Jacoby's Dark Side

The Twin Peaks: Unwrapped Podcast recently discussed Ben Horne's darker side. Their frankness and honesty gave me the courage to make this post. There are many similar topics in Twin Peaks that are not often addressed, Dr. Jacoby's licentious nature is the same. It is not that I wish to inspire dislike for his character. It isn't my intention to attack him. His characteristics, however, should be acknowledged.

Russ Tamblyn, the actor who portrayed Dr. Jacoby and Dr. Amp in The Return, said the following at a Twin Peaks retrospective held at USC School of Cinematic Arts,

After the pilot, we didn't do the series for another, God, it seemed like a year went by before we really got into the first episode. So I had a whole year to think about it, and he (Lynch) said, but what he told me basically was that my character was going to be this doctor who preys on his patients, that he has sex with his clients. So, you know, I thought about it all year. I thought, "My God, what an incredible part. What an idea!" I mean, who else would have greater access? I mean if he was a sex pervert. You know, and really a womanizer, who would have a better opportunity than a girl's therapist? You know you could ask her anything. And I picture all of these crazy scenes, standing behind, you know, getting off on asking all of these intimate questions, which even doctors don't ask but a therapist could, what turns you on, bah-hah-bah, so anyway, when I finally got around to the series, that never happened, I never did turn out to be that wild guy. It was just someone who really cared for her.

The indication in Mr. Tamblyn's words is that Jacoby slept with Laura. His comment, "It was just someone who really cared for her," suggests that Laura was the prey he had in mind: a patient Jacoby had slept with. This, according to Mr. Tamblyn, was Lynch's vision. Had this idea been allowed to develop in full, it would be impossible to not see Laura as a victim of exploitation. He says, "After the pilot, we didn't do the series for another, God, it seemed like a year went by before we really got into the first episode. So I had a whole year to think about it," meaning his performance as Jacoby in the pilot is the version of Jacoby Mr. Tamblyn wished to later see fully realized. The doctor who preys on his patients. In the televised pilot, we're not certain that Jacoby didn't sleep with Laura. It's plausible, judging by his behavior. If that was Lynch's vision, and how Mr. Tamblyn portrayed Jacoby in the moment, I believe it should be taken to heart. 

Scott Knickelbine's Welcome to Twin Peaks: A Complete Guide to Who's Who & What's What contains the following, "David had a different interpretation of [Dr. Jacoby]," Tamblyn said in an interview in US Magazine. "He was supposed to be seedy and sleazy. I just decided to make him eccentric as hell."

From the pilot,

Jacoby: Dr. Lawrence Jacoby (audio sounds skipped as the scene cuts to Cooper and Truman, as though something has been deleted. Harry's face says he heard more than Jacoby's name.) Laura was a patient of mine. Listen, you're on your way to the morgue now, do you mind if I join you? 

Cooper: Yes, I do. Why would you want to?

Harry: Sort of against procedure, doctor.

Jacoby: Well, no offense, I thought I could be of some help.

Cooper: You still could be, at another time.

Jacoby: Oh, I understand completely. Oh, by the way, Laura's parents, well, they didn't know that she was seeing me.

 

 "Dr. Lawrence Jacoby, Agent Cooper."

Harry's reaction. (Above) The audio noticeably skips, indicating that potentially questionable dialogue concerning Laura may have been cut.

As soon as Jacoby calls out Harry's name, we can perceive that the sheriff does not like him. He wants to avoid him. A later draft of the pilot script states that "Cooper instantly dislikes him."

In the pilot, Jacoby wears a tie depicting a woman wearing a hula skirt. Once he begins to think of Laura, he disturbingly begins to touch beneath the woman's skirt. A possible hint as to his relationship with Laura, or at the very least, his desire for her. A 17-year-old girl - his patient - just died and he touches a depiction of a woman wishing it were her. He laughs before he casually asks Harry and Cooper if he can accompany them to the morgue.

Lynch almost seems to return to his initial vision of Jacoby when the doctor appears in the deleted scenes of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me: The Missing Pieces. In The Missing Pieces, Dr. Jacoby calls Laura the night of her death, pleading with her to record another cassette. Laura does not hide her disgust as he asks her to, "send him a kiss." Judging by her reaction and his words, the tapes Laura made were of little benefit to anyone other than Jacoby.

From the Missing Pieces,

Jacoby

Laura, you didn't come to see me yesterday.

Laura

I couldn't. It was Johnny Horne's birthday. I promised I'd be with him. I told you not to call me here.

Jacoby

Well, you know, a little trouble with your parents is the least of your worries. And it's certainly something I'm willing to put up with.

Laura

I'm not.

Jacoby

Did you make me a tape?

Laura

I already made you two tapes.

Jacoby

Laura, you're going to have to deal with all of this.

Laura

I'm dealing with it, Doc. Big time. Maybe I'll make you a tape tomorrow. Goodnight.

Jacoby

Laura? Send me a kiss.

Laura hangs up on him.

Lynch chose to portray Jacoby in a sinister light in the film, similar to his behavior in the pilot. Other than his pestering Laura for another tape, Jacoby is unprofessional as he puts his needs first in calling Laura at her home after she apparently made it clear she didn't want him to do so.

Jacoby's scene in The Missing Pieces opens with a close shot of a partially nude mermaid, befitting his frame of mind. His shoes are visible, and he moves them casually as he speaks. Once his conversation with Laura ends, he nonchalantly sips from his drink. He is not phased by Laura ending his call. If he had cared about her deeply, if he loved her, one would think her behavior would have upset him. He acts as though the exchange was trivial. Almost an act made out of boredom.

The Secret Diary Of Laura Palmer offers a slightly conflicting view of Laura's experience recording tapes for Jacoby. Laura writes, 

"I send him the tapes after I have listened to them myself. I find that even though I'm still very sad that listening to the tapes and what they say helps me feel that the problems spoken on them are not my own."

Perhaps she grew weary of the exercise or became aware that Jacoby wanted the tapes for his own gratification. Perhaps it is a matter of conflicting information. 

In the diary, Laura also writes that she is aware of Lawrence's attraction.

"I was immediately aware of Lawrence's attraction to me, not that that was the issue. But where his attraction came from was. He was attracted to the "two Lauras," the very reason for which I wanted so desperately to die. What I considered a curse, he found enticing and honest. He did not mock my pain. He accepted it."

Laura writes of Jacoby in a positive light, though she also writes similarly of Leo Johnson and Jacques Renault. 

In the series, it is implied that Jacoby slept with another young woman, Lana Budding Milford, who appears to have been his short-term patient.

From the script to season two, episode twenty-one (#2.014. Double Play),

25. INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY 

Truman and Cooper enter, join Hawk and Andy. At the other end of the room stand Jacoby and LANA. 

JACOBY
Good, I wanted everyone to hear this. I have just spent most of the last twenty four hours with this charming young lady. And as you can see, I have no bruises, no broken bones. Any claims by her deceased husband's brother that she is cursed and somehow responsible for a death is nonsense. What she does possess is a heightened sexual drive and a working knowledge of technique, anatomy, and touch, few men have ever had the pleasure of experiencing, or the skill to match.

In the televised episode, the following exchange occurs,

COOPER
Lana, let me be the first to congratulate you. 

(Cooper shakes her hand)

LANA
Thank you. Well, I could never have done it without Dr. Jacoby.

Jacoby laughs. Cooper's smile fades.

Cooper's fading smile implies that he aware of Jacoby's part in clearing Lana's name. We as an audience are informed by Cooper's reaction if it was not already apparent.

Notice Jacoby's tie when he is discussing the close to 24 hours he spent with Lana. It is similar to the one he wore in the pilot.

Jacoby stokes beneath his tie in the promotional photo above. In it, he is wearing the same outfit he wore when he spoke in Lana's defense. One can assume the photo was taken during or after filming. The image above is from The Mauve Zone

Recall how Dwayne Milford claimed Lana killed his brother by sexual intimacy, meaning Jacoby would have had to recreate the situation with Lana to prove her innocence. The Twin Peaks Gazette ran an advice column written by Russ Tamblyn as Dr. Jacoby which seems to support this notion.

Dr. Jacoby is a memorable and unique character. His popularity with fans ensures that he will forever be one of the most noted townspeople of Twin Peaks. However, to not accept the darker aspects of his character, to gloss over them, is, in my opinion, denial.