Twin Peaks: The Return (2017) Part 1
Part 1 of the Return sets us up for a Twin Peaks that goes all over the map!
In 2015, I remember the rollercoaster of emotions I had about the news of there being new Twin Peaks in the works. At first, there was an announcement that Showtime was producing a limited series of 9 episodes to air in 2016. This sounded exciting! I was a big fan of both the original series and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (the prequel film that I covered last week).
Then, David Lynch came out with a heartbreaking message on social media that went like this:
After 1 year and 4 months of negotiations, I left because not enough money was offered to do the script the way I felt it needed to be done.
This weekend I started to call actors to let them know I would not be directing. Twin Peaks may still be very much alive at Showtime.
I love the world of Twin Peaks and wish things could have worked out differently.
Showtime was quick to respond with the following statement:
We were saddened to read David Lynch's statement today since we believed we were working towards solutions with David and his reps on the few remaining deal points. Showtime also loves the world of Twin Peaks and we continue to hold out hope that we can bring it back in all its glory with both of its extraordinary creators, David Lynch and Mark Frost, at its helm.
From what I understand, they were trying to offer Lynch enough money to make 9 episodes, as Mark Frost and Lynch had written a nearly 500 page script and did not cut them up into episodes. Lynch didn’t feel like that was enough and walked away. For reference, The Return ended up being cut up into 18 episodes, which is double what Showtime initially proposed.
So there I was, in 2015, unsure if Twin Peaks would ever make a comeback. It was a nice idea, but it was time to let it go. Besides, there were other really great things on television at that time. Better Call Saul had just started for example! I’d be fine!
I don’t remember exactly when it was when Twin Peaks had been reconfirmed as coming back (again), but the initial press release announced that it would be airing at some point in 2016. If you do a little math there, that’s exactly 25 years after the original series ended. If you remember, Laura Palmer said in the last episode: “I’ll see you again in 25 years.” - Laura Palmer.
Even though it ended up airing in 2017, how cool is it that they timed it out so well? Already the possibilities seemed endless to me. Leading up to the premiere of the new episodes, my roommate at the time and I rewatched the entire original series as we made cherry pie and made pots upon pots of coffee. It was a lovely time in my life looking back.
At the time, if you had the Showtime app, you could watch the first FOUR episodes of the return on the night of the premiere! We’ll just be covering the first one today, which is quite frankly enough to chew over, but imagine watching the first four episodes of this in one sitting.
This is my third rewatch of the limited event series. Of course I watched it in 2017 when it aired, then again in 2020, because what else was there to do during lockdown? Now I’m rewatching it for a third time, and it’s been a special experience because I’m sharing the experience with someone who has never seen Twin Peaks before. My life partner and I have been watching it from the beginning. We watched the original series, then Fire Walk With Me, and now we’re just finishing up The Return (at the time of writing this we have one episode to go).
I warned Mia before watching The Return that it is very different than the original series. I feel like this is the version of the show David Lynch and Mark Frost had wanted to make since the beginning. There is not much fan service (although there are a few moments that are fan servicey in the best way possible), but mostly it redefines and examines good and evil in a very spiritual and surreal way, which is prevalent in the original series, but not to the extent that it is in The Return.
Part 1
Before we see the new credit sequence (R.I.P. to the bird who started off the credits in the original series), we get a little reminder of what happened in the final episode of Twin Peaks, showing us the encounter between Special Agent Dale Cooper and Laura Palmer in the black lodge when she says she’ll see him in 25 years.
Part 1 begins with the Giant (known as The Fireman in this season) and Special Agent Dale Cooper in black & white in a room that I believe might take place in the white lodge (although I don’t believe we ever get confirmation of that). There are a bunch of cryptic messages in here like “430”, “Richard and Linda…”, and “two birds, one stone…”, which will all become much more clear as the season unfolds. But for now, we’re all left scratching our heads as Dale Cooper disappears (and won’t reappear fully for a very long time). As The Fireman says “you are far away…”
Part 1 has some familiar faces from the original series, such as Dr. Jacoby who is now living in a trailer in the middle of the woods as he spray paints a bunch of shovels gold. Ben Horne and Jerry Horne reunite in the Great Northern, which Ben is still running, but Jerry is now a pot-head and has started his own business growing the devil’s lettuce. I think Jerry might have the most significant change of any of the characters this season (except for Audrey, but we don’t see her for a while). Well, and Agent Cooper I guess since he spends most of the season in a catatonic state.
One of the most shocking things about this episode is when we take trips to other towns other than Twin Peaks, the first of which is the Big Apple itself! This is where we meet a new character, Sam Colby, who is a student worker who is tasked with watching a glass box that has cameras pointed at it. We get the sense that he doesn’t really know what the glass box does and why it’s being filmed, but he doesn’t seem to be too concerned with it either. Sam’s friend Tracey comes by bringing him coffee and wants to go into the room with Sam, but the security guard won’t let her. Spoiler alert: Tracey does end up getting into the room with Sam and things do not go well.
The other new town we’re introduced to in this episode is the fictional town of Buckhorn, SD where a whole new mystery is unveiled. A woman’s decapitated head is found at the head of the bed, while a headless man’s body is found underneath the covers in a very unsettling reveal. At the end of the episode, William Hastings (Matthew Lillard) the principal of the high school in Buckhorn is arrested for the murder, as his prints are found all over the crime scene.
Then there’s Cooper’s doppelganger, who we last saw hitting his head against the mirror in the bathroom at the Great Northern saying “How’s Annie?!” over and over again. Kyle MacLachlan plays this character with such reserve and unsettling stillness in this season. He transforms himself in a way that makes him disappear into the role. It’s quite impressive to see. Evil Cooper or “Mr. C” has seemed to start a bit of a crime ring over the last 25 years. Most specifically, he’s working with two people named Ray and Darya who will factor in significantly over the next few episodes.
We also see Andy, Lucy, and Hawk at the Twin Peaks Sheriff Department. Hawk gets a message from The Log Lady telling him to look into Cooper by paying attention to his heritage.
It’s an episode that sets up a lot for the season to come, and I can’t wait to dig into these episodes with you. I’m keeping this one just to part 1 this week, but for the sake of time I will be covering 2 or 3 episodes at a time. I find it difficult to do that, as there’s so much to pour over in these episodes. That being said, I do want to give you all some additional content if you may not be as into Twin Peaks as I am. That’s why I will be releasing some of my previous posts from the paywall. Those will be released on Thursdays as I cover The Return over the next several weeks!