This recap/review of Twin Peaks is written with the expectation that everyone who reads this and comments below will have seen the episode already. Thus, if you’ve yet to see the episode in question, DO NOT GO ANY FURTHER. SPOILERS!
The end has come for Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan). Or has it? Truth be told, I have no idea, as over eighteen episodes, the narrative has never, for an instant, been wholly clear. Should we have really expected David Lynch to tie up everything in a neat bow in last night’s two part finale? If you did, you probably don’t know his work all that well, as Lynch has never been that kind of guy. Let’s not forget, he’s the director who, midway through LOST HIGHWAY, had Bill Pullman suddenly morph into Balthazar Getty, and then back again for the wrap up. And MULHOLLAND DRIVE, what was really going on there? And let’s not even get started on the complete and utter mindf*ck that was INLAND EMPIRE.
Much has been written over the summer about it, and whatever it was, Showtime’s goal of creating a buzzy, watercooler show has paid off. While I believe the ratings were only a drop in the bucket, word has it that the online streaming sign-ups were huge. Even those that hated it couldn’t stop writing about it, especially after episode eight which , following a Nine Inch Nails cameo, went full-on wacko into Evil Bob’s origins (from the 1945 New Mexico nuclear test), likely turning off a whole slew of casual viewers, but deepening the resolve of Lynch devotees.
Through it all, I found “Twin Peaks: The Return” a thoroughly compelling watch. Parts of it were deliberately tedious, such as any scene featuring Dr. Jacoby, especially when he painted his golden shovels in real-time, to the endless driving scenes in episode eighteen. Yet, it also contained a good number of gorgeous moments, such as Big Ed’s big moment with Norma, pretty much any scene with the late Miguel Ferrer, in a triumphant final performance as Albert, Laura Dern as the oft-mentioned Diane (who figured majorly in the finale) or some of the really good musical numbers at the impeccably booked Road House. Robert Forster made an ideal stand-in for Michael Ontkean as Harry’s brother, Frank, while Michael Horse, Harry Goaz and Kimmy Robertson haven’t lost a beat in twenty-five years as Hawk, Andy and Lucy, respectively. It was also a nice touch that Dana Ashbrook’s formerly thuggish Bobby had such a nicely redemptive arc, with him now an upstanding, honest deputy, although his beloved Shelly (Madchen Amick) still seems to like the bad-boys, in an unresolved arc that paired her with Getty’s crime lord.
It also had some really funny bits, such as the introduction of Andy and Lucy’s Brando-wannabe son Wally (Michael Cera), Lynch’s spot-on comic timing as Gordon Cole, and MacLachlan’ tour-de-fource comic performance as Dougie, opposite a hilarious, but oddly touching Naomi Watts, and the great Jim Belushi and Robert Knepper as The Mitchum Brothers (let’s not forget Amy Shiels as the hapless Candie).
In the end, “Twin Peaks: The Return” left us with just as many questions as it started out with (“what year is it” is the new “where’s Annie”). Is this the end for “Twin Peaks”? I’m inclined to think Lynch has vague plans for more, although I doubt they’re that far along – certainly not as far as people think on Twitter (it’ll be at least a few years before it comes back – if at all). Through it all, I had a wonderful time revisiting Lynch’s mad world, doubly so – as it’s probably the closest thing we’ll ever get to a new Lynch film. I just hope it’s not the end.