Its true that Twin Peaks has always been able to turn on a dime, but it might be more accurate to say that such abrupt shifts in tone have defined the show from the start. For David Lynch, the punctuation of a sentence is every bit as important as the words, and The Return has done more than any of his previous work to emphasize how such narrative virtuosity isnt a byproduct of his genius, but rather one of its most fundamental means of expression.
This approach is so inextricable from Twin Peaks that its even baked directly into Angelo Badalamentis music Laura Palmers Theme so abruptly pivots from soaring piano notes to an ominous synth drone that its shocking to learn both elements belong to the same track. The ineffable beauty of the songs melody is made all the more striking because of its grim aftertaste, and that cold electronic rumble is made all the more ominous because of the euphoria that it follows. A loving conversation between the emotionally strained members of a broken family is made all the more poignant because of the terror that comes next, and a child projectile vomiting pea soup in the passenger seat of a crazed womans car is made all the more terrifying because of the poignancy that it disrupts.