It took the first six parts of the return to establish all the characters and locations, and as a result each episode was entirely unique and unlike the others. It was thrilling to see something totally new each week, but also a little bit frustrating as the pace was rather slow and the wait between new scenes of a particular story were excruciatingly long. But after part 8, all of this changed. The last three parts (including this one) have been far more consistent, moving the plot along at a respectable pace and revisiting each of our three main story lines (Dougie, The FBI stuff, and the Twin Peaks stuff) at least once. This has made for a more satisfying viewing experience but also means that there's far less to say about it.
This hour of the return was in fact split pretty evenly between the three main plots. The first act dove deep into the Briggs family dynamic. I've been itching to know what the dynamic between Bobby and Shelly is and this episode finally gave me that. We also finally get to spend a chunk of time with Becky, who was introduced beautifully in Part 5 and then not really revisited properly until now.
The second act focused on the FBI investigation. This has been my favourite plot in the return so far, largely due to the excellent cast of characters involved (Gordon, Albert, Tammy, Diane, etc). It is also the fastest moving, taking us from the glass box to Yankton to Buckhorn. Every time the plot shows up on screen I get excited because I know that major progress is about to be made. This episode was no exception. Not only did we get some major plot motion, but we got both of the shots of Gordon from teasers (the shaky blurry screaming and the doughnut).
The final third of the episode focused on the most controversial plot in the return, the wacky misadventures of one Douglas Jones. This episode resolved one of the primary factors of tension surrounding him in the most unexpected and hilarious way possible. I enjoyed it immensely, but it also leaves me wondering where this is going because in one fell swoop all of the forces immediately threatening Dougherty have seemingly been nullified. It makes it seem like the buildup of those mobsters was ultimately all for naught.
All in all, this was another strong part in the return that continues the slow-moving fast- feeling methodical pace of the last two. I am really missing Audrey and Big Ed though.
This hour of the return was in fact split pretty evenly between the three main plots. The first act dove deep into the Briggs family dynamic. I've been itching to know what the dynamic between Bobby and Shelly is and this episode finally gave me that. We also finally get to spend a chunk of time with Becky, who was introduced beautifully in Part 5 and then not really revisited properly until now.
The second act focused on the FBI investigation. This has been my favourite plot in the return so far, largely due to the excellent cast of characters involved (Gordon, Albert, Tammy, Diane, etc). It is also the fastest moving, taking us from the glass box to Yankton to Buckhorn. Every time the plot shows up on screen I get excited because I know that major progress is about to be made. This episode was no exception. Not only did we get some major plot motion, but we got both of the shots of Gordon from teasers (the shaky blurry screaming and the doughnut).
The final third of the episode focused on the most controversial plot in the return, the wacky misadventures of one Douglas Jones. This episode resolved one of the primary factors of tension surrounding him in the most unexpected and hilarious way possible. I enjoyed it immensely, but it also leaves me wondering where this is going because in one fell swoop all of the forces immediately threatening Dougherty have seemingly been nullified. It makes it seem like the buildup of those mobsters was ultimately all for naught.
All in all, this was another strong part in the return that continues the slow-moving fast- feeling methodical pace of the last two. I am really missing Audrey and Big Ed though.