10 Things We Learned From Twin Peaks: The Return Part 16
3. There Is Now Music In The Air
"Listen to the sounds."
Lost amid the justified praise of the original series soundtrack, a spectral, transportive rush, is how overused it was. Laura Palmer's Theme, a haunting melodrama in the first season, was flogged in season two - used to carry the leaden weight of virtually every sombre scene, the adjective being nominal, more often than not. Much like an ill-defined sense of quirkiness, the theme was bastardised. The jazzy drumming of Freshly Squeezed devolved into the feet of zombies as the show shuffled towards irrelevance. The Return hasn't leaned heavily on Angelo Badalamenti. At all. Lynch has instead largely used silence as a means of conveying the thematic detachment coursing through the show, and a minimalist, droning use of sound design to flare the subconscious and lull the viewer from a Dougie Jones-like state of shocked catatonia.
When Dale Cooper returned, so did the music. Twin Peaks Theme swelled as the heart did - reaching a crescendo as Cooper confirmed to Bushnell Mullins, in the second contender for line of the series, that he is the FBI.
Music, more so than any other medium, has the capacity to move. The sparse use was all purposeful, leading us to this moment of sheer euphoria and reassurance.