Twin Peaks: Season 3, Part 15 "There's Some Fear in Letting Go" Review

 "Goodbye, Margaret."

-Deputy Hawk

The episode begins with Nadine Hurley (Wendy Robie) visiting Ed (Everett McGill) and freeing him to be with Norma (Peggy Lipton).  Ed immediately goes to the Double R Diner, but has to wait for Norma on pins and needles as she speaks to her business partner, Walter (Grant Goodeve).  Norma ends their franchise deal and has Walter buy her out so she can focus on running the Double R.  After the meeting, Ed asks Norma to marry him and she agrees.

Mr. C (Kyle MacLachlan) arrives at the convenience store and he is greeted by the Woodsmen.  They eventually take him to a motel room where Phillip Jeffries (Nathan Frizzell) is waiting for him, although Jeffries no longer appeared human, but machine.  Jeffries claims that he was not the one who tried to have Mr. C killed.  When Mr. C asks him who Judy is, Jeffries says Mr. C has already met Judy and tells him how to find her.

Mr. C is teleported outside of the motel and back to the convenience store, where Richard Horne (Eamon Farren) is waiting for him with a gun.  Richard recognizes him as Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) and assumes he's an FBI agent.  Mr. C disarms and beats Richard before having him get in his truck and they drive off together. 

In the woods, Steven Burnett (Caleb Landry Jones) has a suicidal meltdown, while Gersten Hayward (Alicia Witt) tries to comfort him.  A man walking his dog startles them and Gersten hides and the man hurries away.  Gersten hears a gunshot.

At the Roadhouse, James Hurley (James Marshall) greets Renee (Jessica Szohr), which her husband, Chuck (Rod Rowland), doesn't appreciate.  Chuck and his friend attack James, but Freddie Sykes (Jake Wardle) knocks them both out with one punch each.  Both men end up in the hospital and both James and Freddie are arrested.

Chantal (Jennifer Jason Leigh) guns down both Duncan Todd (Patrick Fischler) and Roger (Joe Adler) in Todd's office.

Cooper watches the movie Sunset Boulevard and the name Gordon Cole is mentioned.  This triggers a memory for Cooper.  He proceeds to stick a fork in an electrical outlet, which shocks him.

Margaret Lanterman (Catherine E. Coulson) calls Deputy Hawk (Michael Horse) one last time before dying.  Hawk later informs Sheriff Truman (Robert Forster), Deputy Andy (Harry Goaz), Deputy Briggs (Dana Ashbrook), and Lucy (Kimmy Robertson) of her passing.

As Audrey Horne (Sherilyn Fenn) and Charlie (Clark Middleton) prepare to leave for the Roadhouse, Audrey continues to verbally berate Charlie.  He decides to stay home instead and Audrey attacks him.

At the Roadhouse, The Veils preform.  Ruby (Charlyne Yi) sits alone at a booth.  A pair of bikers forcibly remove her from the booth so they can sit there.  She crawls on the floor and screams.

What Works:

It's so great to see Norma and Ed finally get together.  It's something we've been waiting for for literally years.  They are two of the most wholesome characters on the show.  Not many characters on Twin Peaks get a happy ending, but it's nice to see that Norma and Ed do.  The show makes it painful for us though as we have to wait with Ed as Norma finishes her meeting, but it was worth the wait.

The reveal that Philip Jeffries is now a strange, teapot-looking machine is a wild one.  That was not something I expected on my Twin Peaks: The Return Bingo card.  It's not a satisfying resolution per se, but it's very creepy and allows the imagination to run wild.  I think that's the best case scenario here as any true explanation wouldn't be as satisfying as what our imagination can come up with.

I can't tell you how excited I was when Cooper heard the name Gordon Cole and then stuck his fork in the outlet.  The Dougie Jones storyline went on for a lot longer than I think any of us expected going in, and it's finally coming to an end.  At first it just feels like a typical Dougie Jones scene, but as soon as that name is mentioned, you know something is about to change.

The final scene at the Roadhouse is a strange one, but it gives me the creeps.  Ruby screaming her head off during the The Veils' song is unnerving.  I have no idea what it's all about, but it's an unsettling way to end the episode.

Finally, we lose Margaret Lanterman, aka The Log Lady, in this episode and it's brutally sad.  Catherine E. Coulson died 4 days after shooting her final scene and her conversation with Hawk will absolutely get the tears flowing.  It's not often where you get to see an actor who is facing death in real life and bringing that to a character.  It's a very real and powerful moment and a nice sendoff for both the character of Margaret and Catherine herself.  Rest in peace. 

What Sucks:

The scene with Steven and Gersten in the woods doesn't really work for me.  The actors do a good job, but I don't like how it ends with a gunshot off-screen.  We don't know if Steven shot himself or not.  We never get any resolution to this either.  It would be fine if we found out what happened in a later episode, but we don't.  It just feels kinda cheap.  That's something you would see in a pretentious student film and it doesn't work here.

Crystal Coffee:

The Crystal Coffee Award goes to the most competent character of the episode.  For this episode, the Award goes to Chantal Hutchens for easily killing Duncan Todd and Roger.  This is her 1st time winning this Award.

Verdict: 

This episode was a touching tribute to both Margaret Lanterman and Catherine E. Coulson.  It also has some exciting and interesting plot momentum and character development for Ed, Norma, Philip Jeffries, and Cooper.  I don't love the resolution, or lack thereof, of the Steven storyline, but this episode has still got it going on.

 9/10: Great