4. The Red Room
Alright, so, up until this point, things had been relatively straight-forward in the series' plot. It appeared to many of us that, aside from the cast of weird characters and the strange incident surrounding a vision that Laura Palmer's mother had as she was going through the throes of depression over her daughter's death, we figured that we'd merely be getting a run-of-the-mill soap-opera/mystery story, with a few twists (good writing, and that peculiar 50's tone that is prevalent throughout Lynch's works), but I don't think anyone had ANY idea what was going to happen when they watched this scene. As I've mentioned before, FBI agent Dale Cooper is a bit of an oddball. His cheery personality, as well as his strange affinity for "damn fine cups of coffee", not to mention "damn fine cherry pie" certainly makes for a character who's aged considerably better than some of the more brooding protagonists we've seen in the past few years. However, what I haven't mentioned is his tendency to use the "Tibetan Method", a form of investigative work in which one uses clues laid out with their dreams to solve a crime. Certainly not what you would call practical. In the second episode of the series, he experiences a lucid dream. Sitting in a rather classy establishment known as the "Red Room" (or the Black Lodge, as it is called in the later portions of the show), Cooper is confronted by a dwarf, the Man from Another Place, and his cousin, who is the spitting image of Laura Palmer! Under the circumstances, our protagonist manages to keep his cool, but is still perplexed by the numerous "clues" given to him by the dwarf and "Palmer" ("that gum you like is going to come back in style", says the dwarf. I'm just as stumped as you are, but it's such a strange line of dialog that I couldn't help but stay glued to my seat), followed by some rockin' dancing, at which point the Faux-Laura takes the initiative to tell Cooper who "killed her". First off, it's one of the most bizarre, yet intriguing, scenes I've ever been witness to, not just on the show, not even on television, but in any media. It leaves you wondering what the writer's have up their sleeves. It grabs your attention and doesn't let go. Second, the atmosphere. One of the first things that comes to mind, in that respect, is the sound design. David Lynch had used a unique method in these Red Room sequences, in which he would film the actors perform their parts backwards, then he would proceed to reverse the footage, creating the odd speech that characterizes the inhabitants of the Black Lodge. In terms of music, Angelo Badalamenti's jazzy, yet mysterious, score really helps to set the world of Cooper's dreams, and the small town of Twin Peaks, which features a considerably more "emotional" touch to it. The music used for the Red Room creates a ritzy vibe that you can't shake once you heard it, which is the perfect compliment to the visuals. It's just one of those things in life that you've GOT to see.