10 Things We Learned From Twin Peaks: The Return Part 15
4. Charlie's Dance
Audrey Horne's scenes continue to mystify. We're not even sure at this point if there is a mystery at play, or if the odd blocking - Audrey is still trapped mentally - is a visual metaphor for her arranged marriage. At this point, none the wiser re: content, we can only praise the performances.
Clark Middleton is superb as Charlie. "Sensational," is how he greeted Audrey's revelation, or confirmation, of her preference for Billy. Deadpan sarcasm is an easy comedic tool but, but the instantaneous delivery and hyperbolic dialogue choice triggered an involuntary guffaw in an otherwise serious hour of cinematic television. So too did Charlie's continued insistence that he is "sleepy". "Off comes the coat," Charlie, the magnificent pr*ck, said, as Audrey seemed to challenge her own perception of him - fuelling theories that this nightmare domestic scenario is some sort of construct. Nothing was revealed - and Audrey acted as a proxy for the audience as she strangled any sort of resolution from his neck. If these scenes are playing out in her mind, the writing, criticised for its expository nature elsewhere, must be commended. Lynch and Frost are making us sympathise with Audrey - and the Sparkle addicts - through a novel and disorienting technique.
If there is a mystery to decode, Charlie's use of the word "threshold" is, if not telling, then "interesting", with its season two Lodge lore connotations.