TWIN PEAKS, Season II and FIRE WALK WITH ME Deciphered

In the early 1990s, the director was literally everywhere. His face gazed at readers from the covers of prestigious magazines, including the American The Times, which in October 1990 dedicated a large article to him titled The Wild-at-Art Genius – Behind Twin Peaks. Industrial Symphony No. 1 – The Dream of the Broken Heart, the first and also last play directed and produced by Lynch, was staged at one of America’s most prestigious theaters. The music created for the series and its continuation, which appeared on the solo album Into the Night, made Julee Cruise a performer filling concert halls.

Lynch received dozens of commercial offers, carefully selecting the most interesting ones. From his hands came advertising campaigns for brands like Yves Saint Laurent, Calvin Klein, and Giorgio Armani (commercials for perfumes produced by the fashion industry titans). Lynch also created video material promoting Michael Jackson’s Dangerous tour.

A separate issue was his status in Japan, where Twin Peaks became a national obsession. Lynch became the biggest American star in Japan, which did not go unnoticed by the series’ producers. Many advertising campaigns were made for Japanese television, including a series of commercials set in the Twin Peaks TV town, directed by Lynch, promoting Japan’s most popular coffee.

These marketing strategies were fully understandable, considering the fact that Sheryl Lee (who played Laura Palmer) recalled witnessing a symbolic funeral for her character during a promotional visit to Japan. The attendees wept and cried as a coffin with a lifelike doll of Laura Palmer, wrapped in the iconic plastic bag from the series’ prologue, was buried. The world can be crazier than even David Lynch’s wildest visions.

However, Lynch’s popularity acted like a double-edged sword. As the pulse of enthusiasts for his work increased, so did the dissatisfaction of those who didn’t see him as a small-town American directorial genius. Moreover, the immense success of Twin Peaks attracted an audience that was definitely not ready for what Lynch had to offer, leading to some friction when these TV viewers encountered certain elements of the director’s cinematic productions. Even before the American premiere of Wild at Heart, there was a controversy about the film’s age rating. If the distributors decided to release the European version shown at Cannes, it risked being given an X rating, which at the time was a stricter version of the popular R-rating.

This would have meant that viewers under the age of 17 could not see the film, even with adult supervision. This restriction posed a threat to the film’s financial results, so Lynch was forced by producers to adapt the film for the American market. As a result, a scene in which Bobby Peru blows his head off was “censored” with a cloud of smoke from the shotgun covering his head’s dramatic flight. This, despite many other censorial objections, was enough to secure an R-rating for the film. Ultimately, Wild at Heart grossed over $14.5 million in the U.S., which, given the type of production and its budget hovering around $10 million, was a fairly decent result.

In the context of Wild at Heart, accusations also began to surface against Lynch that had been quietly voiced after the release of Blue Velvet in 1986. Critics accused him of promoting extreme misogyny, culminating in the scene of Bobby Peru’s emotional rape of Lula, left in the small town of Big Tuna. To support their arguments, critics listed elements of Lynch’s work that depicted the abuse or exploitation of women. Dorothy Vallens being tormented by the demonic Frank came back into the spotlight, and it was pointed out that Twin Peaks largely revolved around the persecution and murder of an underage girl.

After the prologue of Wild at Heart, accusations of racism also arose. It was noted that the criminal subdued by Sailor, who threatens him and Lula with a knife, was Black, which was seen as reinforcing negative stereotypes about African Americans. Things were happening.

Who killed Laura Palmer?

While creating the first season of Twin Peaks, Mark Frost and David Lynch were uncertain whether ABC would want them to return to the set for a second season. To optimize their chances, they ended the eighth episode of the series with a typical cliffhanger, which could potentially electrify the audience and, in case of moderate enthusiasm for the production, convince producers to fund at least a few more episodes.

It turned out that shooting Cooper in the eighth episode wasn’t necessary to get ABC’s green light and the funds needed to produce the second season. People still wanted to know who killed Laura Palmer, and television producers couldn’t ignore this demand.

Unfortunately, the famous question about the identity of the murderer of the most popular student attending the high school in the forest-surrounded town of Twin Peaks became a curse for the series. The average American consumer wasn’t used to waiting so long for the resolution of a crime mystery. ABC began pressuring the creators more and more, demanding they finally reveal to the viewers who was responsible for Laura Palmer’s death. Their claims were supported by the series’ declining viewership compared to the first season. In a way, the network was right. Many casual viewers, who had come across the first episode of Twin Peaks and decided to stay in that world to discover the solution to the mystery of the body washed ashore in a dirty plastic bag, started turning away from the series because it was significantly different from what could be seen on American television at the time.

Many people likely felt deceived, or even manipulated, by Frost and Lynch, who consistently delayed revealing the mystery. For a large part of the audience, it was seen as a cunning game meant to stretch the series as much as possible to accommodate the largest number of commercial breaks. ABC, which charged hefty fees for these breaks, didn’t like the drop in viewers, so they decided that solving the mystery—and, as a result, pushing the plot of the series forward—was necessary to re-energize the audience and encourage them to follow the characters’ fates. However, this was the wrong approach.

The creators ultimately gave in, and in the seventh episode of the second season, the 15th episode of the series overall, the world learned that Laura Palmer’s murderer was her father, Leland. The airdate of this episode, November 10, 1990, can be seen as the symbolic beginning of Twin Peaks’ downfall. ABC indeed got its way and achieved short-term success because the episode Lonely Souls, written by Mark Frost and directed by David Lynch, attracted over 17 million viewers—six million more than the previous episode, a figure comparable to the episodes from the first season. While it initially seemed that revealing the identity of the killer was a smart move and that the newly gained audience would stay with Twin Peaks for the long haul, it quickly became apparent that the series wasn’t ready for such a resolution.

In hindsight, Lynch claims that giving in to the network’s pressure was one of the biggest mistakes of his career. Frost, who during the production of the second season was essentially the main coordinator of both the script and the on-set activities, has also repeatedly mentioned the disastrous effects of that decision.

After Leland’s unmasking, Twin Peaks hit a dead end. Lynch, who had distanced himself from the series earlier (mainly due to his work on Wild at Heart), withdrew from it entirely. He did not return to the set as a director or screenwriter until the final episode, in which he was responsible for creating the surreal ending and the famous cliffhanger that closed the second season. Even worse, Mark Frost also significantly distanced himself from the project, as he got the opportunity to make his own feature film, Storyville.

After the 15th episode, the series began to decline significantly in quality. Despite the fact that audiences, through dozens of letters sent to the creators, demanded that the rest of the series focus on the relationship between Audrey and Cooper, the creators decided not to take that route. The ultimate argument in this matter was apparently Kyle MacLachlan’s opinion (Cooper’s actor), who stated that his character would never allow himself to have a romance with a high school girl. There’s a lot of truth in that statement, but it didn’t stop the speculation about the abrupt ending of the potential romance between the FBI agent and the student. Many attributed this development to Lara Flynn Boyle, MacLachlan’s partner during the second season.

The actress was supposedly pathologically jealous of Sherilyn Fenn, who played Audrey, so any love scenes or bedroom scenes were out of the question at the time. Frost jokingly says he regrets not putting into the script that Audrey had repeated a grade several times, making a romance with Cooper more plausible and a good foundation for the rest of the series. The odd cessation of this storyline led to the introduction of Annie, who became the object of Cooper’s affection. Frost saw this move as a clear mistake, believing that a character introduced so late couldn’t win over the audience’s favor. The lack of clear ideas for the plot’s development led to the over-exploitation of side threads, which over time became less coherent and, in Frost’s view, caused the character Windom Earle to appear too early.

Earle, who was supposed to be a villain in the final episodes, became a long-running character whose plotline dragged out, diluting its impact. David Lynch was also unhappy with this, emphasizing that Earle was a character created solely by Frost. Nonetheless, after the 15th episode (with the exception of the season finale), Lynch decided not to interfere with the script as he was dissatisfied with the direction the series was taking (partly due to ABC’s pressure).

The final blow to Twin Peaks came with changes to the network’s schedule and attempts to cancel the series before the second season ended. Moving the show’s airtime to 10 p.m. on Saturdays caused the loss of more viewers, who preferred other activities on Saturday nights rather than sitting in front of the TV. This drop in viewership prompted ABC to abandon the series. Fan intervention allowed for the production of a few more episodes, which aired late on Monday nights. In May 1991, the network officially announced that Twin Peaks would be taken off the air, and a third season was not in the plans. Two final episodes were aired in June, and Lynch left his mark on the finale once again.

Fire Walk with Me

When Agent Cooper hit his head on a mirror, blood trickled from his forehead, his mouth twisted into a terrifying smile, and his reflection turned into BOB, the show’s embodiment of evil and the darkest secrets hidden in the woods surrounding Twin Peaks, viewers who had made it to the second season’s finale were left stunned. ABC clearly stated that this was the end of the series, yet the creators left the audience with many unresolved mysteries and a cliffhanger that made Cooper’s shooting in the eighth episode seem like a minor event. This situation would not change, however. The television adventure of Twin Peaks came to an end, although now we know that the prophecy uttered by Laura Palmer in the Red Room turned out to be true, and the series would return to viewers in 2017 (in a highly surreal vision, Laura told Cooper in 1991 that they would meet again in 25 years).

Lynch wasn’t willing to accept that his journey in Twin Peaks had ended this way. Partly consumed by guilt over distancing himself from the second season’s production and partly due to his strong attachment to the characters and the fictional town, Lynch wanted the dream of Douglas firs, owls, and the mysteries hidden among the trees to continue. A television continuation of the series was out of the question, so the idea of making a feature film arose. Initially, before the final episode aired, none of the producers would have been interested in delving into a world that, according to ABC’s ratings, no longer fascinated viewers. However, after the series finale, a new opportunity arose, making the idea of a feature film more attractive.

In 1991, Lynch signed a deal with CiBy 2000, a studio founded a year earlier by the well-known, though not widely liked, French producer Francis Bouygues. The deal was worth 70 million dollars and stated that Lynch would make his next three films under the studio’s banner. Initially, the first project was going to be Ronnie Rocket (a recurring idea in Lynch’s career), which was allocated 25 million dollars from the budget, followed by One Saliva Bubble, with a third, undefined project in the pipeline. When Lynch made it clear that he wanted to return to the world of Twin Peaks, the plans quickly changed. Ronnie Rocket and One Saliva Bubble were shelved again.

CiBy expressed interest in a feature film based on the series, although in the early stages of production, a problem arose with Kyle MacLachlan, who strongly opposed reprising his role as Agent Cooper. For this reason, it was announced on July 11, 1991, that Fire Walk with Me would not be made. However, Lynch didn’t give up and reached a compromise with the actor. By significantly reducing Cooper’s role and transferring part of his duties to another FBI agent, MacLachlan agreed to appear in the film. Thanks to Lynch’s changes, MacLachlan spent only five days on set. However, other cast members from the series did not return to Twin Peaks.

First and foremost, Mark Frost was absent from the set, declaring that if Lynch wanted to end his adventure with Twin Peaks on his own terms, he wouldn’t stand in his way.

Additionally, Frost believed that it was too soon to return to the fictional town, as the dust from the downfall of the second season had not yet settled. Some of Frost’s comments also reflected his frustration that the Twin Peaks audience tended to attribute all of the show’s merits to Lynch, while its failures and shortcomings were often blamed on Frost. Unfortunately, this bitter reflection holds a lot of truth. Without Frost and his writing skills, Twin Peaks would never have existed. This is something that is too often overlooked.

Lara Flynn Boyle and Sherilyn Fenn also did not return to the film. The absence of both actresses was reportedly due to their involvement in other projects. However, years later, their absence doesn’t seem so clear-cut. According to some sources, Boyle was swept up in the wave of criticism directed at Lynch after the premiere of Wild at Heart and began to see him as a misogynist, unworthy of her acting attention. As for Fenn, she admitted years later that she didn’t return to Twin Peaks because she was disappointed with the level of quality presented in the second season of the series. She felt somewhat betrayed by Lynch, who distanced himself from the production, and didn’t believe the film could recapture the energy that had accompanied her during the production of the first season.

It was no secret that the drop in viewership and the general chaos on the set of the final episodes led to conflicts and misunderstandings among the cast and crew. Still, what Fenn says may not necessarily be true. The actress is known for making many controversial statements about the series, many of which have been debunked by other cast members. Moira Kelly ultimately replaced Boyle as Donna, and Audrey (Fenn’s character) was removed from the script.

After making several necessary changes to the script, primarily due to difficulties in assembling the cast, Lynch was able to proceed with the film. Although Mark Frost was not by his side, Ron Garcia, the cinematographer responsible for creating the visual atmosphere of the pilot episode, returned as the cameraman. While the original production of Twin Peaks was plagued by cold weather, which hindered work in the forested areas of Washington State, the film faced the opposite problem. The production was plagued by extremely hot weather, which was unusual for that region of America. However, Garcia and Lynch chose to ignore the weather, rarely mitigating the effects of the sun with equipment.

The cinematographer and director decided to use the unusual weather to emphasize the contrast between the atmosphere in Twin Peaks before and after Laura Palmer’s death.

In terms of production, things moved quickly. Filming began on September 5, 1991, in Snoqualmie, Washington (the same locations used for most of the series), and ended on October 31. After the first round of editing, the film was about six hours long, but Lynch knew the final cut had to be around 120 minutes. That’s exactly what happened. The final version of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me runs for 134 minutes. Some of the deleted scenes ended up on DVD special editions as bonus features, while others remained in archives. In 1992, though, no one was thinking about that. Lynch once again took his film under his arm and headed to Cannes. This time, however, it was a completely different place for him.

His previous visit to the French Riviera had been a string of incredible experiences and successes. Every Thursday, near the Festival Palace, screenings of the first season of Twin Peaks were held, which was a huge hit on ABC. During these events, people devoured cherry pie and sipped coffee. Lynch himself enjoyed the company of Isabella Rossellini, who introduced him to the customs of Europe’s film elite. In 1991, his relationship with the daughter of the famous Italian director ended. His former partner had long blamed Lynch—his eccentricity, extreme individualism, and inability to sacrifice part of his independence for the sake of a loved one—for the breakup. In 1992, Lynch arrived in Cannes with his editor, Mary Sweeney, who was already pregnant with his son.

Wild at Heart had received mixed reviews in France, sparking many discussions—a good sign for the festival. After the screening of Fire Walk with Me, however, Lynch was literally booed. The press and his industry colleagues were not on his side. Quentin Tarantino, who had previously praised Lynch’s talent, even said that with Fire Walk with Me, Lynch went so far up his own ass that he has no desire to watch any more of his films until he finds his way out. Lynch returned from Cannes not as a victor but defeated.

Following the official release of Fire Walk with Me, it also failed to garner enthusiasm from critics and audiences. The American press almost unanimously declared the film a creative failure, and it didn’t generate much interest in Europe either. Occasionally, reviews appeared that recognized the film as a masterpiece, but these were in the minority. With a budget of about $10 million, it grossed only $4.2 million in the U.S. However, the Japanese once again saved the day, remaining loyal to Twin Peaks until the end. In Japan, the film became a huge hit and immediately achieved cult status.

She Wasn’t Fooling Anyone, She Was Hurt and She Was Hurt Bad

In 1992, Lynch painted a piece titled She Wasn’t Fooling Anyone, She Was Hurt and She Was Hurt Bad.

Like most of his works from that period, it depicts barely visible figures submerged in various shades of black and gray. I See Myself shows a person drifting in the dark, looking at something resembling a mirror and seeing a black, disturbing figure on the other side. Ants in my House, Suddenly My House Became a Tree of Sores, She Was Crying Just Outside the House, and the earlier Shadow of a Twisted Hand Across My House (1988) all focus on depicting the home as a place where something has gone terribly wrong—a space that suddenly stops evoking safety and begins to induce fear. The worst part, however, is that we don’t know what the threat is. In Lynch’s paintings, night almost always prevails around the houses.

Fire Walk with Me captures this atmosphere of entrapment and inevitable downfall. The Palmer home is no longer a safe haven; the darkness has infiltrated it, and the monsters that came with it demand a victim. The saddest thing of all is that from the very beginning, we know that Laura has no chance against the entities from the Black Lodge. With each passing minute, she sinks deeper into the night. Her fate is sealed. I believe this is one of the reasons why Fire Walk with Me was criticized, even by fans of the Twin Peaks universe. Apart from the half-hour prologue focusing on the FBI investigation into Teresa Banks’ disappearance, which stylistically doesn’t quite fit the rest of the film, the feature version of Twin Peaks is almost entirely devoid of the characteristic humor from the TV series.

There are no delicious cherry pies, no tables full of donuts, no hot coffee, no absurd, funny banter between the characters. Instead, Lynch presents a relentless portrayal of the downfall of a young, lost girl crying out for help, who in no way deserves the fate that befalls her. It’s a convincing and deeply sad vision.

All the oddities and sudden appearances of random characters, which many commentators saw as weaknesses in the script and a desire to shock viewers cheaply, are actually an integral part of the nightmare. Their unclear identities and the inability to place them within a logical structure of the film is a deliberate and consistent move that underscores the fact that no one, absolutely no one, knows what lurks in the darkness that has entered Twin Peaks. We know, or rather subconsciously feel—because no one explicitly points it out—that the Red Room characters are evil, that something has crawled out of the woods and is hunting Laura. But neither she nor we can name it. BOB is merely a projection—a personification that allows Laura to write about her nightmares in her diary. The true evil has no name, and this is what’s most terrifying in Fire Walk with Me and in the entirety of Twin Peaks.

There’s a perfect scene in Fire Walk with Me, utterly ruined in foreign versions of the film. Laura and Donna, in a desperate attempt to save her friend, sneak into the secret part of the Roadhouse. The violently pulsing lights put both the characters and the audience into a trance. Around them, scantily clad women writhe, almost everyone is on drugs, and their voices are barely audible over the deafening music. In the original version of the film, nothing is done to remedy this. For the entire, over five-minute scene, the audience hears no dialogue. We see only the movement of lips and observe the lewd game played between the schoolgirls and the adult men who give them drugs. Foreign versions typically add subtitles or voiceovers to reveal the content of the conversations between the characters, but that completely defeats the purpose.

The silent hell of the Roadhouse is the essence of Fire Walk with Me. It’s like a story within a story. Once you cross the threshold of the house, you have only a short moment to turn back. If you decide to venture into the night, you must know that in Lynch’s world, returns are nearly impossible. With each step, your voice grows weaker. Eventually, even a scream becomes a faint whisper, and by then, it’s too late for rescue.

This reflection can be applied to several aspects of Fire Walk with Me, which demonstrates the film’s complexity and ability to be analyzed on multiple levels. On one hand, it functions as a personal vision of addiction. It ties drug problems to family issues, particularly sexual abuse. There’s nothing stopping the viewer from interpreting it independently of the Twin Peaks mythology, seeing all the surreal visions as the result of drug use or as Laura’s tormented mind coping with being raped by her father. On the other hand, following the logic of the television series, one could accept the existence of the Black Lodge as fact. In this case, however, one must consider whether the Lodge is merely a crutch for Lynch—a way to name and, in a sense, tame the evil that eludes his understanding.

Paradoxically, it’s much easier to cope with the thought that everything is BOB’s fault and his army of owls. How else can one come to terms with the idea that a father is raping and murdering his underage daughter if we reject the existence of evil forces lurking in the evergreen Douglas firs?