Around the dinner table, the conversation was lively. Thank you but for now, the forum has been archived.
There is the idea of a 'well dressed man' who does well in social interactions, is popular, seduces the crowd, 'gets things done', or commits crime without being noticed or declared a criminal: the 'well dressed man' interacts with different parts of this episode and has a big impact on how certain characters(truck drivers, Chuck, Richard, Mr. C, Hutch, Chantal, the 'Truck You' guy, Buck from FWWM, woodsmen, etc.) view the law or community in the world of Twin Peaks. Hutch and Chantal give the overall idea here: society is criminal, it might as well be 'thou shalt kill', their actions are alright since 'well dressed men' pull this off and no one cares about it..., thus they can commit crime just like the 'well dressed man'.
This idea first appears in Blue Velvet, where Frank Booth wants to always be the 'well dressed man', he dresses up in a nice suit to commit crimes, bribe people, 'take their drugs', as if he was some social authority, thus committing crime without having to be direct or violent, getting people to 'take the ring' without any problem, like 'the man who comes around' in that Johnny Cash song. Frank Booth really enjoys playing/acting the well dressed man and was laughing wildly about it to Dean Stockwell(Ben). It is as if Frank Booth has the same idea as Hutch and Chantal, that they were all once trying to follow the law, the community, their dreams, but a 'well dressed man' committed some crime or injustice against them, they were hurt by this crime and no one cared, it was a socially accepted injustice, thus now they have to act brutally to revenge the injustice and hide their failure/vulnerability, make up for it against anyone who is part of that community, and can also now commit crime themselves, since this is the 'real law', all of these characters are actually hiding from the fight or pain that was committed against them and are trying instead to be the 'well dressed man', as if they are permanently crushed and gave up their dreams to instead 'beat the well dressed man at his own game', be more violent and brutal to cover up their weakness and get people to take the ring, take over the 'well dressed man's' territory. Or to put it in terms of Laura, BOB wants Laura in order to beat the 'well dressed man' at his own game, the guy who 'took Laura from him'(took something important out of his life), has a better life than him, etc., thus ruins Laura in the process, destroys her only in order to 'take her from others', since the world is criminal, might as well do it, be a 'truck driver', or a woodsmen 'burnt' by fire/pain, turned sick into black fire, abandoning the world for revenge of their personal pain etc.
Richard, who acts like Frank Booth, is so far here the same: his mother abandoned him and he had no father, he only remembers the picture of a 'well dressed' Cooper that his mother Audrey had, probably thinking that this mother liked the 'well dressed man' who harmed her feelings, could have been his father who abandoned them, and committed a crime against them by 'walking in like a well dressed man' then hurting the mother by leaving her pregnant, thus the cause of all of his problems from day one. Richard knows there is not justice in Twin Peaks, but he is looking for crime, and here was trying to kill Mr. C, to kill the 'well dressed man'. Instead of killing the 'well dressed man', Richard has joined with Mr. C, who will teach him the way of the world outside of the law, that the world might as well be 'thou shalt kill', since it accepts the terrible crimes as long as they are performed by a 'well dressed man', its rotten so can do anything to the world, etc., even can be the 'well dressed man', like Frank Booth take over that spot of a criminal tyrant in power.
A good example of the 'well dressed man' would be Walter, the 'money man' that nearly seduced Norma and took her away from Big Ed, and was trying to convince her to abandon Twin Peaks as a community, charge them more in 'economically depressed' times, compromise her pies recipes, etc., all for profitability. This guy walked in and nearly crushed Big Ed's dreams, 'walked right in there' with money and was seemingly 'having his way' with Norma(seducing her, getting her to abandon Twin Peaks for profits, etc.). In the end, it seems that Norma stood up for her honor and her 'home/family', she went back to running the RR the same way for the community of Twin Peaks, what she really cared about, her dreams(Big Ed, the love that went into the pies, etc.), instead of going for the 'well dressed man'. It also seems like Jacobi(although I do not agree with the 'shovel' approach) was onto something with Nadine at least and that they maybe have found something that works, like Albert with the 'dark comedy' of the morgue lady. So Nadine now let go of her revenge against Big Ed and Norma, but we've seen this before, maybe another break down or reversal for Nadine if Jacobi leaves?
Also, we had James here, who appears during that nicely ridiculous scene with the song(sharp dressed man, with the announcer and the crowd dancing) which resonates directly with the idea of the 'well dressed man'. James is the 'well dressed man', doing well in social interactions, even illicit ones, with ease, and angers the 'truck driver type' Chuck(Buck, Chuck, Truck You). Seems like James was having some trouble responding to Chuck's aggressive threats at first, did not know how to respond, so it was a good thing he had Freddie with him. James' problem was always that he started out wanting to do good, find 'true love', etc., but did not take into account how social interactions, the world, etc., alter the realization of this love(he does not know what Chantal and Hutch know, that the 'well dressed man' as an authority is usually criminal in this society), thus he is always offending people, even getting them killed, while 'apparently' trying to 'follow true love', etc. Instead of leaving town, this time James has Freddie with him, so maybe hes going to learn how to stay 'right there in Twin Peaks' and realize his dreams. Still a question as to what he found in that furnace room though, black fire, or what, he did not seem shaken at all from that violent encounter, he has always had that incredible ability to cause suffering, death even, and walk away as if it was normal; after all he was hurt just like Richard by a 'well dressed man', since his father also abandoned James' mother after getting her pregnant and his mother also abandoned him for drinking, just like Audrey did for Billy and the Roadhouse against Richard? Also, this scene for James is also close to the one where Sarah Palmer stood up to the 'Truck You' guy in the last episode, but its not so clean cut here because of the marriage here, James' intentions still seem hidden....
Ben Horne, the "glad-handing dandy", seems to fir this description quite well.
Ben Horne, the "glad-handing dandy", seems to fir this description quite well.
Yes, in the original series, although now he is starting to seriously question himself it seems, way more contemplative, etc.....but the problem is that his social role as rich benefactor may make sure that he remains the 'well dressed man', but one with a public conscience to smooth things over, something like the 'liberal billionaires' of today that are supposed to be almost icons, will give charity after they have appropriated all of the resources that are common(digital network everyone must use, brains, etc., have to pay allegiance to billionaire to access it and they structure what you access, they don't produce it anymore, its just driven by people going onto it, using their efforts there, but they just claim it and you have to pay tribute, like lord and peasant relations, everyone is in debt forever they have to pay, since a profit motive can only make money in financial debt relations, and productivity in other areas is already fully automated, takes no investment input anymore, its so productive that economy is freed from profit motive and 'anarchy of production' from the 'invisible hand', they literally have to claim your entire life and future in order to make money...the wild quest of the profit motive now stands in the way of freedom and rationality in economy), etc.(Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Steve Jobs cult, etc.)