“Who killed Laura Palmer?” is a question that drips with a pain that Lynch and Frost admirably refuse to clean up and wipe away. Whatever their original intent regarding the resolution of her murder, Laura Palmer is no MacGuffin, no glowing briefcase or unobtainium or Maltese Falcon. She is, or rather was, a real person. She was complicated, obviously, and led multiple secret lives, lives even Donna and James, her best friend, knew nothing about. She was likely an addict. She may have been trafficked. She was a child — Leland and Sarah Palmer’s child. She was Laura Palmer.
Now she’s gone. Through all the surreality and silliness, as suspect after suspect is introduced and dismissed, Lynch and Frost never lose sight of Laura. They never silence the cries of those who loved her, to the point where I found it impossible not to cry along with them all. They never take their eyes off that empty desk. They never let you forget what it means.
I’m reviewing all of Twin Peaks — Season 1, Season 2, Fire Walk With Me, The Missing Pieces, The Return — for Pop Heist, starting with this essay on the series premiere. Twin Peaks is my favorite show, the best ever made, and I’m going to give my heart and soul to this.
Please note that while this is a gift link, Pop Heist is a worker-owned site that makes algorithm-free pop-culture coverage with no big-money backer. No other place would let me do this (or I, Claudius, or The Prisoner). It’s $7/month or $70/a year to subscribe, and it’s worth it.
Tags: david lynch, horror, mark frost, pop heist, TV, TV reviews, Twin Peaks