This article contains discussions of sexual assault, abuse, and murder.
Twin Peaks remains one of the most iconic cult classic mystery shows of all time, but it’s definitely not for everyone. The brainchild of David Lynch and Mark Frost, Twin Peaks follows FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) as he investigates the brutal murder of local homecoming queen, Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee).
Because of Laura Palmer’s death and Agent Cooper’s subsequent investigation, many of the dark secrets lurking in the small town of Twin Peaks come to light. With its bizarre dream sequences and soap opera performances, Twin Peaks changed television and captured the imagination in a way few other shows have.
Twin Peaks originally premiered on ABC in 1990, running for only two seasons before its cancellation. This was followed by the 1992 feature film, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, which serves as a prequel to the series. Twin Peaks went on to develop a cult status and returned in 2017 with an eighteen-episode revival on Showtime.
Twin Peaks Season 2 Drags In The Middle
There aren’t many television shows like Twin Peaks, but that doesn’t mean the show was immune to the problems that often plagued network television dramas. With only eight episodes in its first season, Twin Peaks made great use of every minute, but its second season had twenty-two episodes to fill.
After the killer of Laura Palmer is revealed in the seventh episode of season 2, “Lonely Souls,” the story meanders a bit. With bizarre storylines like Nadine’s (Wendy Robie) belief that she’s a teenager and boring ones like James’ (James Marshall) solo motorcycle trip, Twin Peaks’ second season loses steam before arriving at its brutal conclusion.
With Laura Palmer’s murder solved, Agent Cooper gets suspended by the FBI for an illegal raid on One Eyed Jacks and later develops a romance with Annie Blackburn (Heather Graham). There’s some weird stuff with Josie Packard’s (Joan Chen) backstory, as well as the mayor of Twin Peaks, and none of it is as interesting as Cooper’s original investigation.
Twin Peaks Takes Its Time Getting To The Point
Twin Peaks opened with the question of who killed Laura Palmer, but this question wouldn’t be answered until the middle of the show’s second season. David Lynch wasn’t concerned with following the patterns of network dramas, and if left to his own devices, he may never have revealed the true identity of Laura’s killer.
While this slow and sometimes meandering approach to storytelling may work for some viewers, it could feel tedious and unnecessarily drawn out for others. Twin Peaks: The Return, in particular, has only the bare bones of a plot and spends much of its run time on surreal imagery and random sidequests.
The real Agent Cooper doesn’t even make an appearance until the last three episodes of Twin Peaks: The Return. Instead, Kyle MacLachlan spends most of the series as the evil Cooper doppelganger and a nearly catatonic Dougie Jones. The lack of Agent Cooper makes The Return a bit of a letdown for those who couldn’t wait to see more of his character.
Twin Peaks: The Return Leans Too Heavily Into The Surreal
More than anything else, the Lynchian, surrealist elements of Twin Peaks separate it from other shows. While fans of David Lynch’s films will find a lot to love about Twin Peaks, those looking for a classic murder mystery story may find themselves disappointed.
For the most part, the surrealist elements work incredibly well in the original two seasons of Twin Peaks, mostly consisting of Agent Cooper’s dreams of the mysterious red room. Twin Peaks was always delightfully weird, but the show’s first two seasons managed to achieve a solid balance of plot, characters, and surrealist elements.
Twin Peaks: The Return, however, veered too far into the surreal for my taste, delivering lengthy scenes of incomprehensible imagery that added very little to the overall story or character development. While there’s something to be said for the artistic vision of it all, and David Lynch certainly has a distinct vision, The Return lacked the quirky character interactions and narrative structure of the original.
Twin Peaks’ Big Genre Shifts Give The Audience Whiplash
Twin Peaks Over-Sexualizes High School Girls & Depicts A Lot Of Violence Against Women
Twin Peaks Has No Easy Answers & Leaves Some Big Questions Unresolved
Twin Peaks Season 2 Drags In The Middle
Twin Peaks Takes Its Time Getting To The Point
Twin Peaks: The Return Leans Too Heavily Into The Surreal
Twin Peaks’ Big Genre Shifts Give The Audience Whiplash
Twin Peaks Over-Sexualizes High School Girls & Depicts A Lot Of Violence Against Women
Twin Peaks Has No Easy Answers & Leaves Some Big Questions Unresolved
Twin Peaks Season 2 Drags In The Middle
Twin Peaks Takes Its Time Getting To The Point
Twin Peaks: The Return Leans Too Heavily Into The Surreal
Twin Peaks’ Big Genre Shifts Give The Audience Whiplash
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