The Return on Silver Screen Proves Why Fans Come Back to Twin Peaks
I have watched The Return several times now since its release in 2017. Each time, it feels like descending into a cave that should feel familiar—haven’t you been here a hundred times already? And yet, each descent into the third season of Twin Peaks feels almost alien. There are always hidden caverns to explore, new narrative threads to pull and unravel that often feel like they lead you nowhere.
Twin Peaks: The Return Offers Meditation on Grief, Feeling Life in the Moment
Two days after the dream, I entered a darkly lit theater in Northwest Film Forum to the familiar sound of the synth-heavy, nostalgic yet eerie Twin Peaks theme song, and shuffled into a seat. I was about to spend two hours watching episodes five and six of Twin Peaks: The Return (2017), as part of a collaborative screening of the entire 18-episode season held by Northwest Film Forum, SIFF, The Beacon, and The Grand Illusion Cinema between November 13 and December 16 of this year. I had only watched the first four episodes of the first season of David Lynch’s masterpiece series set in our home state. But there I sat, going in blind.
Twin Peaks: The Return Premiered with Die-Hard David Lynch Fans at NWFF
Twin Peaks, and indeed the entirety of David Lynch’s oeuvre, was and will always be a communal experience for me. I saw my first David Lynch movie, Mulholland Drive, in an almost-sold-out screening at the SIFF Egyptian in 2023. From then, I watched Blue Velvet, Inland Empire, Eraserhead, and more, reporting my jumbled but inspired thoughts, theories, and emotions back to more senior Lynch fans and friends. Though an endlessly long watchlist prevented me from visiting the humble, beloved town of Twin Peaks, Lynch’s passing in 2025 awakened the urgency to make the trip.
Twin Peaks: The Return of the Return
“I’ll see you in twenty-five years.” These were the final words the spirit of Laura Palmer whispered to Agent Dale Cooper during the season two finale of Twin Peaks in 1991. In 2017, Laura’s farewell became the backdrop for Twin Peaks: The Return, the third and truly final season of David Lynch’s and Mark Frost’s beloved cult classic. And now, The Return returns. This time it’s being presented across Seattle by The Grand Illusion Cinema, The Beacon, Northwest Film Forum, and SIFF.
