Twin Peaks (TV Series) Laura's Secret Diary (1990) User Reviews

A ransom is demanded

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 15 May 2012]

Season two continues apace as Jean Renault approaches Benjamin Horne and shows him the video of his daughter Audrey; he has two demands; a ransom of $125,000 must be paid and the person delivering it must be Special Agent Cooper. Meanwhile back at the police station Leland is being charged with the murder of Jacques Renault and Andy has and awkward moment with Lucy after she catches him heading to the gents with a pornographic magazine! Later Benjamin contacts Agent Cooper to tell him of the ransom demand; Cooper agrees to help but asks the sheriff if one of the Bookhouse Boys can help him... no questions asked.

While there are no major revelations or events in this episode the plot moves along nicely and a couple of new mysteries are raised; who is the Japanese man who has checked into the Great Northern and who is the man from Hong Kong who appears to be working with Josie and beats up Hank? As with many episodes some of the funniest moments are provided by Harry Goaz and Kimmy Robinson's characters Andy and Lucy; their meeting in the corridor where Andy dropped the magazine was priceless! More humour was provided by a subplot where rumours of an anonymous food critic reach the Double R Diner.

Laura's Diary and Beyond

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 8 June 2017]

There are a couple of major things going on here. There is a plot to kill Cooper based on the kidnapping of Audrey and the subsequent ransom. Cooper is being set up but he is quite formidable. Maddy and Donna are back in the game when the agoraphobic orchid grower admits to having one of Laura's diaries. Also, Dick tries to get Lucy to get an abortion and she goes ballistic. There is quite a lot of angst involving Andy and his wishes (he has been told his sperm count is too low to cause conception). At the One Eyed Jack, evil is gaining a foothold. The brother of Jacques is cold blooded and crazy. No one is safe there. We also have the return of the Chinese delegation. Leland has been brought to face charges in court as a unique frontier type judge arrives in his Winnebago.

solid direction, mixed script

[framptonhollis · 7/10 · 13 October 2017]

Every director brought his or her own vision to Twin Peaks in its original run. Spearheaded by two T. V. visionaries - Mark Frost and David Lynch - "Peaks"' heyday had a roster of recurring filmmakers who brought the duel conceptions of the Frost/Lynch team to life. Todd Holland's direction does not disappoint, his choices formulate a consistent vibe not compromised by the tonal shifting from daytime soap to night time thriller to Andy trying to jerk off in the bathroom.

An ultra-stylistic opening minute spirals from the interior of a tiny hole in the ceiling, Sheryl Lee's voice, pitched up an octave or two in the recording booth (classic Laura - exploiting deviously her feigned innocence from beyond the grave, here contained in the space of her father's psyche), echoes calls for "Daddy," for "Leland," and his head of stark white spins on screen, but the motions start winding down, Mr. Palmer's expression stares stoically at an internal storm, thundering inside him. Later in the episode, thunder and lightning march across the Twin Peaks skies. At the sheriff's station, a judge's entry cues a thunderclap. The happenings surrounding Leland and this judge, the fledgling trial of Mr. Palmer, are the glue that keeps the episode from falling apart entirely into a status of expendability. Leland's opening speech on "absolute loss" is heart wrenching, Wise's delivery finds as per usual that healthy middle betwixt ridiculousness and poignancy - a wave "Peaks" itself rides perpetually.

Holland's directorial choices have a "bottled" quality, accentuating closer medium shots, rarely exploiting spatial freedoms. The consistency of this style helps the episode flow far smoother than it should given how convoluted a writer's room this episode had, the most cluttered of any "Peaks" episode to this point and exemplary as to why this episode is weaker than its company in the first half of season one. Dare I say the quality control of this script anticipates the screenwriting prat falls to come? At least there are some effective scenes to spare, the only real dud of a storyline is that out of place food critic business.

So much fun and interest stuff here

[lareval · 9/10 · 3 October 2021]

Another excellent installment! This second series' first strech is going perfectly strong. Everything is top notch here.

2x04

[formotog · 7/10 · 7 September 2020]

Decent episode. Not a whole lot happened but we did get some more insight into a few characters. Harold definitely seems like a wrongun, I don't trust him at all. Jocelyn and her cousin are also not to be trusted, and it seems like just about everyone in Twin Peaks is a master manipulator. The build up during this episode was good, and it looks like next episode the exchange is gonna go down. Jean Renault is pretty intriguing and could turn out to be a great villain. Lucy on the other hand is starting to get on my nerves. I never really liked her character all that much, but now she's basically admitted to cheating and just acts like a child (even more so). The judge character seems chill though. All in all it was a slow episode but still solid

Mid 7

"Laura's Secret Diary"

[TheDonaldofDoom · 10 March 2018]

There's one problem in this episode that I've noticed cropping up often in Twin Peaks: the humour just isn't funny. When it strays into absurdist territory like it did in Season 2's first episode, sure it can be brilliant. But this episode is full of unfunny scenes that I only see as filler because the main plot had to be stretched over 22 episodes. Although it's fascinating, the plot hasn't got enough meat in it to fill each episode so it has to be broken up by throwing in subplots involving the residents of Twin Peaks. And since most of these subplots involve failed attempts at humour, it starts to drag.

When the central mystery is involved, it's fascinating. The striking thing about Leland is how calm he is, accepting his fate after he murdered Jacques. The difference between the old Leland and the new one is striking. The judge also gives a great, moving speech about the law. Donna is doing more detective work than Cooper at the moment and the secret diary she comes across reveals some dark details about Laura's secret life.

It's a pretty good episode, though nothing special because it's got too many mediocre stand at humour.

Some people hide over there

[AvionPrince16 · 7/10 · 19 January 2023]

So we know more about the diary of Laura Palmer and see how she had some sexual desires with mens and Donna now want to steal the diary. Leland confessed the murder of Renault. Josie come back from her trip and dont seem that innocent and really have some talks that make us think that she can be behind all this (she got suspected for the murder of Catherine) or maybe just play a role. Cooper is more and more in danger . The case still going on and we still gather info arround Laura. Its pretty slow and take time to put things in place. The return of Josie make things more interesting and spicy for the rest of the tv show. Still interesting and still have some mysteries, tensions, love, surprises, revelations. Need to see more.