The Twin Peaks Lounge

[monty]

A place to discuss all things Twin Peak...

So what's the verdict here on the first two episodes of the new season?

[Kasparius]

I thought it was beyond what could possibly be expected, I am highly pleased.

I also just realized that I have access to episode 3 and 4 through Showtime on Demand, but I have to wait for my wife to watch them tonight.

[Reflect]

I've now seen the first four episodes, and am loving it so far.

It's got a very different feel from the first two seasons, far more surreal and dark. It feels more like a new Lynch film (which I am not complaining about) than a return to Twin Peaks (edit - rewatching this I'm not sure I'd agree with myself here, this is very much Twin Peaks, just not quite what I was expecting) . This has been pretty damn great so far and I'm thrilled that Lynch is not compromising his vision for general audiences.

Favorite moment right now is the ending sequence of Part 2. Just incredible.

[allisoncm]

I've seen the first two episodes.

The first episode took me awhile to get into, but I was into it by the 2nd.

Spoiler: click to toggle

thought it was disgusting when Laura kissed Agent Dale Cooper.

Lots of weird, weird stuff. I recognized most of the high-profile cameos, although it seems there's still more to come. Loved the song at the end of the 2nd episode.

[Kasparius]

My prediction is that it will be the film of the year for the Cahiers du cinéma.

[metaller]

I'm actually not that hyped about the first two episodes. It went to some awesome places, but I really didn't "feel" it most of the time. It didn't feel "Twin Peaks"-y enough for me. Perhaps it's the modern cinemtography or the lack of whackiness.
Not that I found it bad, I overall liked it, but considering the praise that flew around social media I expected a bit more. So I'd say 7/10-ish, if I'd have to rate it.
I brake myself and don't watch episodes 3 and 4 ahead of time.

[Cynical Cinephile]

I like the fact that it really is avant-garde, it's different from anything on TV at the moment. Lynch was clearly left to do his thing without outside influences. I think it's great so far, it's like Inland Empire in the familiar world of Twin Peaks which really works great for me, despite me not really caring much about Inland Empire. Visually it looks beautiful, there were some very cool shots so far. So far, it has a darker and more eerie atmosphere than the original, but in episodes 3 and 4, the offbeat humor was introduced once again. Consider me hooked, I'm curious where the story will go from here.

Spoiler: click to toggle

I miss Cooper (the original one), so I'm worried that this Dougie Jones (confused Cooper) will last for half a season, or God forbid, for its entirety. Goddamnit, I want to hear "damn fine cup of coffee" again.

Spoiler: click to toggle

Anyone have any ideas what that was that killed the couple watching the glass box? Obviously, we've seen that Cooper appears there just before they got back in the room. Could the glass box be some kind of interdimensional intersection, so to speak. A thing that was interesting to me, when the lady with no eyes was hitting Cooper on the chest, that made very similar noises to that creature massacring the couple and visually it looked similar, blurred and stop-motion-y.

[Kasparius]

It's more Lynch than vintage Twin Peaks and that is absolutely fine by me.

[Reflect]

It's pretty awesome how there was nothing like Twin Peaks on TV back when it first came out, and now there's nothing on TV like the new season.

As for (Episode 3/4 spoilers)

Spoiler: click to toggle

"out of it" Cooper, I'm hoping he snaps back to himself sometime during the next episode - I think the coffee he drank helped bring him back, if only a little.

[Kasparius]

I have to say Kyle MacLachlan is doing some damn fine acting. I love that he's playing all these different versions of Cooper. I laughed out loud at a bunch of the Dougie shenanigans.

[Reflect]

I have to say Kyle MacLachlan is doing some damn fine acting. I love that he's playing all these different versions of Cooper. I laughed out loud at a bunch of the Dougie shenanigans.

100% agreed, he's done an excellent job bouncing from a menacing role to a humorous one.

[outdoorcats]

Spoiler: click to toggle

Anyone have any ideas what that was that killed the couple watching the glass box? Obviously, we've seen that Cooper appears there just before they got back in the room. Could the glass box be some kind of interdimensional intersection, so to speak. A thing that was interesting to me, when the lady with no eyes was hitting Cooper on the chest, that made very similar noises to that creature massacring the couple and visually it looked similar, blurred and stop-motion-y.

Spoiler: click to toggle

Besides looking like the thing that appeared in Lynch's Nine Inch Nails music video from a few years back ("Came Back Haunted"), it also had a similar head and menace as "the arm's doppelganger" but with the head on a human (?) female (?) body.

[outdoorcats]

There wasn't really any part of me that doubted this would be amazing, so with that in mind - that my expectations were stratospheric and therefore, impossible to match by any conventional logic - how did David Lynch and Mark Frost manage to not only astound me but *surprise* me at almost every turn of this new series?

As some critics have pointed out, the series, whether intentionally or not, seems to be replicating the status the original series did in relation to other TV shows. In 1990 it was the weirdest, most artistically ambitious thing on television and most people didn't get it. And in 2017, the new series is the most artistically ambitious thing on television and most people aren't getting it. It seems to say, "Oh, so you thought shows like Hannibal, American Gods, Westworld, and Legion had elliptical and challenging storytelling? We're about to make those shows look mainstream as fuck." But it's a credit to how much viewers have changed that as many people are still responding well to it. I honestly expected way more hate for the new series. It's cool seeing all these people along for the ride even in Lynch's post-Inland Empire phase.

But I'm so ready to watch the rest of the best. 18 hour movie. ever.

[Reflect]

My scattered thoughts after seeing Episode 5 -

Spoiler: click to toggle

Solid episode that was really elevated by the scene in the bar towards the end - the actor playing the guy smoking was fantastic. Probably my new favorite scene of this season so far, actually. Edit - this guy was credited as Richard Horne?! Does that make him Audrey's son?!

Wondering who the hell "Mr. Strawberry" is, and what exactly Evil Cooper did during his "phone call".

A little bit tired of the amnesiac/baby Cooper, but part of me feels like it's going to be wrapped up soon. And the scene in the elevator was pretty funny.

Really nice seeing some old faces again, and the introductions of the new characters were well handled. I'm very curious as to how this is all going to come together.

And I know it's unlikely, but if Bowie shows up I'm going to lose my mind.

[joachimt]

Why is there a separate page on IMDb for the new season? I would have expected this to be listed as season 3.

[Armoreska]

Why is there a separate page on IMDb for the new season? I would have expected this to be listed as season 3.

No consistency. New X-Files was placed under the same title.

[joachimt]

Why is there a separate page on IMDb for the new season? I would have expected this to be listed as season 3.

No consistency. New X-Files was placed under the same title.

Ah well, at least this way I can keep the old series checked on iCM, because I've seen both season 1 and 2.

[outdoorcats]

Even though as I'm impatient as everyone to see Coop get back to his old self, I have to say Coop-as-Dougie's antics provided some of the weirdest/funniest shit I've seen in years. Probably since the last time I saw a David Lynch movie for the first time, actually.

-Wow, the music playing over the end credits was gorgeous
-Amanda Seyfried seems to be playing a Laura Palmer-esque role in the story, which is ominous
-The best scene this episode might have been the one with Jim Belushi and the beatdown/firing of the casino manager (with the three playboy bunnies casually looking on)
-Re: the phone call; well there's the electricity/Black Lodge connection...beyond that, who knows. It reminded me of the "problems" with TV monitors in the FBI Headquarters scene in Fire Walk With Me (the scene with David Bowie). I wasn't sure if "Mr. Strawberry" was supposed to have some significance to the prison warden, or if his shocked reaction was more along the lines of "What the hell is he talking about?" And then you have the shrinking black box in Buenos Aires, also connected to the woman with black hair who seems to be the one who put a hit on Dougie... *shrug* Maybe she's an ally of DoppleCoop's and it's part of a plan to eliminate Good Coop and cover his tracks.

[Armoreska]

Why is there a separate page on IMDb for the new season? I would have expected this to be listed as season 3.

No consistency. New X-Files was placed under the same title.

Ah well, at least this way I can keep the old series checked on iCM, because I've seen both season 1 and 2.

Don't tell me you were going to uncheck if they put it under the same title

[joachimt]

No consistency. New X-Files was placed under the same title.

Ah well, at least this way I can keep the old series checked on iCM, because I've seen both season 1 and 2.

Don't tell me you were going to uncheck if they put it under the same title

Of course, I'm not a cheatah like someone else here.

[blocho]

I've seen the first two episodes. I don't have much to add that hasn't been said already. It's clear that Lynch is not trying to pick up things where he left off 25 years ago, stylistically or narratively. This is for the best. To do otherwise would be to imprison his efforts and fall victim to sequel-itis. The highlights so far are MacLachlan's evil Cooper and the entire sequence with the neighbor with the little dog in South Dakota (there's that Lynchian humor). There's also something tremendously affecting in the short appearances from the old characters, like the Log Lady and Grace Zabriskie. The weight of the years seems to hang so heavily on them.

I think I'm going to cut myself off at this point and wait for the end of the season so that I can binge through it. I don't have that week-to-week patience.

[Kasparius]

This week to week thing is driving me bonkers, I wish it was at least two episodes a week. One hour is not enough.

[Reflect]

Part 6 was FANTASTIC.

edit - rewatching this episode really cements my initial thought that Red is supposed to be a demon/devil figure.

[Cynical Cinephile]

Great episode indeed. I feel like the series is getting better as it goes along. Although I'm still slightly annoyed by Dougie (actually I'm more annoyed by people around him who just take for granted that he basically turned autistic overnight and aren't sending him to doctors and whatnot, but whatever), I actually laughed more at his scenes in this episode. The confrontation about Jade in particular was hilarious. Naomi Watts has been great so far.

Things I loved in the episode

- We finally got to see Diane, and it's Laura Dern, of course
- The bald dwarf psycho killer with the catchy theme song
- The magician, drug kingpin
- The whole truck running over the kid sequence was great, the way it was set up in the park, with Harry Dean Stanton watching him play with his mother, all the way to the inevitable accident that looked quite gruesome. It's one of those things that you know are going to happen and it still shocks you
- Bang Bar ending scenes are always awesome

[outdoorcats]

I actually felt the opposite, that I didn't enjoy this one as much as the others...but that may be because I was super tired before watching it.

How come I didn't realize until now that so many of David Lynch's movies involves scenes with hit men? Wild at Heart, Lost Highway, Mulholland Dr., Inland Empire, and now this. It's definitely one of those plot devices that fascinates him.

[zuma]

I actually felt the opposite, that I didn't enjoy this one as much as the others...but that may be because I was super tired before watching it.

How come I didn't realize until now that so many of David Lynch's movies involves scenes with hit men? Wild at Heart, Lost Highway, Mulholland Dr., Inland Empire, and now this. It's definitely one of those plot devices that fascinates him.

I agree. After the episode I expected to see a few people criticizing it here. Maybe I was tired as well.

Some good stuff in this episode, but I found Naomi Watts's attempt at flustered and angry to be the worst overacting put-on I have seen by her ever.

And the reaction shots from the crowd after the hit and run were cringeworthy.

[metaller]

And the reaction shots from the crowd after the hit and run were cringeworthy.

I thought they were the funniest stuff so far this whole season.

[Reflect]

Part 7 - another fantastic episode.

Edit - and another "rewatch thought" - the Renault scene towards the end is brilliant and I can't believe I didn't care for it much on my first viewing.

[Kasparius]

Yeah, very good episode, Diane did not disappoint. Laura Dern is amazing.

[outdoorcats]

Excellent episode. The narrative is coming together a little more as the plot goes along, proving Mark Frost really did have a hand in this and didn't just let Lynch have free reign to make an Inland Empire sequel. Either way, we're still watching a directing masterclass from scene-to-scene, even if we don't have all the necessary context yet.

Favorite scene was easily the one where Ben Horne and his assistant Beverly (Ashley Judd, great casting) search for the source of the mysterious sound in the office. An exercise in ways to use sound and editing to make a silly-sounding or menial idea into a sequence of heightened tension and a classic Twin Peaksian mysterious beauty.

Hopes for upcoming episodes: as always, a speedy recovery of Coop's faculties, as well as more screentime for Nafessa Williams. Preferably naked. The return of Audrey Horne onscreen. And when will characters from the outside - DoppelCoop, the FBI agents, Coop/Dougie, the military investigator, whoever - begin making their way to Twin Peaks? Will there be a climactic episode of sorts at the halfway point (episode 9)?

[Reflect]

Favorite scene was easily the one where Ben Horne and his assistant Beverly (Ashley Judd, great casting) search for the source of the mysterious sound in the office. An exercise in ways to use sound and editing to make a silly-sounding or menial idea into a sequence of heightened tension and a classic Twin Peaksian mysterious beauty.

That scene was wonderful, also one of my favorites of the new season. I wonder what the hell was up with the scene right after that involving her husband.

[Reflect]

Part 8 - well, that was the most morbid and insane episode of television I've ever seen. This was up there with Inland Empire in terms of unrestrained madness.

The more I'm thinking about it the more I like it, but holy hell was that a lot to take in.

[Kasparius]

If there were any Lynch tourists left, I'm fairly sure this episode got rid of them for good. I personally thought it was great.

[Reflect]

Well said. This is going to be a divisive episode, to say the least.

I'm thinking that girl at the end was supposed to be a young Sarah Palmer.

[Perception de Ambiguity]

Re: Part 8

[Cynical Cinephile]

Well, if anyone was waiting for a descent into madness, the wait is over. Visually, by far the most beautiful episode so far, imo, particularly the atomic blast and everything that came after. However, I have no idea what to make of it.

Does anyone have any ideas what all this meant? Did the atomic bomb testing somehow open the portal between worlds and let that creature (if we can even call it a creature) in or did it actually create that creature? It looked like it gave birth to Bob and countless of others of his kind. Another interesting thing is that it looked a lot like the creature we saw early on in the series that manifested itself inside the glass cube and killed the couple that was supposed to be watching it.
Was this Lynch's symbolic way of opposing arms race (by equating our technological advancement of warfare with mythical forces)? Is that a warning that we are creating our own doom?

I'm thinking that girl at the end was supposed to be a young Sarah Palmer.

That very well could be the case. It crossed my mind as well.

[Kasparius]

Well, if anyone was waiting for a descent into madness, the wait is over. Visually, by far the most beautiful episode so far, imo, particularly the atomic blast and everything that came after. However, I have no idea what to make of it.

Does anyone have any ideas what all this meant? Did the atomic bomb testing somehow open the portal between worlds and let that creature (if we can even call it a creature) in or did it actually create that creature? It looked like it gave birth to Bob and countless of others of his kind. Another interesting thing is that it looked a lot like the creature we saw early on in the series that manifested itself inside the glass cube and killed the couple that was supposed to be watching it.
Was this Lynch's symbolic way of opposing arms race (by equating our technological advancement of warfare with mythical forces)? Is that a warning that we are creating our own doom?

I'm thinking that girl at the end was supposed to be a young Sarah Palmer.

That very well could be the case. It crossed my mind as well.

I think the brown hobos are basically the negative forces of the lodge, in charge of Bob, the same way the arm and co. are in charge of Coop and Laura. The evil forces were stirred up by nuclear bombs in 1945, and the creature (who appears to be similar to the one that killed the kids having sex by the box in NYC) spewed a bunch of eggs, one of which is Bob. When Bob is finally hatched in 1956, the evil hillbillies make sure he gets to invade the girl (probably Leland's mother).

Meanwhile, the forces of good, The Giant and the lady, create Laura as a counter balance to Bob.

At least that is my interpretation.

[metaller]

What a lovely episode. Twin Peaks still expanding the borders of tv in the year 2017.

[outdoorcats]

Favorite line of all three seasons so far: Gotta light? Gotta light? Gotta light?

[Cynical Cinephile]

I figured that this was the appropriate place to post this

Painters that inspired David Lynch (VIMEO)