3.9 This Is The Chair Twin Peaks’ return has inspired a great deal of debate, much of which comes down to whether it’s actually any good at all. It continues to defy conventions so extremely that it’s near-impossible to assess its quality the way you would anything else. Some people think Lynch has lost it, and there are certainly aspects that might support that. It’s got loads of scenes that drag indulgently. It regularly repeats information we already know, or reinforces character traits that are already crystal. At times, it looks bizarrely ramshackle and low-budget. On the opposing side, there are the Lynchophiles who view all of this as good and integral. David Lynch knows what he’s doing and if you don’t enjoy any of it, the fault must lie with you. I’m certainly not in that latter camp. Twin Peaks: The Return has bored me in places, and it’s had the occasional line of dialogue or bit of imagery that’s just plain goofy. Regardless, two things remain irrefutable: I missed the show during its week off and, when the episode ended, I was disappointed there wasn’t more. (Also true but not very relevant to this particular episode is that, even if I find moments laughable, Lynch’s work will never, ever stop scaring the crap out of me.) It’s not for nothing that we’re being forced to stick to Showtime’s release schedule. With anyone besides Lynch at the helm of this thing, I imagine it would’ve been released all at once to be binge-watched (after all, it is meant to be one big film). I know some people are waiting for the whole shebang to finish running before they dive in and I wonder how approaching it in this way will affect their feelings about the production overall. The anticipation of each new episode is contributing to the experience and bolstering the slow-drip approach. Watching multiple episodes one after the next might just amount to an exercise in continual frustration. I feel like there’s something annoying about having all the content sitting there waiting for you, but continually finding that so little of it contains answers. I’ve spent this review speaking about the limited series as a whole and I’m fine with that. I’ve never been that into breaking Twin Peaks down to its smaller elements, questioning the significance of each little plot moment. I’m just grooving to the vibes, man. But, okay, here are some of the things that stuck out to me. In the end, Part 9 was a good plot-progressing time, the polar opposite of Part 8’s challenging surrealism and terror. I enjoyed that one; it’s stuck with me tenaciously (“This is the water…” is still repeating in my head), but this part was, comparatively, a comfort, full of welcome rewards for having stuck it out this far. I have to assume next week Lynch is going to beat up on us again. //
