12 Initial Thoughts on Twin Peaks: The Return Parts One and Two

I just finished watching Parts 1 and 2 of Twin Peaks: The Return on Showtime. I’m not ready to write an in-depth review yet. I’m going to have to rewatch the show, twice or maybe even three times. But I did want to share a few of my initial thoughts about what I just saw:

1. In many ways, this was David Lynch at both his best and his most frustrating. That the story held my interest even while making little to no sense is a testament to his abilities as a director. For all the credit that he’s been given as a visual artist, Lynch is often underrated as a storyteller. Lynch is often accused of being self-indulgent and, in many ways, he is. At the same time, he still knows where his story is going and how to keep the audience invested in the journey.

At the same time, I imagine that there are a lot of frustrated people right now. For all the talk about how Twin Peaks was finally returning, very little of tonight’s episode actually took place in Twin Peaks. Instead, we had a horror movie going on in New York. We had a murder mystery going on in South Dakota. And we had a lot of Dale Cooper in the Black Lodge. If you came into this episode hoping to get caught up with Bobby Briggs, Audrey Horne, or Doc Hayward, you were out of luck. However, since this episode ended at the Roadhouse, with Shelley Johnson giving James Hurley a friendly wave, I assume that we’ll be spending more time in Twin Peaks next week.

2. Apparently, Doppelganger Cooper has been extremely busy. I have to admit that I would probably be more intimidated by evil Cooper if not for the hair.

3. For those keeping track of what we did learn about what’s been going on in Twin Peaks over the past 25 years: Ben and Jerry Horne are still operating at the Great Northern and Ben appears to have given up on the whole being a force of good thing. Deputy Andy and Lucy are still together. Deputy Hawk is now deputy chief and is basically in charge while Sheriff Truman is away. James Hurley apparently had a motorcycle accident and now appears to be the town weirdo. Shelley Johnson still lives in town and apparently likes James now. Sarah Palmer appears to be a drunk who spends her time watching nature documentaries. The Log Lady is still getting messages from her log. Cooper is considered to be a missing person. Dr. Jacoby is living in a trailer out in the middle of nowhere.

4. Rather sweetly, tonight’s episode was dedicated to the memories of Frank Silva (the original Killer BOB) and Catherine E. Coulson. Coulson passed away shortly after shooting her scenes as the Log Lady. It was obvious, in her scenes, that she didn’t have much time left. I’m glad that she got to recreate her most famous role and that the show didn’t resort to introducing a new Log Lady. (“My name is Maggie. My grandma left me this log in her will. You may call me Log Girl.” See, that would not have been a good thing…)

5. How creepy were those scenes in New York!?

6. Brent Briscoe, who played the detective in the South Dakota scenes, also played a detective in Mulholland Drive. In fact, many of the scenes in South Dakota reminded me more of Mulholland Drive than Twin Peaks.

7. The difficulty that the cops had in getting a key to Ruth Davenport’s apartment was pure Lynch. People are either going to love it or hate it.

8. The scenes in the Black Lodge were perhaps the best part of the episode. The talking tree-thing totally freaked me out. At the same time, Lynch is a master of how to use silence to create an ominous atmosphere. It was during the moments when no one was talking that I often found myself the most creeped out.

9. Matthew Lillard is not always an actor who gets a lot of credit but he really delivered tonight. On the one hand, Lillard’s character appeared to be sincere when he claimed he was innocent. On the other hand, we’ve seen Matthew Lillard play so many crazy characters that our natural instinct is to distrust. I don’t know if we’ll see his character again but we definitely won’t forget him.

10. To which character did I most relate? Probably Tracy, because we both deliver coffee and wear thong underwear.

11. I loved the song at the end!

12. As I hinted earlier, I imagine that a lot of people were frustrated by tonight’s episode. In many ways, the first 80 minutes reminded me of the Chris Isaak/Keifer Sutherland prologue that started off Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. I think people who are familiar with and who appreciate Lynch’s style probably found a lot to love tonight. Casual viewers, on the other hand, are probably wondering what the rest of us are so excited about. David Lynch has always defiantly gone his own way and stayed true to his own unique vision. That’s what makes him such an exciting artist. At the same time, mainstream audiences hate being confused. Surrealism makes them feel insecure.

Anyway, those are my initial thoughts! I’ll have a more in-depth review either later tonight or maybe tomorrow!

Twins Peaks on TSL: