Twin Peaks Analysis: Meta Themes, The Red Room, and Beyond Life and Death (Part 4) 

I accidentally mislabeled the Meta Themes section as "Part 9", it should be Part 10 and the Red Room section should be Part 11. It's a minor mistake, but I don't think I can go back and correct it so I apologize in advance for any confusion there!

This is honestly one of the best videos I've seen: I've always found Lynch work, Twin Peaks included, to be deeply unsettling. But I never processed it as explicitly and just reflected by saying "This is unsettling because Lynch wanted it to be unsettling, by giving explanations or a linear narrative then he would take away from that unsettling feeling so he consciously decided to just not make sense of any of it so you don't find comfort in resolution and catharsis." Strangely enough your conclusion about meta narrative resonates with that: the open endings, the unsolved mysteries, the intentional disruption of what the audience perceives mirroring what the main characters perceive goes hand in hand with this idea that he is using the medium as a way to criticize our common separation through escapism by deliberately finding ways to rob the audience of that sense of security with all of these techniques.

In the middle of a rewatch right now. Twin Peaks infects my brain like nothing else. No other TV show even comes close. Thanks for the video 😊

The only character who looks directly into the camera in the first two seasons is Mike in S2E6 when he says, "and the damned."

This is why I keep clicking on analysis videos on TP. This was some of the very best work on Lynch I have seen, and that was without watching parts 1-3, and you never really going off the deep end comparing TP to other Lynch works. That would have made this video even more esoteric and it might have suffered for it. Looking forward to watching your backcatalogue, and then maybe I'll have something to add to the discussion

Behind the curtains - The Wizard of Oz - David's biggest influence

Masterpiece of a video. I agree with all of your analysis. These series has put words to my abstract existential and gender-related realizations that Twin Peaks helped me cristalize. But here's a particularly sweet thing it "confirmed" for me--as far as you can use that term regarding Lynch and meaning--: we did *actually* see Cooper during the majority of The Return, it wasn't Dougie Jones, it was the realest, most zen version of Cooper as this ideal of being in the moment and irradiating positive energy to everyone around you through just flowing through life; the pure, childlike Cooper that is separated from his institutional and patriarchal role. And the first time around, most of us didn't even realize it because of our attachment to his power as a male, his power to be the "hero" of the story who saves the girl from a trauma that transcends individual action, something that the ending of Part 18 reveals as a delusion based on (patriarchal) hubris and the simple morality tales that media has accustomed us to. In this light, when the Twin Peaks theme appears along with the "I am the FBI line" in Part 16 it's tragic, because it's a meta cue that feels like fanservice but ultimately sends the character to a narrative cul-de-sac that establishes the powerlessness of the Cooper-as-an-agent character and dooms him to its eventual, indeed very Lovecraftian, finale. And somehow, that makes the beauty of The Return shine brighter. I think a lot of us were expecting the biggest feel-good catharsis to come right at the end, and it was a bummer for sure, but the shock of the last scene makes you ponder over what you missed the first time around expecting payoff--which is the actual aesthetic experience of watching The Return, one that can be very playful and that demands to be in on the joke (hence the cheesiness, the absurd humor, the almost B-movie quality to the blood and guts). Also, the good things you expect to come in the end happen along the way, just as in real life: in a potential reality, that pure version of Cooper achieves happiness surrounded by a loving family, for example. It's almost as if the show seeks to inspire in you a sort of enlightenment about your relationship with fiction via recognizing its utter fakery. It surely did that for me and it has improved every single viewing experience I've had since. Can't help but notice how beautifully that translates to the practice of meditation, because it inspires an analogous cognitive shit about life itself and coping with its dark aspects. I'm pretty sure Lynch is deliberately sending this specific message in his works, and I'd go as far as saying that that is his most essential sense of purpose in making them, if I had to take a guess. Mystical experiences with psychedelics have this motif of everything being illusory, I think because the self, or universe, through the brain, realizes its own feedback loop. You feel like Cooper watching the backstage of reality, constructed by symbolic elements taken out of your own life experience (just like the red room), and then you have two choices. Either you accept the illusion and come back to the drama of existence to be a more loving human being, or you take everything you want from it (power, money, women's bodies) without regard for others as individuals and havers of their own subjective experiences.

Perfect timing! I discovered your channel a couple of days ago and just finished part three of the analysis. Love your work so far and I can't wait for the other videos on Lynch. :)

Just finished watching the original two season run of Twin Peaks, and one thing that really stuck out to me in Beyond Life and Death was the Black Lodge as a physical manifestation of fear. “Fear and love open the doors. Two doors, two Lodges. Fear opens one, the Black. Love, the other.” All of Cooper's biggest fears lie there and eventually his biggest fear, Bob, takes control at the end. I haven't seen Fire Walk With Me or The Return yet, so my interpretation might not make sense, but I thought I should give my two cents on the subject. Amazing video nonetheless!

I thought your voice sounded familiar - I love your red pill series!!!! This is also great, thank you.

Wow, I'm so happy I came across your channel! Great thoughtful content. Greetings from Russia.

That is a beautiful analysis ❤️

Amazing analysis

this was a wonderful series of videos to watch through. I hope you're able to continue doing these analyses and alternative examinations.

Fantastic as always. But DAMN I always saw the reappropriating of the international pilot’s ending as a dream as Coop dreaming of a Twin Peaks that never was. It was awesome seeing it on your video, as you’re my favorite Lynch-related creator in YT. 💜

One of my thoughts about the white horse Sarah Palmer sees, was that the drug Leland was giving Sarah was opioid-based, because heroin is also called "horse".

20:29 Wants. Not needs. If there's one thing you should know about him it's that he doesn't need anything. He wants.

very excited for the fire walk with me analysis, thanks for making these videos!

The Red Room is about the "curtains".

Wow! The algorithm happened to show me your video, and I’m so glad! I’ve been going back through your old episodes and love your analysis!

may i ask where part 3 has gone

Damn fine channel champ (that's short for 'champion').

If the golden egg is the universe from within, can garmonbozia (creamed corn) be a bunch of golden eggs (universes) that are being consumed?

Oh no, not *dramatic drum roll* PATRIARCHY!!

fucking brilliant

Hey I absolutely love your videos and how much depth and nuance you bring to your commentaries, especially on Lynch’s. I just posted my final short film for my film class and wondering if you would give me the time to watch it and leave any feedback or comments you may have. Keep up the good work! I’m always looking forward to your new content ❤

I know this is an older video, but I can't find Part 3!! Has it been removed?

Excellent Analysis.

She's back!

Hey, this is a great series, but I think there's some problem with your editing? Sentences are cut off mid-word (eg at ~16:10) quite often, and has done so in your earlier videos in this series as well. Anyway, thanks for making these videos, they're really interesting.

Love your videos. Would you be interested in making a video on Phantom Thread or other PTA films?

32:05

A daily reminder that Dale Cooper is canonically a trans ally

What happened to part 3?

anyone know wheres part 3?

Mike and The Arm are Good Guys??? WTF?? They literally eat Pain and Sorrow.

Where’s your vids on FWWM?

Yay malmrose

First Comment. 😎

I can hear a constant buzzing in the audio

Did you get your sociology degree? Are you on the west coast?

You wouldn't want to live in a world without some form of patriarchy. In fact, we are spiraling toward it now, and it's horrible.