I re-watched during the height of COVID, and I think upon release people talked about how "the evil of Twin Peaks" continued to spread over 25 years, rather than the more obvious throughline wrt the rest of Lynch's work--very apparent in ~2021--that everything was always bad all the time.
Someone did point out to me how weird it was to watch The Return without having seen "the Hollywood Lynches" (Mulholland, Inland, etc.). I'll get to those soonish and see what it does for re-contextualization but the vibes in Twin Peaks were never awesome to begin with...
I love the Bobby scene in question, in part because it shows him being good at his job. It makes for a bizarre punctuation to the soap operatics of the previous scene’s interrupted family reunion. There’s no irony or arc to the chaos that erupts once a kid gets his hands on a gun, and it’s frankly a huge relief no one was killed. Just another day in town!
I do love the previous bit where Norma and Ed invite him to dine with them. If you live in a town with people long enough, you can have dinner with whoever you want!!
I always plug the recap podcast The Lodgers that covered the show as it was airing because it’s smart contemporaneous TV criticism and Kate especially did a good job teasing out what was problematic and regrettable about the show, namely Lynch’s old man horniness and the Chrysta Bell Problem. The qualities of Lynch that are personally unpleasant sometimes converge with what’s great in the Return; it’s unignorably a metatext about the desire for more Twin Peaks and what ideas of closure or continuation mean. What happens to Audrey, or hasn’t happened, is a kind of spitefulness perhaps directed at the character or at the audience for wanting to see her again at all. But it’s a principled spite.
I listened to a few eps in mono-induced haze while I was puzzling my way thru season two, would like to go back and listen less as a companion and more as summation now that I am thru all of it mostly having read very little. The Chrysta Bell stuff was a total ??? to me... both acknowledged as self-aware but never exactly purposeful... what was going on there? I guess I don't really know; it's all there in what we do/don't know about her and how she functions in the team. (Maybe my fav bit with the FBI guys is the two seconds we see Miguel Ferrer and Jane Adams on a date together - CUTE ALERT!!!) The Audrey stuff is all very frustrating and spiteful but very effective/effecting to me overall.
Ashbrook and Sheryl Lee did a Q&A at the Music Box after FWWM I think in 2021 and they were both so sweet and charming. I would not have their grace and good humor if I had dealt with insane David Lynch fans for 30 years. The best bit was when someone said they were a student filmmaker and Ashbrook said “just so you know ... we’re available.”
I have no desire to make movies but one of my thoughts about the show was "I would love to put Dana Ashbrook in a movie." over the course of mentioning TP, a few other people who attended that Q&A have said similar things... I'm envious!!!! in general would love to see FWWM on the big screen one of these days.
FUCK, now I have to watch it all again just to see the last 25 minutes. BUT I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS. IT'S 6:30. SHE'S SICK. I HAVE TO GET HOME. WHY IS THIS HAPPENING.
I'm also enamored of Ashbrook - my favorite scene of his performance is when he opens the little tube that contains the letter about Jack Rabbit's Palace, and the way he looks off into the distance and loves his father. One of the finest performances of maturing I've ever seen.
Another great scene - I like what they did with his character and the lore around him in The Return, but I'd be remiss to say I didn't miss Don Davis's presence in the new eps.
one of television's great bugs/creatures as well
there you are
I re-watched during the height of COVID, and I think upon release people talked about how "the evil of Twin Peaks" continued to spread over 25 years, rather than the more obvious throughline wrt the rest of Lynch's work--very apparent in ~2021--that everything was always bad all the time.
Someone did point out to me how weird it was to watch The Return without having seen "the Hollywood Lynches" (Mulholland, Inland, etc.). I'll get to those soonish and see what it does for re-contextualization but the vibes in Twin Peaks were never awesome to begin with...
One of those is his best movie!
How serendipitous, I finished my The Return rewatch not 12 hours ago
🫱🏻🫲🏻 - us reaching across time and space
I love the Bobby scene in question, in part because it shows him being good at his job. It makes for a bizarre punctuation to the soap operatics of the previous scene’s interrupted family reunion. There’s no irony or arc to the chaos that erupts once a kid gets his hands on a gun, and it’s frankly a huge relief no one was killed. Just another day in town!
I do love the previous bit where Norma and Ed invite him to dine with them. If you live in a town with people long enough, you can have dinner with whoever you want!!
I always plug the recap podcast The Lodgers that covered the show as it was airing because it’s smart contemporaneous TV criticism and Kate especially did a good job teasing out what was problematic and regrettable about the show, namely Lynch’s old man horniness and the Chrysta Bell Problem. The qualities of Lynch that are personally unpleasant sometimes converge with what’s great in the Return; it’s unignorably a metatext about the desire for more Twin Peaks and what ideas of closure or continuation mean. What happens to Audrey, or hasn’t happened, is a kind of spitefulness perhaps directed at the character or at the audience for wanting to see her again at all. But it’s a principled spite.
I listened to a few eps in mono-induced haze while I was puzzling my way thru season two, would like to go back and listen less as a companion and more as summation now that I am thru all of it mostly having read very little. The Chrysta Bell stuff was a total ??? to me... both acknowledged as self-aware but never exactly purposeful... what was going on there? I guess I don't really know; it's all there in what we do/don't know about her and how she functions in the team. (Maybe my fav bit with the FBI guys is the two seconds we see Miguel Ferrer and Jane Adams on a date together - CUTE ALERT!!!) The Audrey stuff is all very frustrating and spiteful but very effective/effecting to me overall.
Ashbrook and Sheryl Lee did a Q&A at the Music Box after FWWM I think in 2021 and they were both so sweet and charming. I would not have their grace and good humor if I had dealt with insane David Lynch fans for 30 years. The best bit was when someone said they were a student filmmaker and Ashbrook said “just so you know ... we’re available.”
I have no desire to make movies but one of my thoughts about the show was "I would love to put Dana Ashbrook in a movie." over the course of mentioning TP, a few other people who attended that Q&A have said similar things... I'm envious!!!! in general would love to see FWWM on the big screen one of these days.
FUCK, now I have to watch it all again just to see the last 25 minutes. BUT I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS. IT'S 6:30. SHE'S SICK. I HAVE TO GET HOME. WHY IS THIS HAPPENING.
We have a four day weekend for a reason, and it's to rewatch all of this all over again...
I'm so glad you tried Twin Peaks!
I'm also enamored of Ashbrook - my favorite scene of his performance is when he opens the little tube that contains the letter about Jack Rabbit's Palace, and the way he looks off into the distance and loves his father. One of the finest performances of maturing I've ever seen.
Another great scene - I like what they did with his character and the lore around him in The Return, but I'd be remiss to say I didn't miss Don Davis's presence in the new eps.
I haven't watched much X-Files but Davis' appearance as Scully's father is fantastic.
Phil has long advocated for an X Files watch... maybe soon on the docket