Twin Peaks

TELEVISION | MOVIES | David Lynch | 1990, 1991, 2017

Twin Peaks premiered on ABC on 8 April 1990 and ran for two seasons until its cancellation in 1991. The show returned in 2017 for a third season on Showtime. Set in the fictional Pacific Northwest town of Twin Peaks, the series follows an investigation led by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) into the murder of local teenager Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee).

The show's narrative draws on the characteristics of detective fiction, but its uncanny tone, supernatural elements, and campy, melodramatic portrayal of eccentric characters also draw from American horror and soap opera tropes. Like much of Lynch's work, it is distinguished by surrealism, distinctive cinematography, and offbeat humour. The musical score was composed by Angelo Badalamenti with Lynch.

The original run was followed by the 1992 feature film Twin Peaks Fire Walk with Me, which serves as a prequel to the series.

Plot and Narrative Overview

The narrative of Twin Peaks unfolds across three seasons and a prequel film, delving into a complex web of murder, mystery, and the supernatural that permeates a seemingly idyllic small town.

Season 1 

Season one of Twin Peaks focuses on the mystery of who killed Laura Palmer. In 1989, local logger Pete Martell discovers a naked corpse wrapped in plastic on the bank of a river outside the town of Twin Peaks, Washington. When Sheriff Harry S. Truman, his deputies, and Doctor Will Hayward arrive, the body is identified as high school senior and homecoming queen Laura Palmer. A second girl, Ronette Pulaski, is discovered, badly injured and dissociative, just across the state border.

FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper is called in to investigate. Cooper's initial examination of Laura's body reveals a tiny typed letter "R" inserted under her fingernail. At a town conference, Cooper informs the community that Laura's death matches the signature of a killer who murdered another girl in southwestern Washington the previous year, and that the evidence potentially indicates the killer being from Twin Peaks.

Through Laura's diaries, local law enforcement, alongside Agent Cooper, discover that she had been living a double life. She was cheating on her boyfriend, football captain Bobby Briggs, with biker James Hurley, and prostituting herself with the help of truck driver Leo Johnson and drug dealer Jacques Renault. Laura was also addicted to cocaine, which she obtained through coercing Bobby into doing business with Jacques.

Laura's father, attorney Leland Palmer, suffers a nervous breakdown after her death. Her best friend Donna Hayward begins a relationship with James. With the help of Laura's cousin Maddy Ferguson, Donna and James discover that Laura's psychiatrist, Dr Lawrence Jacoby, was obsessed with her, but he is proven innocent of the murder.

Hotelier Ben Horne, the wealthiest man in Twin Peaks, plans to destroy the town's lumber mill along with its owner, Josie Packard, and murder his lover, Josie's sister-in-law and Pete's wife Catherine Martell, so he can purchase the land at a reduced price and complete a development project called Ghostwood. Horne's sultry, troubled daughter, Audrey, becomes infatuated with Agent Cooper and spies on her father for clues in an effort to win Agent Cooper's affection.

Cooper experiences a dream in which he is approached by a one-armed otherworldly being who calls himself MIKE. MIKE states that Laura's murderer is a similar entity, Killer BOB, a feral, denim-clad man with long grey hair. Cooper finds himself decades older with Laura and a dwarf in a red business suit, who engages in coded dialogue with Cooper. The next morning, Cooper explains to Truman that deciphering this dream is the key to finding Laura's murderer.

Cooper and the sheriff's department find the one-armed man from Cooper's dream, a travelling shoe salesman named Phillip Gerard. Gerard knows a Bob, the veterinarian who treats Renault's pet bird. Cooper interprets these events to mean that Renault is the murderer and, with Truman's help, tracks Renault to One-Eyed Jack's, a brothel owned by Horne across the border in Canada. He lures Renault back onto U.S. soil to arrest him, but Renault is shot while trying to escape and is hospitalised.

Leland, learning that Renault has been arrested, sneaks into the hospital and smothers him to death. The same night, Horne orders Leo to burn down the lumber mill with Catherine trapped inside and has Leo gunned down by Hank Jennings to ensure Leo's silence. Cooper returns to his room following Renault's arrest and is shot by a masked gunman.

Season 2 

After solving the murder of Laura Palmer, Dale Cooper's character stays in Twin Peaks to investigate further. Lying hurt in his hotel room, Cooper has a vision in which a giant appears and reveals three clues: "There is a man in a smiling bag," "the owls are not what they seem," and "without chemicals, he points." He takes a gold ring off Cooper's finger and explains that when Cooper understands the three premonitions, his ring will be returned.

Leo Johnson survives his shooting but is left brain-damaged. Catherine Martell disappears, presumed killed in the mill fire. Leland Palmer, whose hair has turned white overnight, returns to work but behaves erratically. Cooper deduces that the "man in the smiling bag" is the corpse of Jacques Renault in a body bag.

MIKE is inhabiting the body of Phillip Gerard. His personality surfaces when Gerard forgoes the use of a certain drug. MIKE reveals that he and BOB once collaborated in killing humans and that BOB is similarly inhabiting a man in the town. Cooper and the sheriff's department use MIKE, in control of Gerard's body, to help find BOB ("without chemicals, he points").

Donna befriends an agoraphobic orchid grower named Harold Smith whom Laura entrusted with her second, secret diary. Harold catches Donna and Maddy attempting to steal the diary from him and hangs himself in despair. Cooper and the sheriff's department take possession of Laura's secret diary and learn that BOB, a friend of her father's, had been sexually abusing her since childhood and she used drugs to cope. They initially suspect that the killer is Ben Horne and arrest him, but Leland Palmer is revealed to viewers to be BOB's host when he kills Maddy.

Cooper begins to doubt Horne's guilt, so he gathers all of his suspects in the belief that he will receive a sign to help him identify the killer. The Giant appears and confirms that Leland is BOB's host and Laura's and Maddy's killer, giving Cooper back his ring. Cooper and Truman take Leland into custody. In control of Leland's body, BOB admits to a string of murders, before forcing Leland to commit suicide. As Leland dies, he is freed of BOB's influence and begs for forgiveness. BOB's spirit disappears into the woods in the form of an owl, and the lawmen wonder if he will reappear.

Cooper is set to leave Twin Peaks when he is framed for drug trafficking by Jean Renault and is suspended from the FBI. Another FBI agent, Denise Bryson, comes to Twin Peaks to help him. Renault holds Cooper responsible for the death of his brothers, Jacques and Bernard. Jean Renault is killed in a shootout with police, and Cooper is cleared of all charges.

Windom Earle, Cooper's former mentor and FBI partner, escapes from a mental institution and comes to Twin Peaks. Cooper had previously been having an affair with Earle's wife, Caroline, while she was under his protection as a witness to a federal crime. Earle murdered Caroline and wounded Cooper. He now engages Cooper in a twisted game of chess during which Earle murders someone whenever a piece is captured.

Investigating BOB's origin and whereabouts with the help of Major Garland Briggs, Cooper learns of the existence of the White Lodge and the Black Lodge, two extra-dimensional realms whose entrances are somewhere in the woods surrounding Twin Peaks. Catherine returns to town disguised as a Japanese businessman, having survived the mill fire, and manipulates Ben Horne into signing the Ghostwood project over to her. Andrew Packard, Josie's husband, is revealed to be still alive while Josie Packard is revealed to be the person who shot Cooper at the end of the first season. Andrew forces Josie to confront his business rival and her tormentor from Hong Kong, the sinister Thomas Eckhardt. Josie kills Eckhardt, but she mysteriously dies when Truman and Cooper try to apprehend her.

Cooper falls in love with a new arrival in town, Annie Blackburn. Earle captures the brain-damaged Leo for use as a henchman and abandons his chess game with Cooper. When Annie wins the Miss Twin Peaks contest, Earle kidnaps her and takes her to the entrance to the Black Lodge, whose power he seeks to use for himself. Through a series of clues, Cooper discovers the entrance to the Black Lodge, which turns out to be the strange, red-curtained room from his dream. He is greeted by the Man From Another Place, the Giant, and Laura Palmer, who each give Cooper cryptic messages. Searching for Annie and Earle, Cooper encounters doppelgängers of various people, including Maddy Ferguson and Leland Palmer. Cooper finds Earle, who demands Cooper's soul in exchange for Annie's life. Cooper agrees, but BOB appears and takes Earle's soul for himself. BOB then turns to Cooper, who is chased through the Lodge by a doppelgänger of himself.

Outside the Lodge, Andrew Packard, Pete Martell, and Audrey Horne are caught in an explosion at a bank vault, a trap laid by the dead Eckhardt. Cooper and Annie reappear in the woods, both injured. Annie is taken to the hospital, but Cooper recovers in his room at the Great Northern Hotel. It becomes clear that the "Cooper" who emerged from the Lodge is in fact his doppelgänger, under BOB's control. He smashes his head into a bathroom mirror and laughs maniacally.

Season 3 (The Return) 

25 years after the cliffhanger ending of season two, Cooper remains trapped in the Black Lodge and prepares his return to the world. Cooper's doppelgänger lives in Cooper's place and works to prevent his own imminent return to the Black Lodge with the help of various associates. Meanwhile, the mysterious murder of a librarian in Buckhorn, South Dakota, attracts the attention of Gordon Cole and his colleagues, while a message from the Log Lady leads members of the Twin Peaks Sheriff's Department to reopen investigations into the events surrounding the 1989 murder of Laura Palmer.

The third season is a continuation of the series and film, with the passage of 25 years being an important element of the plot. Most of the original cast return, including Kyle MacLachlan as Special Agent Dale Cooper, Mädchen Amick as Shelly Johnson, Sherilyn Fenn as Audrey Horne, Sheryl Lee as Laura Palmer, and Ray Wise as Leland Palmer. New additions to the cast include Jeremy Davies, Laura Dern, Robert Forster, Tim Roth, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Amanda Seyfried, Matthew Lillard, and Naomi Watts.

Key Concepts and Esoteric Meanings

Twin Peaks is rich with a complex system of symbology and hidden meanings, intertwining occultism, synchronicity, surrealist philosophy, and Far Eastern notions with American mythology.

• Shamanic Journey:  Agent Dale Cooper's role transcends that of a mere detective, as he functions as a shaman, capable of travelling between worlds. His spiritual gifts, noted by Native American Deputy Hawk and General Briggs, enable him to call between the realms, fulfilling the role of the magician mentioned in the series' tagline, "fire walk with me." Cooper's journey into the psychosphere and astral realm is an initiatic experience, allowing him to communicate with spirits and unravel the "Twilight language" script behind the town's mysteries.
• Synchronicity and Twilight Language (Sandhyābhasā):  Cooper's unorthodox divination methods, such as throwing rocks at objects to associate themes, exemplify his use of synchronicity. This concept posits that objects share essential connections beyond immediate space and time. The series itself can be read as a "yogic text" composed in "intentional language" or "Sandhyābhasā"—a dark, secret, and ambiguous discourse where states of consciousness are expressed enigmatically. This language involves light and darkness, with some parts understandable and others concealed, reflecting Cooper's method of decoding dreams, visions, and divinations.
• The Black Lodge and White Lodge:  These are two extra-dimensional realms, with their entrances located in the woods surrounding Twin Peaks, specifically at Glastonbury Grove. The series depicts a consistent red veil imageryaccompanying any entrance into the Black Lodge, alongside a distinctive zigzag pattern floor. Planetary and astrological conjunctions are understood to determine the opening of portals to these other worlds. Fear is said to open the door to the Black Lodge, while love opens the doorway to the White Lodge. The Black Lodge is described as a prison, featuring Saturnalian imagery, linking it to concepts of human sacrifice, which is depicted in the series.
• BOB and MIKE:  These are malevolent demonic entities. BOB is a former killer who has become a demon in the afterlife, possessing individuals such as Leland Palmer and later Windom Earle to commit crimes including paedophilia and sacrificial murder. MIKE, an entity possessing Phillip Gerard, was once BOB's collaborator in killing humans but later experiences a conversion, leading him to attempt to stop BOB's havoc. BOB and MIKE are depicted as having once resided above a convenience store, serving as serial killers who, upon their death, became servants to the Man From Another Place.
• The Man From Another Place/The Arm:  This mysterious midget character is an interdimensional, alien-like demon and trickster. He is depicted as organising occult marriage ceremonies for girls offered to Leland and other cult participants. The Man From Another Place later evolves into a tree, signifying his otherworldly nature and connection to the elemental spirits.
• Garmanbozia:  This term refers to the pain and misery stored in the blood of BOB's victims, which he pours out as a sacrificial offering to the Man From Another Place. Symbolised by creamed corn, this "food" represents the energy derived from the suffering of ritual sacrifice, a concept with precedents in perennial demonology where malevolent spirits feed parasitically on victims' pain.
• The Ring:  A magical object, the ring identifies members of the cult and functions as a trigger for dissociation in Laura and Leland. Its shape suggests inverted horns or a goat, a symbol of the demonic. It also represents two mountains with a portal between them, symbolising different planes of existence and the portal between the Twin Peaks (the two worlds). The ring is explicitly connected to Alister Crowley's teachings, having been worn by him at one time, and is associated with the opening of portals through sexual magic.
• Electricity/Frequency:  Electrical phenomena and static charges consistently accompany the manifestation of otherworldly spirits. This suggests that spirits possess an ability to travel through electricity, operating on another plane or frequency that connects to human reality. This is observed when Chris Isaac's character focuses on electrical transformers and hears strange sounds, and when David Bowie's character teleports into an FBI office through electrical means.
• Dreams and the Psychosphere:  David Lynch's philosophy, deeply influenced by Transcendental Meditation, posits the subconscious and dream world as a Wellspring of creativity and a connected realm between individuals. Characters like Cooper receive vital clues from this "psychosphere" or "astral realm." The fragmentation of the psyche, as seen in Laura and Leland, is a central theme, often resulting from severe childhood trauma and leading to dissociation, multiple personality disorder, and psychosis. This aligns with modern psychological concepts, though it also incorporates the spiritual dimension of man, which traditional science often neglects.
• Sexual Magic:  The series overtly references sexual magic, particularly in the context of opening portals. A scene depicts a couple having sex in a glass box, leading to their demise by a demon, directly linking the sexual act to the manifestation of otherworldly entities. This concept is explicitly confirmed in Mark Frost's book, which connects it to the teachings of Alister Crowley and Jack Parsons.
• Mystical Toponymy:  The geographic locations within Twin Peaks possess deeper, mystical significance. Glastonbury Grove, the site of the forest portal to the Black Lodge, is depicted as an area of ancient ritual practice where gods and demigods are invoked. This aligns with the concept of "high places" in ancient mythologies, suggesting that certain geographical locales inherently hold spiritual power. The series implies that America itself is a land permeated by primeval, fallen forces that exert influence from behind a veil of obscurity.
• Project Blue Book/Military Occult Research:  Major Garland Briggs, a military mystic, is involved in classified Air Force experiments that touch upon occult research. His work connects to Project Blue Book, a real-world cover story for advanced technology testing and spiritual invocation. This embodies the concept of "magic warriors" and government agencies engaged in remote viewing and extrasensory perception, echoing real-world programmes and high-level ritual occultism involving military elites.
• Doubles/Doppelgängers:  The narrative features doppelgängers, manifestations of a person's worst self. The premise is that if one enters the Black Lodge unprepared spiritually or lacking courage, their soul can be destroyed, and a doppelgänger, controlled by entities like BOB, can take their place in the real world. This highlights the dual nature of reality and the internal struggles of the characters.
• Blue Rose:  This term functions as a code for supernatural cases within the FBI, suggesting a classified category of investigations involving phenomena beyond normal understanding. It is explicitly linked to Project Blue Book or Blue Mountain, further solidifying the connection between government operations and occult occurrences. The fact that a blue rose is unnatural (altered from nature) signifies the supernatural nature of these cases.
• The Poem ("Fire Walk With Me"):  The cryptic poem, "Through the darkness of Future Past, the magician longs to see. One chance out between two worlds, fire walk with me," serves as a central philosophical key. It is understood that "the magician" refers to David Lynch, who desires to "see" the interplay between the two worlds: reality and the show/dream world. The "fire walk" represents a purgative, initiatic journey between these realms, often involving suffering and the confrontation of inner and outer demons.
• The Saw/Sawmill:  Motifs such as logs, saws, and sawmills recur throughout the series. The act of "sawing logs" colloquially refers to snoring, linking these images to dreams and the subconscious. The sawmill location often serves as a turning point in the narrative and is significant in the Pacific Northwest setting, symbolising both natural resources and potential destruction or transformation.

Production and Artistic Style

Twin Peaks is a unique blend of genres, driven by the distinct artistic visions of David Lynch and Mark Frost.

• Development:  The initial idea for Twin Peaks was inspired by the unsolved 1908 murder of Hazel Irene Drew in Sand Lake, New York. Lynch and Frost conceived a "Dickensian story about multiple lives in a contained area" that could perpetuate. Originally titled North Dakota and set in the Plains region, the location was changed to the Pacific Northwest due to the lack of forests and mountains, leading to the new title Northwest Passage (the pilot episode's title).The core concept involved a girl-next-door leading a "desperate double life" ending in murder. Lynch and Frost intentionally mixed a police investigation with soap opera tropes. Frost primarily wrote the more verbal characters, while Lynch was responsible for Agent Cooper, who often voiced Lynch's own sentiments.
• Lynch-Frost Collaboration:  The series was a collaborative effort between Lynch and Frost, though their creative control lessened in season two after Laura Palmer's murderer was revealed. Lynch was reportedly against solving the murder until the very end of the series, believing it "killed the goose that laid the golden egg," while Frost felt an obligation to the audience. This created tension between the two creators. The Lynch/Frost Productions logo itself features electricity, emphasising a recurring motif.
• Casting:  Lynch often used a loose ensemble of his favourite character actors, including Jack Nance, Kyle MacLachlan, Grace Zabriskie, and Everett McGill. Sheryl Lee, initially cast "just to play a dead girl," unexpectedly demonstrated immense acting talent, leading to her expanded role as Laura Palmer in flashbacks and her lookalike cousin, Maddy Ferguson. The casting of Frank Silva as Killer BOB was accidental; Lynch noticed Silva moving furniture and later saw his reflection in a mirror on set, which sparked the idea of a demonic presence.
• Music:  Angelo Badalamenti and David Lynch created the acclaimed score for the show. Their signature theme, "Falling" (an instrumental version of Julee Cruise's song), was composed in 20 minutes and became the mood for the entire series. Badalamenti's "Cool Jazz" accompanied scenes with young men, enhancing their masculinity. Julee Cruise's album Floating into the Night also served as a soundtrack, with Lynch writing the lyrics for several songs. The score is noted for influencing dream pop and indie rock.
• Filming Locations:  The primary filming locations for exterior footage were Snoqualmie, North Bend, and Fall City in Washington state, about an hour's drive from Roslyn, Washington, used for Northern Exposure. Many interior scenes were shot on standing sets in a San Fernando Valley warehouse. The show-within-a-show, Invitation to Love, was filmed in the Ennis House, an architectural landmark by Frank Lloyd Wright in Los Angeles.
• Motifs and Stylistic Features:  Lynch and Frost extensively used repeating and often mysterious motifs, including trees (especially fir and pines), coffee and doughnuts, cherry pie, owls, logs, ducks, water, and fire. The series incorporates numerous embedded references to other films and TV shows, such as Sunset Boulevard. Stylistically, Twin Peaks is defined by surrealism, film noir, absurdism, and a strong 1950s aesthetic.Lynch often fuses decades and genres, creating a unique, timeless atmosphere where 50s elements blend with early 90s reality. The fizzing or crackling of electricity consistently signifies the presence of otherworldly spirits. This occurs at key moments, such as when characters arrive at diners or when Bowie teleports. The deliberate use of unsettling effects, like a flickering fluorescent lamp during Laura's autopsy, contributes to the disconcerting mood.
• Meta-commentary:  The series functions on a meta-level, with elements suggesting self-awareness within the narrative. David Lynch himself plays Bureau Chief Gordon Cole, who is literally the "director" of the FBI within the show, reflecting Lynch's own role as the series' director. Characters like David Bowie's Philip Jeffries state, "We live inside a dream," suggesting that the characters are aware they are part of a televised narrative. This self-awareness also extends to the entertainment industry, with subtle references to other films and directors.