There are very few television shows that have made as great of an impact as “Twin Peaks.” With its intriguing mysteries, unorthodox format and storytelling, and setting of a small town in the Pacific Northwest, “Twin Peaks” has gone on to inspire many television shows, having changed the very format of television shows itself.
“Twin Peaks” originally ran on ABC from 1990-1991, spanning two seasons before the show’s cancellation. Created by David Lynch and Mark Frost, the show centers around FBI agent Dale Cooper, played by actor Kyle MacLachlan, as he comes to the town of Twin Peaks, Wash., to investigate the murder of homecoming queen Laura Palmer. While in the town, Cooper meets a variety of eccentric and bizarre characters, discovering a supernatural underbelly in this seemingly unsuspecting community in the process.
In its two years on the air, “Twin Peaks” became widely acclaimed by audiences, with the show’s persisting popularity leading to a third season in 2017 called “Twin Peaks: The Return.” In addition to the television series, there were several books published that tied into the series, as well as a prequel film called “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me,” focusing on the last seven days of Laura Palmer before her murder.
The heart of the show, and the mystery that continues to hook audiences, will always be the murder of Laura Palmer. The show introduces her within the first few minutes of the first episode when a fisherman discovers her body wrapped in plastic along the coastline. From there, supporting characters give anecdotes that help the audience learn more about who Laura was; she was loved by everyone in town, and it seemed that no one had a motive to murder her.
We later learn in “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me,” however, that this isn’t entirely true; Laura was miserable, depressed, and leading a double life that involved drugs and sex work. While the film was initially booed at screenings when it was released in 1992, I believe that “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me” is crucial to understanding the story of “Twin Peaks.” While you would have to watch the show to understand the supernatural elements and the characters, “Fire Walk with Me” helps humanize Laura Palmer, and gives a new perspective on her murder and the impact that her murder had on the town. If nothing else, watch it for actress Sheryl Lee’s performance as Laura. Her acting is so raw and emotional, and it is truly what made me love “Fire Walk with Me.” (Also, she can scream well!)
During its initial conception, Lynch and Frost never intended to reveal who killed Laura Palmer. The show was meant to explore the lives of the characters, their relationships, and their struggles while keeping Laura’s murder as the overarching mystery that still needed to be solved. They were forced by ABC, however, to reveal Laura’s killer early into the second season, which caused David Lynch to leave the show. “Twin Peaks” dropped in quality once the mystery was solved, as no one really knew what to do.
I won’t reveal who killed Laura Palmer here, as I believe that it’s much more fun to try and solve the mystery while watching the show, but I do think that ABC made a mistake by forcing the killer to be revealed. While I do have problems with Laura’s murder being used as a plot device, it’s the mystery that made everyone become hooked on the show, as well as the driving force behind all of the characters’ motives throughout the first season. By solving the mystery, the characters don’t have much to do other than loiter around and have petty arguments, which I find uninteresting since it seems that the writers just put it in for the sake of drama. There are some elements of the second season that I enjoy, however, like the finale and the presence of Lynch’s classic surrealism, as Agent Cooper explores a mysterious, supernatural place called ‘The Black Lodge’ in more depth this season.
While I was initially wary of “Twin Peaks: The Return,” which came out in 2017, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It takes place 25 years after the original series and follows Agent Cooper and others as they get sucked back into the mystery of Twin Peaks and Laura Palmer’s murder. David Lynch returned to direct, which greatly benefited this third season, as his typical style of horror, surrealism, and humor returned to the show, making it feel incredibly nostalgic.
My favorite episodes are the final two: episodes 17 and 18. In these episodes, Cooper goes back in time to the night before Laura Palmer’s murder and saves her from being killed. When he goes to look for her in the present day, however, he only finds a woman named Carrie Page, who looks exactly like Laura. He takes her back to the town of Twin Peaks, where she doesn’t initially recognize the Palmer house until a voice comes out of the house, causing Carrie to scream. Lynch leaves the final scene up to interpretation, which I think is the best way to go with a show like “Twin Peaks.” It left me—and certainly many other viewers—with many questions: Who is Carrie Page? Why did she scream when someone called out from the Palmer house? Did Dale Cooper do the right thing by saving Laura Palmer from being killed? These kinds of questions, and more, were what made me and so many others fall in love with the original show, and I’m so glad that audiences were able to visit the town of Twin Peaks for one last time.
“Twin Peaks” is one of the television shows you must watch at least once in your life. With a gripping mystery and David Lynch’s typical directorial style, the show is truly a gem in television history, and it’s no wonder why it is so beloved over 30 years later.
