When we last saw David Lynch
in 2006, audiences were left expectedly puzzled but for many unexpectedly
disappointed in the director’s 3-hour low grade digital video internet movie Inland Empire. Then he said he was done with film or, in
other words, out of ideas. While Lynch
continued working steadily in music as well as directing music videos and
concert films such as Duran Duran:
Unstaged, the notion we’d ever see anything new from world cinema’s most
famous and celebrated surrealist seemed increasingly remote with each passing
day. And then amid subtle rumblings over
the past few years after the success of the Twin
Peaks: The Entire Series blu-ray boxed set which finally unveiled the long
awaited Missing Pieces cut from the
prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with
Me, Lynch, co-creator Mark Frost and Showtime made what is now a historic
announcement for 2017: Twin Peaks: The
Return!
Picking up after twenty-five
years elapsed where the ill-fated second season left off, four episodes in it
is fair to say David Lynch is back in full force with no sign of his vision
diminishing or compromising in any way with more resources afforded to his
creative powers than ever before. Reuniting
much of the original cast with many newcomers and unexpected cameos, the
highlight of the third season thus far for this Lynch die hard was undoubtedly
the third episode which sports some of the most innovative imagery of the
director’s illustrious career. It also
opened new doors for those curious where unresolved character arcs left open at
the end of the second season would or would not go, some more difficult than
others to process. Initially the first
four episodes aired on Showtime’s streaming service but going forward one new
episode will air each weekend.
Which brings us to the fifth
episode of Twin Peaks: The Return which
reintroduces familiar faces in addition to serving up unlikely new additions to
the cast. Slowing the trajectory
somewhat compared to the headlong drive that hooked viewers through the first
four episodes, the fifth episode continues moving the preordained threads
moving with further emphasis on Dougie Jones’ mercurial background and the mob
related dangers lurking in the distance.
I won’t list the many completely surprising cameos that come at you
except to say that each one tried to offer familiar pop Hollywood actors in a
light not seen previously.
By now you’re
aware of the Cooper/BOB conundrum and of the episodes channeling the evil
spirit of the late Frank Silva as the infamous demonic force within the Black
Lodge, this one is easily the scariest yet.
Frank Silva may have passed on but his spirit is alive and well within
the fabric of the show itself. Harkening
back to the original series are loosely established threads involving teenage
characters corrupted by darker forces buried within the town including echoes
of the violent sexuality dominating the Fire
Walk with Me prequel.
Much like the director’s
last feature Inland Empire, the fifth
episode exists outside the first four in a way by seemingly doing nothing to
advance the story while hitting nearly every high watermark that gave the
series and the film prequel it’s formidable edge. Some who have been disappointed with the new
Dougie conundrum aren’t going to get too many new developments here save for
some amusing asides involving the catatonic character malfunctioning within the
office job setting. The fifth episode
also drops another closing track by Johnny Jewel though not necessarily ending
on the exultant tone of the second episode in the Bang Bang Bar.
Those who expressed
restlessness over the Dougie character aren’t necessarily going to get the new
developments fans like myself are still pining for, but the surrounding
characters and new additions get a lot of leverage here and gives viewers a
momentary break from moving the plot forward.
A delight for Lynch fans but Twin
Peaks fans with some reservations shouldn’t expect the gavel to drop like
it did in the third episode.
Score:
- Andrew Kotwicki