Twin Peaks S1 (1990) Review

 

Twin Peaks S1 (1990)

So, I will attempt this as best as possible, without giving too much away.

Twin Peaks follows a small, yet complex town that is dealing with the aftermath of a local high school girl’s death, as investigated by coffee-loving, Agent Dale Cooper. So, who killed Laura Palmer?

Coming at a time in the early 90s when soap operas were all the rage, but never taken seriously, Twin Peaks created a soap-satire/mystery, that while overly dramatic (on purpose), took itself serious. Season 1 is clear-cut exposition for what is to follow, even outlining our killer(s), but continuing to shroud the whole season in mystery with a couple cliffhanger endings and unfinished business.

David Lynch and Mark Frost made your run of the mill murder mystery, and turned it on its head in the small town of Twin Peaks, where everybody has secrets, cheats on their spouses, and is never as they seem. Frost uses the premise of a soap, even having a fictional one within the show, all the while Lynch is slowly sucking us into his twisted mind. One is left wondering, is coffee and pie a metaphor for all of the sex, or is it vise versa.

There are way too many engaging characters, and storylines, to count but some of favorites that shines in this season were very obviously Kyle MacLaughlan’s Agent Cooper who brings a giddy excitement and professionalism to the role, while still being very intriguing, along with Sherilynn Fenn, Dana Ashbrook, Eric DaRe, and Mädchen Amick, who all add a lot. There is not one single character that wasn’t fleshed out, done wrong, or didn’t get their own story. Each play an integral part to the story, even if it strays from the central mystery over who killed Laura Palmer. It’s almost an “all roads lead to Rome” sort of thing, with each through line eventually making its way back to the central ideas.

It was a stellar 1st season of a legendary show that was equal parts kooky and mysterious in a way only David Lynch is able to pull off. Like I said, the characters drive the whole season and while it left us on as big a mystery as when we started, it did a hell of a job getting to that point, with a shocking end for each characters story.

8/10