S2, E9: Arbitrary Law

Back to the Double R: A Twin Peaks Rewatch

The wheels of Justice have brought us to the climax of the first major arc of the series, Season 2, Episode 9, “Arbitrary Law.” It’s a Big Time culmination of all the things that make this show beloved and bedeviling. This week, Jennifer invokes the horror trope where young people, mostly women, are punished for their passions; Damon assembles us all in a room to reveal the Whodunnit moves of the episode; Colin posits a color theory of Lynch’s dark Americana; and Jonathan gives a close look at Ray Wise, “The Searchers,” and the redemptive power of compassion. Also this week: A Very Special Twist! Damon and Jonathan debate the longstanding ABC-forces-the-reveal conundrum!!

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S2, E9 NOTES:
Tim Hunter (episode director)
Mark Frost, Harley Peyton, Robert Engels (episode writers)
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller)(1890-1976) (legendary British mystery writer and all-around badass)
Hercule Poirot (1920-, detective in several of Christie’s novels)
Sherlock Holmes (1887-, legendary fictional detective and smarty-pants)
Deus Ex Machina (classical, plot device wherein a story is solved suddenly and unexpectedly)
Color theory (Broad field of study dealing with the mixing and meanings of colors)
John Ford (1894-1973, legendary American film director, particularly Westerns)
The Searchers (1956, film, dir. John Ford; called one of the greatest Westerns ever)
John Wayne (1907-1979, legendary American actor)