Twin Peaks: Season 2, Episode 19 "Variations on Relations" Review

 "YOU ARE WITNESSING A FRONT THREE-QUARTER VIEW OF TWO ADULTS SHARING A TENDER MOMENT!"

-Gordon Cole

"Variations on Relations" picks up with Agent Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) and the local lawmen returning to Owl Cave to find more of the petroglyph uncovered.  They figure out Windom Earle (Kenneth Welsh) has been there and Cooper has Andy (Harry Goaz) draw the petroglyph.

Earle tells the story of the White Lodge and the Black Lodge to Leo Johnson (Eric Da Re) and a traveling musician, Rusty (Ted Raimi).  Earle than constructs a large, paper-mâché chess pawn with Rusty stuck inside of it.  Earle shoots and kills Rusty with a crossbow.

Catherine Martell (Piper Laurie) asks Pete (Jack Nance) to help her open the puzzle box.  Pete accidentally drops it and it opens, revealing another puzzle box.

At the diner, Shelley Johnson (Mädchen Amick) reluctantly enters the Miss Twin Peaks competition at Bobby's (Dana Ashbrook) insistence.  Meanwhile, Lana Milford (Robyn Lively) also enters the competition and asks her fiancé, Mayor Dwayne Milford (John Boylan), to help her win as he is one of the judges.  Agent Cooper arrives and asks Annie Blackburn (Heather Graham) to go on a nature study with him.  She agrees.  Cooper overhears Shelley reciting the poem given to her by Windom Earle and requests to see the note.

Cooper examines the pieces of the poem and concludes they were transcribed by Leo, but knows the poem is from Earle.  He then requests Major Briggs (Don S. Davis) gather as much information as he can on Earle's involvement with Project Blue Book.  The Major agrees.

Cooper takes Annie for a boat ride on the lake and they discuss their troubled pasts.  They don't realize they are being watched by Earle.  They head back to the diner and join Gordon Cole (David Lynch) and Shelley, who kiss as Bobby walks in and is stunned by the situation.

Dick Tremayne (Ian Buchanan) hosts a wine tasting at the Great Northern with Lana and Lucy (Kimmy Robertson) assisting.  Lucy gets offended at Dick's behavior and ends up spitting wine in his face.

Cooper and Jack Wheeler (Billy Zane) have a casual conversation about love at the Great Northern.  A telegram arrives for Jack and he realizes he needs to check out of the hotel.

Donna Hayward (Lara Flynn Boyle) continues to try and get information out of her parents about her mother's relationship to Ben Horne (Richard Beymer), but doesn't get anywhere.

A large wooden box is found at a park gazebo.  Worried that it may be a bomb, Cooper manages to get the box open from a safe distance.  Inside is the large chess pawn with the dead Rusty inside.   

What Works:

I don't know whose idea it was to cast Ted Raimi and put him in scenes with Kenneth Welsh, but they deserve all of the praise.  I love Ted Raimi and he plays such a goofy character here.  His scenes with Windom Earle are probably my favorite of the episode.  As goofy as Rusty is, his death still manages to be really sad and it shows another very scary and unhinged side of Earle.

The brief romance of Gordon Cole and Shelly is another highlight.  It's such a small part of the episode, but it's absolutely hilarious, especially Bobby's reaction.  If only Gordon could have stuck around town a bit longer.  What could have been...

The wine tasting is another silly event that doesn't really add a ton to the show in terms of story, but Dick Tremayne being a pompous ass has been my favorite part of this rewatch.  The interactions between Dick, Lucy, Andy, and Lana are simply gold.  I could watch a whole episode of them at a wine tasting.  Dick accidentaly getting wine on his bandages always makes me laugh.

I haven't been a fan of Jack Wheeler for the most part on this rewatch of the show, but I think he gets his best scene of the series in this episode.  I like the conversation he has with Cooper by the fireplace.  It loses some of his impact when you realize that he's talking about Audrey (Sherilyn Fenn), who he's only really known for a few days, but it's a well-written and acted scene and a nice moment between two characters who haven't met yet.

What Sucks:

I'm still annoyed by the Donna and her parents storyline.  It's just not very interesting and painfully obvious.  Luckily we don't spend too much time on it in this episode.

Crystal Coffee:

The Crystal Coffee Award goes to the most competent character of the episode.  For "Variations on Relations," this Award goes to Dale Cooper for figuring out that Leo is connected to Earle, getting Major Briggs to help him, and for managing to open the gazebo box in a clever and safe way.  This is his 11th time winning this Award.

Verdict:

This is a really fun episode.  Ted Raimi, Gordon and Shelly, and the wine-tasting are all hilarious and fun.  This kind of stuff is why I love this show.  Rusty's death manages to still be impactful even though we just met the character and Jack gets his best scene on the show.  I don't love the Donna stuff, but the rest of the episode has absolutely got it going on.

 9/10: Great