Twin Peaks: Season 2, Episode 14 "Double Play" Review

 "I don't wanna talk.  I wanna shoot."

-Mayor Dwayne Milford

"Double Play" picks up with the investigation of the dead man found in the Twin Peaks sheriff's station.  Agent Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) guesses details of the cause of death before Dr. Hayward (Warren Frost) even finishes examining the body.  Cooper believes Windom Earle (Kenneth Welsh) is responsible and gives backstory to Sheriff Truman (Michael Ontkean).  Earle was Cooper's first partner and they were working a protection detail of a federal witness, Caroline (Brenda E. Mathers).  Cooper and Caroline fell in love, but Caroline was eventually killed.  Caroline was Earle's wife and Cooper believes Earle killed her.  Her cause of death was the same as the dead man.

Major Briggs (Don Davis) visits the station and tells Cooper and Truman that he believes he was taken to the White Lodge when he disappeared.

Mayor Dwayne Milford (John Boylan) arrives at the station with the intention of shooting Lana (Robin Lively) in revenge, but Cooper convinces the two of them to talk things out.  The two of them end up kissing and planning to adopt a child.

Truman gets word that Jonathan (Mak Takano) was killed in Seattle.  He asks Cooper to investigate to see if Josie (Joan Chen) was responsible because Truman knows that he can't be impartial where Josie is concerned.

Leo Johnson (Eric Da Re) attacks Shelley (Mädchen Amcik).  Bobby Briggs (Dana Ashbrook) arrives and together the two of them fight off Leo.  He takes off into the woods and gets lost.  Leo ends up finding a cabin occupied by Windom Earle.

Andy (Harry Goaz) tells Lucy (Kimmy Robertson) the theory that he and Dick Tremayne (Ian Buchanan) believe about Little Nicky (Joshua Harris) murdering his parents.  Lucy doesn't buy it for a second and gets Dr. Hayward involved.  He tells Andy and Dick that Nicky was a product of rape and his mother died during childbirth.  He then lost his foster parents in a car accident.  The story devastates both men and reduces them to tears.  

James Hurley (James Marshall) meets Jeffrey Marsh (John Apicella) face-to-face.  James feels guilty about his affair with Evelyn (Annette McCarthy) and plans to leave, with Evelyn begging her to stay.

Donna (Lara Flynn Boyle) arrives at the nearby bar with James' money.  Evelyn meets her and tells her James has gone on to Mexico.  Donna doesn't buy it.  That night, Evelyn informs James that Jeffrey has been killed in a car accident.  James realizes Evelyn set him up to take the fall for Jeffrey's death as the cops arrive.  Evelyn tells James she loves him and that it was all Malcolm's (Nicholas Love) plan.  James flees and runs into Donna outside.

With Nadine Hurley (Wendy Robie) believing she is a teenager and Hank Jennings (Chris Mulkey) being arrested for parole violations, Ed (Everett McGill) and Norma (Peggy Lipton) decide to finally be together.

Catherine Martell (Piper Laurie) revels to Pete (Jack Nance) that Andrew (Dan O'Herlihy) is still alive.  Catherine and Andrew fill in Pete on the history of Josie and Thomas Eckhardt (David Warner).  Meanwhile, Eckhardt arrives at the Great Northern.

What Works:

This is the episode that finally introduces us to Windom Earle.  I know Earle is a controversial character in Twin Peaks, but I love him and think he's a great addition to the show.  Kenneth Welsh is just so fun in the role.  He only gets one scene here, but he's instantly mysterious and charismatic.  He's a great note to end the episode on.

I love the moment where Ed and Norma finally decide to be together.  It's a bittersweet moment when you look at the series as a whole, but it is nice to see these characters finally get a win, even if it won't last.

The other thing I really like about the episode is the tone.  This episode has such a strange tone.  It's very silly and pretty dark and swings back and forth between those two extremes rapidly.  I know that doesn't work for a lot of people, but I enjoy tonal whiplash like that.

What Sucks:

The Evelyn and James storyline continues.  At least we know what Evelyn was up to now, but this still feels wholly unnecessary.  Adding Donna to the mix only makes things worse.

The Civil War reenactment storyline has not aged well.  I can enjoy Ben Horne losing his marbles, but why does it have to involve him trying to make the south win the Civil War?  Couldn't it have been something else?  Dr. Jacoby (Russ Tamblyn) seems a little too eager to sing "Dixie" with Ben.

Finally, I don't love the stuff with the Mayor and Lana.  I'm glad they're not slut-shaming her at least, but it's still not exactly a fun storyline.

Crystal Coffee: 

The Crystal Coffee Award goes to the most competent character of the episode.  For "Double Play," this Award goes to Lana Milford for using her charm to stop the Mayor from killing her.  Cooper and the Sheriff's Department were certainly no help.  This is Lana's first time winning this Award.

Verdict:

"Double Play" is another weaker episode of Twin Peaks.  It's great that we get Kenneth Walsh on the show, we get a sweet moment with Ed and Norma, and I love the tonal whiplash, but we have three storylines that range from dull to problematic that bring down the episode, even though I still like it as a whole.

 7/10: Good