10 Things We Learned From Twin Peaks: The Return Premiere

4. The Death Count Is Already Immense

Good Cooper
Showtime

Lots of people die grisly deaths in The Return.

An obese, decapitated woman heralds the beginning of the South Dakota subplot. The doomed young couple in New York are eaten alive. DoppelCoop is shown shooting two women in the head, their eye sockets blown open.

There was nothing as intimate, nor as harrowing, as Madeline Ferguson's death in the original series - yet - but death is everywhere. Every life had meaning in the town of Twin Peaks, circa 1989. To put in perspective how far the franchise has come, life is treated in The Return as an expendable commodity by its antagonist - something to discard pithily in the name of some unknown but expansive aim.

Though Lynch professed during his scant promotional murmurs that he didn't see the transition from network to premium cable television as an excuse to ramp up the violence - everything was as the story dictated - he has done so, nonetheless.

This is dark, dark stuff for those more au fait with Twin Peaks than Lynch's cinematic output.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!