Wow, only the second episode and we're already treated to extensive weirdness at the Lodge. The One-armed Man returns as does Laura Palmer (with the creepy line 'sometimes my arms bend back'). There are some incredibly strange moments here. Well, the whole thing is strange but even among that there are moments that stand out. Laura is whisked away. The red curtains disappear, revealing a pale horse resembling the one that appeared in FWWM. That's before we even get to the arm, which is now a tree that resembles a neuron. The big wow moment of the episode is when, in an incredibly surreal moment Cooper escapes the Red Room, flying through space to land in the glass box from the premiere episode. He floats while the cameras watch him, and the box inexplicably changes in size randomly. An epic connector to events of the previous episode that reveals the glass box was seemingly built in order to somehow communicate with the world of the Black Lodge.
Outside the Lodge, the focus is on how Cooper's doppelganger is getting on, and it does shed a bit more light on the story. It is also a tad less weird than the Black Lodge happenings, although it has some strange moments like Cooper's doppelganger massaging Jack's cheeks. The scene leading to Darya's death is protracted, ramping up the tension slowly like the glass box did in the premiere episode. Seems Real Cooper wants to get his doppelganger back into the Lodge so he can get out, but the doppelganger knows a way to thwart this plan. We also now know there are people in the physical world who want him dead.
Not all the stuff here works as well as the Red Room bizarreness. The introduction of two new characters in Vegas probably should have been saved for another episode where something interesting would actually arise from their introduction. David Lynch sees The Return as one long film, but that doesn't change the fact that it's in episode format.
Before the episode ends we get reacquainted with Shelly and James in a tearful scene. For those who say the new season is too cold... undoubtedly it has less warmth than the original, although I'd argue that's no bad thing. But there are still scenes like this, absolutely magical.
9.5/10
Outside the Lodge, the focus is on how Cooper's doppelganger is getting on, and it does shed a bit more light on the story. It is also a tad less weird than the Black Lodge happenings, although it has some strange moments like Cooper's doppelganger massaging Jack's cheeks. The scene leading to Darya's death is protracted, ramping up the tension slowly like the glass box did in the premiere episode. Seems Real Cooper wants to get his doppelganger back into the Lodge so he can get out, but the doppelganger knows a way to thwart this plan. We also now know there are people in the physical world who want him dead.
Not all the stuff here works as well as the Red Room bizarreness. The introduction of two new characters in Vegas probably should have been saved for another episode where something interesting would actually arise from their introduction. David Lynch sees The Return as one long film, but that doesn't change the fact that it's in episode format.
Before the episode ends we get reacquainted with Shelly and James in a tearful scene. For those who say the new season is too cold... undoubtedly it has less warmth than the original, although I'd argue that's no bad thing. But there are still scenes like this, absolutely magical.
9.5/10