Twin Peaks Recap “The Return Part 10”

In a rather low-key episode, Twin Peaks spends a majority of the hour setting up storylines for the back half of the season or confirming early suspicions.

While “The Return Part 10,” isn’t as riveting as some of the earlier episode or as artistic as “The Return Part 8,” but it does seem to be the turning point for multiple characters. With Dougie seems to find himself in greater trouble with the criminal dealings in Las Vegas, his home life is finally starting to pick up. Janey takes him to the doctor (finally!) to get a medical opinion on her husband’s unusual behavior.

Unfortunately, the physician and Janey are distracted by Dougie’s seemingly overnight transformation into a completely fit man rather than the obese slob he once was. It sets off a kind of funny/kind of uncomfortable sequence with Janey seducing her husband and falling back in love with him because of his new attractiveness. While the scene is funny, it also makes one wonder if Dougie is mentally stable enough to consent or if there will be bigger repercussions for their romantic interlude.

The feud between casinos is back in “The Return Part 10” with the Mitchum brothers realizing that Dougie Jones is their jackpot mystery man. Despite the two being ecstatic over the arrest of Ike the Spike, their rival is stressed over the loss of his hitman. It’s revealed that corrupt insurance salesman, Anthony, is actually on the Casino’s payroll and is expected to pin the blame on Dougie so that the Mitchum brothers go after him instead.

He does so however it’s an almost fruitless visit because the two were already planning to go after Dougie before they were even aware of the insurance fraud. Considering what happened to Ike, Dougie’s life isn’t any real danger but the way the camera focused on Janey during her television interview, it could spell trouble for her and Sonny Jim.

In the town of Twin Peaks, things aren’t going that great either in “The Return Part 10”. Richard Horne is even more unhinged than usual with the clock ticking on his eventual arrest for the hit and run murder. Needing to skip town, he visits the teacher who witnessed his crime and murders her before demanding the corrupt deputy, Chad, intercept a letter she mailed to the Sheriff. While Chad is successful in getting to the postman first, he underestimates Lucy.

Like many characters, he writes off Lucy (and Andy by extension) as cheerful idiots but this is the same woman who has been much more aware of her surroundings than people give her credit for. She knows Chad is hiding something and it may be unclear whether she witnessed him sneak the letter into his shirt but she’s definitely on his trail.

Richard takes a stop on his way out-of-town at his grandmother’s thus confirming that he is the son of Audrey Horne. He assaults her and leaves poor Johnny confused on the ground while he takes all of the family’s money while insulting them. Considering he has transformed into the devil incarnate it seems all but inevitable that he’s the son of Evil Coop during a rape while Audrey was in a coma.

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Because it’s Twin Peaks, it could turn out to be something totally different but right now that’s the most logical explanation. It’s sad knowing that the love and friendship between Audrey and Good Coop have been shattered despite being one of the best things about the original series. The only good thing to come out of all of this is that the rebellious Horne will hopefully be making an appearance sooner rather than later.

“The Return Part 10” isn’t the most exhilarating episode of the Twin Peaks revival but it goes a long way for the rest of the season. Whether it’s the reveal that Diane is working with someone assumed to be Evil Coop or Gordon seeing a vision of a distraught Laura, it’s a turning point for the series. Even though it asks more questions, it also begins pulling the storylines together into one coherent plot rather than how disjointed the series was at the beginning.

The only dangling thread is how Shelly’s daughter fits into the whole scheme of the season. Will her storyline be disconnected for the entirety of the show like her mother’s or will the reveal in “The Return Part 10” of her abusive relationship be a major hint towards something larger?

Next: Twin Peaks Recap: “The Return Part Nine”

Tune in next week for more answers and hit the comments below with your thoughts on the episode!