With the passing of David Lynch just last month, much of his already famous work has returned to the public consciousness once again. Among his most well-known works, “Twin Peaks” stands out as particularly influential and fantastic. Co-created with Mark Frost, this legendary crime drama remains a defining piece of Lynch’s legacy. Since many are discovering—or rediscovering—his work recently, this review will discuss the initial plot and direction of the story but will not contain specific spoilers.
“Twin Peaks” begins with an hour-and-a-half-long pilot, opening with the discovery of the body of the town’s beloved homecoming queen, Laura Palmer. This shocking revelation sets up the central mystery that drives the first half of the show’s original run: Who killed Laura Palmer?
FBI agent Dale Cooper, sent to Twin Peaks to investigate, serves as the story’s main protagonist. As he spends more time in the town, he finds himself torn between the warm camaraderie of the townspeople and the ever-deepening darkness surrounding the case.
The town’s residents play a significant role in the show, with a large cast of characters that, surprisingly, never feels overwhelming. Lynch and Frost masterfully ensure that each character remains distinct and compelling, often dedicating episodes to B-plots that focus on side characters as much as the main storyline.
Tonally, “Twin Peaks” adopts a stylized soap opera aesthetic, common in the early ’90s, but leans toward a satirical take on the genre. The B-plots often emphasize this self-aware tone while remaining highly engaging.
Season one, as expected from a crime drama, ends on a major cliffhanger, signaling that the show is only going to grow darker, more intense, and more mysterious. The season two premiere, also an hour and a half long, heightens this feeling of confusion, reinforcing to the audience that they are nowhere close to fully understanding the world of “Twin Peaks.”
In a surprising turn, due to pressure from the ABC network, Lynch and Frost were forced to reveal Laura Palmer’s killer midway through season two—something they had originally intended never to do. This abrupt resolution left the creative team uncertain about how to continue the story. The situation worsened when Lynch departed from the series midway through season two, leaving a stretch of episodes that felt meandering, and in some cases, entirely unnecessary. However, he returned for the final six episodes, at which point the show regains its footing, deepens its mystery to new heights, and delivers a mesmerizing conclusion to the season.
Season two ends on an utterly shocking cliffhanger that no one could have predicted. Unfortunately, the show was then canceled due to declining ratings—viewership had dropped sharply after the killer’s reveal and continued to dwindle. For more than two decades, fans were left in the dark, wondering what happened next.
Even the “Twin Peaks” prequel film, “Fire Walk With Me”, offered no continuation of the story. Instead, it focused on Laura Palmer’s final days. Upon release, the film received mixed reviews, with many expecting it to provide answers rather than expand on Laura’s backstory. However, over time, “Fire Walk With Me” has come to be regarded as one of Lynch’s finest works. It also marked a tonal shift, embracing a much darker atmosphere with little to no comedic relief—something that would carry over into the show’s eventual revival.
This revival, “Twin Peaks: The Return,” aired 26 years after season two’s finale, with a similar time jump in the story itself. It is, without exaggeration, one of Lynch’s greatest works. Part one of the 18-episode series immediately establishes that Twin Peaks has become even more unsettling. The revival is far gorier and more explicit than the original run, which, despite its dark themes, was relatively restrained in its presentation.
Unlike the original show, “The Return” introduces even more mysteries but offers fewer direct answers. Instead, it expands the world of “Twin Peaks,” raising more questions than it resolves. The characters themselves struggle to comprehend their circumstances, making it only fitting that the audience experiences the same disorientation.
Visually, “The Return” also embraces special effects more than its predecessor. While some effects appear intentionally low-budget, they somehow complement the surreal tone of the series. Certain episodes—most notably Part 8—feature breathtaking and terrifying visual sequences, reinforcing the idea that every artistic choice in “Twin Peaks” is deliberate.
As is tradition for the series, “The Return” concludes with a cliffhanger—but this one is different. Though it leaves viewers on a deeply unsettling note, thematically, it feels like the perfect ending. It is an eerie yet fitting conclusion to what many consider one of the greatest mystery series of all time.
There is truly nothing else like “Twin Peaks,” and it is a show that everyone should experience at least once in their life.
Rating 9/10
