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[Cripplegate]

FWWM is the real pilot of this season.

It really feels like that.

We even saw the room in Laura's painting again (that scene in FWWM is one of my favorite Lynch scenes ever). Last week's episode may have been one of the most exciting of the whole run for me. So much good shit. And an amazing send off for the Log Lady.

I'd say 3, 8 and 15 are probably my top three episodes right now. The "yrev, very good to see you again" scene is one of my favorite scenes overall, but the episode around it isn't as strong.

 

[Chitown B]

Regarding "answers" and the finale:


Having just watched all of Lynch's filmography over the past couple months, one thing I've realized is he likes to leave a lot of lingering questions. This goes from stuff like Inland Empire which is one giant mindfuck, to The Straight Story--probably his most "traditional" film has a fairly up in the air ending. He doesn't like to talk about what his films are about and thinks explaining them would cheat the audience. For example one of the best scenes in Mulholland Drive is the diner scene, it sticks out to me so much because it has almost nothing to do with the rest of the plot but it also gives you enough hints to maybe unlock the mystery of everything that went on in the film. Mulling that over is a lot more satisfying than someone just explaining the whole thing at a podium, at least to me anyways.


So I think if you're really expecting every question to be answered, you are most certainly going to be disappointed. Some of this stuff is so strange that I'm pretty convinced a lot of straight up explanations would probably sound ridiculous. (Like, really--how on Earth would an explanation for David Bowie being a teapot not sound stupid no matter how well thought out it was? lol best left to your imagination I say)


For me personally, I've gotten so much enjoyment out of The Return, and just Twin Peaks in general that the finale could just be James playing at the Roadhouse for two hours and I wouldn't have regretted the experience of Twin Peaks as a whole. Despite how much I love the lore and weird surrealism; my favorite moments have been the character moments. Seeing Bobby become a stand up dude, Big Ed and Norma finally getting together, The Mitchum brothers befriending Dougie, the Log Lady saying goodbye--these are the best parts for me.


I'll miss the laughs, I'll miss the weirdness, I'll miss the mysteries, I'll miss the scares, I'll miss the characters, I'll miss the coffee and Cherry pie; I'll just miss Twin Peaks in general, cause I'm so thankful for this ride.

Agreed.

I do wish Shelly had a better story other than "look, she's doing the same thing again with a bad boy - and her daughter is making her mistakes again." I wish Cooper was around. I wish Tammy didn't just suck horribly.

 

[Shrike_Priest]

Eh. It's kind of fruitless to speculate about the creators' intentions, and honestly they're irrelevant anyway; the final product is all that matters, regardless of intent.

I don't get that. How can there be metacommentary if author intent is irrelevant? Isn't commentary by definition an active act from the author?

I get that an author can fail to communicate what it is they intend to, and that an audience can do an entirely different reading, but surely an author can also succeed in using signs and symbols to communicate the message they intend to communicate?

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

Come on, man.

whatta ya want from me
tell me

 

[Ashby]

whatta ya want from me
tell me

Don't tell lies for one. You're never gonna watch The Pilot again? You're never gonna watch the Season 2 finale again? What about the episode where Maddy gets murdered? The Return being amazing doesn't diminish the highs of the first two season. You can't leave behind the classics, my dude!

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

Don't tell lies for one. You're never gonna watch The Pilot again? You're never gonna watch the Season 2 finale again? What about the episode where Maddy gets murdered? The Return being amazing doesn't diminish the highs of the first two season. You can't leave behind the classics, my dude!

See, and you're totally right, but that stuff is sooo terrifying I'm already averse to watching it again.

I feel like I'd mostly just miss Log Lady stuff.

Ah, who am I kidding, I'll watch it again, I just wish there was a supercut of the just the GOOD STUFF.

That said, man, The Return is just so wildly different and also so consistent in its own tone. It feels wholly disconnected from the OG series, but more inline with FWWM.

 

[Wrestlemania]

The highs of season 1 and 2 are great, but the highs of FWWM and The Return are higher and on average I think it’s been far stronger. So far! They could totally shit the bed with the finale.

 

[Buttonbasher]

See, and you're totally right, but that stuff is sooo terrifying I'm already averse to watching it again.

I feel like I'd mostly just miss Log Lady stuff.

Ah, who am I kidding, I'll watch it again, I just wish there was a supercut of the just the GOOD STUFF.

That said, man, The Return is just so wildly different and also so consistent in its own tone. It feels wholly disconnected from the OG series, but more inline with FWWM.

I feel this, but also think that all the gained knowledge about the lore stuff, and learning more about what Garland Briggs, and folks might have known at the time of the original series is going to enhance my thoughts on subsequent rewatches.

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

I feel this, but also think that all the gained knowledge about the lore stuff, and learning more about what Garland Briggs, and folks might have known at the time of the original series is going to enhance my thoughts on subsequent rewatches.

I can see that but I also feel like it's going to really strain some things.

My mind always goes back to the shot of Briggs on that "White Lodge" throne. Definitely not at all like what we consider to be the White Lodge now.

Although now that I think about it, maybe it's the woods outside the entrance????? 0_0

 

[DrEvil]

Ah, who am I kidding, I'll watch it again, I just wish there was a supercut of the just the GOOD STUFF.

There was a fanedit of the first two seasons, called "The Northwest Passage" that does exactly this. Focuses on the laura palmer mystery only, and brings the whole two seasons into a 5 hr fancut. It was surprisingly good.

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

There was a fanedit of the first two seasons, called "The Northwest Passage" that does exactly this. Focuses on the laura palmer mystery only, and brings the whole two seasons into a 5 hr fancut. It was surprisingly good.

Do want

 

[Zach]

Oh, I just realized my birthday is Sunday. Hopefully the episode blows minds, bodies, and souls.

 

[Dick Jones]

Watching twin peaks again. Question is why does the giant appear in the roadhouse and give the ring back to cooper when his three comments come true earlier but waits for the waiter to say "that gum you like is going to come back in style". That line is not one of his comments.

 

[Menome]

Oh, I just realized my birthday is Sunday. Hopefully the episode blows minds, bodies, and souls.

Happy 72nd Birthday for Sunday.

 

[Zach]

 

[Emperor_Uriel]

The highs of season 1 and 2 are great, but the highs of FWWM and The Return are higher and on average I think it’s been far stronger. So far! They could totally shit the bed with the finale.

To me, there's still nothing that quite matches the "It is happening again/Leland reveal" scene. The Return has had tons of cool moments, but there's also been a lot of fat that could have been trimmed.

For every episode like 1, 2, 7, 8, 11, 14 and 15 that I enjoyed immediately rewatched, there was an episode like 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12 and 13 that I'm not interested in ever viewing again.

I'm left with the impression that The Return will be remembered as a good 18-episode series that could have been a stellar 9-episode series.

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

To me, there's still nothing that quite matches the "It is happening again/Leland reveal" scene. The Return has had tons of cool moments, but there's also been a lot of fat that could have been trimmed.

For every episode like 1, 2, 7, 8, 11, 14 and 15 that I enjoyed immediately rewatched, there was an episode like 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12 and 13 that I'm not interested in ever viewing again.

I'm left with the impression that The Return will be remembered as a good 18-episode series that could have been a stellar 9-episode series.

I literally can't think of an extraneous second. They all carry a singular vision to them, every sequence.

I guess it comes down to why you watch the show. Is it to see how a story plays out? Is it to see an artist flex with a confidence I don't think anyone has ever displayed in this medium?

A little of both?

 

[A-V-B]

He's a Tin Machine.

Tin White Duke

 

[Emperor_Uriel]

I literally can't think of an extraneous second. They all carry a singular vision to them, every sequence.

I guess it comes down to why you watch the show. Is it to see how a story plays out? Is it to see an artist flex with a confidence I don't think anyone has ever displayed in this medium?

A little of both?

I like two things in this show: The first is when the plot advances in an interesting manner, the second is when Lynch shows us some of the bizarre and surreal stuff that's he's got floating around in his head.

There were too many scenes that could be summed up as "Drawn-out, awkward interactions" that felt flat-out uninteresting to me. The guy sweeping the floor of the Roadhouse, along with many of the Roadhouse music performances, felt like a waste of time. Other similar scenes, like Sarah watching TV or the slow Nuclear Bomb explosion, had a level of unsettling tension that made them feel worthwhile, even if they weren't crucial to the plot.

 

[Fenderputty]

Yeah, I don't think it was a masterpiece either. It probably was the weirdest hour of television and certainly very interesting to watch, but I don't think it was a masterpiece. The end of the episode wasn't that great either. It was a good episode, yeah, but not my favorite episode in the season.

I agree as I felt some of the surreal elements were total filler.

So...why is Jeffries a kettle now?

Probably for similar reasons the man from another place turned into a brain tree. Why not?

Other similar scenes, like Sarah watching TV or the slow Nuclear Bomb explosion, had a level of unsettling tension that made them feel worthwhile, even if they weren't crucial to the plot.

I agree with most of what you brought up, but I think this scene might have some meat to it. The creepy sound playing in repeat reminded me of the sound we were told to remember at the beginning of season 3.

Has someone confirmed if they're the same?

 

[Emperor_Uriel]

I agree with most of what you brought up, but I think this scene might have some meat to it. The creepy sound playing in repeat reminded me of the sound we were told to remember at the beginning of season 3.

Has someone confirmed if they're the same?

Oh no, that's what I'm saying. Those scenes felt "meatier" because they were tense and unsettling, even though very little was actually happening on screen.

This contrasts greatly with the floor sweeping, the musical performances and the endless meandering scenes of Dougie, Cole and other characters just standing around doing very little.

 

[afternoon delight]

I literally can't think of an extraneous second. They all carry a singular vision to them, every sequence.

Even the younger Horne brother in the woods? Even three minutes of Dr. Amp painting shovels? Even that boring kid drooling in the car? The entire sub plot with Shelley's daughter? The trailer park owner reminding the man not to sell blood? The entire Vegas warring factions "subplot"? The woman taking aeons to stand up after wine? You know, half of Dougie's meandering could be cut since everyone literally repeats his actions aloud when they encounter him.

Wasted potential: the Twin Peaks legacy.

If the sequence of Coop leaving the lodges wasn't so captivating, I'd have written off the entire experiment. Nine episodes were a good idea.

 

[Flipyap]

I literally can't think of an extraneous second. They all carry a singular vision to them, every sequence.

I guess it comes down to why you watch the show. Is it to see how a story plays out? Is it to see an artist flex with a confidence I don't think anyone has ever displayed in this medium?

A little of both?

How about being forced to watch an artist clench in desperation because he screwed up, didn't plan ahead and didn't do enough takes, so he had to edit around inadequate footage, resulting in a show that sometimes looks like the biggest editing catastrophe in this medium?

Seeing the same footage of Hawk taking the call on line one being used in Part 1, when it was just a random call and in Part 15, when it should have been one of the most important scenes in Twin Peaks history doesn't exactly scream confidence, it looks more like a call for help.

 

[CheesecakeRecipe]

Even the younger Horne brother in the woods? Even three minutes of Dr. Amp painting shovels? Even that boring kid drooling in the car? The entire sub plot with Shelley's daughter? The trailer park owner reminding the man not to sell blood? The entire Vegas warring factions "subplot"? The woman taking aeons to stand up after wine? You know, half of Dougie's meandering could be cut since everyone literally repeats his actions aloud when they encounter him.

Wasted potential: the Twin Peaks legacy.

If the sequence of Coop leaving the lodges wasn't so captivating, I'd have written off the entire experiment. Nine episodes were a good idea.

Twin Peaks has always been a mixture of the mundane and magical. Every moment you listed above was, to me, just as much a part of the experience as Episode 8 was. But then again, I'm someone who typically ignores "watch/skip" lists that fandoms regurgitate ad nauseam and color someone's experience with a show long before they've watched the first episode.

 

[minor effort]

Even the younger Horne brother in the woods?

The core of the series is Jerry Horne's odyssey back to Twin Peaks.

 

[Wrestlemania]

Even the younger Horne brother in the woods? Even three minutes of Dr. Amp painting shovels? Even that boring kid drooling in the car? The entire sub plot with Shelley's daughter? The trailer park owner reminding the man not to sell blood? The entire Vegas warring factions "subplot"? The woman taking aeons to stand up after wine? You know, half of Dougie's meandering could be cut since everyone literally repeats his actions aloud when they encounter him.

Wasted potential: the Twin Peaks legacy.

If the sequence of Coop leaving the lodges wasn't so captivating, I'd have written off the entire experiment. Nine episodes were a good idea.

How about being forced to watch an artist clench in desperation because he screwed up, didn't plan ahead and didn't do enough takes, so he had to edit around inadequate footage, resulting in a show that sometimes looks like the biggest editing catastrophe in this medium?

Seeing the same footage of Hawk taking the call on line one being used in Part 1, when it was just a random call and in Part 15, when it should have been one of the most important scenes in Twin Peaks history doesn't exactly scream confidence, it looks more like a call for help.

My enjoyment of The Return has been heightened by the garmonbozia from reading the thoughts of people who have hated it.

 

[Cripplegate]

Cutting out a single second of Dougie would be a crime against humanity.

 

[Fenderputty]

Even the younger Horne brother in the woods? Even three minutes of Dr. Amp painting shovels? Even that boring kid drooling in the car? The entire sub plot with Shelley's daughter? The trailer park owner reminding the man not to sell blood? The entire Vegas warring factions "subplot"? The woman taking aeons to stand up after wine? You know, half of Dougie's meandering could be cut since everyone literally repeats his actions aloud when they encounter him.

Wasted potential: the Twin Peaks legacy.

If the sequence of Coop leaving the lodges wasn't so captivating, I'd have written off the entire experiment. Nine episodes were a good idea.

The Vegas warring faction ties directly into Dougirs story and Shely's daughter's subplot was still playing out at the end of the last episode.

I'm a person who largely think there's been way too much filler

 

[Zach]

My enjoyment of The Return has been heightened by the garmonbozia from reading the thoughts of people who have hated it.

This guy gets it.

 

[Flipyap]

My enjoyment of The Return has been heightened by the garmonbozia from reading the thoughts of people who have hated it.

You should watch what you eat, I've loved most of this show. Little known fact, it's actually possible to criticize the things you like.

This guy gets it.

I really don't think so.

 

[HoJu]

Even the younger Horne brother in the woods? Even three minutes of Dr. Amp painting shovels? Even that boring kid drooling in the car? The entire sub plot with Shelley's daughter? The trailer park owner reminding the man not to sell blood? The entire Vegas warring factions "subplot"? The woman taking aeons to stand up after wine? You know, half of Dougie's meandering could be cut since everyone literally repeats his actions aloud when they encounter him.

Wasted potential: the Twin Peaks legacy.

If the sequence of Coop leaving the lodges wasn't so captivating, I'd have written off the entire experiment. Nine episodes were a good idea.

Have you ever seen Lynch's short rabbits before?
And I'd say that most of those scenes have been great.

 

[afternoon delight]

Your purity tests are wasted on me! I have the Dark Night of the Soul hardcover book, so trust me, I get le artiste.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'll go back to watching the "will they won't they" develop between Audrey Horne and the Phantom.

 

[Solo]

I feel like we should wait until the next 3 episodes are done before we proclaim The Return as a bust or as a masterpiece.

 

[Gozer the Gozerian]

As a masterpiece.

 

[Ignignort]

I feel like we should wait until the next 3 episodes are done before we proclaim The Return as a bust or as a masterpiece.

A masterpiece, even for Dougie alone.

 

[dehydratedbabies]

Masterpiece.

 

[CharminUltra]

Call for help.

 

[Pennywise]

I feel like we should wait until the next 3 episodes are done before we proclaim The Return as a bust or as a masterpiece.

It's in between.
Really wonderful scenes, both with the classsic cast and sets, but also with new characters and different places.
On top of some wonderfully crafted surreal scenes.

But Lynch is also full of himself and doesn't know when to stop. Plenty of scenes or characters that either get to litte, or to much attention. Boring scenes that are stretched and repeated over and over again without any purpose. He should have gotten someone else into the editing process, because that's where S3 truly let's me down. I have no problem that he filmed alot of the material, but someone should have shown him what's worth to keep in and what's not.

I love and hate the new season. Allthough the moments of joy outweigh the disappointments. Still no reason to kiss Lynch's ass.

 

[brinstar]

I like the Dougie stuff. I mean I also admit I've felt ridiculously inpatient waiting for Coop to come back but I won't say the Dougie stuff hasn't given me plenty of laughs.

 

[CheesecakeRecipe]

I really feel for anyone who isn't enjoying themselves this season. Not because they 'don't get it', or out of any sort of seat of superiority in the rungs of fandom, but because this is genuinely one of the most unique situations in TV history and what they're getting does not meet their expectations. 25+ years... for some posters, that's easily their entire lifetime! We've lifted Dale Cooper, Laura Palmer, and the Lodge spirits up to incredibly lofty heights through our sheer love of the weird and wacky that they represented in the original run. We've all been struck by lightning, but not everyone's being struck twice. That's super unfortunate. They deserve continuation and closure just as much as those of us who are enjoying Season 3 for what it is. And unfortunately, the most we can do is at least understand that they didn't get what they wanted, let them vent their frustrations in a healthy way, and appreciate what parts of the revival give them a hint of the mystical mountain air they used to breathe so freely.

I can't agree that Lynch and Frost are 'up their own ass' at any point - which is pretty impressive, considering that Lynch is currently playing a main character in the show where he was originally a walk-on role that was more for comedic flavor than anything! I can, though, see why Dougie Jones' Wild Ride and the massive focus on things external to the town itself have so many fans walking away or wishing things would be different. And even though I am not quite as bothered by what may or may not be editing errors as Flipyap points out, he's absolutely right. We can criticize what we love, and I'll respect whatever we happen to disagree on. I'm still in awe that we were even given this chance. Most fandoms would never get a revival nearly three decades after the original crashed and burned, and i'm so glad we're all here to experience The Return, however it may end. There's only two weekends left, and I'm waiting to see what is addressed and wrapped up before forming a crystalline opinion of the season as a whole, but i'm willing to accept that maybe I won't get what I want out of it either.

Besides, I can't bring myself to hate on the show that gave me one of the greatest faces in modern TV:

 

[EdmondD]

Having caught up on the Micheal Bay fan fiction that is the current season of Game of Thrones I have a much greater appreciation for this show. Of course that is not to say it is flawless but god damn is it good so far.

 

[Emperor_Uriel]

Have people on here discussed the whole "Sarah Palmer's face is superimposed onto the Jumping Man's" thing yet?

Guess she isn't possessed by the Mother, but by him?

 

[Fluffernutter Pancake]

Jade gives two rides.

Call for help.

Masterpiece.
.
.
.
Make sense of it.

 

[Fluffernutter Pancake]

I like two things in this show: The first is when the plot advances in an interesting manner, the second is when Lynch shows us some of the bizarre and surreal stuff that's he's got floating around in his head.

There were too many scenes that could be summed up as "Drawn-out, awkward interactions" that felt flat-out uninteresting to me. The guy sweeping the floor of the Roadhouse, along with many of the Roadhouse music performances, felt like a waste of time. Other similar scenes, like Sarah watching TV or the slow Nuclear Bomb explosion, had a level of unsettling tension that made them feel worthwhile, even if they weren't crucial to the plot.

The thing is, those long drawn out scenes are in and of themselves moments of pure Lynchian weirdness to cherish. No one else drags on scenes for that long or that strangely. It is a Lynchian effect that he has mastered to perfection. We as the audience are truly just along for the ride, and Lynch chooses these moments to just draw out, awkwardly and effectively, making us acutely aware of the drawn out awkwardness and time being wasted. It's intentionally done and if you're not aware of Lynch's style, it can be interpreted as sloppy editing or filler material.

A key requirement to becoming a graduate of Lynch School of the Weird is to understand and appreciate the effectiveness & brilliance of these odd, awkward, drawn out and sometimes deliciously hammy scenes.

David Lynch is a master of indulgence. Drink full and descend.

 

[HoJu]

Your purity tests are wasted on me! I have the Dark Night of the Soul hardcover book, so trust me, I get le artiste.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'll go back to watching the "will they won't they" develop between Audrey Horne and the Phantom.

lol didn't mean to come off that way, just curious. I can see why people wouldn't like this season, because not all of it works, but it is just doing a lot for me. I'm prodougie

 

[oneida]

i don't love it.

pains me to admit. I'm on board until the finale, but i don't have much faith this'll turn around for me.

fwiw, Mulholland Dr is my favorite lynch thing.

 

[SCHUEY F1]

I already can't wait to do a rewatch. Hope it doesn't take long for the Blu Ray to come out.

 

[Dynamite Shikoku]

Overall I've liked this season. I was pretty disappointed at first though. I have no love for Dougie, he didn't grow or evolve in any way and I'm not sure why he had to be like that for so long (maybe the last episodes will give some big revelation though?). On rewatch there will be some bits I will be fast forwarding, but the series also had a lot of great scenes and some good characters. I think it could have been cut down for a leaner and more focused season.

 

[plagiarize]

There are definitely different reasons why we all watched twin peaks. I find some of them alien and hard to empathize with like those who watched for the murder mystery plot and who find the lack of a mystery (and scenes that don't forward the plot) maddening.

Like someone specifically called out the drooling kid in the car as a bad moment of the series. To me it's a stand out moment. It's terrifying yet hilarious too, in the way only a handful of people can pull off. It's also really fun to quote and act out.

This series is full of stuff like that. Every scene, no matter how unrelated to the plot or drawn out it may seem, has a purpose. Sometimes it's only there to be funny, or to show us interesting visuals.

I also feel sorry for people who haven't been 'struck twice by lightning'. It's been an amazing thing to wait quarter of a century and have my expectations blown out the water. To have a new favorite episode of tv and to know there is chance that could change in the next week and a half.

I have very high expectations for the last hour of the show, but I can't see it failing to deliver. Will it top Part 8? Maybe.

But whether you like it or not, the show is absolutely what it intends to be. There are small flaws and editing issues (trust me guys, there isn't some statement or twist or intent), but that sort of seems like not picking. Heck the original series has similar errors (the mink oil scene as I recall screws up the timeline a shade).

It's a success if we measure it in terms of what it tried to be. That isn't for everyone, but I think that's the worst you can say about it all considered. Twin Peaks The Return isn't what everyone wanted. But it absolutely is what it wanted to be, despite a budget that was evidently just a notch too tight.

I hope Showtime see it as an unqualified success, because artistically I think it has been. Again not everyone's cup of tea, but a huge achievement that will be rewatched and analysed and enjoyed for the next quarter of a century at least.

And who knows, maybe there will be a fourth season at some point. I'd certainly be down for one.

 

[MisterR]

Regarding "answers" and the finale:


Having just watched all of Lynch's filmography over the past couple months, one thing I've realized is he likes to leave a lot of lingering questions. This goes from stuff like Inland Empire which is one giant mindfuck, to The Straight Story--probably his most "traditional" film has a fairly up in the air ending. He doesn't like to talk about what his films are about and thinks explaining them would cheat the audience. For example one of the best scenes in Mulholland Drive is the diner scene, it sticks out to me so much because it has almost nothing to do with the rest of the plot but it also gives you enough hints to maybe unlock the mystery of everything that went on in the film. Mulling that over is a lot more satisfying than someone just explaining the whole thing at a podium, at least to me anyways.


So I think if you're really expecting every question to be answered, you are most certainly going to be disappointed. Some of this stuff is so strange that I'm pretty convinced a lot of straight up explanations would probably sound ridiculous. (Like, really--how on Earth would an explanation for David Bowie being a teapot not sound stupid no matter how well thought out it was? lol best left to your imagination I say)


For me personally, I've gotten so much enjoyment out of The Return, and just Twin Peaks in general that the finale could just be James playing at the Roadhouse for two hours and I wouldn't have regretted the experience of Twin Peaks as a whole. Despite how much I love the lore and weird surrealism; my favorite moments have been the character moments. Seeing Bobby become a stand up dude, Big Ed and Norma finally getting together, The Mitchum brothers befriending Dougie, the Log Lady saying goodbye--these are the best parts for me.


I'll miss the laughs, I'll miss the weirdness, I'll miss the mysteries, I'll miss the scares, I'll miss the characters, I'll miss the coffee and Cherry pie; I'll just miss Twin Peaks in general, cause I'm so thankful for this ride.

Well said. Exactly how I feel.