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The past handful of Twin Peaks episodes have painted Windham Earl as a diabolical maniac. He’s not only nuts, but as well’s got the nose of a bloodhound. Somehow he knows where and when to be at every turn, enabling his reign of terror on the small Washingtonian town to continue with unrelenting vigor.

On top of that, he’s become more, shall I say, creative with his vengeful killings. By the end of “Episode 26,” Windham had left Cooper a parting gift: A big, wooden box with an oversized, circular doorknocker with a sign next to it reading, “open me.” Cooper did, and out popped a very dead twentysomething guy standing inside a giant chess pawn with dried blood slipping out of his mouth. He, too, had a sign: “Next time it will be someone you know.”

Good god!

I must say, Twin Peaks has become a wonderfully good thing in its season two homestretch. Were I watching week-to-week 20 years ago, I’d have an excitement in my gut, knowing the current season was about over and a third would, perhaps, be on the way. Through the wonders of history, however, I know that ain’t the case. We’ve got three more to go. Three.

Shoot.

The point here, and I’m striving to get there myself, is not to dwell on what could have been, but to celebrate what we have here instead. I’m convinced, though, that the office co-worker who let slip to me that Twin Peaks’ end is a disappointment has kernels of truth to it. Unless Twin Peaks’ pacing gets thrown completely out of whack, I don’t see how many - if any - of its loose ends get tied.

One of the main reasons I feel this way is we’re just finding out details - finally! - about the White and Black Lodges, mythology that’s been alluded to pretty much all season. (Perhaps as early as last season, even, when Hawk was discussing his thoughts on the afterlife.) And we know, just now again, that Windham isn’t solely messing with Cooper through his mind games, but is working towards a goal: To find the Black Lodge.

What is the Black Lodge? Well, it’s the opposite of the White Lodge and, apparently, inhabited by spirits. Think of the lodges - their colors, specifically - in the way they were set up on Lost a decade and a half later: White is good, Black is bad.

In the White Lodge, spirits are happy. They bask in the nectared rains and the rest of it. Over in the Black Lodge, it’s joyless. Spirits don’t care about good deeds, but rip off flesh from the bone, and offer up a power so mighty that its bearer can bring new order to Earth itself.

And that, I assume, is why Windham wants the keys to the Black Lodge: He wants to be the gatekeeper. The head honcho with the unimaginable power, and to do with it what he will. He’ll be a successor to Bob, or perhaps his co-conspirator. I’m guessing this is where Bob finally comes back to play. I can’t imagine we’ve already seen the last of him.

Anyway, on a less serious note, several relationships on the show have turned on the heat. This is especially true of Cooper and Annie, who’ve taken to the seas by boat. And after giggling with one another affectionately, they kiss. It’s all rather cute and silly, and a good fit for both. Annie because she’s a former nun and is just now gaining some worldly experience, and Cooper because he’s been so single for so long on this show.

In the other corner are Shelly and Gordon, and I’m oh so happy they continued their developing affair another week. If you recall, Gordon (David Lynch) is so hard of hearing that he’s got earbuds protruding from both ears and shouts loudly at everyone and everything. That is, of course, everyone but Shelly, who he can hear just fine.

Shelly is, you know, with Bobby, but she’s so taken by Gordon and his antics that she kisses him back at the diner. Bobby sees it all, and Shelly doesn’t seem to mind. A surprising turn, sure, but it’s a kiss I can support. Whatever will keep Gordon on the show another week.

The other major development, I think, is what seems like an odd, but complex map, and we see it a bunch on “Episode 26”: First it’s on a television screen in the abode of Windham Earl, next we see it inscribed on the walls of Owl Cave, and then finally Briggs, seated inside the sheriff’s office, says he once dreamed about it. That the map in the cave matches the map etched into his memory is all Briggs needs, really, to sign off on giving Cooper whatever he wants to know about Windham Earle, Project Blue Book and so on.

If “Episode 27” moves like it should, we’ll have some fallout from the human chess piece, of course, but we should also get some good monologue from Briggs. He seems like the smartest man in the room in terms of dealings with the paranormal.