You weren't being trashed, Yambag021.... ?
The first post was just funny the way it swung both ways.... (I'm sorry I laughed)
But I kinda understand how you feel. Complain about it yet can't take eyes off it, huh? That's me too, in a nutshell. ?
It swung both ways bc honestly my feelings on the season swings back and forth.
One way: ugh this is slow as shit and nothing like
Other way: eh, if he just did season 1/2 again, it would be bland.
Episode 7 was a Fountain if youth for this season for me though. Enough stuff progressed the season in my opinion to rejuvenate my interest.
I don't agree with you at all. Your opinion and you're entitled to it, though. My opinion, however, goes like this:
For me, this is the best there's ever been. This is how the original show should have been done, with zero interference from the studio.
Guests, set pieces, interludes and other seemingly odd scenes are all part of the fabric and help to build up the texture and detail in the show. Lynch has a masterful grasp of direction and here, he's at the top of his game. Kyle M is acting his socks off, and he looks like he's having a load of fun with it, too.
As for clues, theories and so forth, I really can't be bothered with all that. Whatever needs to be said and done, will be said and done at the right time.
The show is, so far, everything I hoped it would be... and far more.
I'm in the same boat with Yambag021, i.e. disappointed with the new season. I also agree Episode 7 righted the ship a bit, and of course I'm still interested in how the story unfolds, but the original seasons of Twin Peaks (1 more-so than 2, decidedly) and Fire Walk With Me have this ineffable, inexplicable aura of mystery and wonder that Lynch just hasn't (yet) managed to recapture (in my opinion). Perhaps lightning does only strike once. I think it has a lot to do with cast, setting, music, pacing and - above all - the story. Laura Palmer's story, and the ensuing investigation, is just more compelling (again, to me) than the Good Coop / Bad Coop / insurance fraud-busting Dougie narrative. Last week's episode did, however, give me hope that the arc of the story is now bending back ("The Return") towards those woods, so beautiful and strange.
I'm in the same boat with Yambag021, i.e. disappointed with the new season. I also agree Episode 7 righted the ship a bit, and of course I'm still interested in how the story unfolds, but the original seasons of Twin Peaks (1 more-so than 2, decidedly) and Fire Walk With Me have this ineffable, inexplicable aura of mystery and wonder that Lynch just hasn't (yet) managed to recapture (in my opinion). Perhaps lightning does only strike once. I think it has a lot to do with cast, setting, music, pacing and - above all - the story. Laura Palmer's story, and the ensuing investigation, is just more compelling (again, to me) than the Good Coop / Bad Coop / insurance fraud-busting Dougie narrative. Last week's episode did, however, give me hope that the arc of the story is now bending back ("The Return") towards those woods, so beautiful and strange.
Reading your post kind of helped me get what my issue is.
Season 1/2, from the door they told you the focal point, finding Laura's killer.
Season 3 is kind of all over. It's telling several stories at once. They are told with a hint they will tie together.....And when (if) they do, I think it'll be a great payoff.
Season 1/2 had different plotlines, but they were introduced gradually.
Seeing the teasers for this week, I'm pumped for the new episode. Hopefully 8 builds off of 7's momentum.
To be fair to the OP, I have always enjoyed Lynch stories. I am enjoying the return. However, my enjoyment is not without limits. I have never been a fan of scenes like the roadhouse floor cleaning. In the last episode (#8) I became somewhat tired of the trip through the trinity blast. I understand that sometimes his scenes are about scratching the surface and norms of his audience, but I also feel that effect doesn't take multiple minutes to be delivered. I find myself sometimes offended that Lynch feels it necessary to throw us a 'slow ball' that over exaggerates his point.
My point, you don't have to enjoy everything Lynch does to enjoy everything Lynch is.
You can speak your opinions freely, just as I or anybody else can. Saying you think something is shit is not trolling. We're all here to have an interesting, meaty discussion, not circle jerk each other. So let's all skip the political correctness and get stuck into it!
Having said that, I'll try to put your own sentiments in context by giving some of my own. Everything comes down to personal preference, so this is all I can really do.
"This show so far hasn't come close to how good season 1-2 are".
I feel otherwise, although I totally understand why you feel that way (and I find the fact we disagree interesting).
While I appreciated the quirks and intermittent surreal touches of the first two seasons, I found them pretty lame, and the quirkiness was far too lightweight for my own taste.
Without trying to oversimplify or overgeneralise the situation, I feel that Season 3 really polarises the diehard traditional Twin Peaks fans from the diehard David Lynch fans (I count myself among the latter camp). Seen from that perspective, I count myself lucky.
"At least half of the episodes have flat out been boring".
I don't entirely agree; however, I don't entirely disagree either. Having said that, I found the first two seasons far more boring (along with cheesy, dated, moseying, and dull).
However, throughout the entire viewing I was mindful of the fact that I missed out on the show's proper historical context. I only saw the original stuff for the first time this year, instead of watching it in the age it was made (when I was only 6 years old, and completely unaware of its existence).
So it goes without saying that by the time I got around to watching it properly, the shock had well and truly worn off.
"Touching on #2, it feels like they are forcing in guests for the star name power buzz. Like Michael cera for example, total waste imo".
Haha yes! I usually can't stand cameos in any sense, and in my not-so-humble opinion, this scene was insufferably humourless and dumb, even by Twin Peaks standards. Having said that, I started laughing when Frank Truman finally got away from this Brando-aping idiot and briefly shook his head in exhaustion and bewilderment (much like I did).
"I love how kyle has gone from Dougie to bad coop, but it's not Emmy worthy, sorry. Same goes for Laura Dern after one episode. It's been great seeing kyle go back and forth with two opposite characters, but people are going way overboard".
I'm not sure how I feel about that, but I'll hold off on expressing an opinion until all 18 episodes have aired. Nonetheless, I think MacLachlan is absolutely terrific in this season, and he probably makes his performance/s look a lot easier than it is/they are.
"The tie-ins to other lynch works. I really hope this isn't the case".
I do too, I have no interest in universe building whatsoever; it's a dog-tired trend. I just put it out of my mind while watching, and completely ignore any comments Lynch may make about this. If he starts including any explicit/obvious references, I'll try and focus on how they work within the show itself (as opposed to concentrating that they're references in the first place).
"While I said episodes have been boring, I will say they have gradually improved".
Definitely, and I think you've uncovered a conundrum here. Lynch conceived this season as an 18-hour film, and while I don't think binging would be the best way to absorb it, I also feel that one episode a week creates an effect that's too fragmentary and discombobulating (especially taking into consideration the whiplash changes in atmosphere and tone).
Personally, I don't mind this effect at all, but I do find having to wait a week breaks the spell too often. I keep trying to discipline myself to wait until all seasons have aired in order to really sink my teeth into it, although that plan seems to have well and truly fallen by the wayside 😉
"Even though Ive given up trying to figure anything out and just watch the episodes, I still come to this Damm site and read up on the theories from everyone".
Not a bad thing at all! For someone who initially sneered smugly at all those crackpot theorists, I've also found myself reading a lot of miscellaneous recaps and feedback. Even if I don't necessarily want to know what this means or that means, taking in other people's general impressions constantly allows me to enjoy this whole experience on different levels.
Watching this new season has been really fascinating honestly. I was just reading another article where they described the original Twin Peaks series as "smuggling arthouse into network television." (or something along those lines)
David Lynch is SO good at what he does. The layered storytelling and symbolism, the tension building, the mystery with the slow reveal (or no reveal). But at the same time having to tailor his vision to a wider audience and partner with Mark Frost resulted in an incredibly emotionally engaging television show with some of the best characters of all time.
And now Lynch is allowed to have full control over this production in it's third series and it is so much more intensely "Lynchian" or arthouse or whatever you want to call it... and I love it! In my personal opinion it's brilliant and so different from anything on right now. Sometimes the long drawn out scenes drive me nuts. Sometimes I love them because I know they are building up tension, and when something happens it's going to have so much more impact. I don't want EVERY show to be like this one. But I really do think I wouldn't love it as *much* if I wasn't already totally engaged with the series and it's characters and so invested in finding out what happens to them. When and if we finally get a whole Dale Cooper back it is going to be so emotional because of how long we waited, it's going to have that much more impact.
Also the extra layers and secrets that the fans are able to tease out of the show, that is just icing on the cake. That might be my favorite thing about this new season. It gives your brain something to turn over and worry at until you've gotten about ten different theories to play with.
So I think you can reconcile your love for the old show and the new season well. And if you can't yet, I trust that it will in future episodes. Also, I love honest critiques, because I hate it when "art" turns into the emperors new clothes. I am loving the new season for the reasons I listed above, but admittedly a lot of my love is built on the first two seasons. Still so excited to see where this all goes.
Fire walk with