Twin Peaks: Laura's Secret Diary Rewatch

September 4, 2014 10:13 AM - Season 2, Episode 4

Leland confesses to murdering Jacques Renault. Meanwhile, Ben receives a ransom video for Audrey, specifying that Cooper should be the one to deliver the money. Josie returns, raising Harry's suspicions, and a mysterious Japanese businessman (Mr. Tojimura) comes to the Great Northern. In Donna's investigation, Harold reads from Laura's secret diary. An elusive and influential anonymous food critic is rumored to be coming to town, and Norma takes steps to spruce up The Double R.

Scheduling: new episodes posted every Tuesday and Thursday. Both re-watchers and new viewers are welcome.

Watching: available for streaming on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and for free on Hulu and CBS's site.

Previous Episode Threads:
Season One: Pilot, Traces to Nowhere, Zen, or the Skill to Catch a Killer, Rest in Pain, The One-armed Man, Cooper's Dreams, Realization Time, The Last Evening
Season Two: May the Giant Be With You, Coma, The Man Behind the Glass

Bonus Stuff: David Lynch recently gave an interview to The Daily Beast, touching on (among other things) the future of Twin Peaks and Television as an expressive medium.

posted by codacorolla (8 comments total)

Ugh, the food critic tangent. Just as the irritating Harold thread starts to close, another irritating thread opens. Why does Norma even care if a food critic comes to her diner? She literally serves the entire population of Twin Peaks, seemingly for 24 hours a day. I suppose she's competing with the Lamplighter, which Dale was so keen on early on, but they seem to be about 30 miles away.

I do like Judge Sterwood, though. Sometimes the show captures the fact that Twin Peaks is a small, distant town based on one industry, and so can't function like a city would, with the sort of public utilities and professionals a city would have. And so, instead of a court system, they have an eccentric, Roy Bean-like older judge that travels from town to town, setting up in bars. No wonder there is so much general lawlessness in Twin Peaks -- it's impossible to be even remotely litigious, because it will take forever to get your case before a judge, and the police have to be absolutely certain they want to try somebody for a crime, for the same reason.

I know the sign for Twin Peaks reads 51,201, but Lynch and Frost wanted it to be 5,120, and generally treat the town as being that small. This is one of those episodes where Twin Peaks is tiny.
posted by maxsparber at 12:00 PM on September 4, 2014

I think that one of the problems is that out of all of the added characters they're mostly one-note. The core cast is fairly layered, and even heels (like Catherine) have deeper personalities, and you probably end up rooting for them eventually. Someone like Norma's Mom's fiance (whatever his name is - I forget) are flat as a pancake and about as interesting.
posted by codacorolla at 12:18 PM on September 4, 2014

I'd love to know how the opening pull-out from the cavernous nooks and crannies of the interrogation room's acoustic tile was pulled off. I assume that the production date precludes the use of CGI, but I can't see them building a practical model for just that one shot either. Does anybody out there know?

The Goofication of Andy continues, this time with a borderline workplace sexual-harassment incident. (of course, those words didn't become a household phrase until the next year during the Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill hearings.) I know I'm probably answering my own question, but in what universe other than Twin Peaks is it considered "okay" to collect a sperm sample in a police station bathroom? Andy really could've waited to schedule an appointment...

I like the bubbly Great Northern check-in clerk who tips everyone off about M.T. Wentz. I could tell the actress was really giving it her all in a walk-on role. I'll have to see if she pops up again, or at the very least gets an in-universe promotion.

What's with Hank's long, meaningful look straight into the camera after he swipes the undercover detective's wallet? Does Hank have fourth-wall privileges?

It's neat how Judge Sternwood manages to seem like he's always been there, and I give all the credit to Royal Dano's performance. He just projects such a perfect aura of authority and credibility that you don't question his prior relationship to the other characters, or his integrity as an original character, even if the script makes a point of underlining his striking similarity to Cooper.

Do Hank and Norma live in the diner's kitchen? When the gangsters bust in, Hank stumbles to the door in his PJs. Maybe Hank is just sleeping there until he "proves" himself to Norma.
posted by Strange Interlude at 5:59 PM on September 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

I looked up the Great Northern clerk -- she's played by Bellina Logan, who's popped up in a number of other TV shows and Lynch films, so I'm guessing that Lynch must've liked her here.
posted by Strange Interlude at 6:05 PM on September 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

I was surprised to discover the diner closed, as it has always been presented as a 24-hour joint. I mean, how else to explain that Shelley gets off her shift before school starts?
posted by maxsparber at 6:37 PM on September 4, 2014

So many awful disguises traipsing through the Great Northern!
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 7:59 PM on September 5, 2014 [1 favorite]

I'm sorry to say that I was actually fooled by "Mr. Takamura" the first time through.
posted by codacorolla at 8:36 AM on September 6, 2014

I know I'm probably answering my own question, but in what universe other than Twin Peaks is it considered "okay" to collect a sperm sample in a police station bathroom? Andy really could've waited to schedule an appointment...

I can imagine the production planning meeting where Lynch gets Angelo Badalamenti on the phone and asks him to compose a light jazzy piece that perfectly expresses "I'm looking for a place to jerk off at work".
posted by dr_dank at 6:49 AM on February 6, 2015