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Twin Peaks Season 3 |OT2| It's Just A Change, Not An End

traveler

Not Wario
The thing with time travel stories is people have the Back to the Future mentality in their heads more often than not. As much as I was hoping for a happy ending to wrap everything up, you can't cause a change that big - saving Laura, a girl with so many intricate connections to the residents of Twin Peaks - and not expect to cause a massive ripple effect. That's Cooper's ultimate tragedy. He tried to do good but he was messing with forces beyond his control.

At least that's what i'm getting out of the finale.

This is why I'm ok with the time travel. Normally, pulling something like sending Coop to the past to undo Laura's murder would be an instant sharkjumper for me; I absolutely despise time travel being used to undo plot points/deus ex machina things, but there's a real sense of consequence to messing with all these threads here that you don't get in other works that contain it.

In many ways, I'm finding myself on the opposite end of the reaction- seeing Coop show up the night of Laura's murder was a negative thing when it happened to me, and the Bob showdown was probably the worst part of the whole finale.

That final shot, though, with Laura hearing her name and the house going dark as she screams, is absolutely one of the most haunting images I've ever seen. I really think the reaction to this episode would be completely different- in a positive way- were it a season finale and not a series finale.
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
You know, weird thought... What if some of the scenes in the series take place after the final episode? There's various scenes in the series that are out of order, and now that I'm starting to think of it I'm starting to believe some scenes we saw actually took place after the finale.

I'm not sure but I'm feeling like there was stuff from the end earlier in the series, and I almost want to say things like Audrey's bit and some other weird plot lines and bits are from the ripple at the end of the season. Like things from the end were breaking things earlier in the series. Basically the end is the beginning, is this future or past, etc. The reason things were breaking and some weird scenes earlier is from the end result going back through the whole series.
 

hobozero

Member
Lynch had them air both episodes back to back out of self-defense. If we had waited a week after 17 and then got 18? I can see an alternate reality involving pitchforks
 
We're like the dreamer who dreams and then lives inside the dream. But who is the dreamer?

This show is going to be great to rewatch now with new knowledge and many new questions.
 
There were so many characters, so many plots, so much set up and investment... and this is how it ends.

My fiancé and I are big Lynch fans. We know how "Lynch works" and we don't need a "what did you expect!?" speech. But this finale was all we needed to be honest with ourselves: we didn't like season three. We are deeply unhappy with it. Not just how it ended, but all the time and effort we put into the season along the way.

So much of the show feels completely pointless, especially in retrospect, and I don't know what it might take for our feelings to change about it. I am sure there will be lots of complex tear-downs of the season and there will be some kind of mysterious answer that gives everything we watched meaning, but I don't think it will be enough.

I think, for us, Twin Peaks still ended 25 years ago.

Even if we say Episode 17 was a better finale than 18, the journey to that episode was torturous and still fails to explain or explore a lot of what the show seemed to promise.

Why was Audrey even in this? That's the thing that sticks out the most to us right now.

Audrey was in it for the same reason Big Ed was. Someone from the old show so you can see how they're doing

Turns out she's doing terribly.
 
Since Cooper "saved" Laura then the new timeline would likely look completely different. I dunno for sure if I'd describe it was a "new timeline" but who knows at this point.
We have two new realities. One where Laura doesn't die, but one where she might not even exist... And the one Cooper ends up in.

They are definitely seperate.
 
I think the marriage of the FWWM Laura scene to the newly shot stuff in Episode 17 and the Coop saves Laura retcon might be the highlight of the season for me. Made me profoundly emotional.

It's a brilliant piece of work. I consider it a big moment in TV history for myself.
 

Number_6

Member
Since Cooper "saved" Laura then the new timeline would likely look completely different. I dunno for sure if I'd describe it was a "new timeline" but who knows at this point.

But it was different. Different people at Laura's house, different hotel, different car, different names...
 
This is why I'm ok with the time travel. Normally, pulling something like sending Coop to the past to undo Laura's murder would be an instant sharkjumper for me; I absolutely despise time travel being used to undo plot points/deus ex machina things, but there's a real sense of consequence to messing with all these threads here that you don't get in other works that contain it.

In many ways, I'm finding myself on the opposite end of the reaction- seeing Coop show up the night of Laura's murder was a negative thing when it happened to me, and the Bob showdown was probably the worst part of the whole finale.

That final shot, though, with Laura hearing her name and the house going dark as she screams, is absolutely one of the most haunting images I've ever seen. I really think the reaction to this episode would be completely different- in a positive way- were it a season finale and not a series finale.

Agree completely. I need to rewatch those last five minutes again. Like, right now.
 

Kalor

Member
Episode 17 felt like a great finale but 18 just meandered. When Cooper asked what year it was, I started to turn around on the episode after not being a big fan before that once I saw what they were doing but then it ended. The scream from Laura as she realised something was great but that wasn't the ending I was expecting. Audrey was barely addressed and we still know nothing about Sarah and the experiment. Going into this tonight I was okay with not having a season 4 but we almost need it now. Just to see what they do.

The idea of Cooper fucking with time and him not realising the butterfly effect of it is interesting when he goes to the house but I just wish they did more with it. I need some time to reflect on this episode but it's 3am so I'll sleep on it.
 
episode 18 is not a fitting ending to the series because lynch pretty much just retconned everything from season 1-3, and in my opinion, that's a poor way of ending a beloved series.
Actually it is pretty genius on Lynch's part:
  1. Showtime or another network green lights a season 4.
  2. He makes another Twin Peaks movie.
  3. He can write a Twin Peaks book.
  4. If none of the above happen, he has people talking about theories until the end of time about the mysteries of Twin Peaks. What is better then knowing that people will be talking about your work far after you are gone?
 
Somebody got a list of those unresolved plot points?

Off the top of my head...
1. Audrey Horne
2. Ben Horne's assistant and her sick husband
3. What the Mother is and what it wants
4. What Bad Cooper was looking for and what he was going to do
5. Sarah Palmer having the Mother(?) inside her
6. The drunk in the jail cell

There's also entire character plots that contribute nothing at all to the story. Becky, Steven, and Gersten. Shelly and her drug dealer boyfriend. Norma and her diner franchise.

And there are other minor plots that aren't "resolved" and just sort of end, like the Hastings storyline and Bad Coopers involvement in it, Miriam being in the hospital. Plus any of the "locals" who come into the Roadhouse and what's was going on with any of them.

Characters like James and Ed and Nadine and Dr. Jacoby have plots that are completely separate and totally removed from what is actually happening. If you removed all of them the outcome of the show would be identical. The woman with the honking horn and the kid vomiting. What was gong on with the box in NYC. Ugh...


I'm still pretty sensitive about it so I know I'm being hard on it. But we literally got the ending to a different show. I'm sure that's part of the "twist." The timeline changes in episode 17 and we get an ending to different show that takes place in Odessa.
 
We have two new realities. One where Laura doesn't die, but one where she might not even exist... And the one Cooper ends up in.

They are definitely seperate.

So Ganon is BOB, right?

Lynch should do a Zelda film series. Those video games have quite a bit of Lynch in them. Hell, one of them was inspired by Twin Peaks.
 

Fou-Lu

Member
what are all the plot threads left hanging? besides the fate of the cooper/richardverse and audrey

Off the top of my head: Audrey, Richard/Linda, Sarah Palmer/Judy, Becky and her husband, Annie kind of?, WHAT YEAR IS IT?, the drunk and his infected face. Oh and I guess that weird floating kid moment with Bobby.
 

Big One

Banned
But it was different. Different people at Laura's house, different hotel, different car, different names...
Yeah but Laura Palmer in this new reality isn't Laura Palmer anymore, she's Carrie Page. If it was a new timeline created by Coop, than Laura Palmer would still be Laura Palmer.

UNLESS however Carrie Page is a tulpa of Laura Palmer, lol. Who knows though.
 
This is why I'm ok with the time travel. Normally, pulling something like sending Coop to the past to undo Laura's murder would be an instant sharkjumper for me; I absolutely despise time travel being used to undo plot points/deus ex machina things, but there's a real sense of consequence to messing with all these threads here that you don't get in other works that contain it.

In many ways, I'm finding myself on the opposite end of the reaction- seeing Coop show up the night of Laura's murder was a negative thing when it happened to me, and the Bob showdown was probably the worst part of the whole finale.

That final shot, though, with Laura hearing her name and the house going dark as she screams, is absolutely one of the most haunting images I've ever seen. I really think the reaction to this episode would be completely different- in a positive way- were it a season finale and not a series finale.

No you're right, BOB getting hulksmashed to oblivion was super dumb.
 
Actually it is pretty genius on Lynch's part:
  1. Showtime or another network green lights a season 4.
  2. He makes another Twin Peaks movie.
  3. He can write a Twin Peaks book.
  4. If none of the above happen, he has people talking about theories until the end of time about the mysteries of Twin Peaks. What is better then knowing that people will be talking about your work far after you are gone?

Always leave them wanting more.
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
I know, Lynch and Frost said this was it for Twin Peaks but they also said later depending on how people respond to Season 3 and talks there may or may not be more. I kind of get what they mean now, I suspect if they do get more it'll be something new, but connected to the ending.
 
I really don't know how I feel about the ending. I suspected it wasn't going to just tie everything up and be a happy ending where "Judy" is defeated or destroyed but I don't know what to make of this.

We never got any explanation of Red and what was going on with him, either.
 
So.

If part 17 had been the end I would have hated that a lot more than part 18. All the bad was fixed and nothing we saw before really happened.

Actually it reminds me of how the UK Being Human ended, except the last scene was an hour long.
 

rgoulart

Member
What year is this?

I'm emotionally drained and satisfied. This was amazing and it went straight to my TOP 3 favorite TV shows of all time.
 
Actually it is pretty genius on Lynch's part:
  1. Showtime or another network green lights a season 4.
  2. He makes another Twin Peaks movie.
  3. He can write a Twin Peaks book.
  4. If none of the above happen, he has people talking about theories until the end of time about the mysteries of Twin Peaks. What is better then knowing that people will be talking about your work far after you are gone?

Exactly.

The original Twin Peaks ended on such a cliffhanger with the BOB/Cooper stuff and everyone wanted closure in this season but the mystery is what keeps people talking.

I gotta say though - after seeing that I'm pretty confident a season 4 or a standalone movie has already been written. They
killed off BOB
which was an important move in order to progress things imo.
 

timshundo

Member
“Swing Away, Freddy. Swing Away.”

0a222a9c3d8b308e340f8bb2c4204b82.png
 
This is the third time that Lynch ended Twin Peaks and the third time where he left more questions unanswered.

What did you guys expect from this?
 

Number_6

Member
Yeah but Laura Palmer in this new reality isn't Laura Palmer anymore, she's Carrie Page. If it was a new timeline created by Coop, than Laura Palmer would still be Laura Palmer.

UNLESS however Carrie Page is a tulpa of Laura Palmer, lol. Who knows though.

Well, we don't know what happened when she just magically disappeared. It could be a new timeline with Laura as Carrie Page because the rescue didn't go off as smoothly as Coop would have hoped. Weird, unexplained shit still happened.
 

traveler

Not Wario
I know, Lynch and Frost said this was it for Twin Peaks but they also said later depending on how people respond to Season 3 and talks there may or may not be more. I kind of get what they mean now, I suspect if they do get more it'll be something new, but connected to the ending.

It feels insensitive to say it this way, but 18 actually does a good job of leaving the door open for future seasons where the absence of all the cast members who passed away before/during this season wouldn't be a deal breaker. You have room to write and cast a whole new set of characters.

I do think Grace Z., Kyle, and Sheryl still have to be in on it. Probably Mike and the Fireman too.
 
Man, I love Twin Peaks. Episode 18 wasn't perfect (even though I actually do like the ending), but it's so great to have such a different, personal and uncompromising work of art be this relevant. It's going to be infinitely divisive, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
 
I think we can, as a starting point, understand what objectively happened is this:

Dale Cooper prevents Laura from being murdered. She gets sucked into another timeline, dimension, or story. Dale Cooper crosses over with Diane to that dimension and awakens as a different character in a different story with different plots already in motion. He finds Laura Palmer, but she's not Laura Palmer anymore, so it doesn't matter.

The conclusion we see is a conclusion to a different story. Imagine Twin Peaks ended when Cooper and Diane drove through the electrical barrier and episode 18 was an episode of a show called Odessa.



What stands out to me most dramatically is that the Cooper that emerges from the Lodge and travels with Diane is very still, discourteous, and robotic. I don't think it's the real Dale Cooper. Although he exhibits some moments of earnestness, overall, he is dark and inexpressive. I think this character is the doppelgänger.
 
Yeah I was at least expecting more with The Mother/Sarah and Audrey. Pretty bold to have the kinds of set ups those character arcs had and not come back to them. I feel like this ending could potentially be a bargaining chip to make more if the demand is there (and according to their streaming numbers it certainly is). If they do decide to make more and are given the greenlight can they please not take years to write the next installment this time. I can't take the wait!

To reiterate I really did like that ending though. Leaves a gulf of mystery and potential open. Wasn't wanting everything to be tidied up neatly with everyone munching on cherry pie at the RR.
 
The end of that episode was like a dream slowly becoming a nightmare. Like, as soon as they reached Twin Peaks, it was perfection. House owned by Tremonds / Chafonts (the old lady from meals on wheels), Laura being called from inside, her scream of recognition.

All the lights probably went out because Laura's the dreamer and she woke up.
 
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