10 Things We Learned From Twin Peaks: The Return Part 5
9. The Comedy Of Twin Peaks, Part 1: Gallows Humour
The humour in The Return has ranged from dark, to offbeat, to unfortunately broad. The scene in which Lucy Brennan flew off her desk chair at the sight of Sheriff Frank Truman using a mobile phone didn't put much fish in anybody's percolator, but it was the exception. Much of The Return has been a riot, the funniest stuff taking place in South Dakota.
Jane Adams' Constance Talbot continued that grand tradition in a black comedy masterclass easily as funny and macabre as its spiritual predecessor. In her autopsy report, she struggles to comprehend the cause of death. "Cause of death. Took me a while, but I think somebody cut this man's head off."
Hers is an altogether different strain of sarcasm to Miguel Ferrer's Albert Rosenfield.
The already brilliant material is elevated by Adams, who is perfectly cast. Such glibly nihilistic stuff should not emanate from such a sweet, doe-eyed face. "Here's the headline. Actually, I just gave you the headline." Adams puts that slightly lesser bit over the top by feigning to corpse.
The scene does serve a purpose beyond the gallows humour. Talbot discovers a ring inside of Briggs' stomach, inscribed "To Dougie, With Love, Janey-E." It's clear that Mr. C is setting Dougie up to take the fall - what isn't clear is why it took fifteen attempts.