Twin Peaks 3 of 3 (Twin Peaks: The Return)

 Twin Peaks (2017)

Directed by David Lynch

    I'm going to be honest here, I'm not actually sure what to say. David Lynch's work is very personal and hard for me to explain in words just what I like about it so much, and Twin Peaks 2017 might be the hardest. Still I am going to do my best. Twin Peaks is an 18 episode continuation and conclusion to most (if not all) of the major plot points of the Twin Peaks universe.  This is basically an 18 hour long movie broken up into hour long episodes and just like Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, I feel like even the most ardent Peaks fan needs to know some things from going in to the new show. First, while this is a continuation of the original show, thew tone is very different and the world is different too. 25 years has passed in our world between the two series (the original 90s one and 2017) and it has for the people of Twin Peaks too. The characters have changed (some predictably and others very unexpectedly) and the world they inhabit feels very different too. Don't get me wrong, there is plenty of Twin Peaks' quirkiness in this new series, but this show definitely stands alone in its tone. The other thing is that David Lynch is known for going against the grain and this show might be the example of this. Lynch is aware of the cliché formula of tv revivals with their overreliance of fan service/ lack of substance and definitely steers way clear of those pitfalls. There is fan service in this show, but it is so minor or so delayed that it is actually very rewarding to the viewer. Speaking of the viewer, the last thing to know about this show before going into it is that this show is not a show that you can just put on in the background, it requires actual engagement from the viewer. If you don't pay attention then you will be totally lost.

    So with all the groundwork laid, how does this show actually stand up? Well, like with most of Lynch's work this is unlike anything else that I have ever seen. This show kept me constantly engaged and entertained throughout. That being said, I'd be lying if I completely understood everything that happened. The first few episodes left me confused because they kept cutting between different new characters (almost like vignettes) and couldn't see how they would connect together at all, but as the show went along the pieces fell into place episode by episode. The best example of this is episode 8. Oh man this episode. This is an hour long Eraserhead tribute (in style) in the Twin Peaks universe that I had a really hard time following, but is absolutely crucial to the mystery and makes sense later. Then there is the final episode which I can't even talk about because I don't understand it and wouldn't know what to say about it if I did.

    All in all Twin Peaks (2017) is an excellent return and conclusion of the Twin Peaks world that is just as influential and world shattering as the original series was back in the early 90s. People have speculated that it's everything from a meta commentary on the current state of  tv, a feminist statement,  to a criticism of nostalgia and the tv revival, but for me it's just damn good tv.