Twin Peaks: Season 2, Episode 11 "Masked Ball" Review

 "May a smile be your umbrella!"

-Gordon Cole

"Masked Ball" picks up with James Hurley (James Marshall) driving away from Twin Peaks.  He stops at a bar and meets Evelyn Marsh (Annette McCarthy), who has recently gotten into a car crash in her husband's prized car.  She offers to let James stay in her guest room if he fixes the car, to which he agrees.

Agent Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) and Sheriff Truman (Michael Ontkean) interview Betty Briggs (Charlotte Stewart) about the disappearance of her husband, Major Briggs (Don S. Davis).  She tells them that the Major disappears on occasion for work, but refuses to elaborate more apart from saying that the Major is very interested in the woods around Twin Peaks.

Cooper meets with Agent Hardy (Clarence Williams III), but provides no evidence to defend himself other than the confidence that he is innocent of any criminal wrongdoing.  Hardy warns Cooper that the Canadian government could try to extradite him and that Hardy himself is considering a full psychological examination recommendation for Cooper. 

Cooper talks to Truman and Deputy Hawk (Michael Horse) about the White Lodge.  They tell him it's a local legend and it is where the spirits that rule man and nature reside.  Hawk tells Cooper there is also a Black Lodge, a shadow-version, where the dead go to be purified and that it can annihilate a person's soul if they enter with imperfect courage.

The DEA sends Agent Dennis Bryson (David Duchovny) to investigate Cooper's alleged theft of cocaine from One Eyed Jacks.  Cooper, who is familiar with Agent Bryson, is shocked to discover that Bryson now identifies and presents as female and goes by Denise.  She later tells Cooper that she had to go undercover as a transgender prostitute and discovered that presenting as female felt right.  She then goes to work on Cooper's case and discovers traces of cocaine in his car.  She believes Cooper when he says he is being framed, but says they need proof.

That night, Cooper receives a chess move from Windom Earle (Kenneth Welsh) and a threatening tape that tells him the king must die.

Nadine Hurley (Wendy Robie) has started going back to high school.  She develops a crush on Mike Nelson (Gary Hershberger) and tries flirting with him in the weight room.  Mike isn't interested, but Nadine's superhuman strength causes the wrestling coach to ask her to join the team.

Dick Tremayne (Ian Buchanan) visits the police station with Nicky (Joshua Harris), an orphan that Dick has volunteered to help mentor in order to impress Lucy (Kimmy Robertson), but discovers she isn't at the station.  Deputy Andy (Harry Goaz) offers to take Dick and Nicky out for malts at the Double R Diner, where Nicky pranks both of them.

Josie (Joan Chen) tells Truman that she was rescued from the streets of Hong Kong by a man called Thomas Eckhardt (David Warner), who now wants her back and threatened to have Truman killed if she didn't return to Hong Kong.  At the airport, she escaped.  She tells Truman that Eckhardt will come after them and she believes he killed her husband, Andrew Packard (Dan O'Herlihy).  Josie later goes to Catherine (Piper Laurie) to come clean and beg for help.  Catherine tells Josie she will have to work for her as a maid or she will give her up to Eckhardt.  Later, it's revealed that Andrew is still alive and he and Catherine are using Josie as bait for Eckhardt.

Ben Horne (Richard Beymer) is visited by Hank Jennings (Chris Mulkey) who informs him that Ben no longer owns One Eyed Jacks.  This causes Ben's sanity to slip even further.

Finally, Dougie Milford (Tony Jay), the publisher of the local newspaper and brother of the mayor, gets married to Lana (Robyn Lively), a much younger woman.  Mayor Dwayne Milford (John Boylan) objects during the ceremony, but Truman escorts him out and the rest of the wedding and the reception go off without a hitch and Denise manages to catch the bouquet.

What Works:

My favorite part of this episode is the introduction of Denise Bryson.  This was a very positive portrayal of a transgender character for 1990.  There are a few small moments in Denise's storyline that haven't aged the greatest looking back from 2023, but having a transgender character shown in this light was unheard of when this episode aired.  Cooper is shocked, but quickly accepting and supportive.  Their conversation at the Great Northern is a really nice moment.  Plus I love David Duchovny and it's fun to see him play a federal agent before the existence of The X-Files.

I also really like the scene where Hawk explains the White Lodge and the Black Lodge.  He keeps it vague, but knowing how important the Black Lodge ends up being, it's exciting to see it introduced by name.

I also enjoy Betty Briggs' mostly unconcerned attitude towards her husband's disappearance.  It's a small moment, but her saying that the Major just vanishes for work sometime is very funny.

Finally, the reveal that Andrew Packard is still alive really threw me for a loop the first time I watched this show.  This is a character we've been told has been dead since the very first episode and now he's back.  It's an intriguing twist, but what is most exciting is that it brings Dan O'Herlihy to the show, who is an actor that I'm a big fan of.

What Sucks:

This episode introduces us to two of the least popular storylines in all of Twin Peaks.  First is the Little Nicky subplot, which actually doesn't bother me as much as it does other people.  I admit that it's fairly pointless, but it gets better in later episodes.  Not so much here.  While I like the pairing of Andy and Dick, watching Nicky prank them at the diner was...dumb.

Finally, we have the infamous Evelyn Marsh subplot.  Let's take everyone's least favorite character and send him off onto a pointless storyline that features entirely uninteresting characters.  I don't need more of James talking about his bike and his feelings.  This storyline doesn't go anywhere interesting and it only gets worse from here.

Crystal Coffee:

The Crystal Coffee Award goes to the most competent character of the episode.  For "Masked Ball," this Award goes to...Evelyn Marsh, which is most unfortunate.  I have to give her credit for getting a total stranger to come and work on her car for nothing more than room and board.  That's just good business.  This is her first and hopefully last time winning this Award.

Verdict:

This is definitely one of the weaker episodes of Twin Peaks and is my least favorite of the show so far.  The Nicky and Evelyn subplots get off on a bad foot, but at least the Nicky story gets better.  I do think the good far outweighs the bad and I still like the episode because I love this show as a whole.  I love the introduction of Denise, the discussion of the Black and White Lodges, and Betty Briggs has a really funny moment.  Plus we now have Dan O'Herlihy on the show!

 7/10: Good