TV Review: Twin Peaks

Written by Grady Fiorio Original Publishing Date: May 3rd, 2021 (Letterboxd) Rating N/A

David Lynch goes all in for an experience that transcends anything done before on television

Director David Lynch Runtime 44 Hr (Original Run + Film + Return) Format Streaming + Blu-Ray Release Date 1990-2017

I’m going to consider this a review of Twin Peaks as a whole. I didn’t watch 42 hours of TV and 2 and a half hours of movie just to let it slide by the rules of Letterboxd. So with that being said here’s my review of Twin Peaks. And be warned, just like that sweeping shot at the Roadhouse, this is about to get long.

First I'd like to state that I am going to forgo giving this series a star rating. After deep-diving into the career of David Lynch I’ve come to realize that just like it is reductive to try and find definitive answers in Lynch’s work, it is also reductive to reduce it to numbers and stars. It’s much more simple to say either you liked it or didn’t. And for something so complex, simplicity is the best solution.

I came to this realization after reflecting on David’s last feature film Inland Empire. That film scrambled my brain as I tried to make sense of the three hours of madness that I had just endured. It’s not something that can be pinned down to numerical values and reviews.

You can only leave something like that puzzled, having enjoyed the ride or exhausted with dread. I think Twin Peaks works in a similar way. At times I loved Twin Peaks and couldn’t stop watching it. At other times, I hated it and was clawing my eyes out waiting for David to pick up the pace. But then I came to realize, that’s the point. That’s the ride, it has its lows and highs but as long as you left feeling emotionally resonant about the whole thing then Lynch has done his job. So to make a long story short, I’m not rating this out of stars.

So then what do I say about Twin Peaks? I guess simply that it left me at a loss for words. I had so many thoughts, feelings, and ideas leading up to the finale, but when it all finally hit I drew a blank. A big, massive, fucking blank. I mean hell, I just watched 42 hours of TV and I can’t think of a single thing to say? Twin Peaks challenged everything I thought television could be. At this point is Twin Peaks even television? Or is it some sort of transcendent long-form media, beyond TV and film?

At first, Twin Peaks was possibly the greatest bait and switch of all time. The thing I couldn’t stop thinking about after the last episode of season 2 was “Holy shit, I can’t believe they actually aired this on network television. CBS actually let this man put this on primetime TV. That’s it for 25 years.” All I could think about was what 1992 audiences who came for the soap opera cop drama were thinking after seeing a dwarf dancing around, talking in reverse, while bloody antics ran amuck. Then David comes back and does another bait and switch when audiences came to Fire Walk With Me. They were looking for more quirky Twin Peaks antics but were met with an extremely dark film about incest, rape, and murder. Only then for David Lynch to give one last giant “Fuck you, I’m doing it again.” when The Return is aired. Audiences wanted a nostalgia trip back to their favorite fun characters in the Town of Twin Peaks only to be met with an 18-hour long acid trip that is about as anti-nostalgia as you can get.

The important phrasing in all this is “at first” because to pitch Twin Peaks as some sort of long con practical joke, while hysterical to think about, is to most definitely sell it short. The much more real pitch is that Twin Peaks is a savage, emotional, journey in love, loss, and the fight of good versus evil.

I’ve spent the past couple of days reflecting on Twin Peaks and its finale. What did it mean? And what was the point? I’ve read reviews, watched videos, and just spent a whole lot of time thinking. But after I tried pinpointing what everything exactly meant I finally let go. I did what David always talks about doing and I let emotion and intuition take control. So I guess now is as good as time as ever to give a big ol’ fat spoiler warning. I’m going to try and make some sense of the ending and to do that obviously I’m gonna talk spoilers. If you don’t want to see that jump to the end of the review where I will give an all-caps SPOILERS ARE OVER. So without further ado…

SPOILER WARNING

So what did it all mean? Well to make some literal sense of it first, here’s my interpretation. The world of Twin Peaks exists in two “dimensions”, the natural world, and the supernatural world. The natural being the Town of Twin Peaks and the supernatural being the Black Lodge, Red Room, and White Lodge. For simplicity's sake, I’m going to refer to the supernatural world as the Black Lodge. In the Black Lodge exists beings. These include The Giant/Fireman, The Man from Another Place, The Arm, Bob, and many more that we see throughout the show. I believe these beings to not be gods, but rather “keepers”. Their purpose is to keep destiny in place. Certain ordained events are supposed to take place to keep the timeline of the world in balance. It’s also important to note that I do not believe that these beings are good or evil, but rather neutral and exist to keep the preordained order of the world and its events. The keepers cannot act physically in our world, so throughout the series, they use Cooper to act almost as a surrogate to help set the natural order of things. Giving him clues and hints on how to set things back on track.

Of these beings, there is Bob, a being that for some reason or another is attracted to mayhem and destruction. Always trying to escape and wreak havoc and disrupt the timeline of events. Like the other keepers, Bob can’t act physically through our world so he must possess the body of another to act out his twisted fantasies. The keepers have tried to keep Bob under control but have obviously failed and by the end of Season 2 Bob has fully been let loose and in his place trapped our dear friend Dale Cooper inside the Black Lodge.

Fast forward 25 years later, Cooper is able to escape the lodge but inhabits the body of Dougie Jones, a surrogate body/tulpa and trap set up by Bob. Just one of his many fail-safes. Jump about 16ish episodes and Cooper is back, David Bowie is a giant kettle teapot and now there's something even eviler than Bob named Judy. Cooper kills Bob, goes back in time, stops the death of Laura Palmer and all's right with the world until you realize that there's another episode. Diane and Cooper drive into another timeline, have awkward sex, now their names are Richard and Linda, Laura Palmer isn’t Laura Palmer, they drive back to Twin Peaks and Laura screams at the sky, the end. I may be missing a couple of things, and simplifying events, but you’ve seen the show.

The first big question we’re left with is “Why isn’t everything right with the world? I thought Bob was dead and all the bad shit was taken care of.” We are still left with Judy and the mystery of why isn’t Laura Palmer, Laura Palmer? This goes back to my theory of the keepers being the protectors of the timeline and preordained events. Bob is dead and now things should be back to normal, right? Here’s the issue, Laura Palmer was supposed to die. That was always part of the plan, Bob just got in the way. Now with Cooper saving Laura Palmer, everything is fucked up again. Cooper may have “saved” Laura in one timeline but now her death must come back in another. Laura can never escape her destiny of death. Laura’s death causes a chain reaction in the town of Twin Peaks. A chain reaction that needs to occur because it is set within the preordained events of the keepers. It’s important to note that in Mark Frost’s book, The Final Dossier, it is stated that in this new timeline where Laura is “saved”, she no longer dies but rather disappears. Never to be seen again. It’s also worth stating that it’s been highly debated on whether or not Frost’s books are considered canon but it’s something worth mentioning. In the end, it reinforces the idea that even if Laura Palmer is “saved”, one way or another she must go and have the timeline set straight again.

Now at the end of the finale, “Not Laura Palmer” from a separate timeline is brought to the original Laura’s family home. I believe at this moment, during her scream, all her memories and trauma flood back at once. Now reminding her of the rape, torture, and death she suffered at the hands of her Father.

Now to get to this whole thing with Judy. I see Judy as another force even more powerful than Bob that is wreaking even more Havok and keeping Cooper and Laura from finally being at peace, keeping them in this constant battle. But in all honesty, I am kind of stuck on how Judy fits into my theory. But this is my own personal interpretation and others may see things completely different.

That is what I believe to be the “literal” interpretation of the events. But like I said earlier, the point of Lynch’s work is not to find those definitive, “literal” answers. Thankfully the “emotional interpretation” is much simpler and I believe to be much more powerful. For the more “emotional interpretation,” I see Twin Peaks representing the double lives that we as humans live, and how we suppress our own traumas and fights, while we wallow in our pain until we break. The quaint little town on the surface, that holds many dark secrets underneath. Just like Laura, we are all suffering from something that we keep hidden. And just like the pre-ordained timeline, we can’t hide from them and we can’t kill them. But if we have a little Dale Cooper inside us, then just maybe we can face them.

SPOILERS ARE OVER

Many have stated Twin Peaks ending to be dark and hopeless, that the fight is lost, but I see the opposite. While our characters may be at their lowest point, there is that glimmer of hope that things can be corrected, and we can still fight the evils of tomorrow.

Now to make things simple. Did I like it? Yes! David Lynch has possibly created his masterpiece with Twin Peaks. A 25-year-long epic that will span many more given its enduring fanbase and many mysteries yet to be solved. A triumph in storytelling, defying the rules while writing new ones for future filmmakers to come. And just like the finale of Twin Peaks, it all feels like it ends too so...

Director David Lynch Runtime 44 Hr (Original Run + Film + Return) Format Blu-Ray Release Date 1990-2017