“We are like the dreamer who dreams and then lives inside the dream”

Twin Peaks: The Return

Network Showtime (US), SoHo, NEON (NZ)

Release Date 21 May –  3 September 2017

Episodes 18

Binge time 16 hours 18 minutes

Eighteen episodes parts done and dusted and I probably know as much about the plot of this season as I knew then. If you thought the original Twin Peaks was weird, then hold onto your hats. David Lynch and Mark Frost have thrown down the gauntlet for the weirdest show on TV.

This season has a multitude of storylines. Many of which don’t even tie in with the main plot or even wrap up in a satisfying way. But it makes more sense if you liken it to a David Lynch film, instead of a television show where we’re accustomed to the format and getting all the answers; none of these disconnected ethereal scenes, that put tone and theme above plot. The completely David Lynch directed The Return has been likened to a 16-hour movie and that’s how it was shot, in blocks on location. Not that you’ll want to binge all 16 hours in one sitting!

While the first two seasons of the show never left the iconic town, we’re not even in Twin Peaks for the most part. This season spends most of its time inside Las Vegas with Dougie Jones narrowly escaping death again and again, among a whole host of assorted nefarious characters. And in South Dakota following Gordon Cole (David Lynch), Diane Evans (Laura Dern), Albert Rosenfield (Miguel Ferrer), and Tammy Preston as they try to solve this “Blue Rose” case, while “Bad Coop” is on his own mission up to no good.

As Twin Peaks has gotten to cult status over the last twenty-five years, this season features a bunch of celebrity cameos, but none too overbearing. My favourite would have to be Michael Cera in a one-time scene as Andy and Lucy’s son, a modern-day greaser and tribute to Marlon Brando’s performance in The Wild One.

As for returning characters, it was sobering to see the last performances of Catherine E. Coulson as Margaret Lanterman (the “Log Lady”) and Miguel Ferrer as FBI Agent Albert Rosenfield. Even the departed David Bowie makes an appearance (albeit with his voice recast).

If you were hoping for Special Agent Dale Cooper be in for a long wait. Kyle MacLachlan is kept busy, however, with multiple characters including the black-eyed, lethal “Bad Coop” and the lovable but limited speaking Dougie Jones.

After a Roadhouse performance by Nine Inch Nails “Part Eight” becomes a breathtaking spectacular of dizzying special effects flashing back to a black and white 1965 with the first atomic bomb detonation in New Mexico. Who the hell knows what it all meant, but it sure was a sight to see.

Of course, it was sad not to get that much of our beloved Dale Cooper, or our other favourite eccentric Twin Peaks characters, but we can always go back to those first two seasons (and the prequel film Fire Walk With Me). David Lynch and Mark Frost didn’t want to tread the same ground and instead gave us the gift that was The Return, this new-fangled, mysterious, and captivating experience.

This might be the last we get of Twin Peaks, and although it wasn’t what I was expecting, I’m happy we got it.