If you know nothing about Twin Peaks, then fear not! Here is a quick and brief (very brief) run down of the series. And take the explanations within my website with a grain of salt- the show is even weirder than I am describing to you.
Season 1
Special Agent Dale Cooper arrives in Twin Peaks to investigate the murder of Laura Palmer. He is shown to be quirky and unorthodox in his methods, but we soon see that Twin Peaks is much the same. Cooper is then tangled up in a strange and unsettling character sketch of the town itself, where the inhabitants are all a little off and mysterious. Cooper has strange visions of even stranger beings that give him clues as to who murdered Laura Palmer, but as the season progresses, Cooper realizes that there is much more going on than just a murder of a Prom Queen.
Season 2
Cooper is now given even more strange visionary clues into the events at Twin Peaks (Let me add, season 2 is really where the show dives head first off the deep end. It is as strange and bizarre as it gets). Going deeper into the evil lurking in the town, Cooper comes face to face with BOB, the demonic entity that possesses Laura's father, Leland, and apprehends Leland for the murder of Laura. But this is only halfway through the season. After this point, things become more Lynchian (if you've seen any of his other films you'll know what I mean). Cooper meets Windham Earle, a man obsessed with entering The Black Lodge, a place where evil spirits roam. Cooper must have a game of chess, literally, to find Earle and stop him from murdering people. Yes. It's that weird.
Season 1
Special Agent Dale Cooper arrives in Twin Peaks to investigate the murder of Laura Palmer. He is shown to be quirky and unorthodox in his methods, but we soon see that Twin Peaks is much the same. Cooper is then tangled up in a strange and unsettling character sketch of the town itself, where the inhabitants are all a little off and mysterious. Cooper has strange visions of even stranger beings that give him clues as to who murdered Laura Palmer, but as the season progresses, Cooper realizes that there is much more going on than just a murder of a Prom Queen.
Season 2
Cooper is now given even more strange visionary clues into the events at Twin Peaks (Let me add, season 2 is really where the show dives head first off the deep end. It is as strange and bizarre as it gets). Going deeper into the evil lurking in the town, Cooper comes face to face with BOB, the demonic entity that possesses Laura's father, Leland, and apprehends Leland for the murder of Laura. But this is only halfway through the season. After this point, things become more Lynchian (if you've seen any of his other films you'll know what I mean). Cooper meets Windham Earle, a man obsessed with entering The Black Lodge, a place where evil spirits roam. Cooper must have a game of chess, literally, to find Earle and stop him from murdering people. Yes. It's that weird.
Season 3
25 years after the events of the second season, we return to Twin Peaks and revisit the old characters, same actors and all. This season is a little bizarre in that it is really nothing like anything else in the Twin Peaks universe. The basic plot is that Agent Cooper, following his possession by BOB at the end of season 2, is trapped in the Black Lodge. Meanwhile, Evil Cooper (BOB) is on the loose. And, Dougie Jones in Las Vegas is also now taken over by Cooper's "goodness". Phew. So, the FBI sets out to find Evil Coop and save real Coop from the Black Lodge, before he is gone forever. And in true Lynch fashion, the series ends as Cooper and Laura walk down Laura's old street, but Laura screams as they are not in Twin Peaks, as they have entered an alternate dimension, as explained by creator Mark Frost.
25 years after the events of the second season, we return to Twin Peaks and revisit the old characters, same actors and all. This season is a little bizarre in that it is really nothing like anything else in the Twin Peaks universe. The basic plot is that Agent Cooper, following his possession by BOB at the end of season 2, is trapped in the Black Lodge. Meanwhile, Evil Cooper (BOB) is on the loose. And, Dougie Jones in Las Vegas is also now taken over by Cooper's "goodness". Phew. So, the FBI sets out to find Evil Coop and save real Coop from the Black Lodge, before he is gone forever. And in true Lynch fashion, the series ends as Cooper and Laura walk down Laura's old street, but Laura screams as they are not in Twin Peaks, as they have entered an alternate dimension, as explained by creator Mark Frost.
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
The 1992 film was not greeted with positive reviews when it was released, as many people thought it was an unnecessary addition. It is a collection of unexplained images, unsettling topics, extreme violence and sex, and most importantly, what really happened to Laura Palmer. The film acts as a prequel to the first season, documenting the last week of Laura's life. Laura is shown doing cocaine and drinking heavily, and hanging around bars with strange and creepy men. The film is of particular note, however, for its depictions of Laura as a fallen angel, and the disturbing images of BOB coming into her room at night, representing the devil. The film also sets up season 3 in terms of hidden clues and hints, something I won't dare discuss because there are some things about Twin Peaks that would take weeks to explain. And that is for the best.
Below are two videos, one is a recap of everything before The Return, and then a recap of The Return, save for the very last episode.
(If you see a green bar over the videos, changing the quality should remove it. If not, blame YouTube!)
The 1992 film was not greeted with positive reviews when it was released, as many people thought it was an unnecessary addition. It is a collection of unexplained images, unsettling topics, extreme violence and sex, and most importantly, what really happened to Laura Palmer. The film acts as a prequel to the first season, documenting the last week of Laura's life. Laura is shown doing cocaine and drinking heavily, and hanging around bars with strange and creepy men. The film is of particular note, however, for its depictions of Laura as a fallen angel, and the disturbing images of BOB coming into her room at night, representing the devil. The film also sets up season 3 in terms of hidden clues and hints, something I won't dare discuss because there are some things about Twin Peaks that would take weeks to explain. And that is for the best.
Below are two videos, one is a recap of everything before The Return, and then a recap of The Return, save for the very last episode.
(If you see a green bar over the videos, changing the quality should remove it. If not, blame YouTube!)
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So who or what even is BOB, you may ask. Twin Peaks has an extreme amount of amazing characters that I won't mention, but BOB is perhaps the most intriguing of the lot (and most important to this website!!). BOB was "made" out of a nuclear bomb explosion in 1945 in New Mexico, as shown in the strangest episode of season 3. Then, BOB became an evil entity frequenting the Black Lodge, a place full of the damned and disturbed that is not accessible by normal beings. His human form, as shown below, is only seen by those who are experiencing spiritual powers, either blessings or curses. BOB possessed Laura's father Leland, and through Leland molested and raped Laura for a number of years leading up to her death. BOB exits Leland once in the Red Room inside the Black Lodge, which acts as a waiting room between this life and the next. From there, Leland now lives in the Black Lodge and BOB returns to try and take Cooper. The video shows how BOB continually appears in the show, focused here in Laura's home, terrifyingly walking towards her cousin Maddy, who has a connection to BOB through Laura. Leland (BOB) goes on to later kill Maddy as he believes she is the next best thing to Laura.
(Fun fact! BOB was actually not to appear in the show as he does. BOB is played by Frank Silva, the decorator on set; David Lynch saw him accidentally appear in a mirror in one shot and decided he looked creepy as hell and wanted him to be BOB. How flattering!)
(Fun fact! BOB was actually not to appear in the show as he does. BOB is played by Frank Silva, the decorator on set; David Lynch saw him accidentally appear in a mirror in one shot and decided he looked creepy as hell and wanted him to be BOB. How flattering!)
This video here just gives you a little peek inside the Red Room. Notice how everyone moves and speaks in strange ways- this just adds to the ambiguity of the room itself. |
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