before either the police or the drug cartel Richard was mixed up in takes care of the situation.

Speaking of the police, Hawk finally finds the missing evidence he’s been looking for. After a coin mysteriously falls out of nowhere and rolls behind a toilet in the bathroom, Hawk realizes it’s a sign. Instead of a dime, it’s a coin with a Native American on it which directs him to check out a missing bolt in the bathroom door. While Deputy Chad thinks that Hawk has lost his mind, the Deputy Chief actually finds papers stuffed inside the stall door which will hopefully help him find Agent Cooper.

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Twin Peaks also manages to establish Deputy Chad as a terrible person in “The Return Part 6,” by not only having him continue to look down on Hawk but now to make fun of soldiers dealing with PTSD. A normal, empathetic person would express condolences upon hearing that his boss’s marriage has become so strained because his son has committed suicide after going to war but instead he laughs and makes a joke. Here’s hoping Chad is the next guy Richard Horne drives over in his drug-induced rage. “The Return Part 6,” also briefly introduces Laura Dern’s character at a bar where she greets Albert.

Even though she’s dressed like a “Harajuku girl” with that wig and crazy outfit, it turns out that she’s none other than the mysterious Diane that Coop was always reporting! Now that fans can finally put a face to the name of the woman heard so many times throughout the series run, hopefully, Diane can shed some light on how to get the real Coop back.

With only an hour this week, “The Return Part 6,” tries to cram a lot into the episode but it still feels very slow. Hopefully, with the progress that Hawk made in this episode along with the recent murder in town, Twin Peaks will get a jolt of energy for the rest of the season.

Write in the comment section below with your thoughts on “The Return Part 6,” as well as any new theories you have!