Opinion Piece- Was the new Twin Peaks good?

Last week, my beloved TV show Twin Peaks ended for the second time, leaving in its wake an emotional mess (me) and another finale that caused viewers to tear their hair out and shout loudly at their screens, begging for something to be explained, anything! But the show wasn't just the last half hour, it was the other 17 and a half hours leading up to it and even if the finale infuriated some, now is the time to look back at the show David Lynch gifted us and ask something important: was it actually any good? I'm going to look at it through three lenses, which not only allow me to flesh out this post but also examine Twin Peaks as a cultural touchstone. Firstly, I want to look at it's success as a TV show, then how it stacks up as a David Lynch project before the most important aspect, whether it was good at being Twin Peaks. I won't be explicitly spoiling much but if you plan on watching Twin Peaks, I'd recommend reading this afterwards. The surprises are half the fun.

This first category is basically the simplest, in that it asks whether Twin Peaks was entertaining to watch. Early in the season, it felt like Twin Peaks was going to be heavily niche and a near impossible watch. The episodes were daring (more on that later) and visually, they were constantly stimulating but they kept introducing new plot threads and refusing to answer the questions viewers still had from the original series. It was still unlike anything else on TV and fascinating to watch but for casual viewers, there wasn't much to keep them coming back. That soon stopped though and plot lines followed through, things truly started happening and sticking with it was rewarded. A slow moving plot line about Dr Jacoby seemed to be going nowhere, showing the audience mysterious deliveries and spray painted shovels. However, Lynch rewarded us with not only a hilarious punchline (that he was an internet personality in the vein of Alex Jones, pedaling golden shovels) but it led to Nadine's moment of realisation that she should let Big Ed be with Norma, a moment that ranks as one of the most powerful of the entire show. While many didn't make it to the end, those that did were certainly rewarded with powerful TV, made all the more powerful by the wait.

Unlike the original series though, this series of Twin Peaks was completely directed by David Lynch and it therefore needs comparing to his other works, whether it earns a place among the auteur's other work. Because I take this blog seriously (I'm aware I'm the only one but that's alright), I have watched every single David Lynch movie since starting this season of Twin Peaks in order to properly judge the show against his filmography. The closest comparison is his 2006 movie Inland Empire in the same way that Blue Velvet is clearly the blueprint for the original series of Twin Peaks. Even comparing it to work much further away though like Lynch's debut Eraserhead, it is completely inarguable that this project feels like a David Lynch project. There are at least strands of it in every single episode, from nighttime shots of roads to long takes that draw serious discomfort but if you want to see the show proving itself to be its Lynchiest, you only have to look to Episode 8. It starts out comparatively simple with an evil doppelganger being murdered before being resurrected by ghost hobos, followed by a performance from Nine Inch Nails. The episode then descends into the atom bomb test, the origin of evil and one of the aforementioned ghost hobos asking "Gotta light?" before crushing people's skulls. This project isn't just Lynchian, it often proved itself to be the most Lynchian project in existence. After all, what other director would recast David Bowie as a giant smoking teapot?

For fans of Twin Peaks though, there's only one thing that matters; is the show still Twin Peaks? This is the most complicated aspect but I'm going to bungle my way through it regardless. See, people who adore the original series for all the characters and soap opera-esque parts are going to run into problems with the fact that this series doesn't spend a huge amount of time with them. We check in on them and it's a delight every time (Bobby becoming a deputy and the Big Ed/Norma reunion being special highlights) but they aren't the thrust of the story. Agent Cooper is still central but he's literally trapped in the body of another character for most of the series. The thing is, some Peaks fans forget that there's also that surreal edge and menace to Twin Peaks, like all the shots of Bob slowly clambering towards camera or that stellar season two finale. Plus, Lynch told fans that the prequel film Fire Walk With Me would be pivotal to understanding the new series and while he largely meant plot wise, it has also been a good tonal indicator. That delirious, nightmarish nightclub scene from FWWM has been a forerunner to many scenes from the new show and Twin Peaks fans who consider that as much a part of this world as the cutesy interactions have had a very rewarding few months. Honestly, the attitude is probably best summed up by a satirical article from The Daily Mash that said "People who pretended to like Twin Peaks in for a rough summer". The bigger a fan you are of the show, the more Lynch rewards you.

I would lie if I said this new season has been for everyone. It's been surreal, upsetting and confusing at every turn yet it's also a show that has had some of the most emotionally resonant moments in TV that I have ever experienced, pushed boundaries like never before and blown open the TV landscape. Much in the same way that TV was never the same after the original Twin Peaks, The Return looks set to be equally revolutionary and leaving as much of a cultural impact with a cliffhanger that actually tops the original one in terms of ambiguity. Like the atom bomb at the heart of the series, Twin Peaks has left a mark that may never be rivaled and I for one loved being along for the ride. The Return wasn't good, it was revolutionary.