Bret Easton Ellis on Twin Peaks season 3

For more, check out The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast at / breteastonellispodcast

[@Akkadianvolcano]

I watched Twin Peaks S3 as it came out and I think people are going to be talking about it for the next 20 years, even moreso than S1 or 2. What surprises me is that it's gaining viewers daily now, whereas in 2017 it felt impossible to get people to sit down and watch it. Also Atlanta is amazing as well although I've only seen S1

[@marshellwillis5240]

people are realising he cast a spell & they'd better get the handbook...

[@davshavu]

Television was the medium for the finest work of art presented in 2017. I defy anyone to present any piece of art close to Twin Peaks 3 since.

[@mackey-5438]

Agreed. However, we'll see what the Emmys bring. I have a feeling that Twin Peaks (if nominated, which everybody thinks it will be), will probably lose to a show about the murder of a famous fashion designer. No matter. Awards shows have become superfluous lately, and TP defies and transcends TV awards. Although it would be nice to get the recognition it deserves.

[@pakihockey94]

Phantom Thread

[@cinemar]

Westworld is one of these new formulaic shows people have been fooled into thinking is some genius piece of work.

[@NF-xy6br]

AMEN

[@mackey-5438]

Westworld is definitely a show with a Twin Peaks influence. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

[@cinemar]

It has no humour whatsoever. The mystery is explained via expositional dialogue and all the characters are basically identical to each other. Westworld is all surface with no feeling. Twin peaks dives deep down to the bottom of your soul. Westworld isn't even close to imitating Twin Peaks. WW is a show that is so far up it's own arse that it can't even manage to stop taking itself so seriously for even a second. I just don't see the influence at all.

[@mackey-5438]

An example would be when William is revealed to be a young version of the Man In Black. William's story happened in a past timeline. Kinda reminiscent of "Is this future, or is this past?". But I agree that Westworld is all sizzle and no steak. Twin Peaks stays with you long after the viewing time is over (which is true of most of Lynch's work).

[@cinemar]

Yeah I guess so but it's a stretch. That was probably the only interesting moment I've seen in WW. The thing is that's just a flashback constructed via the editing. In Twin Peaks the "Is this future, or is this past?" concept is unsettling to say the least and stays with you for all time. And even if you think you know there's always an argument for you not being any the wiser which to me is true mystery. In WW the mystery of William/Man in Black is already answered. I guess on the other hand they could've replicated a younger version of William so when we see young William it's actually the future or they're both in the present and Man in Black could meet himself. The shame with WW is all the lost opportunities that aren't being exploited in the story. The "Let's kill all humans" trope is so redundant now. I need to see droids come up with something original. I'm working on a film at the moment that will be laden with beautiful and terrifying darkness, but it's hard to get stuff made at my 'nobody' level. btw the conversation is much appreciated.

[@shaneharrington3655]

masterpiece

[@kinghadbar]

God I miss it.

[@sablesanctum]

Right there with you.

[@TolkienStudy]

Wow he’s right. Brilliantly said, Bret.

[@RochesFan]

I finally got around to watching the original two seasons of Twin Peaks for the first time because Lynch was making a continuation to it. After completing it, I justly acknowledged it as legendary TV. So, coming off of that experiential high, my attempt at watching the belated third season petered out because I found it by turns annoying (Cera's appearance), too in love with what I feel is sterile 3D animation, and just baffling (the Dougie plotline which apparently everyone else loved). Oh well.

[@PeterEvansPeteTakesPictures]

Sorry you didn't enjoy it. Did you catch Fire Walk With Me, the film in between the series? The new one I feel to be a different beast, one I didn't always fully enjoy but a strange waking dream that just keeps getting stronger and stronger in memory. It seemed to articulate my unease at the shift that's occurring in the world at large, while at the same time reassuring me that goodness still exists and will endure, however powerless at times in the face of evil. If I'm wanting to chill with a Twin Peaks in the evening, I'll pick the original series nine times out of ten for sheer enjoyment, but season three has haunted my thoughts and feelings more than any TV show I can remember.

[@RochesFan]

Sure - I've seen Fire Walk With Me and The Missing Pieces - everything except reading the official books, like the Secret History of Twin Peaks. The difference in response I had to Twin Peaks' season 1 vs. season 3 was massive. The pilot ran the gamut from putting me on or past the point of tears when the high school principal announced Laura Palmer's death, to sharing her mother's inexplicable horror at this vision of a hand reaching into a pile of dirt to retrieve a necklace at the very end. (Everyone talks about what a great screamer Sheryl Lee is, and they're right - but Grace Zabriskie's performance there is just gut-wrenching, and sets every hair on end every time I see it.) I'm glad season 3 got under your skin, even though it didn't get under mine. I'm curious what specific things you attribute the source of your unease to.

[@curiositytax9360]

The first two seasons but especially season 2 are very low quality and difficult to get through. Every time Lynch directs an episode, it’s like a jolt to the system. The difference in quality is staggering. It’s a shame he never directed more episodes of the show. Thankfully, he did the beginning, middle and end so you can at least get through the original series and feel satisfied.

[@JAMAICADOCK]

Twin Peaks was basically trolling TV. I mean a minute long establishing shot of someone sweeping up a bar. Which you might say was a satirical attack on the formulaic nature of TV. as in INT, BANG BANG BAR, NIGHT - open on bartender sweeping floor, Cut to ………. Lynch takes a minor scene and lengthens it to absurdity, basically deconstructing the format

[@alfredallen5591]

You can't upload the whole episode?

[@madzhowitz]

can someone share these patreon episodes? there's a problem with payment for foreign members so we are currently unable to enjoy the podcast. if youre down dm please

[@dorianleakey]

Hopelessness? the evil spirits travel on electricity and laura shorted out the electricity in her old house with ehr scream and we know her purpose is to fight evil. It was a happy ending.

[@edwardmckenzie4273]

This is also my interpretation of the finale however it's power remains in the abstract nature, "what we believed", was conveyed. The ambiguity is what keeps people talking about it.

[@fourthaeon9418]

You don’t know what happened as nothing was explained. Isn’t it great how you can celebrate you having to use headcanon to make sense of what you saw? For all you know Laura’s head exploded as the screen went black.

[@PeterEvansPeteTakesPictures]

I don't think it was an ending necessarily without hope but it was an ending filled with bleak horror, much as I wish I could subscribe to your interpretation. I do love how it is open for us to intepret, but from my purely emotional take I see it as anything but a victory. They are adrift and alone in a cold world.

[@fourthaeon9418]

The ambiguity of the return is celebrated in a way nothing else would ever be celebrated because unlike other incoherent garbage, the return bases itself in the hope that someday you will get the show you really wanted which ended in the 90s. So you sit there trying to make sense of the many open end meandering plot lines that had no real impact on anything. As the only alternative conclusion to your contrived unverifiable explanations, would be the painful acceptance that David Lynch unintentionally made something awful like every other creative artist ever.

[@FredSmith110]

Very good programme. However, I do think that a lot of time was wasted in Las Vegas, when the hero was stumbling around.