Twin Peaks: Season 3, Part 9 "This is the Chair" Review

 "I am not your foot."
-Jerry Horne's foot



Part 9 picks up with Mr. C (Kyle MacLachlan) as he meets up with his associates Hutch (Tim Roth) and Chantal (Jennifer Jason Leigh).  Mr. C sends them to kill Warden Murphy (James Morrison).

Agent Tammy Preston (Chrysta Bell) gets word about the discovery of Major Briggs' (Don S. Davis) body.  She, Gordon (David Lynch), Albert (Miguel Ferrer), and Diane (Laura Dern) fly out to Buckhorn, South Dakota.  They also learn Mr. C escaped from prison.  Diane receives a cryptic text from Mr. C, but keeps it to herself.  After examining Major Briggs' body, Tammy interviews William Hastings (Matthew Lillard).  It turns out, William and Ruth Davenport (Mary Stofle) had a shared interest in alternate dimensions.  They ended up finding their way into an alternate dimension where they met Major Briggs.  He asked them to get coordinates for him, which they did, before his head floated away.

Bushnell Mullins (Don Murray) gives his statement to the police about the attack on Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan).  The police can't find any information on Dougie Jones (Kyle MacLachlan) prior to 1997.  Detective D. Fusco (David Koechner) manages to get Cooper's fingerprints off of a mug.  The police manage to track down and arrest Ike the Spike (Christophe Zajac-Denek).

Sheriff Truman (Robert Forster), Hawk (Michael Horse), and Bobby (Dana Ashbrook) visit Bobby's mother, Betty (Charlotte Stewart), to ask her about Major Briggs' final conversation with Cooper.  Betty tells them that Garland foresaw this visit and gives them a metal tube hidden in the back of a chair.  Bobby manages to open it.  Inside is a note with a time, dates, and a location near Jack Rabbits Palace, a place Bobby and Garland played when Bobby was a kid.  They decide to go visit in 2 days, like the note says.  There is also a piece of a transmission that implies there are two Coopers.

Ben Horne (Richard Beymer) and Beverly Paige (Ashley Judd) almost share a romantic moment at the Great Northern, but Ben doesn't let it happen.  

At the Roadhouse, Hudson Mohawke performs followed by Au Revoir Simone, as Ella (Sky Ferreira) tells her friend, Chloe (Karolina Wydra), that she was fired for going to work high.


What Works:

This is the episode that brings Tim Roth onto to the show as Hutch.  I love Tim Roth and really enjoy his role on the show, even if it's minor.  He's just so easygoing, which is surprising due to his association with Mr. C.  He's just so relaxed about everything that it makes me feel relaxed by proxy.  Hutch is just a nice presence on the show, even if he is a murderer.

This episode has a major focus on Major Briggs.  It's really nice to revisit the Briggs family unit and listen to Betty talk about Garland and the future he saw for Bobby.  It's a sweet and emotional scene.  And it's awesome to see Bobby figure out the clues left for him by his father.  

We also get the reveal that William Hastings met Major Briggs in another dimension.  Matthew Lillard gives one hell of a performance as he explains the strange events he experienced.  It adds so much mythos to Major Briggs and its nice to see a character get so much love and appreciation even if Don S. Davis is no longer with us.

We also get a couple of really funny moments.  Sheriff Truman kicking Chad (John Pirruccello) out of the conference room is wonderful and I love to watch Chad continue to get dunked on.  We also have Jerry Horne (David Patrick Kelly) high off his ass in the woods and fighting his own foot.  Hilarious.


What Sucks:

The police storyline is a little bit lackluster for me in this episode.  This is the last time we see Ike the Spike on the show and his arrest is very straightforward and disappointing.  I was hoping for more from such a fun character, especially since it's his last appearance.  

I think this episode is lacking a big or iconic moment, especially in coming off of the incredible Part 8.  There are a handful of scenes the feel like wheel spinning and it's a bit of a letdown after the highs of the last episode.


Crystal Coffee:

The Crystal Coffee Award goes to the most competent character of the episode.  For Part 9, this Award goes to Bobby Briggs for figuring out the clues left behind by his father.  This is his 3rd time winning this Award, which ties him for 4th place overall with Audrey Horne.


Verdict:

This is a decent enough episode of Twin Peaks, but it's lacking any signature scene that makes it stand out, especially coming on the heels of Part 8.  Tim Roth and Matthew Lillard are both great and its nice the episode spends so much time on the impact of Major Briggs.  Plus Jerry Horne is hilarious in his brief appearance.  This is still a really good episode of television and has still got it going on, but it's a weaker episode of The Return.

 8/10: Really Good 

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