Today’s cinematic marketplace seems to value nostalgia over anything else. Instead of investing in new projects, the industry has turned in itself, and reverted to almost solely making films that are adaptations, sequels, prequels, remakes, or reboots of some sort of previously existing property or franchise. One of the most common ways to characterize this isthe term “legacy sequel.”This refers to films that essentially remake an original, but use it as a gateway to start a new franchise. More often that not, this results in failure; 2018’sHalloweenhad none of the thrills of John Carpenter’s original from 1978, 2016’sIndependence Day: Resurgencemade anyone that enjoyed the original 1996 film embarrassed by their nostalgia, and theJurassic Worldtrilogy represented some of the worst blockbuster filmmaking of the past several decades.
However, “legacy sequels” are not always failures. 2015’sMad Max: Fury Road, 2017’sBlade Runner 2049,and 2022’sTop Gun: Maverickaren’t just some of the best sequels in recent memory; they are among the most beloved films of the 21st century. A lot of this is due to having the original creator involved in the first place. Having George Miller there to oversee anotherMad Maxstory, utilizing Harrison Ford’s passion for the character of Rick Deckard from 1982’sBlade Runner, and having Tom Cruise willing to perform death defying stunts that topped the originalTop Gunis a big reason whyMad Max: Fury Road, Blade Runner 2049,andTop Gun: Maverickwere as successful as they were.
One story that television fans had been asking for generations was if David Lynch would ever return to the world ofTwin Peaks; although the original series had concluded after an abrupt cancellation in 1991, Lynch had yet to return to the franchise since the1992 prequel filmTwin Peaks: Fire Walk With Mebombed at the box office and received negative reviews at the Cannes Film Festival. However, the Showtime 2017 sequel miniseriesTwin Peaks: The Returndidn’t just utilize nostalgia to be a cash grab. Here’s whyTwin Peaks: The Returnis the greatest legacy sequel of all time.
It Progressed the Story
Twin Peaksoriginally told the story of a small town that is rocked by a shocking murder that reveals its darkest secrets. After the horrific discovery that the teenager Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) has been murdered, the FBI agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) travels to the town of Twin Peaks to investigate who could have been responsible for the crime. What follows is not a traditional mystery in any way. Instead of solely focusing on the details of the crime, Lynch explored the gap in society that existed as a result of Laura’s death. Similar to the thematic subtext he explored in his 1986 masterpieceBlue Velvet, Lynch examined how the seemingly “ideal” small town community wasn’t quite as perfect as some had imagined.
Rather than trying to introduce a new threat,Twin Peaks: The Returndeepened the text of the original story. Lynch continued to explore how the town of Twin Peaks had devolved into darkness in the time that had passed, and only occasionally allowed for nostalgic moments. As a result, the callbacks felt more powerful; a moment where Laura’s old boyfriend, Bobby Briggs (Dana Ashbrook), bursts into tears when he sees a photo of her has a tremendous emotional impact on the viewer. This is only possible because Lynch has taken the time to show how Bobby has changed in the time that has passed since Laura’s death. Bobby was once a drug-addicted, disreputable teenager, but he had grown into a productive member of society.
Related:Why Twin Peaks: The Return Is a Perfect Conclusion to the Franchise
It Criticized Nostalgia
In the originalTwin Peaks, Lynch used the mystery of the story as a means to criticize the flaws that he saw with most mainstream television.Slatereflected that “Twin Peaks’ distinct power was inextricable from its context on 20th-century American network TV, something it was in direct dialogue with.” Within the context of the series,Twin Peaksuses the show-within-a-showInvitation to Loveas a means to criticize viewers that demanded a direct answer to the questions that the series presented.Twin Peakswas always meant to be a satire; those that watched it purely to see whether Laura’s murder was solved were missing the point.
InTwin Peaks: The Return, Lynch shows that digging deeper into her death will only provoke more issues. By trying to undo the murder that had taken place twenty years earlier, Cooper only turns the town into a darker version of itself. If in the originalTwin Peaksused Laura’s murder as a “MacGuffin,” thenTwin Peaks: The Returnused nostalgia for the original series as its inciting incident. This is apparent in the ways that Lynch treats his main character. Those expecting Cooper to be the same as he once was were likely disappointed to see that he doesn’t turn into the normal “Dale Cooper” until nearly the end of the series; for the majority of the show, he’s either the comedic oad Dougie Jones or the dark version of Cooper that took over his body in season 2.
Related:Why The Ending to Twin Peaks: The Return Is Still Perfect
The Brilliant Soundtrack
One of the main reasons that the originalTwin Peaksfelt so cinematicin comparison to other television shows was that it had a score that felt similar to many of Lynch’s classic films such asBlue VelvetandMulholland Drive.Pitchforkreflected that the musical numbers “are used as a guide back toward something resembling reality, a reassuring embrace of the familiar following the rest of the show’s deeply disturbing and bizarre images.”
to makeTwin Peaks: The Returnfeel fresh, Lynch utilized the work of younger artists that could make the new version feel even more exciting; the use of the Chromatics’ “Shadow” in particular in the second episode is a standout. Other highlights include the Muddy Magnolias’ “American Woman” and Rebekah Del Rio’s “No Stars.”
