The Return on Silver Screen Proves Why Fans Come Back to Twin Peaks

SIFF Uptown marquee with classic Twin Peaks: The Return quote

The Evergreen Echo

I have watched The Return several times now since its release in 2017. Each time, it feels like descending into a cave that should feel familiar—haven’t you been here a hundred times already? 

And yet, each descent into the third season of Twin Peaks feels almost alien. There are always hidden caverns to explore, new narrative threads to pull and unravel that often feel like they lead you nowhere. This can often make it a difficult journey to recommend. When asked, “So, what is The Return about?” I’m not sure what to say. Is it an exploration of spiritual growth in the face of decay and ruin? Yes. Does it ruminate on the state of the American zeitgeist in the 21st century? Certainly! Is it a meditation on white male mediocrity? I think so. Other fans may give you different answers! We will likely disagree on our interpretations. Perhaps that is what keeps drawing people into the mythos of Twin Peaks: it is a delightful fidget-toy for your mind. 

This was, however, my first time seeing The Return in a movie theater. The weather was appropriately Lynchian: dark, foggy, and a little electric. While hosted by Grand Illusion Cinema, the screening of parts 7 and 8 of The Return was hosted at SIFF Uptown. It began with a brief introduction from Greg Olson, author of David Lynch: A Beautiful Dark and Black Coffee Lightning: David Lynch Returns to Twin Peaks. Olson shared a few stories from production (apparently Mark Frost and David Lynch had to be physically separated), as well as a few stories from his interviews with Lynch, saying that even at a young age, “he had a sense of hidden realities.”

David Lynch playing Agent Gordon Cole in Twin Peaks: The Return

Courtesy of Grand Illusion Cinema

And then, the show began. 

In our preview for The Return screening series, I said I wanted to get lost in Twin Peaks the way I would get lost in a film. I no longer crave a thorough narrative understanding of the series like I once had (although I still definitely have depths to plumb). Now, I am on a different kind of search. A search through mediums and experiences. What can a more cinematic experience of a television series offer the viewer that a home television set cannot?

Critics have hailed Twin Peaks: The Return as “the greatest show of the 21st century.” It is regarded as a masterpiece not only of television but of storytelling. And let us not forget: David Lynch was a filmmaker first and always. And once seated in the audience at SIFF with Angelo Badalamenti’s gorgeous theme blasting over a cheering audience, it becomes impossible to forget. Maybe it’s simply the size and scope of a movie theater experience, or maybe it’s the lack of distractions that a home viewing always seems to attract. Either way, it was unlike any previous Twin Peaks experience I had ever had. For a blissful few hours, there was nothing else but the experience of a sponge absorbing as much as it could before the curtain closed. Despite the presence of nearly 200 other people, I felt alone with the narrative and the imagery. 

Watching Twin Peaks often feels like a scavenger hunt—viewers scrambling for clues to what the story is really about. But this time, it felt more like being swaddled in a blanket of mysteries and horrors. “Sit back, relax, and let the story wash over you.” And that’s the real gift of a cinematic experience: the joy of artistic isolation. 

Twin Peaks: The Return will continue to be presented by Grand Illusion Cinema, Northwest Film Forum, and The Beacon into December! And remember:

“This is the water, and this is the well. Drink full, and descend. The horse is the white of the eyes and dark within.” (Part 8 of The Return)