The return of Twin Peaks is one of the most talked about television events of 2017. While fans seemed to be divided about it, it’s undeniable that it was thrilling to see the show’s beloved characters back on screen.
Before the Return aired, no trailers were released and the mysterious nature of this marketing strategy has piqued the interests of people who haven’t even seen the show. As I recall, as the premiere drew near, people were starting to ask if they would be able to understand the new season if they haven’t seen the original show. It’s funny because as a fan who has seen the original series, read the books, watched the tie-in movie Fire Walk With Me (and the Missing Pieces), I have to say that I still don’t quite comprehend some of it. The Return may have shed light on some matters but the deeper we dive in to the mystery of Twin Peaks, the stronger the sense of not knowing anything about it at all feels.
Since it would take ages to talk about the entirety of the Return, I will mainly focus on the finale. Fair warning: spoilers ahead.
Twin Peaks the Return was a confusing ride from start to end. We see Agent Cooper’s journey of being trapped in the Black Lodge to becoming a senile version of himself under the identity of Douglas “Dougie” Jones, while his “BOB-possessed” evil doppelganger, Mr C, engaged in criminal activities. But before the finale, we finally get to see him be his old self again.
The Return’s finale was divided into two – parts 17 and 18. Part 17, aptly having the tagline “The past dictates the future,” served as a rewarding resolution of the cliffhanger from the original Twin Peaks 1991 finale. Agent Cooper has finally woken up and is traveling to Twin Peaks just as Mr C has arrived in the same town. We see Naido cry and make noises as Mr C enters the Twin Peaks’ Sheriff Department. Andy, Lucy, and Frank mistakenly recognized Mr C as Dale Cooper.
Lucy then receives a call from the real Agent Cooper and transfers the call to Sheriff Frank Truman, who was in the same room as Mr C at the time. As Frank Truman realizes this, Mr C draws a gun but was stopped when he gets shot and eventually killed by Lucy, who then remarks that she finally figured out how cell phones work.
In retrospect, the controversy surrounding Lynch having misogynistic tendencies in writing female characters may have been wrong in Lucy’s case. Many fans have expressed their disappointment at how dull-witted Lucy was as the first episode showed how she was not able to understand phones. It was rewarding to see her finally grasp the idea of it while simultaneously saving the day.
Agent Cooper finally arrives with the Mitchum brothers while the woodsmen seem to “devour” on Mr C. BOB, contained inside a floating black orb, attacked Cooper and Freddie. We then discover that Freddie’s destiny was, in fact, to defeat BOB. Using his superhuman strength given by his glove, he punched the orb and it eventually broke into pieces. Cooper finally puts the ring on his evil doppelganger, which then disappears into the Lodge. Naido was then revealed to be the real red-haired Diane. All while this is happening, a super-imposed face of Cooper is seen that says “We live inside a dream.”
However, the mission isn’t over. Cooper walked through different dimensions using his Great Northern Hotel room key. I think Cooper, who has lost 25 years of his life being trapped in the Lodge, wanted to do this alone, probably because he felt like he had nothing to lose and was determined to finally solve the mystery of Twin Peaks. As he entered, MIKE recites the “fire walk with me” chant and both were transported to the convenience store where Jeffries was and discussed the date February 23, 1989. Cooper was transported out afterwards.
A scene, coming from the same time that the events of Fire Walk With Me happened, was shown with Laura leaving the Palmer house with James as Leland watches. It was later revealed that Cooper have time-traveled and was transported nearby James and Laura during that same night. As Laura and James were talking, she spotted Cooper – who I think she might have mistaken for BOB – and screamed. After James takes off, she runs into the woods where we see Leo, Ronette, and Jacques await for her. But she looks at Cooper, who she recognized in a dream. Cooper reaches out his hand, she holds it, and she goes with him as they walk through the woods. The stars have turned and time presents itself as present Cooper has saved Laura Palmer from her death. It was nostalgic to see the first few scenes of the very first episode of Twin Peaks – but this time, the events occurred without the discovery of Laura’s dead body. As Cooper led Laura, she disappears and her familiar, bloodcurdling screams could be heard.
To be honest, I’m still quite in awe of how beautifully crafted the final scenes of this episode was. Although, one could not help but wonder about the consequences of time-traveling in the Twin Peaks universe. Does this mean that the first two seasons of Twin Peaks didn’t really happen? Would this result in him not having to go to Twin Peaks, meet everyone in that strange town, and fall in love with it? Or is this all just David Lynch’s mischievous plan to make everyone watch Fire Walk With Me, a film rumored to have been booed by critics in the 1992 Cannes Film Fest?
Then came the eighteenth and last hour of the Return. Twin Peaks seems to have a pattern of having a cliffhanger finale for every season – and this one was no different.
We get to see a new Dougie Jones, created by MIKE, per Cooper’s request. It’s worth mentioning that when Cooper came back to this world – after being robbed of 25 years of life – the first act he thought to do was a selfless one – to give Janey-E and Sonny Jim a new Dougie, who he promised would never leave them from that day on. That was the moment I knew that this was, no doubt, the REAL Dale Cooper.
It’s also not a Twin Peaks finale without some Red Room shenanigans. Cooper was back in the Lodge once again. After Laura whispers something in his ear, she is lifted through the ceiling and was screaming. Cooper then goes to Leland, who tells him to find Laura. Cooper goes through billowing curtains to Glastonbury Grove, where Diane awaits him.
Cooper and Diane, as if in a Thelma and Louise situation, drive through a portal which transports them to a dark road. They went to a motel and as Cooper checked in, Diane sees another version of herself. They went in the motel room and proceeded on to have the weirdest, most disturbing sex. We know Diane was raped by Cooper’s evil doppelganger – and it is apparent that she is still haunted by it as she tries to cover the impassive, un-Cooperlike expression on his face.
The next morning, Cooper finds himself alone with a note from Linda addressed to Richard saying she doesn’t know him anymore. At this point, you could pretty much guess it wasn’t the right year or – perhaps – dimension/reality. When Cooper exits the hotel, it was a different one and his car was parked across. Either it was a continuity error, or it further proves the aforementioned theory. He drives through Odessa, Texas and enters a diner called Judy’s. After securing the address of the waitress who works there but called in sick that day, he drives to a house owned by someone who looks exactly like Laura Palmer – except she wasn’t Laura Palmer at all.
“Carrie,” as she calls herself, doesn’t seem to know who Laura Palmer is. Other than the decomposing body in her house (who she may or may not have killed), she seemed comfortable enough to go with the strange man who claims she was someone else – just like the Laura we saw in the woods. They drive to Twin Peaks and discover that no Palmer ever lived in the Palmer residence that we know. Cooper, confused about the events that has transpired since he woke up, finally asks, “What year is this?” Carrie looks at the house and hears Sarah Palmer’s voice calling out to her. Once again, we hear Carrie/Laura’s scream – a haunting end to an incredibly puzzling 18-hour long series.
The immediate thought that would come to mind is: Is it a different year? Perhaps, but I believe it is more of a different reality than year. We saw Laura in the woods being led by Cooper away from her death. But Laura disappeared from his grasp. What if, in the Twin Peaks universe, there is a heavier consequence from time traveling? We see Laura’s body disappear from the shore, thereby implying that she had not died. But what if, in saving Laura, the damage has been more extensive than we were led to believe? What if Laura ceased to exist, in a sense that she wasn’t Laura Palmer anymore – hence Carrie’s existence. What if Cooper created (and was transported to) another timeline? Also note that there NEVER WAS a Palmer who ever owned the house. So, either the present owner of the house is an unreliable source of information or it’s a different reality where the Palmers never existed.
Let’s be real, it’s hard to predict what really is going on in Twin Peaks. God knows whatever goes on in David Lynch’s mind. I find that the strange events in Twin Peaks either have huge significance or none at all (remember that time Lynch made Michael Horse carry a bucket of rocks while wearing gloves?). To be honest, I’m tired of theorizing (and ending up wrong 75% of the time) so I just let the mystery unfold – it’s more fulfilling that way.
Will there be more Twin Peaks? It’s a possibility, but it wouldn’t happen until the next few years. But do we need it? While there are still a number of unanswered questions and unresolved plots – Audrey, Diane’s doppelganger in the motel, “What year is it?”, to name a few – is it a good move to have another season of this mind-boggling show? Some Twin Peaks actors have just recently passed away (Catherine Coulson, Harry Dean Stanton, Miguel Ferrer!). How will they explain Albert’s disappearance? Personally, I wouldn’t want him to be replaced by another steam machine like Phillip Jeffries’ kettle-like alternative form.
While most fans feel robbed of a satisfying conclusion, I wouldn’t mind if this would be the last of Twin Peaks that we see. I think, if there would ever be another season, it would go further down the rabbit hole, and instead of giving us answers, it would just lead to more questions. But hey, that’s life. It’s one big question after another. From the death of Laura Palmer, we are now introduced to the idea of time travel and different realities – which, quite frankly, is something I didn’t expect from Twin Peaks. But they did turn David Bowie into a teapot rather than give us conventional resolution, so comparing that, you can’t really say what to expect from this show.
In the golden age of television, the world has been blessed by weird shows such as Hannibal, Mr Robot, Legion, and American Gods, etc. It makes one wonder if Twin Peaks still has a place in it. To be fairly honest, before Twin Peaks returned, I was anxious that they might depart from the original series’ surreal and zany atmosphere and would rather cater to the mainstream audience instead. But sure enough, Twin Peaks remained to be a place both wonderful and strange. While it may not be the same as it was in the ’90s, it was such a relief to know that no other show has managed to surpass the trademark greatness (and weirdness) of Twin Peaks.
To sum it up, the return of Twin Peaks – like almost every great art piece – is beautiful and entrancing, but on some level, you don’t quite get it. But it captivates you. It leaves you craving for more.
If Lynch and Frost would ever decide to return again, I would still watch it. (We still have Frost’s Final Dossier to look forward to!) Twin Peaks will never be just a tv show; it is a work of art. I cannot wait to see what else Twin Peaks has to offer for its audiences. Knowing the people in front of and behind the camera, it would be something unexpected, extraordinary, and unapologetically experimental.
Lois Lorraine Reyes
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Those people who swore up and down, for years, that Twin Peaks was in some sense a “broken time loop” look so much more sane than they did even six months ago.