The Cutprice Guignol

You know what I love? The original run of Twin Peaks. You know what I really don’t love? Twin Peaks: The Return.

I’ve made no secret on this blog of the fact that I completely and utterly adore the first couple of seasons of David Lynch and Mark Frost’s bizarre crime fantasy esoteric drama-comedy-romance-everything-else-too – it’s such a unique piece of media, and even today, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite capture that sense of genuine oddness that fills those first couple of seasons. So, when Twin Peaks: The Return hit screens in 2017, I was all for it: the more, the merrier when it came to Twin Peaks content (including Fire Walk With Me, which is, in fact, bloody great, by the way).

And look, I’ll be honest, there’s lots of stuff in The Return that is really great. There isn’t a single one of those closing song numbers I don’t love, and Rebeckah Del Rio’s No Stars is a sublime and gorgeous piece of TV that I never get tired of. It features one of Matthew Lillard’s best performances, and the cast is stacked with enormous talent (Amanda Seyfreid and Caleb Landry Jones are particular standouts of the new batch for me). As with almost any Lynch project, it’s got some stunning visual and cinematographic moments, and I appreciate some of the attempts to expand on the lore of the universe, too.

But, fundamentally, I really, really don’t like The Return, and I’ve been trying to put my finger on why for a while now. I do think there are some obvious criticisms to be made about the glacial pacing, the loss of a few iconic characters from the original series’ run, the wasted returns of those who did make it back (Audrey? Audrey? Look at how they massacred my girl! What the hell was that?), and the lack of the brilliant central figure of Dale Cooper, at least as he was in the original run.

But beyond that, I think what really stands out for me as the base-level issue I have with The Return versus the original run of the series is how cynical and often cruel it is. What appeals to me so much about Twin Peaks’ first two seasons is how much it subverts the grimdark tone that might normally be expected as part of a procedural crime show like this; it’s there from the very first episode, with Andy looking up from Laura’s body in tears, and it carries on as a vital throughline throughout the whole series.

It’s perhaps the most subversive thing Twin Peaks does in terms of genre – to approach these horrors and the people involved in them with kindness and gentleness, from Dale’s comforting of Leland in his death to Bobby’s tearful confrontation with his father to Pete sacrificing himself to save Audrey. All of that is crystallised in Dale himself, a character who approaches the world with an almost unbridled joy, curiosity, and kindness, whether it’s in the way he enjoys his coffee or the deep connections he forms with the people around him. The show is as rewarding as it is to me because it bucks the seductive temptation to dissolve into miserable pessimism and consistently focuses on the how people help each other survive the horrors life throws at us.

And that’s what lacked in The Return to me. I understand why the show does take such a different tone – with Dale compromised by the show’s villain, Bob, it makes sense that this would be a much darker, less forgiving, more brutal version of the world. But it’s not what I look for in the show, and I only really figured that out after watching and hating The Return as much as I did. For all that The Return is beautifully and carefully crafted, the misery and pessimism with little to balance it out felt lazy compared to the more hopeful tone of the original run. Misery is easy – finding a way to genuinely and earnestly celebrate humanity against a backdrop of misery is much harder, and, for me, more enduring.

Twin Peaks is a brutal show, there’s no doubt about it. But when that brutality is balanced, it’s at its best – and when that balance isn’t there, I don’t think it holds together in the same way.

I would love to hear what you think of The Return in the comments – I know it’s a divisive show, and I’m always interested to find out how other people interpreted it.

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(header image via Dazed)