“Kenneth Welsh as Windom Earle” So that’s how you spell Windom. Not a name I’ve come across before. Also, David Warner as Thomas Eckhardt! All the mystery people are coming out, plus one’s played by David Warner? Spicer Lovejoy himself!

Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) finds a chess pawn taped in the mouth of the dead man. Cooper correctly predicts the cause of death, stab wound into the aorta. “Windom Earle has been in this room, I can still feel his presence. Window Earle is a genius, and he’s taken his first pawn in a very sick game.” Feels like Cooper’s Joker.

Audrey and Bobby (Sherilyn Fenn & Dana Ashbrook) are planning to get rich “Immediately”, plan to bring Ben (Richard Beymer) back from the brink and bleed him dry. I believe in Audrey, but I can’t help thinking Bobby is going to screw this all up somehow.

Shelley (Madchen Amick), terrified, in the dark with her recently awoken abusive husband (Eric DaRe) covered in cake, lights flickering. Proper slasher movie shit, lights flicker from dark-light-dark, he’s gone! He throws a jar of something, explodes next to her on the fridge. Door locked. She screams for help, the only being seen hearing is a nearby owl. Empty wheelchair wheeling on its own. She dashes for the back door, wheelchair pushed in her way, trips her. Leo throws a shoe at her (who throws a shoe?) goes for a knife, he’s disappeared again. She tries to cut out of temporary plastic sheet wall, he grabs her and tosses her down, drops knife. Leo got an axe! Bobby arrives back. “Goodbye wife.” Bobby comes in, struggles with Leo for the axe, Leo more than handles him, Shelley searching for knife, finds it, stabs Leo in the leg, releases Bobby, gets out of plastic and flees. Bobby and Shelley hold each other, listening to him scream into the wind. Did Leo awaken because he’s now imbued with the spirit of Bob?

Cooper heard from Denise, DEA cleared him of all charges but still suspended, Cooper takes the Windom Earle case as Harry’s deputy. Hawk (Michael Horse) reports Hank missed the deal because he’s in the hospital, says he was hit by a bus (a bus called Nadine). Also report that Shelley called, Leo woke up, attacked her and ran into the woods.

Andy (Harry Goaz) wants to talk to Lucy (Kimmy Robertson) about how he and Dick Tremayne Designer Menswear (Ian Buchanan) suspect Little Nicky of having possibly murdered his parents when he was six, now nine. “The both of you aren’t fit to be fathers to a chimp.”

James (James Marshell) finally meets Jeffrey Marsh (John Apicella), they discuss their mutual love of cars, they do not discuss their mutual love of Jeffrey’s wife Evelyn (Annette McCarthy). Jeffrey is utterly oblivious to the affair, James is utterly oblivious to how quickly Evelyn’s black eye seems to have healed.

Big Ed (Everett McGill) talking to Doc (Warren Frost), concerned about Nadine (Wendy Robie) getting ready to date boys “I wake up every morning feeling like I’ve been hit by a timber truck”. Doc blames it on the extra adrenaline “Tell her to be home by 9 o clock on school nights”. Hank told Norma (Peggy Lipton) that a tree fell on him. “That tree was a redwood called Nadine.” Hank going to be arrested for parole violation, so Norma and Ed looking to get back together again, rent a cabin with some steaks and a bottle of wine, let people find out if they do.

James tries to leave, didn’t like lying in front of Jeffrey, Evelyn guilts him, “Don’t leave me alone with him”. James’ go-to reaction, walks off to go check his bike.

Cooper playing a game of chess in which Windom kills someone with each piece he captures. Cooper never beat him on any of their daily games, which presumably didn’t have a body count associated with them. “I brought some baggage to town I haven’t told you about. Windom Earle was my first partner.” Reiterates the story of Caroline, witness who’d been stabbed under his watch, wounds matched those on Windom’s victim. Caroline was Windom Earle’s wife, oooooo. Harry (Michael Ontkean) assumed Windom blames Cooper for her death, but Cooper believes Windom was the one who killed her and committed the crime she witnessed, possibly even faked the madness that had him in the asylum.

Donna (Lara Flynn Boyle) arrives at the bar in which James was found by Evelyn, looking for James. Evelyn approaches Donna in the exact same manner as she approached James, lollipop and everything. James just left town, knowing all his money was being sent to that bar? Or Evelyn is trying to fob Donna off. Probably the latter. Elsewhere, James moodily collapses against a pole, next to his motorcycle.

Ben now has an operational model train set as part of his warfield, Jerry (David Patrick Kelly) arrives, Jacoby (Russ Tamblyn) watching from tower in the corner, informs Jerry that Ben prefers to be called General. Ben marching on Washington, “Only God can stop us now, and it is my belief the almighty is a Southerner!” Jacoby says what he’s doing is quite healthy, reversing the war result will make him better in some way? Gives a war speech into a big fan, Ben and Jacoby both wave big confederate flags and sing a song about Dixie, oh boy. Jacoby seems to be enjoying this all immensely.

Major Briggs (Don S. Davis) arrives at the station, looking faint, and then faints in reception. Cooper, Harry and Briggs all drink big glasses of water in unison. Briggs believes he was taken to the White Lodge, thinks there is much trouble ahead but not sure in what form. He will return, but until then he’ll be in the shadows if they need him. So cryptic, so needlessly cryptic. Andy arrives, shows them Jacoby presenting Lana Milford (Robyn Lively), he spent an hour with her, presumably having sex, as he reveals she has a high sexual drive and advanced technique, Cooper and Harry captivated by her rocking feet. “We’re gonna go bowling” She’s some kind of siren? They leave the room, scream from outside, the mayor (John Boylan) has them at gunpoint! “I don’t wanna talk, I wanna shoot!” Cooper suggests mayor and Lana talk, has Cooper seen through her, knows she’ll talk him into bed and likely kill him too?

They all stand waiting outside the room, for quite a long time it seems. Of course he’s covered in her lipstick kisses “We decided to adopt a child.”

Pete (Jack Nance) reviewing a shopping list “we forgot the weenies!” Catherine (Piper Laurie) reveals how she survived the fire and orchestrated taking the mill from Ben, reveals Andrew (Dan O’Herlihy), alive and well in the back room. Pete understandably quite surprised “Now let me get this straight, you didn’t die in the boat accident?” Didn’t tell him because he didn’t need to know, pre-emptive disappearance as they expected an attack on Andrew’s life, from Thomas Eckhardt. Also reveals Josie (Joan Chen) worked for Thomas, and Thomas coming for Josie “like a rat for cheese”.

Eckhardt arrives at the hotel with a lady called Jones (Brenda Strong). If Little Nicky is the son of the devil (I watched The Omen for the first time, and that coupled with the presence of David Warner has me warming to this theory) then I feel Eckhardt has the right look about him to potentially be playing Satan in this show.

Angry Doc pushes Dick through station doors, into backroom and summons Andy in with them. Harry has a fax, “Asian man killed!!!” – three exclamation marks in a newspaper photo of cousin Jonathan! Tasks Cooper with finding out. Doc reporting on Little Nicky not being a murderer, his mother was a poor immigrant chambermaid at the great northern hotel, product of back alley rape from a vagrant who fled across the border, unreported to police, his mother had a dream of Nicky having a better life, she died in childbirth. First couple who adopted him died in a car crash, Nicky managed to pull them from the fire but they died and left him alone, again. Andy and Dick in tears. I’m still not convinced Nicky isn’t a demon in some way, but to be fair I do suspect this of all children.

James returns to the house, packs up even more to leave even more, I thought he’d already left? “IT’S WRONG!” “Is it because I’m married? “Yes.” Evelyn reveals she loves James, never told anyone that before, police arrive, there’s been an accident, Jeffrey died in a sabotaged car crash “You set me up!” “It was Malcolm’s idea, he’s not my brother.” Evelyn encourages James to leave and “find that young girl who loves you”, he does, though only because Donna is right outside.

Leo in the woods, owl flies overhead, about to become inhabited by Bob? Stumbles upon a cabin, inside is a man who I’m assuming is Windom Earle (from credits), with a selection of blow darts? Invites Leo in. Sits down at a chess board, “You can call me Windom, Windom Earle.” I’m glad he confirmed he’s Windom Earle, and not some other Windom. Could’ve been anyone.

New mysteries:
Is Windom’s chess game to punish Cooper for something?
How will Bobby screw up Audrey’s plan to get rich?
Will James be arrested for the Jeffrey death set-up? – Probably not, this show seems to like him too much.
Is Thomas Eckhardt the devil? – I mean, why not?
What’s Windom gonna do with Leo? – Kill him? Fingers crossed!

Old Mysteries:
Who is the father of Lucy’s child?
Who attacked Jacoby?
Who shot Cooper?
Is the Waiter real?
What’s up with this Wyndham Earle character? – Chess-playing murderer from Cooper’s past.
What’s with the magic Tremond kid?
Who was trying to call Harry at the police station?
If the owls are not what they seem, what are they?
Why does Nadine think she’s 18? Why is she super-strong now?
Who is Cousin Jonathan / Mr. Lee, really?
Where did Bob go? Is he an owl now?
Why were Bobby, Leo and Big Ed brought to the Poirot reveal scene?
What happened to Maj. Briggs?
What’s the deal with Andrew being alive?
What’s Eckhard going to do now? – He’s back for Josie, so he’ll presumably try and save her from Catherine.
Did Nicky kill his parents? Is he devilish in some way? – Apparently not. We’ll see.
Is Lana actually a witch?
Is James being set up to kill Jeffrey? – Sure was, who could possibly have seen that coming?
Who is the dead guy?