Episode 7 (Twin Peaks)
It features series regulars Kyle MacLachlan, Piper Laurie and Eric Da Re, with guest appearances by Chris Mulkey and Walter Olkewicz.
Like much of the series, "Episode 7" features unusual set and costume design, including the hallmark use of a strong red palette.
Production designer Richard Hoover has explained that the sound stages were constructed with ceilings and functional hallways—an unusual practice for television production—allowing actors to be filmed entering a scene without cuts.
FBI special agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) has come to the town to investigate; the violent, drug-dealing truck driver Leo Johnson (Eric Da Re) is the chief suspect.
[3][4] Meanwhile, local businessman Benjamin Horne (Richard Beymer) has been scheming with his lover, Catherine Martell (Piper Laurie), to burn down the town's sawmill to buy its land cheaply.
Renault resists and is shot; he is taken to a hospital where he accuses Johnson of attacking him the night of the murder, claiming to have been unconscious while the killing occurred.
[8] Hoover felt that the series' use of a consistent palette of reds and earth tones allowed the introduction of strong black elements into set and costume design; he cited elements of Blackie O'Reilly's office in One Eyed Jacks as an example: its vibrant red curtains and ruddy wood tones were offset by her stark black outfit and dark hair.
The hues in the footage filmed for the series were "sweetened" in post-production, increasing the saturation of the red tones; this also caused black elements to seem deeper and more striking.
[12] The Hayward house was designed to seem uncharacteristically "normal"; it featured an increased amount of yellows and greys to offset the red tones, and it made use of several household rooms to enhance its appearance of verisimilitude.
Club, Keith Phipps rated the episode an "A", finding that the multiple cliffhanger plot threads worked well and did not seem over the top or self-parodying.
[18] Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Ken Tucker rated the episode an A+, finding that its lack of plot resolution offered "a good kind of annoyance", showing the level of interest and commitment the series had inspired in its viewers.
