In the wake of director David Lynch’s death, now is a better time than ever to watch his magical yet mystifying magnum opus – Twin Peaks. Although I have yet to see Twin Peaks in completion, Season 1 alone has assured me of the high quality traits of the show.
The first season of Twin Peaks is an undisputed masterpiece and is known well for its prestige ever since airing in 1990. The project includes a 3 season series and a prequel movie, all stemming from the murder of a young woman in a small town in Washington called Twin Peaks. The young woman, Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), didn’t live such a simple life. All must be investigated by special agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan), a goofy FBI agent who has encountered a similar case in his past, and the ragtag, inexperienced police force of the town.
Although sounding serious and borderline melancholy, season 1 contains a significant amount of offbeat humour, typical of the director-duo David Lynch and Mark Frost. The humour is often delivered with odd timing, and has a quirkiness similar to fellow director Wes Anderson. The most common perpetrator of such comedy is Dale Cooper, a stark difference to the stereotype of a strict and cold FBI agent. The first time we meet this character in the pilot, he is driving down a winding road surrounded with trees that he loves the smell of. As he drives, he speaks into a tape recorder, addressing a woman named Diane, about the meals he has had along his trip, including a cherry pie “worth a stop” and a cup of coffee for only 75 cents. In his introduction monologue, he is extraordinarily positive and the way in which MacLachlan delivers his lines is phenomenal. MacLachlan’s performance is one of the best I have seen and his comedic timing was just simply incredible. He is one of the highlights of the show and I’m glad I discovered him right from the pilot.
Another instance of the special agent’s offbeat humour is his strange infatuation with his own dreams. He inexplicably believes them to a fault and developed a method of investigation stemming from a dream he had in which he learned of tibetan history and somehow awoke with a new mind-body connection technique in which he gets assistance from Sheriff Harry S Truman (Micheal Ontkean), Officer Hawk (Micheal Horse), Deputy Andy Brennan (Harry Goaz), and receptionist Lucy Moran (Kimmy Robertson), members of the police force, in executing it. In the technique, he has Harry read names, Lucy write them, Hawk hold a bucket of rocks, and Andy stand near a glass bottle 60 feet and 6 inches away from the FBI agent. After Harry reads a name, Cooper will throw a rock at the bottle and if it hits the bottle or breaks it, he will investigate the person whose name preceded the throw. The scene is made even more humorous when the other officers are so intrigued by the technique that the agent essentially explained, came to him in a dream. This scene in particular shows the absurdity of the show, a side that I really enjoyed and made me want to continue each episode. Knowing that with all of the seriousness, there would always be the silly FBI agent to bring up the mood is what kept me watching season 1.
Though Agent Cooper is a magnificent character, he wasn’t the only one. All of the characters in this small town are complex, and you want to like them despite their flaws. One such character is Audrey Horne (Sherilyn Flenn). First introduced as a weird and provocative high school girl, over the course of season 1 you find she is more than meets the eye. When she is first seen in the pilot, she purposefully interrupts a meeting her father has with a group of norwegians, telling them about the death of a young girl in the town that Audrey states is her friend, contrary to her actions according to Donna (Lara Flynnn Boyle), Laura’s real best friend. This interruption loses her father the deal, and she seems to have done it simply to get his attention.
Audrey’s relationship with her family is complicated. Her mother is distant, her older brother is mentally a child, and her father lives a second life and spares no time for his family other than his own brother. Having no one to lean on or talk to, Audrey is drawn to the goofy special agent who is upwards of 10 years her senior. She then dedicates herself to helping him with whatever he needed, whether it was solving the murder, or getting intel. Somehow, even after the agent rejects her advances, she becomes even more dedicated to his cause. The idea that someone would enjoy her company and not lust for her was foreign, making the ideals of someone like Dale Cooper confounding. Over time, I grew to love her and she became one of my favorite characters when previously I would sigh at her every appearance. Her complexity made her an infinitely more interesting character and I couldn’t imagine the show without her now.
This phenomenon is not unique to Audrey and also happens with characters like Bobby (Dana Ashbrook), Norma (Peggy Lipton), and even Laura who becomes more than just the picture of perfection. The town is also filled with symbolism that is deeper than just a mystery story. The show, when first aired in 1990, was often called “too weird” for the seemingly random events that happen throughout town, the element of Cooper’s dreams, the vibe bordering on soap opera, and the continuous storyline which was unique for shows airing in the 90s which often were episodic. Despite this, the show isn’t just weird, and nothing in the show is done randomly. Even the choice of interspersing shots of the traffic lights in the town have meaning for the viewer and the viewer alone. David Lynch was known for his reluctance to reveal information from his work. Lynch never even intended to reveal the murderer of Laura Palmer until the network forced him into revealing it in season 2. This element of mystery is a staple for Lynch, and he believed that what mattered the most was the viewer interpreting their own meaning. Lynch made art for the public, not for himself. Coming up with your own interpretations as things happen in the show is one of the most enjoyable parts of watching. Twin Peaks isn’t just an escapist series that you can watch to stop thinking, Twin Peaks is what makes you think. Lynch’s dedication to the show mixed with the idea of personal interpretation is what makes the show interesting for me and other dedicated viewers. I enjoy being able to think while watching the show, but not everybody does, making this aspect of the show slightly contentious.
Overall, Twin Peaks season one is an interesting watch with magnificent writing and direction, a season I would rate 5 stars out of 5. I’m excited to see the rest of the series and eventually the movie, considered one of Lynch’s best.