"Part 2", also known as "The Stars Turn and a Time Presents Itself", is the second episode of the third season of the American surrealist mystery horror drama television series Twin Peaks. It was written by series creators Mark Frost and David Lynch, directed by Lynch, and stars Kyle MacLachlan.
"Part 2" was first broadcast on Showtime, along with "Part 1", on May 21, 2017, and was seen by an audience of 506,000 viewers in the United States. In addition, the two episodes were shown as a feature at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, where they received a standing ovation. The episode received critical acclaim.
Contents
Plot
The stars turn and a time presents itself.
Background
The small town of Twin Peaks, Washington, has been shocked by the murder of schoolgirl Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) and the attempted murder of her friend Ronette Pulaski (Phoebe Augustine). FBI special agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) has been sent to the town to investigate and has discovered that the killer was Laura's father, Leland Palmer (Ray Wise), who acted while possessed by a demonic entity, Killer BOB (Frank Silva). At the end of the original series, BOB trapped Cooper in the Black Lodge, an extra-dimensional place, and let out Cooper's doppelgänger to use him for physical access to the world. 25 years later, Cooper's doppelgänger roams freely through the world, with Cooper still inside the Lodge. Meanwhile, in New York City, Sam Colby (Benjamin Rosenfield) has been hired to observe a glass cube; when he brings Tracey Barberato (Madeline Zima) into the room and the two start having sex, a creature, the Experiment Model (Erica Aynon), appears in the glass box, breaks out of it, and slaughters them. In Buckhorn, South Dakota, school principal William Hastings (Matthew Lillard) is accused of murdering Ruth Davenport (Mary Stofle), the school librarian, much to the chagrin of his wife, Phyllis (Cornelia Guest).
Events
In Buckhorn, Hastings sits inside his cell, seemingly anxious. Detective Dave Macklay (Brent Briscoe) accompanies Hastings's wife Phyllis in the cell, warning them that the visit will be short; Hastings thanks him. Phyllis tells Hastings that according to their attorney, George Bautzer (Neil Dickson), he will not be released on bail; Hastings insists that he did not kill Davenport, but says he dreamt about being there. Phyllis insists that he was there, and reveals that she knew about his affair with Davenport; Hastings responds that he knew she was having an affair with George and possibly someone else. She taunts him with the prospect of a life in prison; Macklay comes to dismiss Phyllis, leaving Hastings in despair. At the station's entrance, Phyllis meets George, informs him that Bill is aware of their affair, and instructs him not to walk her out and to meet her later at her place; George then discusses with Macklay how Hastings and Phyllis feel. Two cells away from Hastings, a dark figure (Stewart Strauss) sits on the bed and disappears, leaving only its head to float upward. Phyllis returns home; in the living room, she finds Cooper's doppelgänger, whom she recognizes and greets as a pleasant surprise. The doppelgänger says that she followed human nature perfectly and then shoots her in the head with George's gun, which he then drops.
In Las Vegas, Nevada, Duncan Todd (Patrick Fischler) calls Roger (Joe Adler) in his office; after handing him money, he instructs him to tell "her" that she has the job. Roger asks Todd why he lets "him" do "these things," to which Todd replies that Roger had better not get involved with people like "him".
In a restaurant, Cooper's doppelgänger eats creamed corn with Darya (Nicole LaLiberte), Ray (George Griffith) and Jack (Steve Baker). Ray sarcastically remarks that Jack barely touched his "three dinners"; he then discusses the plan for the coming days with the doppelgänger, who says he will need to be on his own for a while. Ray assures the doppelgänger that he will get the information he needs from Betty, Hastings's secretary; the doppelgänger replies that he doesn't need the information, but wants it.
In the Ghostwood forest, Hawk (Michael Horse) searches through the woods with a flashlight. He receives a call from Margaret Lanterman (Catherine Coulson), who asks him where he is walking. When Hawk replies that something is supposed to happen there, Margaret says, "the stars turn and the time presents itself," and tells Hawk to be careful, inviting him for coffee and pie at her house. Hawk thanks her and promises to tell her what happens, then ends the call; he arrives at Glastonbury Grove, where red curtains faintly appear and disappear.
Production
"Part 2", like the rest of the limited series, was written by Mark Frost and David Lynch and directed by Lynch. The episode is dedicated to the memory of Frank Silva, who appears in archival footage.
Music
Almost every episode of the 2017 Twin Peaks series featured a live performance by a band at the Roadhouse. In this episode the American electronic music band Chromatics performs its song "Shadow". Additionally, several sped-up fragments of Lynch's song "Last Call" from his 2013 album The Big Dream are hidden during the scene in the Palmer house.
Reception
Broadcast
"Part 2" was originally broadcast on the Showtime network together with Part 1 on May 22, 2017. The initial broadcast was watched by 506,000 viewers in the United States, a low number by premium cable network standards. But subsequent data from Showtime estimates that in the first three days after the premiere around 1.7 million viewers watched the episode, including 298,000 from DVR viewings and viewers from various streaming platforms. Although "Part 2" was not rated upon its Showtime broadcast, a TV-14 edit of the episode was uploaded on the official Twin Peaks YouTube channel for a brief period in June 2017 (on the occasion of National Doughnut Day); the same edit was uploaded again on August 8, 2017.
Critical reception
"Part 2" received critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, the episode received a 100% rating based on 13 reviews. The critics' consensus reads, "'Part Two' delivers all the addictively, terrifyingly inscrutable storytelling that Twin Peaks fans and David Lynch devotees could hope for." Writing for IndieWire, Liz Shannon Miller gave the episode a B+, expressing disappointment at the "pretty staggering" violence against women in both this episode and Part 1, especially Darya's death, "an excruciatingly painful sequence"; but she praised the show as "fascinating in our current era of revivals, because it eschews all the conventions used by other series". She called Kyle MacLachlan's performance "impressive", extending the praise to the rest of the cast in the light of the "insane" circumstances they worked under ("all actors were only given their own lines, and no knowledge of the full story"), and calling the premiere "plenty watchable" but adding that "there are a few elements that don't go down as easy as damn good coffee."
The New York Times' James Poniewozik gave the episode a positive review, calling Lynch's visual imagination "inimitable" and likening the episode to the glass box it features while also drawing comparisons to Lost, Fargo and True Detective. Poniewozik wrote, "[t]he original Twin Peaks was powered by two questions: 'Who killed Laura Palmer?' and 'What the hell am I watching?'", and that while "[t]he reincarnation doesn't have the first", "it still knows how to get you to ask the second". In his recap for Entertainment Weekly, Jeff Jensen gave Part 2 a B+, criticizing the episode's "absence of certain conventions that even that unconventional pilot possessed" while praising the episode's scope and Glass Box subplot, calling himself "engaged" by the series.
In her positive review of the episode, The A.V. Club's Emily L. Stephens gave the episode an A, writing that the "comfort" of the original Twin Peaks is "entirely eschewed", praising the Glass Box subplot as "a remark upon the creation and the consumption of television and film" and calling the episode an "unfiltered Lynchian vision, unfettered from the structures of soap operas, police procedurals, or thrillers that gave shape to the first few original outings into Twin Peaks."