Twin Peaks (TV Series) Part 8 (2017) User Reviews

Twin Peaks, third season, eighth episode: Gotta light?

[kluseba · 10/10 · 25 June 2017]

Eighth episode: Gotta light? / The Return, Part VIII

Content: Evil Cooper and Ray are driving on a highway after having escaped from prison. Evil Cooper mentions that Ray has some important information he needs to know but Ray refuses to tell him what he wants to hear. When they take a short break, Evil Cooper tries to menace Ray with a weapon but Ray has taken the bullets out of Evil Cooper's gun and proceeds to shoot him instead. When Ray is about to kill Evil Cooper for good, several strange entities looking like woodsmen surround Evil Cooper and perform a ritual to bring him back to life. A bubble with BOB's head inside seems to be a part of Evil Cooper's body. Ray is scared, drives away and calls Phillip Jeffries to inform him about what has just happened. He then seems to be heading for a place called ''The Farm''. After completing the ritual, the woodsmen disappear and Evil Cooper awakens. Back in 1945, the explosion of the first atomic bomb in New Mexico sets off a series of important events. A strange entity creates BOB as well as numerous other creatures. As a response to this, the Giant and a robust female create a golden bubble with Laura Palmer inside and send it down to Earth. Back in 1956, several of the woodsmen appear in New Mexico. One of them enters a radio station, killing a secretary and a menacing a disc-jockey. He proceeds to spread a cryptic message on air that makes several local residents, who are listening to the radio, lose consciousness. One of these residents is a young girl that has just been on a date with a classmate. Meanwhile, a strange creature hatches from an egg in the desert of New Mexico, flies to the young girl's bedroom and crawls into her mouth. Once the creature is inside the young girl, the murdering woodsman leaves the radio station, killing the disc-jockey in the process.

Analysis: In my opinion, the explosion of the atomic bomb led to the creation of the ultimate form of evil. This creature that gives birth to BOB seems to be the same creature that killed the young couple in the first episode and might be the entity referred to as ''mother'' in the third episode. As a response to this and in order to keep things in balance, the Giant and the wife create a creature that is going to become Laura Palmer. The young couple in New Mexico must be Laura Palmer's future parents, Leland and Sarah Palmer. There are two things that seem to be happening at the same time. The creature that is crawling inside Sarah Palmer's mouth has been sent by the Giant and the wife and is going to become Laura Palmer. At the same time, the woodsmen are preparing a counter-strike and hypnotizing the locals in order to prepare for BOB's arrival who is going to possess Leland Palmer which isn't shown on screen. This explains why Laura Palmer, who was supposed to be an example of purity, has become a fragile soul that has lost parts of its innocence when she got contaminated with BOB via Leland Palmer's semen. Laura Palmer is therefore both an angel and a demon. With this knowledge, she is obviously a threat to BOB which is the reason why he contaminated her and later on tried to possess her. Since he was unable to possess her, he killed her but instead of destroying her, she was sent to the Black Lodge and separated into two distinct entities representing her good and her evil side: doppelganger. The woodsmen in the episode are victims of the explosion of the atomic bomb who haven't found their peace of mind and seem to be supporting BOB and the evil entity to get their revenge for the horrible things that have happened to them. The presence of the woodsman in the prison in the first episode and in the morgue in the seventh episode means that BOB alias Evil Cooper are informed about everything that is going on. Leland Palmer asked the Good Cooper in the Back Lodge to find Laura Palmer. Bringing her back to life in her purest form would mean that BOB and Evil Cooper are in danger and that's why they, their numerous associates and the woodsmen are threatening Douglas Jones, who is Good Cooper's host. This means that BOB's nemesis isn't Dale Cooper but Laura Palmer. The former represents the evil that men do and the latter the good that men do. This means that the strange entity that created BOB could be the devil while the Giant who created Laura Palmer could be God.

Description: The eighth episode is unlike any other Twin Peaks episode. It's extremely surreal and reminds of David Lynch's early works but also of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey and David Cronenberg's The Fly with a touch of Ed Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space. and similar vintage science-fiction movies. The episode is going to be extremely divisive. Those who want a coherent plot and a return to the classic characters of Twin Peaks might be so confused about this episode that they will give up on the series. Those who like all the works of David Lynch and like experimental and surrealist cinema will celebrate this episode as a milestone. David Lynch is taking a big risk but revolutions have always come with great risks. And this is what this episode actually is: a revolution in the history of film-making.

Favorite scene: It's impossible to point out a specific scene. This episode is the best, most original and most revolutionary hour of film-making that has ever appeared on television. You have to experiment it multiple times in one shot. David Lynch has written history and left a gigantic heritage with this unique piece of art.

Eraserhead: The Return

[TouchTheGarlicProduction · 10/10 · 25 June 2017]

This is the first, last, and only review that I will write without a rating. Why? Because I honestly don't know how to put a number to what I just saw (EDIT: after watching it a few more times, I gave it a ten). This part of the Return was, as Showtime CEO David Nevins described the season, "the pure heroin version of Lynch." I'm almost kind of glad that we have two weeks before the next part, because I need time to process what I just saw. It was brilliant, dizzying, discombobulating, surreal, slow, horrifying, and above all strange. It felt more like a revival of Eraserhead than Twin Peaks.

The average viewer is definitely not going to like this instalment. I'm not even sure if I liked it. What I do know is that I was on the edge of my seat the entire time and I saw at least fifty images that are sure to stick with me for the rest of my life. For that and that alone this episode is brilliant. But I should also hasten to add that as strange and vexing as this episode was, at no time did I feel like it was just being random or strange for the sake of strangeness. Most every scene had some form of symbol that had occurred before in the return, and now having seen them all again for an hour, I feel like I have a slightly better understanding of their significance and relationships with each other. As Donna said to James in the Pilot; "the more I learn about it the more it all starts to make some kind of horrible sense."

So if you want something that continues the story in any way, this Part will disappoint and perhaps annoy you. However, if you are willing to sit back and let yourself be swept along for the ride, you will emerge an hour later dazed, confused, disoriented, and a little stunned, but certain that you just saw something completely and utterly unique.

I'm in shock.

[CaptainTudmoke · 10/10 · 25 June 2017]

This is gonna be a divisive one.

This whole season's been divisive, of course—a quick peek at the IMDb reviews for the early episodes will tell you that much. This is different, though. Last episode was a bright light of comprehensibility in Lynch's impenetrable darkness, featuring more plot progression and character development than any episode of the new season to date. This, on the other hand, is the most incomprehensible hour of television I've ever seen.

It's beautiful, of course. There's a sequence that takes the conceit of the creation sequence from Terrence Malick's flawed magnum opus The Tree of Life, swaps out creation for decay, and adds some Eraserhead-esque imagery and Penderecki music for good measure. It's like nothing I've ever seen before, on television or otherwise. There's a few scenes that are obviously crucial to the mythology, featuring the Giant (in his first appearance since the opening scene of the season) along with an outside view of Jeffries' "convenience store", but I have absolutely no idea what bearing any of it has on the story at large. That's by design, of course. I suspect that no one, not me, not you, not Kyle MacLachlan, no one but David Keith Lynch has an inkling of what any of this truly means. It's his dream, and the viewers are just psychoanalysts hopelessly out of their league.

This is quite possibly the greatest hour of television I have ever experienced. It is also aggressively anti-television in its form and function. There are no reviews up for this episode yet, but I suspect that once IMDb's "2-3 business days" are up, there will be quite a few, many of which will say that Lynch has absolutely lost his mind. This is a ludicrous statement. He's never had one to begin with, and that's why, for the past 40 years, his work has enthralled and confused everyone who's had the good fortune to stumble upon it.

This is the water, and this is the well. Drink full, and descend. The horse is the white of the eyes, and dark within.

10 to go.

Maximum Lynchification

[bholland2014 · 26 June 2017]

David Lynch: We need to Lynch things up. *Presses Lynchification button*

Producers: Lynch! Hey, Lynch! You're transcending too hard! Release the button!

David Lynch: *Lynch's spirit re-enters his body* No, no. That was just the right amount.

Producers: *Hypnotized* Yes. Yes, that was just the right amount.

An hour of television to remember for the ages.

[ollie1939-97-957994 · 10/10 · 26 June 2017]

Well, wow! After a return to what seemed like a normal episode by Twin Peaks standards last week, Lynch seemed to deliberately punished the audience this week by delivering a wholly surreal experience, derived from some of the director's earlier work such as Eraserhead. Reviewing an episode of a show is extremely difficult for me to do. Whilst I have rated individual episodes of TV on IMDb before, I have never properly reviewed one before. Its hard to review an episode of a show as it is only a small fragment of the bigger picture. However, this episode was something completely out of this world that will likely alienate some but will captivate those who enjoy completely surreal trips (think the ending of 2001). My 10/10 rating comes primarily as Lynch correctly predicted, that television is the new art-house. It may not offer the intense narrative that something like Breaking Bad's Ozzymandies or GOT's Battle of the Bastards might have but this was an utterly enthralling hour of television that comes across as one of the most original and thrilling spectacles that even top some recent cinematic experiences. The only way I can describe this episode without spoiling it is imagine what David Lynch's version of the creation sequence from the Tree of Life would look like. Completely horrific and beautiful all at the same time.

I have seen some negative ratings from users who seem to give every episode of this show a 1/10. My response to this is if you don't like it, don't watch it. Lynch has always been well known for delivering bizarre and abstract art so I don't see why people who are fans of Lynch's work are so hostile to this new show when it is simply a continuation of everything that he has done thus far. In terms of surrealism though, this may top both Eraserhead and Inland Empire.

How this episode will ultimately tie in to the rest of the series remains a mystery (although it certainly does give vague hints). This episode only delivers further proof that this is certainly not the same Twin Peaks from 1990-1991. It's Lynch's baby and it's one that is so bizarre, that it might be genius! Bravo to Showtime for allowing Lynch to have total creative control and I look forward to seeing what comes next.

My mouth was wide open!

[suvechhabose · 9/10 · 12 January 2021]

First half was pretty good , finding out things is a pleasant feeling indeed.The second half felt like an episode of twilight zone ,(the original one) & am happy beyond words for it.The eerie high pitched sounds can't be explained in simple writing,when the bomb exploded ,the audio sent sudden shots of electricity through my veins.. Goosebumps , people.Goosebumps.



In TV , this is the best example of pure surrealism;And anybody saying it was bad , well let me put my thought, ' A director tried his own imagination in his own tv show after 25 years ', Its a win.Its a win of art in its purest form cause i know today's dimwit netflix directors who can come up with one seasons plot won't even explain how terror/evil first arrived on their limited web show& their next season takes 2 more years to shoot and even after taking such a long time ,their stories are not convincing anymore. Its true and you know it. The giant started reminding me of Dr. Oppenheimer from season 3 ep1 ,we saw him wearing a suit and it was also a blacknwhite scene. Pure genius Mr lynch.I can rewatch it thousands of time.

By far the weirdest episode in television history. I--of course--loved it.

[akoronthebastard · 10/10 · 26 June 2017]

This review will be simple as I can't put all my thoughts into this.

This was pure unadulterated lynch in one whole hour. It tells us everything yet tells us nothing. Lynch's portrayal of birth of the modern evil and purity. Dark surrealism at it's finest. It's like if you binged on the original Twin Peaks, watched 2001: A space odyssey, watched Eraserhead twice, then had a fever dream after.

Just watch it for yourself. It'll definitely be divisive among the community. You either straight-up love or hate it. Either get or don't get it.

It's just Art.

Unbelievable.

[kamille-roboter · 10/10 · 26 June 2017]

Maybe the greatest thing ever aired on television, a mystifying, terrifying, haunting, beautiful, mindbending trip into the origins of this world. Tying the birth of a new, unbalanced evil to the first nuclear activity is brilliant, not exactly new in the realm of literature, but the way Lynch takes us to that place is one unlike anything I have ever seen. I'm fairly familiar with surrealist filmmaking, I adore Deren, Brakhage, Bunuel and many more, but this was easily some of the best and most creative I have ever seen. Lynch uses the knowledge the viewer has about this world until now and chooses deliberately not to destroy the mystery, but instead gives us a ride to a place of feelings, of things that are frankly indescribable, yet still deliver context in the logic of his world. I will watch this many, many more times in the days and weeks to come, but until now I just want to congratulate Lynch and Showtime for managing to create something like this.

This is the origin of the Black Lodge

[mickr7an · 10/10 · 26 June 2017]

I don't think I'm going to spoil anything as it may not be possible in such an abstract episode. I wasn't sure at first if I liked it but I watched it a second time. Why? I watched Lost Highway (originally my least favorite Lynch movie) a second time just to find out why I thought it was so bad and suddenly understood everything and it's now my favorite Lynch movie. Lynch has a bizarre and surreal dark visual language but he is usually telling quite a straight forward tale in his roundabout way. Although I didn't really understand it first time round I loved the visuals and the dark world inside the atomic explosion. I believe Lynch is showing us that the first successful atomic bomb created the Black Lodge and the evil Bob inside it – or at least opened the gateway between it and our world. We see what looks like the creature from the first episode that killed the two kids and Bob who escapes and murders several innocent people.

If you thought the ending of 2001 was a visual spectacle then you'll love this. If you hated it because it made no sense then you're probably not going to like this episode. And if you think this has nothing to do with Twin Peaks then you never really understood what Twin Peaks was about in the first place.

It was great to see the giant return, although bizarrely he doesn't look a day older. And also a great Nine Inch Nails performance. Possibly one of the most stunning hours of television I've ever seen.

Easily the Most Divisive Episode... I Loved It.

[aidan-callari · 9/10 · 26 June 2017]

With this week's episode of Twin Peaks: The Return, all of the viewers were divided right down the middle. Many would rate it with 1 star or 10 stars. This episode was such an extremely surreal and bizarre episode, that it is shocking it was aired on television. I LOVED it. To recap:

We open with a scene of Evil Coop and Ray driving in the car from the prison. Evil Coop tells Ray he needs information. Ray says he "needs to take a leak", and Coop grabs a gun from the dashboard compartment. He walks up to him, fires, and realizes it was filled with blanks! Ray shoots him in the stomach multiple times, seemingly shooting him dead. Suddenly, swarms of spirits which look a lot like the ash-covered guy from previous episodes. They pull out what looks like Bob's "essence" from Evil Coop's chest. Ray drives away, and calls Phillip Jeffries on speed dial. Ray tells him that he's not sure if Coop is dead. Sure enough, he sits up, alive.

Flash back to 1945 in New Mexico. We see an extended sequence of the first nuclear bomb explosion test. This scene is quite long and drawn out. We see the inside of the explosion, and we see quite beautiful imagery. We also cut back to the Roadhouse and see the Nine Inch Nails performing. Cut back to New Mexico, and we see the explosion has seemingly created those ash-covered spirits. Also, interestingly, they are swarming a convenience store. Could this be the one from Fire Walk With Me?

We also see the purple sea from Episode Three, and we see a building on top of a rock. We pan into it, and see The Giant and a lady listening to music. We see the bell- like structure from the room floating in outer space, also from Episode Three. The Giant walks upstairs to find a projection of a previous scene which shows the creature from the box in Episode One, seemingly creating Bob. The Giant begins to float, and he creates a golden orb. The lady who was listening to music comes in, holds the orb, and we see an image of Laura Palmer within. She kisses the orb, and releases it into the world.

We flash forward to 1956, and we see a teenage boy and girl walking, seemingly after a dance. She picks up a heads-up penny, saying it means good luck. Cut to a couple driving, when they encounter the ash-covered spirits. One of them, simply called "The Woodsman" asks the man for "a light". This scares them, and he drives away. The Woodsman walks over to a radio station. The teenage boy drops off his girlfriend at her home, and kisses her. The Woodsman enters the radio station, and asks the woman inside for "a light". He proceeds to crush her skull. He enters the recording booth, and crushes his skull. He takes over the microphone, and recites a poem into it: "This is the water, and this is the well. Drink full, and descend. The horse is the white of the eyes, and dark within". I have no idea what this means. But, all the people listening to the station suddenly pass out, including the teenage girl from before. A half-bug, half-frog creature hatches from an egg, and flies into the girl's bedroom. It then crawls into her mouth, and she swallows it. WHAT? The Woodsman then leaves the radio station, and the credits roll.

This episode was hands-down the most bizarre and surreal. If you hate it, I completely understand. If you love it, I completely understand. I loved it. It introduced some crazy new origins for Bob, the creature from the box, and maybe even the Lodges. The way I interpret the glowing orb scene is that The Giant sent her into the world as a counterpart to Bob, maybe to stop him, which she obviously did not. This whole episode was chaotic, extremely bizarre, and surreal. Sorry I keep repeating that, but that's the only way to describe it. I'm gonna need this two week break to analyze this episode.

+Beautiful imagery +Badalamente's score +Crazy horror elements +Interesting additions to lore +Evil Coop is free of Bob +The Giant is back

10/10

what television could have been like

[bartolomeudebensafrim · 10/10 · 30 June 2017]

this is by far the most precious and beautiful moment in TV history. also seriously disturbing and frightening, but what a pleasure to watch.

because cinema moves so much money, it is the most corrupted of arts (it is on the verge of extinction). people like Lynch are slowly disappearing. may this series be a beacon of salvation. lets not allow the dream and the power of imagination to fade away. lets not allow our balls to shrink in front of computer screens, comfort and impatience. starry skies, old dusty taverns, writing notes to strangers, love, pain, bathing in the sea at night and diving into those who open up their heads and hearts to us. the miracle of being alive.

the most profound thank you, mr Lynch.

Lynch's Next Film

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 26 June 2017]

What the heck. When you're a director of such bizarre content as David Lynch is, you can take your nightmares and throw them out there. I have contended that he does that. Waking up in the middle of the night, he jots down the strains of his mystic violin and reproduces them on a script upon awakening. Other than the beginning, where bad- Cooper is shot and then mended by wraiths, we are dealing in pure surrealism. We have some of the consummate fears produced: nuclear war, zombies, insects crawling into our mouths, dark shadowy figures in the woods, a moon shining through clouds, a house in the middle of nowhere. It's as if he wanted to find a way to get this all out without a whole new movie. Count me wrong if this somehow becomes connected with the town of Twin Peaks. The big thing for me is that when it comes to a traditional intertwining of events, forget it. Because this is unlike anything we've seen before, we may as well absorb it and enjoy it---or not!

A feast for eyes, ears and senses

[lareval · 7/10 · 5 October 2021]

Even if I personally have my own reservations about this special hour, I must say this daring outing deserves an applause just for being this artsy brave.

Fascinating and Tedious arm wrestle, and Tedious wins

[cherold · 4/10 · 11 July 2017]

While IMDb reviewers are inclined to either give this ten stars and declare it the best thing ever put on TV or give it one star and say it's not art and betrays the Twin Peaks experience, I can see both sides.

This episode is certainly outside the realm of the series. After a few minutes following the Twin Peaks story, we go back in time. Then there's a super slow-mo of an atomic explosion, which is kind of fascinating, a sort of gray scribbly light show, which goes on forever, a scene with a cool silent movie look and a glacial pace, and a sort of Lynchian version of a 50s horror movie that is effectively creepy and disturbing but once again extremely slow moving.

Like a number of people here, the episode made me think of Eraserhead. I hated Eraserhead. It is just soooooo boring. I like Lynch when he mixes the weirdness with an actual story, as in Blue Velvet or the original Twin Peaks, but when we get to the Lynch of Eraserhead of Inland Empire I just want to run screaming into the night.

Even though I didn't enjoy this episode, I feel some of its harshest critics go overboard. First off, it's silly to declaim, "this is not art!" Of course it's art. It may or may not be good art, but it's art. I don't like Philip Glass or Jackson Pollock, but I don't insist they're not art. This episode has a distinct vision and ultimately fits neatly in the Lynch oeuvre.

As for whether it is appropriate as part of the Twin Peaks series, well, I'm on the fence. Unlike a lot of fans of the original series, I really like The Return, and much of the weirdness works for me.

Complaining that David Lynch did something that was "too weird" or even that something in Twin Peaks is "too weird" just seems like the wrong criticism. It's *all* "too weird." It's as though people are complaining that the series doesn't have a thermostat that allows them to set the weirdness level they're comfortable with.

I didn't enjoy this episode, and I don't want to watch it again, but I don't consider a betrayal akin to something like the infamous Terrence and Philip episode that began season 2 of South Park. I'm *still* mad about that. I'm already over the disappointment of this Twin Peaks oddity.

But I admit, if Lynch does any more of these I might give up on the series. I'm not sure I can put up with this more than once.

A mesmerising slap in the face to the reality TV generation

[Douglas-strien · 10/10 · 27 June 2017]

Firstly, my interpretation of the episode itself: A backstory to the creation of the evil entity known as BOB, or possibly the re-birth of this same entity. Evil Coop was previously glad of having BOB with him – how much will the loss of BOB affect him?

Was the entity which spawned BOB the Mother of all evil? Did the giant create Laura to counter this evil? Or was he able to finally release Laura's spirit now that BOB had been extracted from Evil Coop? Are the "woodsmen" souls that were "captured" by BOB? Or are they foot-soldiers of evil?

Is the little girl a young Sarah Palmer? The creature crawling into her mouth could explain her black-lodge connection/psychic abilities.

I loved this episode, because I was happy to allow myself to be taken on this journey. Sometimes you just have to submit to the artist's creation and not try to understand it as you are experiencing it. The combination of sound & vision during & after the atomic blast were a part of that journey. You're seeing and hearing the atomic chaos on screen. The amplified and sometimes excruciating audio/visuals were, I believe, intended to be confusing, uncomfortable and painful to watch/hear. That's what atomic bombs are: the antithesis of calm, natural order.

Secondly, a question to those who somehow feel "betrayed" by Lynch in this season of Twin Peaks: What the hell were you expecting??! If you are a fan of Lynch's work, you must know that every time you sit down to watch a Lynch creation, you will most likely be carried on a journey you were not expecting. Even if you "loved seasons 1 & 2", you must know that the story has evolved. The characters have evolved. The times in which we are watching TV have evolved. Our World has evolved! We cannot hope to re-connect to the early 1990's and enjoy the nostalgia of that time. Time does not stand still! I hear many people saying "I want to be entertained" – then I suggest you switch over and watch something else. People have a habit of being critical of things that are different. That they do not understand. Sometimes you have to be honest with yourselves and realise that the fault does not always lie in the material, rather it lies with your inability to comprehend it. That's not to say people who do not understand it are necessarily unable to, but sometimes you need to work at it. Gather more information/views/material. Or just make a decision that it is simply not worth the effort.

The legacy of Twin Peaks endures, not only because of the characters and story lines, but because people feel challenged by the subtext. The mystery. It has and continues to leave a lasting impression. Not everyone will enjoy the lack of transparency into the thoughts & vision of the creator. Many people in this day and age want answers to everything. They want everything handed to them without putting in the effort. Without earning it. And when they don't get it, it must be someone else's fault. Some introspection is called for.

Art?

[alencar_darwin · 10/10 · 26 June 2017]

An origin episode. (This is not a review). I cannot believe that I was the only Twin Peaks fan (and an admirer of David Lynch's work in general) that was expecting an episode like Part 8. Yet, people complain: "this is not art", "this is crazy", "is not Twin Peaks", etc.. Was it courageous of Lynch to make an episode such as this? I don't think so. Was natural. A natural evolution of the narrative style and story (back story) presentation in the voice and vision of Lynch. Yet, people complain. Apparently art must be stagnant, fixed in the status quo in which most are comfortable, mindlessly regurgitating the same again and again.

Personally, so far, I have only one complain. Audrey Horne. Where is she? Apart from that I can humbly admire and acknowledge the greatness of a show different from everything I've ever seen and, perhaps, will see on TV, and that actually (in my opinion) exists in the same realm of the so-called "high art film".

Are people unable to even read images in our Age? Must every little detail be explained in plain words so most can follow? What's happening to us? Interpret, challenge one's mind, create lines of thought from the information seen. Is thinking reaching its demise? It's all in the images. Almost spelled out. It's all in the images. Attention is required. Make an effort. Or should Lynch have left things in statu quo ante for your amusement?

Twin Peaks Meets 2001 Meets Eraserhead

[dhughes-84819 · 10/10 · 26 June 2017]

I've never written anything on IMDb, but I felt that I had to now. Firstly, don't attempt to watch this episode if you are the least bit sleepy, as I was after refereeing soccer all day, because you'll have to wake back up, and rewind it to where you fell asleep to figure out what the hell just happened. I know professional reviewers do not read other reviews before writing them, but since I'm not a professional reviewer, that doesn't apply to me. I was glad to see other reviewers mention both Eraserhead and 2001, because I saw bits of both of those films in this episode. However, the first nuclear test depicted in this episode reminded me visually and aurally of the scene in 2001 where they discovered the Monolith on the Moon, and the creature that hatched from the egg reminded me of the worm-like child from Eraserhead. I, like many fans of the original Twin Peaks, was very disappointed when the series was cancelled in 1991, because the show was not about "who killed Laura Palmer," but about evil in this world. At the end of the series the evil was now in Dale Cooper, or Dale Cooper's doppelgänger as we know now, and I wanted to know what would happen next. Fortunately, over 25 years later I am finding out.

Episode 8

[Prismark10 · 8/10 · 13 July 2017]

How can you describe Episode 8? It might be pure David Lynch but let us not forget Mark Frost in all of this.

It all begins conventionally enough. Evil Cooper has escaped from prison and joins up with Ray but they both double cross each other.

Ray shoots Evil Cooper and before finishing him off we see strange entities emerging from the woods who surround Evil Cooper. Are they going to devour him or fix him? It seems these strange beings bring him back to life.

We then go to the Bang Bang bar where the Nine Inch Nails play one of their smaller gigs.

After that we enter a surreal wordless sequence which is exposition David Lynch style. The first atomic bomb being tested in White Sands, New Mexico. The explosion has led to the manifestation of Bob as well as other equal creatures.

We then see the Giant with a female, there are strange sounds and we see a golden bubble being created with an image of Laura Palmer.

As we go to 1956 we see gasoline soaked woodsmen asking random strangers for a light and the are possessed of pure evil as they spread message through the airwaves.

I have little idea what it all means but it all adds up to being oddly visually and sonically unnerving as well as invigorating and disturbing.

Drink full and descend

[rowanmasters · 10/10 · 28 June 2017]

This is without a doubt the best hour of television I've ever seen. If you don't like or understand David Lynch how did you make it this far into the new season? The way I felt while watching Part 8 will stick with me forever. I was absolutely stunned at what I was seeing. The visuals were incredible but more importantly it expanded our understanding of the bigger picture.

What I love about David Lynch is that he couldn't care less if people love or hate his work. His art is as pure and honest as you can possibly get. 'The Return' is a masterpiece in so many ways, it makes the original two seasons look like a joke in comparison (and I adore the original seasons). I cannot thank Showtime and Mr Lynch enough for this experience.

There's no way I'm rating this

[johanlundberghik · 4 February 2022]

Holy mother of Giant, what an episode. I was completely in awe of the dark ambience and visual storytelling during the entire hour of runtime of this twisted backstory. The fact that Laura Palmer is an good spirit, the opposute of BOB, is something i never thought of before this. As mentioned the Giant being God is something that was foreshadowed in the title of S2E1 "May the Giant be with you", whoever the Wife is, I'm all for it, she added to the lynchian vibe perfectly. I sure hope the teenage couple is Leland and Sarah Palmer and gosh golly I hope Dougie gets a break.

Lynch, you are the master of creatong intricate stories while giving the viewer a chance to interpret it how ever we want.

Origins. The Real Dark Heart of Twin Peaks

[xecutionrecords · 10/10 · 27 June 2017]

I read recently in a well known horror magazine one writer state that David Lynch had never made a horror film. I was amazed & confused at this observation as at the heart of almost all of Lynch's work the underlying themes are just that. Rewind to Eraserhead, a movie so unsettling & dark that people are still discussing it 40 years from when it first spewed out it's goo onto our screens. Twin Peaks has always been a supernatural show, from it's pilot days it was always pretty clear that something wasn't right about those trees. Fire Walk with me, imo, Lynch's most obvious Horror movie cemented the fact that Twin Peaks was more than cherry pie & soap opera comedy, there was something very insidious & other worldly at play in the sycamores, something the film coldly paints as the ultimate evil. Sadly with the cancellation of the show & the Luke warm reception of it's darker bed fellow, Lynch put his beast in the cage & no one expected it to be unleashed again.

Now we have The Revival, a show so clearly drawn from the 25 years of fever dreams Lynch has had waiting for a chance to paint this masterpiece. Yes, it's a masterpiece & this episode especially, so the hate mongers out there claiming to be lynch fans & booing every time a scene doesn't make sense to them can shout all they want but trust me in 25 years from now, people will still be watching this in awe. This is the daddy of the surreal treating us to something so uncommercial yet so special that if you know the showtime exec that green lit it you would have to buy him a slice of pie.

Episode 8 is the origin of the Lodge, a peek into the multiple worlds that exist outside our own. This is what fans of the show should have been expecting or at the least wanting, it's not clear & definable in any way but when has Lynch been anything other than a provider of images & ideas. It's always been down to the viewer to make their own definitions. It's nice also to see Him draw influence from other film makers in particular Kubrick, another master of ideas who always paid more attention to the detail of the frame than the definition of what was going on in front of it. This is not a show for everyone but how anybody can watch this & not be sucked in is as alien to me as the strange figures that emerge out of the New Mexico desert. The last 20 minutes of this episode are truly horrifying and at the same time it's impossible to look away. Lynch finds a way to make things so ugly look so beautiful. This is true visionary film making, there's a reason for every frame of it, it's not just some art school 1st year's attempt at surrealism, this moves the story on in ways no other film maker could have done. The point of watching this is to be confused & to try & find your own answers amongst the madness. Lynch will never make it straight forward when he's steering the ship.

Do not tune in to this show if you want linear story telling. You need intelligence & patience with this work and if you feel the need to bad mouth it because you can't be bothered to try & understand it then maybe you should rethink weather or not you were a David Lynch fan in the first place & reach for that off button, we won't miss you. Episode 8, Visually it's Lynch's finest hour.

My fave

[catschasemice9594 · 10/10 · 21 April 2018]

Lynch uses this hour as as exposition to show the origins of The Black Lodge. There is a nuclear test. The universe tears. Mutation produces a frog-scarab. Time bends. Space contorts. This is much more fun than having a character explain the details of this plot. It is reminiscent of Mallick. However, I think this is closer to Von Trier's Anti Christ. I might buy this episode just to keep it as a piece of video art. It is beautiful, weird and disturbing. I felt like I'd been pushed off a visual cliff.

The Best.....EVER

[nikhil_mi2 · 10/10 · 2 July 2017]

I am writing this review just to express my Joy after watching this episode. I have not seen such a thing on TV yet. David Lynch has taken weirdness to a whole different level and its mind boggling but Beautiful. It must be watched at least once to see what the Creative Human mind can achieve.

1x08

[formotog · 7/10 · 14 September 2020]

14/09/2020 Well. I mean how on earth do I review something like that. It's actually a great shame this wasn't a feature, and possibly the worst thing about this episode. It was a trip, that's for sure. There is so much more to the Black Lodge than just BOB, and this conspiracy seems to date all the way back to 1945. I think it's apt that the test that preceded one of the most cowardly, evil acts in all of human history was what seems to have forged the Black Lodge, or established the connection to it. The story was told through stunning visuals and soundtrack. The Kubrick influences are pretty overt. It's incredibly hard to review this kind of episode because 1) it's not exactly something you see every day 2) as you're watching it's hard to have a grasp on what's actually happening, and 3) it's the kind of thing that will almost certainly be better upon rewatching it. I absolutely applaud Lynch for not being afraid to ever do something like this, and I think it's not surprise that it was the best episode so far. It created a dark, surreal, brilliant atmosphere. I also believe that it has possibly foreshadowed some events, in a 'history repeats itself' kinda way, the same way there was the scene in the last episode of the original show with Heidi that mirrored the scene from the pilot

Mid 8

05/11/2020 I watched this again because I mean can you blame me. Now that I know about the show and everything, this was less of an absolute assault on the brain. In fact, it was a lot slower than I remember. The creating of Laura Palmer scene was absolutely brilliant, the soundtrack overall was amazing, the visuals and camerawork were both excellent. The constant dualities throughout the episode is great, and in true Lynch fashion, it tells what's actually a very simple story in a very abstract way. The start of the episode was fairly slow, and even during the nuclear test, it kinda dragged a bit. The Laura creation scene was the start of where it got really really good, but that was about halfway through the episode, so a fair amount was rather lethargic, which is a shame because so much about this episode was so amazing. Definitely the wildest most unconventional episode of television I'll ever watch

High 7

Overly surrealistic self indulgement

[rando99 · 1/10 · 18 July 2017]

Really the worst episode thus far. Sooo many ultra long time consuming (really pointless) scenes to fill the hour without really progressing the storyline...beginning with a full nine inch nails scream set which wasted several minutes of storyline. The atomic bomb test backstory was majorly hurt by the seemingly endless ripoff of the 2001 Space Odyssey trip thru the "wormhole" sequence ala, Altered States. I had the thought to FFwd thru all this excess as it was boring, but then I thought I might miss something...well I didn't...then I got sucked into the "drink from the well" littany for the next 5 minutes and at the end of the episode felt like I was ripped off of an hour of life I'll never get back. This really wasn't about Twin Peaks. Oh I'm sure somehow they'll tie it in, but it was the most pretentious episode...I think what you would call a "filler episode".