Twin Peaks (ABC) TV Show • Page 120

I totally get that, and in a way soap operas are their own kind of surreality. There's just a lot of it in the first few episodes — I definitely had a moment of "really, another affair I have to keep track of?" at one point.

 

The actual relationship drama eventually absolves itself as the show goes on, but ngl there is a fair amount of it in the second half of s2. I think the "soapiness" aspect is more complicated than outright satire though, because there's a sincerity to those performances that reach these heightened emotional moments of naked truth that become synonymous with David Lynch's earlier style itself. What's really incredible is how he contextualizes that youthful energy later on. Once you're in the throes of the interdimensional mysticism of season three, the show makes you feel nostalgic for these simpler things, for characters like James, and all the juvenile stuff they were involved with from early in the series. It's really powerful stuff. This tweet sort of touches on that (but it has a s3 clip so don't watch if you're not there yet)

 

Watching The Return was probably the most satisfying season of television ever. Dougie is so frustrating at the time but when it all comes together I had tears of joy.

 

it’s not only my favorite season of tv but also my favorite work of art

 

i will note that Lynch left part way through S2, which is probably why the supernatural elements took somewhat of a backseat to the "soapiness" and campiness of it all. Frost and the rest of the team did a pretty good job of emulating that youthful spirit of some of Lynch's other projects during that time, but with less emphasis on the supernatural and the mysteries at hand, ratings started declining. it's a good thing that he returned to write the finale, which then shaped a lot of what happened in later TP work.

 

I had it as the best "film" of 2017. It just put every reboot to shame with such grace and beauty. Instead of resting on the more successful first season it just takes the weirdness of late season two and Fire Walk With Me in even more extreme directions.

Scorsese is having a late-career golden age right now, but based on that season it makes me wonder how much we are missing out with Lynch. The Return is the best thing he has ever done, and it is the only thing he has been able to release in almost twenty years. Hopefully it isn't the end.

 

Not to detract from this, but Mark Frost has corrected some misconceptions on twitter and in interviews regarding the show. It's been interesting seeing what he had more of a role in, even in many of the show's more iconic moments which were largely due to his contribution. I don't remember exactly where I read it but I believe he's also mentioned that Lynch was not as present in second half of s2 but didn't "leave the show" as that's the commonly held belief. Many of s2 narrative threads were things Lynch and Frost had planned and decided on together, and likewise many of the bizarro things in s3 were also things they wrote together.

 

this is good to know. thanks!

 

He’s going to be at a horror con by me later this year. I might tell him myself.

 

Started season 2, and I liked the opener more than any episode of season one.

 

there is a man.... in a smiling bag

 

The first half of season two is probably the strongest part of the original series, I think.

 

The killer reveal and the couple following episodes are spectacular.

 

So damn good. It’s your first time watching all the way through, right? Hang tight to the end of the season. It ends on an enormously high note, then everything that comes next is the best of the series.

 

don't forget to watch FWWM and The Missing Pieces (if you have access to them) before S3! there are also fanedits that combine the two and put (most of) The Missing Pieces back into the film.

 

FWWM best “prequel” ever made.

 

Yep! I'm basically all in now, even though I know I'm at the part of the series that seems to get the most negative reviews. The arc of Nadine re-enrolling in high school is pretty silly.

 

Definitely gets a lot of criticism. But give it a chance. There’s still a lot of greatness in those episodes that people miss, and the silliness is a feature not necessarily a flaw.

 

I think the first half of season 2 up to the reveal is the best stretch of episodes in the original series, but I’ve never come around on the way the show handles/portrays the Bob/Leland dynamic.

For me, FWWM is a perfect course correction, and everything about Leland and Bob in that movie feels so much more authentic that I’m always thrown on rewatches when the episodes after the reveal more heavily lean toward a different interpretation

 

I don’t necessarily think it’s one interpretation vs another. Leland must’ve inherited BOB by being abused himself. There’s a line somewhere (I forget exactly when) about a man throwing matches on him when he was younger.

 

Well into the back half of season 2 (6 episodes to go in the season) and yeah, this show is excellent.

 

Starting my first rewatch since the Return finale

 

What band used the "a place both wonderful and strange" line as a lyric? In my head I hear it in the Forgive Durden singer's voice, but I don't think it's them and my searches are coming up short.