Twin Peaks: The Return: Blu Ray Review

Twin Peaks: The Return: Blu Ray Review

It's no lie to say that Twin Peaks: The Return was one of the most anticipated TV event series of last year.

After a cliffhanger ending to the second series left fans screaming and set the standard for so many series that followed, let's be honest, Twin Peaks: The Return was never going to measure up.
Or was it?

What's emerged over these 18 episodes is a series of weirdness, inked through with Lynch's trademark desire to obfuscate and weave a web that takes time for the threads to pull together.

While it's great to see that creatively the master was allowed by the studio to enjoy a creative freedom, and with Lynch helming all 18 episodes, the issue with Twin Peaks: The Return is that it still makes for a frustrating and thrilling experience.

First viewing of the series, all broken up, didn't allow the rhythms to wash over; but a second viewing means bingeing can be done or parts can roll together like Lynch wanted to. He's said it's an 18 hour film, and while exposure may mess with your mind, one can't help but agree.
Kyle MacLachlan's versatility is easily on show, from his take on a possessed Cooper to a muted suburbanite whose life has fallen apart, there's no doubting his range.

But it's frustrating you have to wait till the end for the return of Agent Cooper.
And equally frustrating is how Lynch dispatches the show's greatest evil in some kind of Hulk ripoff.

Yet, with cameos from the past and characters that are paid homage and respect to (given their various deaths offscreen), there's something loving about this revivial,and a feeling that in any other's hands, it would have been ruined.

I can't get behind the lunatic ending that matches a cliffhanger and an iconic scream, but Twin Peaks: The Return remains as frustrating and as enjoyably divisive as it should be.

It's not one for non-fans and even the polarising nature of it has antagonised long-term fans, but you can't help admire Lynch's dazzling TV based  chutzpah.