Why David Lynch thought ‘Twin Peaks’ season two “sucked”
Love it or hate it, David Lynch has honed one of the most distinctive styles in all of cinema. He commits completely to the strange and the surreal, whether he’s telling tales of mutant babies or the House of Atreides. Lynch is not a filmmaker for the masses, but there is a beauty to his uncanny storytelling that has earned him a devoted cult audience over the course of his career.
With the exception of his disowned Dune adaptation, Lynch’s filmography has been widely lauded by those who can stomach it. From the continued deconstruction of Blue Velvet to the masterful Mulholland Drive, his features have garnered cult followings time and time again. But perhaps his most referenced and revered creation comes in the form of the television series Twin Peaks.
First hitting screens in 1990, Twin Peaks sat somewhere between teen show and surrealist nightmare. It kicked off with the death of Laura Palmer before meandering through crime, red curtains and damn good coffee in typical Lynchian fashion. Though it ran for just two seasons at the time, it became a cultural reference point for years to come, even prompting a revival and a follow-up film.
Inspiring Bastille songs and band names, the show became a cultural phenomenon. Many still consider it to be one of the most unique efforts in television history, but Lynch wasn’t always so complimentary about his own creation. Speaking with The New York Times, the creator of the show stated that the pilot was the only part of was “particularly, extremely proud of” and declared that the second season “sucked”.
“It got very stupid and goofy in the second season,” he stated, “It got ridiculous. I stopped watching that show because it got so bad.” It’s a claim that not too many Twin Peaks fans would disagree with, and many others have abandoned the show in the midst of suffering through its second instalment. But did the season of the show truly suck, or was Lynch being harsh in his self-criticism?
It’s certainly true that the second season leant further into the ridiculous and, if we’re to take Lynch’s word for it, the stupid. Diving headfirst into the Black Lodge, the show continued the story of Laura’s death into the first half of the second season, but viewers noticed a dip in quality once her killer’s identity had been revealed in
While the story of Laura’s death continued into the first half of the second season, there was a dip in quality after her killer’s identity was revealed. From there, the show loses its focus and draw. Though Lynch may not have been happy with the final product of the second season, he had a chance to redeem himself with Fire Walk With Me a year later.
Lynch also followed the show up with a third season decades later, entirely eclipsing the disappointment of the second season. Recruiting the beloved Kyle MacLachlan and bringing in huge names like Laura Dern and David Bowie, he made sure that Twin Peaks got the send-off it deserved.
As Lynch himself asserts, season two may be goofy and ridiculous, but this will never eclipse the legacy of the show. References to black-and-white zig-zag flooring and Dale Cooper will long outlive criticism of season two, as Twin Peaks retains its place as one of the most iconic television shows of all time.
Watch a clip from Twin Peaks season two below.
