Advice and Observations for First Time Viewers of Twin Peaks

An April 8 of this year, the anniversary of the debut of the Twin Peaks pilot, I “tweeted” the following list of observations and pieces of advice for first-time viewers of the show. Now, I would like to present the list, lightly edited, in a format that is much easier to read than it would be on that infernal site.

Seasons one and two were, in part, a parody of popular 80s soaps, like Dallas and Falcon Crest, as well as teen dramas. The melodramatic side stems from that. You will note that the tonal shifts between melodrama, horror, & comedy often relate to specific characters, but the edges bleed.

The “terrible second season” you may have heard about is really only about six episodes late in season two, and while there is a reason things went spotty (to divulge why would be a spoiler), these episodes contain much of the show’s enduring mythology and some great scenes.

Season two rewards your tenacity with possibly the most insane series finale ever aired, and a final scene that I urge you to reflect upon before you move on to Fire Walk With Me and The Return: viewers had to sit with that for a quarter century.

Fire Walk With Me isn’t only a prequel, but a kind of partial sequel as well. Time is wobbly in Twin Peaks. Also, Sheryl Lee gives perhaps film’s most underrated performance in this movie. An absolute masterclass.

The Return is, first and foremost a reflection of time: Lynch/Frost contemplated what it means to come back to this after so many years. It’s a different kettle (percolator?) of fish. Go in with no expectation of nostalgia, take it on its own terms, and you’ll probably love it.

If you are perplexed by the tone or heightened nature of a specific performance (especially in The Return), or a scene’s pacing, remember that David Lynch is first and foremost a painter: in film he uses emotions as a color or texture. Sometimes that color is “frustration.”

At first, you may think that this is going to be yet another problematic “dead girl” show. Rest assured that over the course of the whole saga, it transcends the trope in ways that are both deeply moving and mind-bending. Laura Palmer is one of film and TV’s great badasses.

When you’re done, read Mark Frost’s The Secret History of Twin Peaks and The Final Dossier, which expands the mythology and historical context, as well as The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer, masterfully written by Lynch’s daughter Jennifer. To avoid spoilers from the books you can read them in the order of release: Secret Diary between Season one and two, but any time after Season one, really, Secret History between FWWM and The Return, and Final Dossier after The Return, as something of a Coda on the story.

Addendum: someone asked about The Missing Pieces, which is fashioned from Fire Walk With Me outtakes. This you will probably want to watch right after FWWM, and is probably included with any current release of the film. Several scenes in this will dovetail nicely with The Return.