This page is about the episode called Dual Spires. For the town, see Dual Spires (town).
"Dual Spires" is the twelfth episode of Season Five. Shawn and Gus are invited to a festival in a small town and arrive to find themselves embroiled in the mystery of a drowned teenage girl who had supposedly already met a similar fate seven years ago in Santa Barbara.
Plot Summary[]
Shawn and Gus receive a mysterious email asking them to come to a Cinnamon Festival in Dual Spires, a town so small it's written in parentheses on the map. After meeting many of the colorful residents, including Robert Barker and his wife Michelle, who run the local Sawmill Diner, and Sheriff Andrew Jackson, who questions how they heard about the festival since they deliberately keep it simple in their town, they make their way to the square where the festival is being held. But just after Andrew's seventeen-year-old son Randy is crowned Cinnamon King, Jack Smith, a teenager on a bike, crashes the festivities, shouting that something's happened at the lake. Robert and Michelle fear the worst has come true - their missing niece Paula Merral has been found dead. Jack leads them all to the body, where doctor Donna Gooden inspects the body and Andrew says that she probably took her usual night swim and hit her head on a rock. Just then, Shawn receives another anonymous email suggesting it was murder.
After Paula's body is removed, Shawn learns Paula was originally from Santa Barbara and calls Juliet so that she can run the name through the SBPD database. The duo go to the Doc's office for more answers. Doc Gooden, who was also Paula's therapist, hints that Paula was unhappy and might have killed herself. Shawn notices half a pair of earrings among Paula's personal effects and remembers seeing Randy wearing the other half at the Festival. They track Randy down to discover that he is the son of Sheriff Jackson, who Shawn notices is taking medication for something. Randy confesses that he was seeing Paula but they kept it secret because she was different than everyone else and it was complicated. He tells them he was at the library when Paula died and they leave to confirm his alibi. The librarian, Maudette Hornsby, confirms this story, telling them Randy is there a lot and they developed a special bond after his mother's untimely passing. Shawn realizes the numbers and letters from a third email correspond to a book location, using the Dewey Decimal system, and they track it to find a book on reincarnation and rebirth. Shawn then calls Juliet who tells them Paula Merral drowned seven years ago in Santa Barbara.
Lassiter and Juliet come to Dual Spires and tell Shawn and Gus that Paula's body was never found the first time. Shawn realizes that Robert staged her earlier death. Robert confesses Paula's mother Lucy was abusive and it was the only way they could save her. Later on he also admits that he's Paula's real father. Shawn finds Paula's diary which is partly written in Latin. He calls Father Peter Westley, who translates the passage and tells them she was seeing someone with the first initial "J." There's more but Shawn hangs up before he can hear the rest. Shawn realizes that the "J" stands for Jack, the teenager who discovered Paula's body. Jack tells them he dated Paula before Randy. He was with her that night just talking but he was hit over the head and when he woke, she was gone. Shawn knows Jack is a photographer, so he checks the roll Jack took that day and sees an angry Randy in the background. They track Randy down who confesses he hit Jack, but then Paula was mad at him so he went to the library like he said. He also confesses he used to date Maudette, which leads Shawn and Gus to now suspect her, but when they get to the library, they find Maudette has hanged herself. They also discover a small room and evidence that it was her who had been sending the emails. The real killer would not have invited a detective to town, so it can't have been her.
They notice smoke coming into the room and find themselves trapped until Father Westley saves them. Robert then picks them up and brings them to a lodge where he hopes they'll be safe. Shawn then puts it all together. Randy was the last hope for the survival of the town's idyllic way of life. The Sheriff is dying and Doc Gooden doesn't have any children. Paula was a threat since she had convinced Randy to leave town with her and see the world, so she had to be eliminated. The Sheriff and the doctor arrive and hold them at gunpoint, but Lassiter, Juliet and Jack show up in the nick of time and save them - Westley having translated the rest of the passage and realizing they were in danger. In the end, Shawn and Juliet try to grab a quiet moment at the diner but look around at the weirdness of the town and decide to get out while they can.
Trivia[]
- This episode is the series' homage to Twin Peaks and therefore synonymously named. James Roday Rodriguez, who co-wrote the episode, is a huge fan of the show and included many references to it:
- Expandable list of references
- "Dual Spires" first aired 20 years to the day after the Twin Peaks episode that revealed who killed Laura Palmer.
- The theme song to this episode was performed by Julee Cruise, the performer of the Twin Peaks theme song called Falling. The episode also ends on Julee Cruise's song Kool Kat Walk, which has lyrics written by Twin Peaks creator David Lynch. The soundtrack throughout is a reference to Angelo Badalamenti's.
- Much of the intro is modified to resemble the Twin Peaks intro. There is also a white horse seen in one shot that could be a reference to the pale horse seen by Laura's mother in visions.
- The Dual Spires town sign is a very close replication of the "Welcome to Twin Peaks" sign seen in the intro, and both are small, isolated towns with hardly any modern technology.
- Paula Merral was found along the lake shore wrapped in plastic just like Laura, and their names are anagrams. The question "Who Killed Paula Merral?" is a direct reference to the "Who Killed Laura Palmer?" catchphrase surrounding the Twin Peaks show, and Gus asking that to Shawn is a reference to Harry asking it to Cooper. There's an emphasis on Paula's empty chair at the festival, just like there was Laura's empty chair at school. Both have stereotypically "girly" rooms and psychiatrists who later said they had dark secrets. Paula's prom queen photo very much resembles Laura's, and this photo is also in the background of the end credits in both shows with similar melodramatic music played. Paula kept a secret diary just like Laura, and both were worried someone else was reading it. Paula's diary mentions that she met someone whose name starts with J (and who's actually her secret boyfriend) on the night she died, just like Laura. Shawn and Gus find Paula's diary in a black bear with a noose around its neck, which is a reference to Harold Smith, who had been hiding Laura's diary and later hanged himself.
- Robert Barker is played by the same actor as Bobby Briggs, Dana Ashbrook, and wears the same clothes as Bobby in the pilot.
- Robert's wife Michelle is played by Robyn Lively, who played Lana Milford, wife of the mayor's brother who accidentally killed her spouse and then became the mayor's girlfriend. Michelle's name and occupation are a reference to Shelly (a diminutive for Michelle), the waitress at the Double R who is having an affair with Bobby.
- Sheriff Andrew Jackson is named for a U.S. President, a reference to Sheriff Harry S Truman. Jackson is played by Lenny von Dohlen, who also played shut-in Harold Smith. His first name could additionally be a reference to Andrew Packard.
- Librarian Maudette Hornsby is played by Sherilyn Fenn, who also played Audrey Horne, and both are flirtatious characters that didn't get along with the murder victim. Audrey joins the brothel at One Eyed Jacks after tying a cherry stem with her tongue, and Maudette has a cherry tattoo, is seen drinking Cherry Coke, and comments that cherry is just the best. Cherry Coke is also what Maddy Ferguson orders in the Double R Diner.
- Peter Westley is played by Ray Wise, who played Leland Palmer, Laura's father and unwitting host to BOB. Father Westley‘s hair changes color from black to white just as Leland's hair changes color after he kills Jacques Renault.
- Donna Gooden, whose first name is a reference to Laura's best friend Donna Hayward, is played by Sheryl Lee, who played both Sarah Palmer's daughter Laura and her niece Maddy Ferguson. Paula being both Michelle's niece and step-daughter is a reference to this double role, and the book about reincarnation could be also.
- Catherine E. Coulson plays Wood Woman and also played Log Lady. Log Lady would always talk to a log, and it seems Wood Woman has the same habit until her grandson steps out of the store. Their grandmother-grandson relationship is a reference to the Tremonds.
- Randy Jackson takes the role of Bobby Briggs in this episode. He hasn't been communicating with his father just as Bobby hasn't been talking to his own father. He is chased on his bicycle by Shawn and Gus, just like James Hurley on his motorcycle, and this sequence takes place on a bridge similar to the one that is seen in the pilot of Twin Peaks. His clothing, with the letterman jacket designed like the one on the show and a flannel shirt tied around his waist, is an amalgamation of how Bobby and Mike Nelson dress. At the end he can be seen barking at a dog in a nod to Bobby and Mike barking at James while they were in jail.
- Jack Smith is an amalgamation of James Hurley and Harold Smith, both lovelorn, socially awkward outsiders hiding secret relationships with Laura. Also, Gus inititally suspects Jack of the murder because of his social awkwardness and the same happened to Harold. Jack has completely lost sight in his left eye and only has 30 percent left in the right. This is a reference to the brothel/casino owned by Ben Horne, One Eyed Jacks.
- Deputy Frost is both a reference to Mark Frost, Lynch's partner and co-creator of the series, and to Native American Deputy Hawk.
- Given her occupation and blonde hair, Flo is clearly a reference to Norma.
- The Seven Foot Tall Man is played by John DeSantis, known also for playing Lurch in The New Addams Family. In Twin Peaks, a similar giant man wearing the same clothes was played by Carel Struycken, known also for playing Lurch in the Addams Family films.
- Mayor Douglas Fir is a reference to Mayor Dwayne Milford's brother and the Douglas fir trees Cooper is fond of. Twin Peaks creator David Lynch was supposed to play him but was never asked as James Roday Rodriguez was concerned about Lynch's opinion of their homage episode.
- The Sawmill Diner is a stand-in for the Double R Diner and both have jukeboxes and a giant plastic ice cream cone. It is also a reference to the Packard Sawmill, the main source of income for the town of Twin Peaks until it burns down through arson, as it is mentioned that the Sawmill Diner stands where the original sawmill once stood until an arsonist burned it down in 1958. Someone also starts a fire in the library, and there was also a fire in the Elk's Club in 1959.
- The Sawmill Diner's signature dessert is a cinnamon pie referred to as "heavenly" and "that may just bring tears." The Double R Diner's signature dessert is the cherry pie, and the diner is referred to as "This must be where pies go when they die." Their signature beverages are especially good apple cider and coffee respectively.
- Randy and Paula shared a set of earrings just like James and Laura shared two halves of a heart necklace.
- Nadine's "silent window shades" become a reality. A woman in Washington (the state where Twin Peaks is located) is credited with the invention in the early '90s, when Twin Peaks was originally televised.
- The Great Northern Newspaper is a double reference: Ben Horne owns a hotel called the Great Northern Hotel. There is also a highway in called Great Northern Highway.
- The Jacksons' house is similar to that of the Palmers. A ceiling fan can even be seen over the staircase leading to the upper level in a shot that is a direct copy of one seen repeatedly in Twin Peaks.
- "Underthenail.net" is a reference to BOB's habit of leaving his initials under the fingernails of his victims.
- Leo, the cinnamon owl trophy, is named after Shelly's abusive husband Leo. Moreover, owls are not what they seem in the town of Twin Peaks.
- Gus is introduced as "Lodge Blackmunn". This is a reference to The Black Lodge, a mystical place of evil whose entrance is found within the woods of Twin Peaks.
- Chris Isaak appeared in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, and his song "Baby Did A Bad Bad Thing" is heard when Shawn and Gus start chasing Randy.
- Bob holds a lit match up in the air like Leland.
- Doughnuts at the police station are stacked exactly how they were in the Twin Peaks police station, by type and on pieces of paper towel.
- Doc Gooden compliments a man named Patrick on saving his receipts. Bobby and Shelly find receipts of Leo's that lead them to a pair of boots containing the cassette tape of Ben Horne blackmailing him into burning down the sawmill.
- Coconuts can be seen on the counter of Doc Gooden's office. Doctor Lawrence Jacoby also had an affinity for coconuts and hid a tape by Laura in one.
- The Unnamed Myna Bird (Doc Gooden's "next patient") is a reference to Waldo, the myna bird that scratched and pecked at Laura before she was murdered and turned out to be a key witness in the case.
- Randy is playing a game of darts. He keeps missing when he lies until he tells the truth. This is a reference to an exercise performed by Cooper in which he throws rocks at a milk bottle mentioning names that start with J until he shatters it.
- Maudette's 1950's style of dress hearkens back to Audrey's 1950s style of dress. Maudette's high-heeled shoes are later commented on by Shawn; Audrey would change out of her flats into heels at high school.
- Maudette flirtatiously mentions to Gus that she can dance all night long. Audrey famously had a "dreamy" dance scene in the Double R Diner that is recreated by Michelle in the final scene.
- Maudette can be seen wearing a flower in her hair. This could be a reference to the blue rose seen on Gordon Cole‘s "Mother's Sister's Girl" in Fire Walk With Me.
- The chocolate bunny sitting on Shawn's desk references the box of chocolate bunnies found by Cooper.
- Randy Jackson, the high school jock, and the middle-aged Maudette were carrying on a May-December romance, similar to the relationship between Mike Nelson and Nadine Hurley.
- When Gus says he and Shawn want to "poke around", they correct themselves and say "peek" twice ("twin peeks").
- In the cabin Andrew talks to Shawn like Jean to Cooper.
- Jack was with Paula on the night she died until the two fought, just like Laura and James.
- A book found in the library initially seems to be written by Earl Wyndam. Windom Earle is Cooper's former partner who has gone completely insane and is the main antagonist of season 2 of Twin Peaks. Maudette also spies through the library rack like Earle.
- An old man in the Sawmill Diner smiles at Shawn and Gus, giving thumbs-up and OK hand gestures. He is reminiscent of a waiter at the Great Northern Hotel who behaves similarly towards Cooper.
- Paula's mother is Lucy Merral, and her name is a reference to the air-headed receptionist at the Twin Peaks police station.
- Lassiter takes on the role of FBI Agent Albert Rosenfield, who also criticizes everything about the town and its rustic nature.
- Shawn mentions Betty Boop Night at The Roadhouse, a popular bar in Twin Peaks.
- Randy Jackson using the circular saw on the block of wood is a reference to the opening credits of Twin Peaks.
- When Maudette is discovered hanged to death only her legs are in the shot, which was also the case for Harold Smith.
- A woman in the background of the final scene dances the same "lateral moonwalk" a high school student danced in Twin Peaks.
- Shawn and Gus are trapped in the library as it is set on fire with the intent of killing them, only to be rescued, just like how Shelly was tied up in the Sawmill before ultimately being rescued.
- A portrait of Bob Barker's grandfather in the cabin closely resembles Bobby's father, Major Garland Briggs.
- Jack is seen dancing in the same red leisure suit as "The Man from Another Place", in the same way and to similar music, with one addition: Jack is wearing an eyepatch similar to the one Nadine wears. It also doubles as another sly reference to One Eyed Jacks.
- Someone at the dinner is wearing a helmet and banging their head against the dinner table in the same way that Johnny banged his head against the wall after Laura didn't come to see him.
- Lassiter mimics one of Cooper's most famous lines of Twin Peaks ("That is a damn fine cup of coffee/cider"), arm raise and all.
- The wood cabin has red curtains, just like Jacques'.
- Jack takes "from-the-hip" photos like the ones of Laura with Waldo.
- Lassiter's cider has solidified just as Cooper's did in the Black Lodge.
- A woman is seen in the background dancing in a similar fashion to one of the high school students in the pilot episode for Twin Peaks.
- Bob is awkwardly dancing while holding a picture in a reference to the way that Leland danced with a picture of Laura.
- Bob is walking backwards in a nod to how the Black Lodge scenes were filmed.
- The moose head in the Barker home is a reference to the stag head at the Twin Peaks police station.
- Maudette's body bag looks like it's "smiling", just like Jacques'.
- Gus cries like Andy Brennan in the pilot and looks like BOB when he hides behind the curtain.
- Randy does a Lelandish grin.
- The book has a jacket that makes it seem as if it's about golf, and Leland played golf.
- The founding families' signet rings are a reference to the Owl Cave ring.
- Mädchen Amick (Shelly) and Michael Ontkean (Truman) were both approached to appear in the episode.
- There's a pineapple in the Barkers' fruit bowl.
- James Roday Rodriguez chose this as his favorite episode for USA Network's "Psych All-Night" event on March 21, 2014. It aired as fifth of six.
- The yearbook that Shawn and Gus investigate contains several names of Psych crew members: Tara Larsen (clearance coordinator), Jerry Pender (second assistant production coordinator), Donna Leahy (production assistant), Cherie Bessette (production accountant), Dan Miller (assistant director), Ingrid Severson (caterer), and Melissa Lukacevic (assistant director). Ann Power, the author of the book on reincarnation, was named after Anne Power (set decoration coordinator). Producer Gordon Mark is the namesake of the Gordon Mark Hotel that has sent Shawn and Gus an email.
- Another of the show's wrestling references occurs when Randy claims that he knocked out Jack with a "Super Elbow".
- Shawn compares Randy Jackson to Andrew McCarthy in Pretty in Pink, whose character Blane becomes involved with Andie despite the crush her best friend Duckie has on her. Paula Merral and Jack Smith would be Andie and Duckie in this scenario.
Quotes[]
Gus: Something's off about this place, Shawn. People keep looking like I'm the first black man they've seen.
Shawn: Come on, Gus. Don't be absurd.
12-Year-Old Girl: [to Gus] Hey mister, are you Frederick Douglass?
Shawn: Do you remember the last e-mail, the one with all the weird hieroglyphics?
Gus: They were letters and numbers, Shawn.
Gus: The Dewey Decimal System? I didn't even know they still used this.
Shawn: That's because people don't want to crack war codes when the pay-off is Jane Eyre.
Andrew Jackson: I can't believe Maudette Hornsby was taking advantage of my son.
Gus: Taking advantage is a little strong. The dude was 17 and she was fine.
Shawn: What exactly constitutes the difference between altar boy Gus and degenerate Gus?
Gallery[]
The gallery for Dual Spires can be found here.
Digital Releases[]
