This might be my personal favorite Twin Peaks episode. It's not without its faults, but the second half makes up for practically anything that happens before it. And that's not to say what happens before everyone is at the roadhouse is not good television. It's quite good, and everything just feels more right than what was happening previously.
Before I get to what is essentially this episode's (and possibly the show's) greatest moment, let's touch upon some of the other interesting developments. After Gordon Cole takes off, Mike is brought to the Great Northern to try and identify Bob, and it appears to the viewer that Horne is the culprit.
Sadly, we learn that Harold Smith has killed himself. His character was a bit rough and overall it felt like his sole purpose was to add someone else to the mix that we think could have killed Laura. It's still sad to see his tragic death, but now the mysterious “other diary” of Laura's is in possession of the police.
Bobby and Shelly are struggling to come to grips with the fact that their lives kind of suck now. But then Leo starts spitting and saying “new shoes” over and over, which leads Bobby down a path that takes him to a small cassette tape hidden in one of Leo's boots. Bobby's hoping money is involved, but only time will tell. We also get a small scene with Ed and Nadine at the diner, which doesn't add much more than what we already have seen, but it does bring Norma into the mix.
But now to the good stuff. This part of the episode is perfectly set up and executed. Maddie announces that she's leaving Twin Peaks, while we get Louis Armstrong's “What a Wonderful World” playing on the record player. Then much later we cut back to the Palmer's house. The record is finished playing and skipping ominously. Mrs. Palmer is in some sort of distress and crawling headfirst down the stairs. She looks up, has a vision of a white horse standing in her house, and then she collapses.
Meanwhile, while all of this is going on, Cooper decides to arrest Benjamin Horne after Audrey tells him about how he runs One Eyed Jack's and had slept with Laura. Ben Horne is arrested and brought back to the station, where the log lady cryptically warns Cooper and the Sheriff that “there are owls in the roadhouse.” They head to the roadhouse where a performance is taking place. James and Donna are talking there. Suddenly, Cooper has a vision of the giant, and he warns in a chilling voice that “it is happening again.”
We cut back to the Palmer's house where we see Leland getting ready for something while looking in the mirror. And then we see it. Bob's face, laughing, flashes over Leland's. And now we know. Leland is being possessed by Bob, and is the murderer of his own daughter. Maddie comes downstairs, and what follows is one of the most frightening, violent, and downright disturbing things that has ever aired on primetime television. Maddie is murdered. Back in the roadhouse, Donna starts crying. The music is sad and foreboding. The old waiter from the Great Northern approaches Cooper and gently says to him “I'm so sorry.” The episode ends. Art.
Grade: A
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