The Mr. C/Ray interaction explains a lot in this episode. In the rancho rosa screen we had white and black background and electricity target, bounded by green(nature, state/government, 'how things are' as you find them organized, etc.). Mr. C makes Ray put on the green-gold ring with the mother symbol on it before he kills him 'ending his story', like Mr. C saying to Ray, I am in control here, this is how things are going to be, just enjoy-gold within these bounds and take orders from me; but this law is excessive and criminal, not rational, about Mr. C's wild pursuit for power, money, enjoyment, BOB. Dougie was also wearing that green-mother-gold ring, which is why he was following all those criminals, chasing Jade, playing 'how things are', gambling, trying to be a 'big money man' and win the respect of Janey E; he was enslaved to nature, betraying himself. Mullins here has also turned for money, now in with the Mitchums like Dougie: the hero in this situation is Anthony Sinclair who is risking his life to make the situation right, both him and Dougie were stealing money and working with criminals and corrupt cops, Dougie and Mullins are still doing it and were going to have Sinclair locked up while letting 'Mr. Jackpots' Dougie off the hook. Sinclair was wrong to say Dougie is why he turned around, he did it himself, all Dougie did was become infatuated with his dandruff, this just gave Sinclair the time to make the heroic stand and think back to himself about what he was doing. Mullins and Dougie have not done this, and it is wrong that they are now demanding that Sinclair apologize and making him out to be the bad guy. They are all guilty of working with those criminals, stealing money, this is what the world imposes on them, a 'nature' controlled and governed by Mr. C/billionaires, etc., capitalism and the crazy rush for profit/enjoyment, etc., destroying the world apart, ending justice, love, etc., enslaving it to feed some tyrant mafia that happened to get the better of some business dealings, so the 'spice' can flow, regardless of the irrational consequences.
Mr. C is just like the 'money man' Walter here, telling Norma to 'compromise her pies'(her love and care that makes them 'extra special', what is special in Norma etc.), and Norma betrays her love Big Ed for this guy easily, just like she did for Hank prior, and just like Shelly did against Bobby for Red, the drug dealing big money man, why? Norma, Shelly, 'lost their story', their true desire/love, etc., by some man that hurt them(like Sarah Palmer on repeat reliving the defeat, getting hit down in a boxing match), like a Mr. C that came in and destroyed their life(Diane); but yet they still are driven to love/desire(James' song), but now they are being told to 'take the ring' by the same types that harmed them(just like Mike gave the ring to Laura) by people like Red and Walter....forget about love/desire, compromise it, this is just the way the world is, corrupted, rotten, always going to be like this, you can just defend yourself some, try to be shallow, cheap, and cruel like us, this is nature/the state of things, tyranny, forget justice, true love, dont be 'true to yourself and your pies', just enjoy this money, take the gold shovel, gamble some, do what you can, if you end up in rancho rosa/shit again, well thats how it is, too bad, etc., while money/enjoyment gets funneled to Walter, Mullins, Mitchums, Mr. C, etc. Yet there are 'no stars', this is not just 'how it is', can break out of this just like Mr. C or Richard, painful to face it(as Audrey is seeing), but can remember that story and stand for it(for Audrey, of the 'girl down the lane', what she was in the first series before Wheller or Mr. C 'broke her'), rather than 'taking the ring', accepting the tyranny of some 'money men' as 'just how it is'. Bobby and Ed were trying to get back to breaking out of the tyranny(Bobby 'finding the major', Ed going back with his true love Norma), but after seeing the reign of 'money men' over Norma, Ed is trying to hide his desire burning his 'coordinates to Jack rabbits palace'(place of dreams, how a man should be, etc.) his desire because of how the world is. James here doesnt seem to go through the pain so that he can assert it properly(like Audrey was doing with Charlie), but just giving a gloss that everything is alright 'the way it is' and seeking desire there where it has no place in the 'way things are'(Audrey going to the bar), we will see what happens when he hits the 'money men'?
I loved that whole scene. As soon as they mentioned arm-wrestling, I just knew some really messed-up sh*t was gonna go down. I was not disappointed.
How Mr. C sees the whole match as just play, in particular. Like, the guys explain the rules, Mr. C says, "What is this, Kindergarten?" (agreeing with Mr. C is a special sort of cognitive dissonance) and then spends the whole match just messing around, going "This isn't comfortable, wouldn't you rather be in starting positions?" Just playing with his victim, and screwing with Ray's sanity (Ray is freaking the hell out by the end).
And then the overkill: I think Mr. C actually injured the guy's arm before punching him. That kind of whiplash from letting the arm fall forward and slamming it back over, what, 120 degrees into a table that quickly can't be good. That split second before his face was caved in hurt, and Mr. C intended it to.
The scene was perfect in building tension and superbly executed (literally!). Strong start to this episode.
Kyle M acted his socks off in that episode. If he doesn't get an award for his skills, there's no justice in this world.
It's easy to overlook the portrayal of DougieCoop, because it's so passive. It's no mean feat to go from a total "In your face and fuck you badass" to "Hello flowers, hello trees" and do it convincingly but he does a masterful job. Most actors can do one character type well but KM seems to have the whole bag of tricks.
That I found myself root for DarkDale in the wrestling match is one of the more awful things I have felt recently.
100% this!
I kept telling myself to stop rooting for Mr. C - he's the BAD GUY! - but I still wanted him to win that arm wrestling match.
That I found myself root for DarkDale in the wrestling match is one of the more awful things I have felt recently.
100% this!
I kept telling myself to stop rooting for Mr. C - he's the BAD GUY! - but I still wanted him to win that arm wrestling match.
Me too!
Lynch & Frost are diabolically clever.
That I found myself root for DarkDale in the wrestling match is one of the more awful things I have felt recently.
His opponent was a smug creep, to put it mildly. Karma came for him.
But was he worse than DarkDale? I don't think ANYONE is worse than DarkDale. Knowing that he was not going to be undone by this big smug creep, there were no real surprises in this sequence for me. But still- it's like rooting for Hannibal Lechter to enjoy eating the brains. Only worse. I would like to wash out my mind a little...
When BOB inhabits a host such as Leland Palmer, he can take over the host's personality whenever he chooses. For instance, when Maddie dies, BOB seems to choose to stay in Leland until, like the Wizard of Oz, water from a sprinkler system seems to flush him out.
When BOB inhabits a host which isn't human, but is a Black Lodge dopperganger, he seems to have otherworldy powers such as recovering from gunshots (with the help of Woodsmen and Electricians), and having extraordinary strength.
This makes me wonder why BOB would ever choose to inhabit a mortal host rather than an immortal host. Maybe BOB broke the rules. MIKE chose a travelling shoe salesman, I don't think MIKE would choose to inhabit a doppelganger. So many questions!
No, he caused Leland to kill himself by ramming his head into the wall. He left when Leland was dying.
Choosing to inhabit mortals: to experience causing human suffering, and also the human physical pleasures. To Laura: "I want to taste through your mouth."
You're right Karen, thank you, I forgot that while Leland was still under BOB's control, he said, and i quote "Oh Leland, you've been a good host, but now it's time to shuffle off to Buffalo."
So BOB was not flushed out of Leland, BOB chose to leave Leland as there was no more use for his host.
So in the final episode of Season 2, when Leland's doppelganger tells Cooper "I did not kill anybody.", I wonder why Leland's doppelganger told Cooper that, and not Leland.
I'm rooting for DoppelCoop since the beginning. I immensely enjoyed his character back then, but since a few episodes I'm really rooting for him.
By the way, and maybe there's something that I've missed, but I haven't found completely convincing the fact that Ray just gave Cooper the coordinates. He knew Mr. C wanted those and couldn't afford to kill Ray until he had obtained them. Basically his life depended on him keeping the coordinates, I just don't understand why he simply gave them to him.
It could be the last ditch trap. He wasn't totally sure that Mr. C was dead, he knew he got help, and the last thing we saw before this episode was him talking to Phillip on the phone. If Phillip already set the Warden/Ray trap in motion, whatever Ray gave him on paper could be plan B.
Yeah but Ray was just a hired gun. I guess he would put survival over any plan B even if the latter might save the world.
That I found myself root for DarkDale in the wrestling match is one of the more awful things I have felt recently.
His opponent was a smug creep, to put it mildly. Karma came for him.
But was he worse than DarkDale? I don't think ANYONE is worse than DarkDale. Knowing that he was not going to be undone by this big smug creep, there were no real surprises in this sequence for me. But still- it's like rooting for Hannibal Lechter to enjoy eating the brains. Only worse. I would like to wash out my mind a little...
I had the same conflicted feelings. It was very confusing.
But this ain't kindergarten or nursery school. 😀
I loved that whole scene. As soon as they mentioned arm-wrestling, I just knew some really messed-up sh*t was gonna go down. I was not disappointed.
How Mr. C sees the whole match as just play, in particular. Like, the guys explain the rules, Mr. C says, "What is this, Kindergarten?" (agreeing with Mr. C is a special sort of cognitive dissonance) and then spends the whole match just messing around, going "This isn't comfortable, wouldn't you rather be in starting positions?" Just playing with his victim, and screwing with Ray's sanity (Ray is freaking the hell out by the end).
And then the overkill: I think Mr. C actually injured the guy's arm before punching him. That kind of whiplash from letting the arm fall forward and slamming it back over, what, 120 degrees into a table that quickly can't be good. That split second before his face was caved in hurt, and Mr. C intended it to.
As always, the sound in tp is important. Plenty of bones crunching when Mr. C goes "over the top"....
I loved that whole scene. As soon as they mentioned arm-wrestling, I just knew some really messed-up sh*t was gonna go down. I was not disappointed.
How Mr. C sees the whole match as just play, in particular. Like, the guys explain the rules, Mr. C says, "What is this, Kindergarten?" (agreeing with Mr. C is a special sort of cognitive dissonance) and then spends the whole match just messing around, going "This isn't comfortable, wouldn't you rather be in starting positions?" Just playing with his victim, and screwing with Ray's sanity (Ray is freaking the hell out by the end).
And then the overkill: I think Mr. C actually injured the guy's arm before punching him. That kind of whiplash from letting the arm fall forward and slamming it back over, what, 120 degrees into a table that quickly can't be good. That split second before his face was caved in hurt, and Mr. C intended it to.
As always, the sound in tp is important. Plenty of bones crunching when Mr. C goes "over the top"....
The most amazing face punch I have ever seen, imagined or hoped for.
That was a true "Holy Crap?" moment, and everyone in the room yelled it.
I loved that Bad Cooper scene too. Let's face it, we all knew he was going to win that arm wrestle, we just didn't know exactly how it was going to play out up until he won. But him punching the other guy dead surprised me.
Notice how all those other guys instantly back off once that goes down. Even though some of them have got guns and could just shoot him, they know it's best to keep away from this guy.
Had a comment today, which I kind of take as a compliment, even though it could be construed as something other.
A friend said "You sound like Mr C". Wow. I guess you have to factor in the accent difference but now I come to think of it, there is some truth. And I wear black most of the time. The similarity ends there, though. I don't look in the least like Kyle M; I have short hair, which is mainly grey now, a beard, and I'm as blind as a bat without me glasses.
I must say, I am pretty good at arm wrestling and I have a grip like a miser on a 5 quid note.
Fire walk with