Twin Peaks - It Is Happening Again

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The fuck did I just watch?

It went pretty much as I expected -- painting a very broad stroke:

The first hour to wrap up the Bad Coop story.

The second hour to find Laura.

Lynch didn't disappoint . . . the ending leaves us hanging and clawing into past episodes endlessly to find resolution.

Here's hoping for a Season 4.
 
I was actually pretty intrigued by the sudden turn of events (ep.17 hit a lot of the right notes for me), but whhyyyyy did they decide *that* was the right way to end the show (were there any expectations for a 4th season?)... Perhaps I was a tad naive to expect more answers than to receive exponentially more questions lol.
I dunno--it kinda felt like this should've been the halfway (maaaybe 3/4) mark of the season, because right now I'm just wondering what the point was for much of the season (e.g. Audrey Horne)
 
IPerhaps I was a tad naive to expect more answers than to receive exponentially more questions lol.

I dunno--it kinda felt like this should've been the halfway (maaaybe 3/4) mark of the season, because right now I'm just wondering what the point was for much of the season (e.g. Audrey Horne)

It wouldn't be Lynch/Frost if we didn't have questions at the end. Personally, I'd have been pretty disappointed if the last scene was everyone having a love fest at the Twin Peaks Sheriff station with everyone having coffee and pie.

Audrey's story might have been nothing more than this: she was raped by bad Coop while in a coma and has been living in a mental hell -- until the last episode when she snapped out of it.

I'm more intrigued with Shelly and her situation -- the mysterious coin flipping boyfriend and her daughter's fate (is she alive or dead?).

We probably won't get a Season 4, but Lynch and Frost left plenty on the table just in case they -- and Showtime -- are interested.

I certainly am.
 
It wouldn't be Lynch/Frost if we didn't have questions at the end. Personally, I'd have been pretty disappointed if the last scene was everyone having a love fest at the Twin Peaks Sheriff station with everyone having coffee and pie.
Wait, wait, wait; hold on, now--since when are those two scenarios my only options? ;P I'm not saying the world of Twin Peaks needed to be injected w/ some good ol' fashioned, happy Hollywood ending (pretty sure noone was expecting that to be in the cards), but rather I'm of the opinion that such a late, game-changing plot point might not have, in my opinion, been the most gratifying way to end a series after a 25+ year hiatus. That's not to say I'm not intrigued by what the creators presented--I just wish they found a way to properly explore this new avenue rather than dropping it on us at the very end. Of course, if there is a 4th season, then my criticism is pretty much moot (but I always kinda pegged this season as more of a "one off," where there wasn't any genuine expectation of further episodes to the series).
 
I loved the fuck out of that finale. Part 17 was as good as I could have hoped; stylish, frightening, funny, a logical extension of everything the season was building towards. That was an amazing episode. Outside of a lengthy side-road that illuminated the Coop/Diane relationship and gave it a saddening but logical conclusion, Part 18 was spent with the core characters that really mattered throughout this show's history: Coop and Laura. The ending was the kind of glorious mindfuck I expect from Lynch and, yes, it seemed specifically targeted towards those hoping against hope for a season 4.

People are going to be shook over that ending, but hey, the door is wide open for more. I'm more than willing to jump back in.
 
Now this was one of more memorable viewing experiences. The reactions to the ending are very much reminiscent of The Sopranos.

By the time Part 17 was finishing, I was frankly mortified by some of the choices Lynch and Frost made. Some of the scenes (the dreadful glove vs. BOB bouncing ball for one) still make me cringe.

But then Part 18 turned some of those choices on its head and the whole thing made - thematic if not narrative - sense. There are some parallels to the original series finale here. The more I think about the ambiguous events in Part 18, the more I like how it ends.

Pretty much the entirety of Part 18 has this feeling that something with our hero's choices - which seemed so naive and well-intended in Part 17 - went very wrong. Even Cooper doesn't quite seem like himself there (he has more mannerisms akin to Evil Coop? - not to mention that Diane covers his face in that weird sex scene).

While he was lost in the Black Lodge in the original series finale, he seems lost now in the "real world" - a world that he somehow helped create but is not nearly what he had in mind. Consequences of trauma are still there and they cannot be so easily dismissed. Cooper tried playing god... and ended up not even knowing what the time is.

The ideas presented are brilliant. It will take a rewatch to see whether the execution of those ideas is just as good. Curious to see how Part 17 will sit with me after that total mindfuck of a finale.
 
What a series! Really don't think we're getting another season. I don't think it was ever in the cards.

I still don't know what to make of Episode 18. I loved it but don't know if we're dealing with an alternate universe or a dream. Or did Cooper save Laura from being killed but we're dealing with some kind of butterfly effect? Can't wait for all the theories to come out.
 
Now this was one of more memorable viewing experiences. The reactions to the ending are very much reminiscent of The Sopranos.

By the time Part 17 was finishing, I was frankly mortified by some of the choices Lynch and Frost made. Some of the scenes (the dreadful glove vs. BOB bouncing ball for one) still make me cringe.

But then Part 18 turned some of those choices on its head and the whole thing made - thematic if not narrative - sense. There are some parallels to the original series finale here. The more I think about the ambiguous events in Part 18, the more I like how it ends.

Pretty much the entirety of Part 18 has this feeling that something with our hero's choices - which seemed so naive and well-intended in Part 17 - went very wrong. Even Cooper doesn't quite seem like himself there (he has more mannerisms akin to Evil Coop? - not to mention that Diane covers his face in that weird sex scene).

While he was lost in the Black Lodge in the original series finale, he seems lost now in the "real world" - a world that he somehow helped create but is not nearly what he had in mind. Consequences of trauma are still there and they cannot be so easily dismissed. Cooper tried playing god... and ended up not even knowing what the time is.

The ideas presented are brilliant. It will take a rewatch to see whether the execution of those ideas is just as good. Curious to see how Part 17 will sit with me after that total mindfuck of a finale.

The Sopranos . . heh. I hadn't even watched the show when it originally aired and when the ending was shown -- the one that got everyone upset with it's ambiguity -- I remember thinking "well it's obvious -- the guy got whacked." I think that ending was brilliant (I've gone back and watched the whole thing) and am amazed that people hate on the choices made.

The bouncing ball fight didn't disturb me that much, but I get your objection. I think if Silva were alive that might have gone down a bit differently, but not a whole lot. There have been allusions to England and the Arthurian legend going back to season 2. With references like Lancelot, Glastonbury, King Arthur, etc., Lynch/Frost obviously needed someone such as Freddy on the scene. The color green is very significant as well.

You didn't ask, but my opinion is that Cooper has been dead the entire time. He died eating a cherry pie at the Lamplighter Inn and what we are seeing is his working through a bardo journey.

Episode 18 seemed more like an epilogue to 17.

If felt right to me. Perfect actually. Cooper's remark at the station -- "I hope to see you all again" -- I think was Lynch/Frost talking to the audience.

Maybe they would love another season. If so, I hope Showtime is willing.
 
The ending is a wonderful illustration of existentialist thought. Some will resent Lynch for using Dale Cooper, one of television's purest and most beloved characters, as an example of human futility, especially after a season of Dougie comically escaping one pitfall after another, but isn't this what the show has always been about? Cooper never could save Laura from her killer, he could only uncover him, and killing him only complicated matters. The present cannot resolve the past, it can only reveal it.

I'm still trying to parse out all the metaphors involved in the sex scene and its entanglement of physical intimacy with the literal/figurative transformation of the self, distrust, and mental association with sexual violence. It was such a profoundly uncomfortable scene.
 
Wait, wait, wait; hold on, now--since when are those two scenarios my only options? ;P I'm not saying the world of Twin Peaks needed to be injected w/ some good ol' fashioned, happy Hollywood ending (pretty sure noone was expecting that to be in the cards), but rather I'm of the opinion that such a late, game-changing plot point might not have, in my opinion, been the most gratifying way to end a series after a 25+ year hiatus. That's not to say I'm not intrigued by what the creators presented--I just wish they found a way to properly explore this new avenue rather than dropping it on us at the very end. Of course, if there is a 4th season, then my criticism is pretty much moot (but I always kinda pegged this season as more of a "one off," where there wasn't any genuine expectation of further episodes to the series).

Sorry. Didn't mean to suggest you had a simple dichotomy in your mind to choose from.

As I mentioned in a previous post. I tend to think of TP's as existing in the mind of Cooper and a reflection of what he has to process -- to "get through" -- in order to move on. In telling such a story, we can draw from it and apply to ourselves if we are insightful and daring enough.

Any medium of art will attract some and distance others. Two artists might be saying the same thing but connect with two entirely different crowds.

I felt right where I should be at the end of this one. Partly resolved, partly unnerved, unsettled but in the best possible way.

Glad to hear you enjoyed the ride too, at least for the most part, but I can certainly understand others out there that couldn't get into it.
 
After having some time to process the ending, I will say that it's growing on me, but I'm still left wanting more. Like, I *really* enjoyed last night's episodes, but moreso as a premise than a conclusion if that makes any sense [emoji14]
 
I 100 % believe there was always going to be a s4, once the premiere did as well as it did getting new subscribers. They don't care if this show makes money. It's a passion project for both parties, and I think the only reason they've been dancing around whether there'll be another season was to not spoil the cliffhanger ending.


God I love this show.
 
A fucking massive shiver went through my body when Laura screamed and the lights in the house went out. Holy shit.

Bring on Season 4. Please.
 

If you're referring to the very first commentary then it's interesting, but hard to say for sure. The poster only references a flash of electricity and Laura recognizing her mother (presumably) calling her. I don't know that that's enough to get to his/her conclusion but all guesses are welcome.

I do not get a happy vibe from the ending. Doesn't mean we have to imagine that this story ultimately ends in despair (though it might).

After re-watching both episodes this evening it actually left me with more questions than the night before. That's good. Because without more Peaks to come, I'll enjoy chewing on this season for a long time.
 
A fucking massive shiver went through my body when Laura screamed and the lights in the house went out. Holy shit.

Bring on Season 4. Please.

I thought the introduction of Tammy Preston might signal a new Blue Rose agent to carry on the torch after Cooper should TP's continue.

Now I think Preston was just a substitute for us, the audience, as Gordon and Albert occasionally offered tidbits of information along the way.

As for season 4, we'll find out sooner than later I suspect.
 
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Episode 18 was absolute fucking garbage.

No wonder Sherilyn Fenn seemed so unpleasant earlier this year when speaking about her role. Audrey Horne and the audience deserved better.

Lynch's obsession with Laura Dern is so over-the-top it's laughable. I hope people are happy that Diane was apparently more important than many people's favorite classic character.
 
Laura Dern isn't even in the last 30 minutes of the thing. Lynch having an obsession with the character of Laura Palmer is pretty much common knowledge on the other hand.

People obsessed with Audrey Horne are probably the most annoying thing about this fandom and a typical example of fans not coming to terms that this project was defying nostalgia from the beginning. Sherilyn Fenn, although great in that role, is rumoured to have made major problems with Lynch during production of the new TP, which, according to Harry Goaz, cost another actor a role and caused delays. Her Twitter feed is also bizarre for reasons one can easily see. Personal problems and frustrations aside, one cannot force a storyteller to go a certain way just because somebody is a "favorite classic character".

And I think the ending to Part 16 is a haunting closure to her character. Numerous clues have been planted to where she is - Roadhouse characters referring to Billy - who is a part of her psyche or her story - also keep referring to a "nuthouse".

One of the crucial themes of the show is that trauma cannot be so easily erased. Ending up in a coma and then being raped by the doppelganger of your hero tends to have horrible consequences - like Cooper and Laura, Audrey ends up being trapped and lost.

As to existentialist sides of Part 18 - I don't think Lynch ever was an existentalist. I don't think Cooper is the symbol of human futility, since the Dougie storyline clearly proves he can have tremendous good influence on the world and the people around him, but I feel the finale shows he is a symbol of the arrogance of good intentions. He went too far.
 
Lynch may not be an existentialist, but it certainly shows up in his work. I'm not sure what else to call Eraserhead, and the phrase "existentialism 101" was applied in reference to the circuital nature of Audrey's life in Part 13. Surely he wants it to be on our minds. I think your interpretation of Cooper's odyssey is admirably optimistic, but so much of what good came from Dougie's existence seemed purely accidental, a bit of humorous cosmic absurdity. Cooper's own, cognizant efforts failed spectacularly. This certainly reads like a commentary on the futility of human effort to me, though this interpretation does away with the possibility that Cooper did not irreparably damage time itself and he's merely in a different point in the same timeline. Until there's a season 4, we'll never know what kind of lasting damage Cooper caused to the world he loved.

That said, I don't think our interpretations are wildly different, just with regards to Cooper's impact on the world, and it's probably a fool's errand to try to judge authorial intent with Lynch anyway.
 
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I don't think Cooper is the symbol of human futility, since the Dougie storyline clearly proves he can have tremendous good influence on the world and the people around him, but I feel the finale shows he is a symbol of the arrogance of good intentions. He went too far.

Not futility, but frailty I think.

But . . . you can't un-break what's meant to be broken either.
 
While they're fairly different shows, I found this recent season of Fargo's meditation on good and evil (as well as cosmic absurdity) to be considerably more interesting. While it doesn't have the surface pleasures of some of Lynch's feats of visual imagination, it resonates more. And it does have a fairly healthy dose of its own brand of surrealism (including cameos by Leland Palmer himself, the great Ray Wise).
 
Better highs with Twin Peaks than with Fargo, lower lows. That's what happens with crazed, unchecked imagination. I was one of the apologists for that season of Fargo and I thought the third episode in particular was brilliant, though a lot of it was just fine. In general I've always found that show more utilitarian and less thoughtful than I'd like; this season was one of the rare instances when I felt like I had something to chew on after I was done watching it.

The last five hours of Twin Peaks, as well as first few, and Part 8, blew the doors off most anything I've watched this year. But some parts were more trying than others.
 
There's a great 10-part series in there somewhere. But what we have are a considerable amount of useless, barely interesting characters that don't do much and/or lead to narrative dead ends. I mean, yes, it's cool that they were able to get this mindfuck on television, but you'd think with two people writing together there would be a little more quality control.
 
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