Twin Peaks (TV Series) Part 17 (2017) User Reviews

Twin Peaks, third season, seventeenth episode: The past dictates the future

[kluseba · 10/10 · 13 September 2017]

Seventeenth episode: The past dictates the future / The Return, Part XVII

Content: Gordon tells Albert of a secret plan to find "Judy", an extreme negative force, and is informed that Cooper is headed for Twin Peaks. The remaining coordinates lead Cooper's doppelgänger to "Jack Rabbit's Palace". He is transported to the Fireman, then to the Sheriff's Department, and mistaken for the real Cooper. While talking to the doppelgänger, Frank receives a call from the real Cooper. The doppelgänger draws a gun but is shot by Lucy. Cooper, the FBI and the Mitchums arrive. Woodsmen tear at the doppelgänger's body, releasing BOB's orb. Freddie knocks out Chad, who had escaped his cell, and smashes BOB's orb with several punches. Cooper puts the Owl Cave ring on the doppelgänger's finger, sending him to the Black Lodge. Naido transforms into Diane. Cooper unlocks a door at the Great Northern, where Mike takes him to Jeffries, who transports Cooper to the night Laura died. Cooper prevents Laura's murder; in the morning, her corpse vanishes. As he leads her through the woods, she disappears. Sarah screams and smashes Laura's photo.

Analysis: This episode must be seen as the finale of the series while the eighteenth episode should be interpreted as an epilogue and open ending which is a typical trademark for David Lynch's nightmarish works. It becomes obvious that the Fireman is trying to trick Evil Cooper by sending him to the Sheriff's Department where he is going to be defeated by Freddie instead of letting him unite with Judy who possesses Sarah Palmer. When Bob is defeated, this event creates a rift in the time-space continuum, hence Dale Cooper's superimposed face. Dale Cooper tries to take advantage of Judy's momentary weakness by travelling back in time to save Laura Palmer which means that the Fireman's angel survives while Judy can't feast on Sarah Palmer's garmonbozia because her daughter never died. Just before Dale Cooper manages to lead Laura Palmer into the White Lodge to save her, Judy leaves Sarah Palmer's body who has a hysterical breakdown and gathers its last energies to kidnap Laura Palmer into a different space-time continuum. This final action leads to a draw as neither the White Lodge led by the Fireman, nor the Black Lodge led by Judy win the eternal battle between good and evil. The events in the seventeenth episode basically nullify everything that happened in the time-line we followed since the beginning.

Description: This episode is a brilliant conclusion that leaves no questions unanswered in my opinion. All important characters reunite in Twin Peaks for a finale filled with action, emotion and tension. On one side, Evil Cooper is defeated, Bob repelled, Teresa Banks, Laura Palmer and Maddie Ferguson saved, Leland Palmer delivered and Sarah Palmer freed from Judy. On the other side, Laura Palmer gets kidnapped into another time-space continuum, so she can't defeat Judy. Ben and Jerry Horne will reunite again after the latter got lost in the woods. Richard Horne was never born because Bob didn't possess Leland Palmer, Josie Packard, Windom Earle and Dale Cooper. This means that Josie Packard and Windom Earle survive as well. Diane Evans comes back to reality after Bob has been repelled and can be with her lover Dale Cooper. The story ends well for Norma and Big Ed who can finally marry while Nadine turns the page thanks to Doctor Jacoby. Gordon Cole, Tammy Preston and Albert Rosenfield can write the final dossier about the events in Twin Peaks. Things turn back to normal for those working at the Sheriff's station: Bobby Briggs, Andy Brennan, Tommy ''Hawk'' Hill, Lucy Moran and Frank Truman. Chad Broxford is punished for his wrongdoings. Harry Truman is still sick. The Log Lady is still dead. The only persons whose fates aren't clearly revealed are Garland Briggs' and Audrey Horne's. It still isn't clear whether Garland Briggs died in an accident or was killed by Evil Cooper because he knew too much. If the former is the case, he might still be dead but if the latter is the case, he might still be alive. On one side, Audrey Horne might still be stuck in her own reality due to the conflicting time- space continua and several traumas from the past such as the explosion at the bank that wasn't changed but it could also be possible that she returns to live a normal life since she has never been raped by Evil Cooper and Bob.

Favorite scene: There were many outstanding scenes. My favourite moment was Dale Cooper's moving farewell speech to everyone present at the Sheriff's Department. This moment was a perfect conclusion to the original time-line of events portrayed in the first three seasons of Twin Peaks so far.

I consider this the real conclusion of Twin Peaks, with Part 18 as a weird epilogue.

[TouchTheGarlicProduction · 10/10 · 3 September 2017]

I have the feeling almost everyone is going to hate Part 18. I myself hated it, though I can also recognize its artistic brilliance. It isn't just an abstract ending, but one that seems almost totally disconnected from everything that came before. Luckily, Part 17 works well as an ending, if an unexpected and strange one.

The first half of Part 17 builds the tension brilliantly with every plot converging on the Sheriff's Station and everything coming to a head all at once. It's really incredible how all the most major threads dovetailed into this one location at the same moment without it being obvious that it was going to happen. Once everyone is there and the tension has been built to to fever pitch, the whole thing climaxes with the strangest, most intense fight scene I've ever seen. My only real complaint about the first half of the episode is that it moves at such a breakneck pace that all the satisfaction of certain reunions is lost.

The second half of the episode is Lynch at full throttle, delivering surreal and unique visuals back-to-back at breakneck pace, building towards a surprising and ballsy twist that re-contextualizes the entirety of Twin Peaks in a way that I never could have expected. The use of archive footage in the end of this episode is stunning and unprecedented to say the least.

I might never watch Part 18 again. For me, this is the conclusion of Twin Peaks. Though there are plenty of massive loose ends (such as Audrey), Part 17 takes most of the major plots in The Return to their endpoint and closes in a way that is ambiguous but has specific implications.

I couldn't breathe

[sackofwhine · 10/10 · 26 December 2021]

This was absolutely insane. Certainly one of the most intense hour of television I ever experienced. This entire season is such a fever dream and I mean that in the most positive way possible. I certainly felt all the emotions I could feel- excitement, happiness, sadness, fear, just an accumulation of all the things that make Twin Peaks special.

This and Episode 8 were certainly some of the highlights in Lynchs' career. He just knows how to freak you out, keep you invested and actually play with around with the TV medium. A testament to let artists be weird in popular media, let them go crazy, let them experiment. That's what life is all about .

Probably the most crowd-pleasing episode of the season

[lareval · 9/10 · 9 October 2021]

A wonderfully crafted and directed installment. One destined to please the fans (like me) who were aching for some kind of resolution. Despite the final minute of this paves the way for something darker. Plus: the dreamy theory still haunts me for what may mean to the whole series.

Part 17

[Prismark10 · 10/10 · 4 September 2017]

If it included one scene from the final episode concerning Dougie Jones, Part 17 would had been the perfect way to finish the Twin Peaks saga.

However it is the penultimate episode and includes the right balance of many of the narrative stories being wrapped up mixed with the bizarre and the surreal. We even get characters from the original Twin Peaks as footage is used from the original series and the movie Fire Walk With Me.

Everyone converges at the Sheriff's station as good Cooper and evil Cooper fight it out. It is all done so pacily with Lucy and an English drunk in the cells playing pivotal roles.

Good Cooper then enters his motel room where we revisit events of that night when Laura Palmer died, would he be able to save her from being killed?

David Lynch and Mark Frost knocked it out of the park with Parts 16 and 17.

Saitama vs Evil Cooper

[Ex3vd · 8/10 · 4 April 2018]

The One Punch-Man just beat up the Evil Cooper for good, Finally! Now we are safe and i can sleep well again, every thanks to time traveler Major Tom... ops Major Briggs and everything is fine now, but no, Cooper need to go more deeper inside the dark master distorted mind of Lynch. Now What comes next? Laura is saved, but Remember WE LIVE INSIDE A DREAM

One For The Grandkids

[trevsiegel · 10/10 · 4 September 2017]

This was such an amazing way to begin the end. I'm still thinking about the Sheriff's station scene and how great it was. Somehow Lynch made a hovering orb frightening to me. All in all this was a masterfully directed and exquisitely acted episode with awesome revelations and great story beats. The tie in to Fire Walk With Me was pure cinematic brilliance. Here's to hoping Lynch and Frost make another season soon. Also, how great is Kyle Maclachlan? Someone give this man all the Emmy's for this show!

We live inside a dream

[jimdgaglione-90251 · 10/10 · 11 November 2020]

But who is the dreamer? This episode, along with FWWM and episode 18 provide the answer. A good case can be made that the entirety of Twin Peaks, save parts of FWWM, really occur within the head of one character - "the one". Whether dream, daydream, subconscience, diary, wish, reimagining - it's all one person's attempts to deal with major trauma. And it is brilliant

Whether you want to think of it as a dream of Lynch/Frost's alone, or a dream of "the one"'s via her creators, it amounts to the same thing. Excellent storytelling about a very difficult topic with broader commentary on the natures of humanity.

I felt as though this episode tied things together very nicely. The call-backs to FWWM hopefully will have people watch and appreciate that more (because that film is really the key to understanding all of TP, and Lynch is at his least cryptic there). Of course, things cannot be tidy in Lynch-land (as they are not in life). There are never really happy endings after what Laura went through - which is why ep 18 must exist. Her emergence from any dream state will always be traumatic

It really does make sense

[Ducksnrabbits · 9/10 · 18 February 2024]

Writing this before seeing Part 18, so I could be wrong, but this episode unfolds so logically, I don't understand why others resort to praising the artistry alone or wringing their hands in bafflement. This is solid storytelling.

Remember these essential facts: we, the audience, know from Fire Walk With Me that Bob has been "with" Laura since she was a young child. We also know Bob has been inhabiting her father, Leland, for a long time, and that Laura is a deeply tortured soul before her death. And, from in the murder scene in Fire Walk With Me, we know that Bob wanted to jump from Leland into Laura, but couldn't because she put on the magic ring that keeps Bob out, even knowing that he would probably just kill her in the alternative because she's realized that Leland is Bob, and Bob is Leland.

Episode 17 reminds us of this when Good Cooper puts the ring on Evil Cooper's finger, driving out Bob despite the Woodsmen's efforts to bring him back to life. I haven't worked out why Bob emerges as a punchable ghoul bubble instead of jumping into another, non-ring wearing person, as he did when he jumped from Leland to Cooper 25 years prior, but I suspect it has something to do with whatever Major Briggs, Gordon Cole, David Bowie, and the Fireman have been up to.

Anyway, Good Cooper obviously knows about the ring, but he doesn't know about Laura's lifelong, horrific abuse prior to her murder. All he knows is that Bob-Leland killed Laura on February 23,1989. He goes back in time in order to prevent what he believes is Bob's original evil act, and the precipitating event of the whole show and Cooper's arrival in Twin Peaks. We see his face on the screen in the reunion scene because he's imagining that, by preventing Laura's death, he will never be called to Twin Peaks in the first place, will never meet any of the non-FBI people, and that a lot of wonderful things will be lost along with the unnatural bad stuff. And, on a meta level, he's right. If Laura Palmer the character never got killed, there would never have been a Twin Peaks story/show/movie/universe.

But he's also wrong, because Laura's torment when on for many years before her murder. Part 17 confirms this in the shot of Leland Palmer, back in black and white 1989, watching menacingly as Bob out the window while Laura gets on the motorcycle with James. The damage is already done, long done. That ship has sailed.

And, by preventing Laura's death that night, Cooper also might prevent her from getting the ring, so even if she didn't mysteriously vanish into the night at the end of the episode, it stands to reason that the intervention would have allowed Bob to kill off Leland and possess Laura-not a great alternative, and not the one she herself chose when given the option in Fire Walk With Me. This would also explain pretty clearly why Sarah Palmer freaks out and frantically stabs Laura's picture. She's not stabbing Laura-qua-Laura, but Bob-the-evil-entity who will kill Sarah's husband and possess her daughter, on top of the horrible damage he's already done to all of them.

Plus, in 3.8, we saw how Trinity somehow let Bob and various evils into the world back in 1945, but Cooper didn't see that and doesn't know about it. Only the Fireman knows about that, I think. So why doesn't the Fireman tell Cooper? For one thing, to really stop Bob, Cooper would have to go all the way back to 1945 and stop Trinity, which creates a problem of infinite regress. How could he stop the atomic bomb from exploding? Well, at that point, he might as well kill Hitler and prevent the Holocaust and World War II instead of having a man-to-man to talk Oppenheimer out of the Trinity test, but then we've also entered an entirely different territory, and maybe The Fireman has his reasons. Or maybe The Fireman and the forces of good just don't have that kind of power.

So why doesn't The Fireman do something else about it? Well, he does do something...Laura Palmer's existence and the entire show came from the Fireman's golden thought-bubble in 3.8. "Judy," the bigger, badder baddie even than Bob, is a sort of avatar for the larger problem of evil in the world-cruelty and suffering and all that-that extends so far beyond the confines of the show. Art can go a long way, but it's too much to ask a single show to bring about actual world peace. All it can do is lead us in the right direction.

Also, for those who are miffed that Freddy gets to punch Bob to smithereens with his magic hulk glove: who cares? He's just a mechanism, and for that, any movie trope will do. We've got the mob guys, the playboy bunnies, the soap opera stars, the dramas, the comedies...why not throw the superhero genre a bone too, and bring it into the army of cinema fighting against cruelty and sorrow?

It's all pretty logical.

A stunning first part to a two part finale

[DjDarkrai10 · 10/10 · 12 September 2021]

The episode starts of leading us to believe there will be a happy ending to this story. All the plot threads are converging and the big battle between good and evil is finally here. Freddy (the gloved guy) has a fantastic showdown with Bob (who takes the form of a massive floating black orb with bobs face in it) and everything seems good.

Then the second half kicks in, which is pure unadulterated Lynch for the last half hour of the episode. Cooper sets off on a journey through time to try and save Laura, resulting in some really interesting scenes that showcase both the convenience store and fire walk with me. I'm not entirely sure how they filmed these scenes but they were fantastic. We also get some explanation as to who Judy is, though I still don't entirely understand it.

Overall 10/10, probably my favorite up to this point. Excited to see how part 18 wraps everything up!

Part 17

[bobcobb301 · 8/10 · 3 September 2017]

Well, that was certainly an off the rails episode. We knew the way that Dale finally freed the world of the evil Cooper and Killer BOB was not going to make a lot of sense, but a gloved "hero" punching the bubble he exists in kind of seemed like the perfect Twin Peaks way to do it.

I wish we got an explanation for why the drunkard repeats everything, but after the gross scene of him ripping at his bandage, I think we got more of him than I can handle.

We had to put up with some underwhelming episodes to get to this point, but this was a darn fine episode of TP.

The past and the future

[AvionPrince16 · 7/10 · 24 March 2023]

So we know who is Judy and this is the entity that made Cooper, Briggs and Jeffries disappeared. The false Cooper went to the police station and it basically end BOB to possessed people i guess? It was pretty visual and had an interesting way to show things. But Cooper will go somewhere where he will meet Laura Palmer in the past.? I dont really know but its what happened but i didnt understand: Did Cooper saved Laura? So is the past changed and bring a new future with new consequences? I didnt really understand to be honest but it was great to see Cooper act like a normal guy. Finally. Hope the other episode will answer some questions and not bring more confusion.

I'm losing respect for Lynch.

[EddyTheMartian007 · 2/10 · 19 June 2021]

When the episode begins with Lynch, as the character he wrote for himself, saying the he hasn't gone soft where it counts (very obvious euphemism) with Tammy looking at him in a flirty way, which would be directed by Lynch himself, you know his self indulgence has gone too far. Honestly he seems like such a nice guy, but when it comes to women he seems very creepy, but this isn't the main point of criticism for this episode, it's just the set up for one of the stupidest episodes in all of Twin Peaks. Yes, even the second half of season 2.

The only good thing was giving more context to certain things and finally explaining Jião Dài, or Judy, the evil entity. Which actually means to explain things, Ah, explaining things is evil, so subtle Lynch!

Evil Cooper gets to Twin Peaks' Sheriff Department where he's greeted by Andy. Andy being Andy completely forgets that he was shown that this is a different Cooper when he was transported into the Lodge and suddenly became smart for a second. I can't stay mad at Andy though. Honestly at first I was really into this, and this entire sequence was very intense cause I felt like these characters could die, but then I realized that was stupid because nobody truly important dies in this show, like how Audrey survived the explosion from the Season 2 finale and even looks perfectly fine. Oh did you want closure with her character? Nope don't worry she was pointless like half of the storylines and characters which were just there for extremely obvious political commentary. I thought you were supposed to be subtle Lynch!

In prison we get Chad who escapes his cell, because he had a key hidden in his shoe, after drunk falls asleep even though Freddie and James would notice, but I guess they don't. What exactly was his plan here? Did he plan to get arrested so he could escape and get guns he would already have access to... for what? I don't know but remember guys, basic character motivations are up to interpretation! You just got Lynched once again! Andy comes and Chad threatens him, but lucky for Andy Jerry was there with his hulk glove! So really what was the entire point of Chad? Perhaps it was another not so subtle attempt at social commentary.

Anyways Lucy gets called by the real Cooper and realizes what he has to do. Evil Cooper realizes something is wrong and goes to shoot Sheriff Truman... wait a minute... why is Evil Cooper even here? What is he doing? What is the point of all of this? Did he even need them alive? Like seriously not even the motives for one of the main bad guys is clear. Anyways, Lucy, you know the character who faints from a phone call, suddenly shoots Evil Cooper with perfect timing and aim! Remember when Andy needed training in the original series to learn how to shoot a gun, and it was a triumphant moment when he finally did in the season 1 finale? Don't worry, Lucy doesn't take crap from anyone! Get Lynched again with subverted expectations getting rid of this villain in the lamest way.

Everyone is coming together to the scene as Evil Cooper is getting revived. These characters, half of which do nothing, are just there standing awkwardly. Cooper of course arrives just in time, and a CGI BOB ball comes out of Evil Cooper's stomach... (side note, how did BOB get back in him?). Oh no, this is where we're really going?! So Freddie, you know the character that has like 3 scenes in the entire show before this, one of which was just an exposition dump explaining why he came to Twin Peaks and how he got his hulk glove, is the character who defeats BOB by punching this big CGI blob with a green glove, with the shakiest cam, horrible CGI, flashing lights, slow motion, and silly sound effects. What a great final confrontation! Why does this random guy get the green glove strong enough to defeat BOB instead of literally anyone else? Who knows. I guess the forced bar fight was just a way to get Freddie here. Doesn't seem contrived at all. Wow guys this is so deep, you just don't get it. Lynch violates our mind once again! How can you seriously take this show seriously anymore? What a joke, this is even sillier than the horrible storylines from the second half of season 2. You thought Josie going into a door knob after being killed completely ruining the impact of her death with the stupidest and silliest scene yet was bad? Well, I present to you the climax of the entire show! By the way, that's never explained either, like almost everything in this show! Remember the weird eyeless lady who had a whole 15 minute esoteric sequence back in Part 3 plus the scenes of her being brought into the world and her making weird noises? Well all that set up was just that she was the original Diane all along!

Now if you thought the show couldn't get dumber and weirder with more unexplained idiocy Cooper suddenly decides to go back in time to save Laura Palmer. Why? Cause Lynch thought it would be cool I guess. Will this be resolved in the final episode? You must be stupid to think so. It's alright guys, the bad VFX, plot holes, massive contrivances, pointless scenes, just plain old lazy writing, etc. Was on purpose! You just don't want to be challenged, you just don't get it! Nope, I just found the challenge boring. You can still explore all these themes in more entertaining and less stupid ways.

Now this entire review was pretty negative, and harsh. I do believe that there is some hidden meaning in all of this, there's almost always a lot of depth in Lynch's work. I mean I like Lynch, he has made some very smart and deep movies, but honestly I just do not care anymore. If you do, then I'm happy for you, I truly wish I was affected like you and loved this experience, I mean it's better than being bitter and annoyed by it, but sadly I wasn't. Ironically I refuse to think about this for much longer. This is seriously what became of Twin Peaks... I know that the point is the mystery, but you can still make a mystery that makes sense. The more I think about this season the more flaws become apparent. This is an absolute mess of a show, and only the first season was consistently good. Goodbye Twin Peaks, I regret viewing even a single second of you.

Marty, We Got to Go Back!

[Samuel-Shovel · 9/10 · 19 October 2017]

After finishing Part 17, I had to just sit back for a minute and contemplate what the world I'd just watched. Some many different story lines come colliding together in this one as Lynch brings us towards the end of this wild roller-coaster ride. There are so many jarring and intriguing visuals that we get to see in this one. The battle scene with Freddy, Cooper's time travel sequence, the Fire Man, it all is rather breathtaking when done by Lynch.

Obviously questions still remain after this episode (they always will with Twin Peaks), but the overall picture does seem to get a little clearer. The time paradox plot is an intriguing one. With Cooper going back to save Laura, how does this affect everyone and their existences. Are old characters now alive because of the changed events? It looks like Coop was able to save her from her old timeline but by intervening, he has caused a new one where Laura has been kidnapped by the Black Lodge presumably. Where do we go from here? My main issues with this whole thing is Freddy and Judy. We literally just found out about Judy and just met Freddy. Why does he get to play the hero. Leave it to Lynch to bring someone out of left field late in the ballgame to conquer BOB. I don't know, I think I would have rather seen a Cooper showdown. Regarding Judy, who is she and why are we just finding about her? We've been slow cooking this entire season and now all the sudden we're going way too fast down the stretch. It's a little bit odd but doesn't detract from my enjoyment. Another good episode.

When Bob Attacks...Bring Laura Back

[ThomasDrufke · 8/10 · 4 September 2017]

Wow, and there it is, the 18 episode revival is over. Split up into two parts, like the premiere was, part 17 and 18 were entirely different. Much like the series itself, I had mixed feelings about the finale. I'll only review 17 here, but the stark contrast between the two was remarkable. 17 contained a ton of OMG moments. Bad Coop making his way into the Sheriff's office, Lucy taking him down, Bob removing himself from Bad Coop, Freddie terrifyingly taking down Bob one punch at a time while he's ferociously attacked, and all of the beautifully integrated archival footage. Heck, we got to see lumber mill crew once again, even if it was just old footage, it was still cool. This was also the episode that gave us a glimpse at what life would have been like if Laura was never murdered. There wasn't a ton that was wrapped up here, but Cooper tried to bring Laura back! Finally, this revival linked its way back to being about Laura herself. Part 18 on the other-hand, well that was a different story…..

8.6/10

What More Could We Have Expected?

[Hitchcoc · 10/10 · 4 September 2017]

I am going to wait a week and watch both 17 & 18 again. This was incredibly off the wall and brilliant. We have the return of Cooper to the Twin Peaks Sheriff's Department just in time to see the body of Bad Cooper being tended to by those wraiths and the arrival of the guy with the permanent blue glove. It is one of those amazing, unforgettable scenes that dominate this series. And then we have Cooper, unstuck in time, finding Laura Palmer and dragging her through a mist of imprecision, like those dreams we've all had where we know it's a dream and we have to get somewhere. We plod along. In this case, Cooper has Laura by the hand, trying to save her, but dreams don't always work out. Ir's a frustrating episode which leaves us wondering about the levels of reality. Back to the room with the curtains.

The fairy tale draws to a close

[K2nsl3r · 10/10 · 9 September 2017]

In Twin Peaks, everything comes together - before breaking apart anew.

Both halves are perfect: the fairy tale ending that ties the main story line knots (even, as we shall see, TOO perfectly); and the "wicked witch" dark twist at the end, which spirals everything into darkness.

The cinematography is top notch here, from the flashy final showdown and the subsequent interdimensional encounters between Dale Cooper, the One-Armed Man and Philip Jeffries to the wholly unexpected, tonally perfect revisiting of Fire Walk with Me and Season 1 Pilot scenes. Visual and audio design is both pleasing and experimental.

The story surprises are so huge that it is better not to spoil them.

On the downside, we are left hanging on multiple minor story threads, but my hope is that those will be revisited in possible future seasons. The last episode that follows, episode 18, continues the story, but episode 17 serves as a stand-alone ending to the entire saga. And it is so good that the whole show culminates there.

The Best Episode of the season

[Sober-Friend · 8/10 · 3 March 2018]

To me this should have been the final episode. This episode is David Lynch at his best. In this episode Cooper finally returns to "Twin Peaks" and this "episode is" and "is not" what you wanted to see in the new season of shows.

In this episode Cooper arrives and the "Past Dictates the Future". Strange and creepy this was an episode fans will just love!

Whatever just happened I loved it

[seanagass · 10/10 · 5 September 2017]

To say we didn't get the ending we "expected" is meaningless. What did any of us expect from the minds that conceived a show as expectation-defying as Twin Peaks? "Expect the unexpected" as the cliché goes, but here it conceals something more fundamental.

Not to overlook the contribution of Mark Frost, but much of this episode feels very different to anything else in Twin Peaks and more like some sort of Mulholland Dr-Lost Highway hybrid. It's as if Lynch is continually remoulding the same material in different ways, perhaps without understanding why. He seems obsessed with "doubling" and here we get plenty of doubles and, perhaps, even doubles of doubles. In a sense, while frustrating for fans looking to check off their list of unanswered questions, this part carries something deeply unsettling and incredibly powerful. It succeeds precisely because no other minds could really have brought us this kind of conclusion, one that transcends any and all expectation. And it averts disaster by not giving us a narrative cop-out, such as Laura or Cooper waking up from the entire series being a dream (at least that's my take).

Cooper remarks to Diane "Once we cross it could all be different..." What we actually get is closer to "the same but different". The finale couldn't focus any more tightly on the absolute core characters of the show - Cooper, Diane and Laura. Yet instead of delivering comfort and answers, everything feels wrong, typified by the feeling we get as the door of Laura's childhood home swings open and it isn't Sarah we find standing there. In its final minutes, the effect is haunting precisely because we are passing the famous Twin Peaks landmarks for what should be a cosy triumphant ride that instead feels anything but.

I wish we learned more about Audrey's fate, and about how those roadhouse vignettes tie in. But overall, the return is probably my favourite TV series of all time.

Lynch is da Vinci

[FlorianLaur · 10/10 · 9 October 2019]

David Lynch is some kind of equivalent to Leonardo da Vinci for me. He paints, he acts, he directs...is there anyone as talented and with such vision as this man?

Episode 17 is perfect to me. After the higher rated episode 16 was a bit disappointing (I gave it an 8), episode 17 is as good or better as the strong episode 15. I was amazed to see that apparently, back in 1992, David Lynch had already planned AND filmed some of the scenes we see in this episode. It's sheer genius how he basically explains one of those confusing scenes from Fire, Walk with me(Laura screaming at something unseen in the woods) so many years later. Even if he had something different planned originally, it still takes a very smart and creative mind to tie this up so neatly. One has to think of how poorly some execute such things, mere years later(Game of Thrones and D&D, I look in your direction!).

It seems a lot of people didn't like the new Twin Peaks and it flew under the radar. I don't know if I should be glad or happy about it. I had a discussion with someone who told me Lynch is a hack, because he tells no real story and makes you think too much. I think that says more about today's audiences though. Twin Peaks Season 3 was surprisingly straight-forward for a Lynch series. This episode ties up the events of the series and the movie in a neat way. Like another review points out, almost everyone gets to survive now or have a happy end(like Josie, Maddie, even Windom Earle). That makes me wonder though what that means for Shelly, since it means Leo will still be around too. Or for Ronette, since there will still be Leo and the Renault brothers.

But maybe this gives us the chance for more Twin Peaks?

To me, one of the biggest issue with a possible season 4 is that most important characters have passed away or won't act anymore(Michael Ontkean).

Maybe we should have an open mind for a show with Cooper, Diane, Gordon, the new Sheriff and a few of the remaining cast? Lynch did an amazing job to work around the deaths of the Log Lady, Frank Silva, Don Davis and those characters who had gotten too old or wouldn't want to return (Josie, Ontkean).

I'll be curious to see what the final episode will bring.

If I could give this a higher rating, I would 10/10

[joeydoughnuts-1 · 10/10 · 17 January 2024]

If I can give this episode a higher score, I would Perfectly amazing perfectly shocking perfectly Twin Peaks edits weirdest, strangest and finest. Don't really know what to say. That would spoil things, but this again is well executed. Thoroughly shot show. David Lynch is a master of the weird and this is perfectly done.

Anytime you want to sit back and want a break from reality life and all the stuff that is throwing at you just watch Twin Peaks because you will always pick up something new every time you watch it and will never fully get 100% what you saw questions after questions Always remain but the characters always stay the same and so does the love for what you have watched.

Too little too late

[jaaarre · 3/10 · 25 August 2019]

The summary tells what's wrong with season 3. "Cooper arrives at Twin Peaks," which means that only the last two episodes were Twin Peaks. I really don't know what the 16 other episodes were about. All I remember is dougie. Also some creepy horror scenes which were kinda good, but most of this series is senseless and shockvalue violent.

1x17

[formotog · 8/10 · 16 September 2020]

From what I've heard, this is basically the finale, and it was excellent. The first half was basically the showdown between Cooper and Bob, and it delivered some fantastic tension and reunions. It's a strange final battle between a floating Bob and Freddie's power fist, but it ended him and from there things just went very very weird. I think Lynch thought of this years ago, seeing as we got unseen footage from 25 years ago (as far as I know) as well as reused scenes. It felt like a conclusion for sure, but in Lynch fashion it isn't given to us straight up. I'm not sure what it was but it just felt like there was something missing from this episode. Maybe it just didn't feel like a conclusion, maybe I need to watch it again, maybe it's the fact that I have a need to understand every little thing that's happened in this show and the original, and that's just never gonna happen. It was still an excellent finale like I said, and I'm very glad they used that old footage and combined it with new footage. In the end it all comes back to Laura Palmer, and in the end, no one wins

High 8

No conclusion.

[alencar_darwin · 10/10 · 4 September 2017]

This is not a review — just a brief commentary about the two part ending.

I knew what to write (almost to the word) right up to the moment when part 18 started and then I was lost. I really liked part 18, because part 17 was too good, the darkness wasn't there (I thought: Lynch has gone soft with age — my mistake, not where it counts). So, almost the entire conclusion was revoked in part 18 and we are back into darkness, pure Lynch-ian darkness, and I couldn't bring my jaw back from the floor. I guess most will dislike part 18. It's fine, us (the crazy people that like "nonsense" and, of course, "self-indulgent masturbation") pretentious folk will like and sing praise for it. It's not even a question of getting it: there are questions to be made, however, the very fact that one knows that there's questions means one gets it, the problem is not knowing if those questions are meant to be answered and if one says Yes they are then there's another question: will the questions be answered in a near future? And that's why I'm lost.

The revelations in part 17 where great, but I don't feel like writing about them, at least not in the face of part 18. I want a part 19 and 20 and 21 and so on and on for n number of seasons.

I want so much to know who (or rather what) is Judy and of what she's capable that I forgot about Audrey, my beloved Audrey, damn, what happened to her? And could it be a next season in which, perhaps, Cooper will try to go back and take Laura with him? I don't know. But I'll wish for it.

There's nothing to watch now.

When does the next season of Fargo begins?

Truly a return

[moritzherz · 9/10 · 17 August 2023]

This show is titled Twin Peaks The Return and it is in this 17th episode when it makes this name justice.

The 16 hours before were spread all around the USA with some exceptions. Now this episode is truly a return to Twin Peaks, the return of Agent Cooper to Twin Peaks. And what a return this is.

It seems like Bob is finally vanished and Laura Palmer lives?! Is this time travel? David Lynch conquered surrealism.

I also want to mwntion that the trancision from black and white to colour in the scene with Cooper and Laura was beautiful. Cinematography is brilliant in Twin Peaks.

So now I am ready for the finale, well, I think I am. You never know with David Lynch.