“Seven episodes into the return of Twin Peaks, even a devoted viewer might be forgiven for not knowing exactly what David Lynch’s 18-hour Showtime revival of his most beloved property is about.”
“Lynch, for all his inscrutable imagery and disinterest in traditional storytelling mechanisms, usually has fairly elemental themes at the root of his projects, be it “a woman in trouble” or our inherent, shared humanity.”
“On one side of Twin Peaks: The Return is Dougie, a long-dormant simulacrum of Dale Cooper who is slowly regaining his personality. On the other is “Evil Coop” (also MacLachlan), who’s living in Dale’s actual body, which has long been possessed by the demonic spirit Bob.”
“In interviews, Lynch has referred to Twin Peaks: The Return as an 18-hour movie; if that’s true, we’re now at the end of its first act, and the seventh episode contained a surprising amount of information and backstory after weeks of meandering.”
“as a face-off between Agent Cooper’s two sides looms, it does feel like Lynch and his co-writer Mark Frost have finally arrived at Twin Peaks: The Return’s organizing principle. It’s much like how Laura Palmer’s murder served as the anchoring force of the original show—not every plotline was centered on it, and some were only dimly related, but it kept viewers tuning in as Lynch plumbed the depths of his wild imagination.”