Twin peaks: Mid-Season 2 (Revisited)

The first and only way I have seen this section of Twin Peaks so far, the second half of Season 2's reputation had led me to intentionally avoid investing time in the franchise until I noticed this edit crop up in the forum.

Apart from a few instances (couple of shots feeling a touch short, the remaining sections of James Hurley's very abridged story feeling a little out of place) this edit follows the preceding half-season very naturally. It can't help feeling different to what came before (with the central mystery of the earlier episodes being solved), but in my opinion this can be overcome simply by considering it as a separate season, say Season 2.5.

Not sure when (if ever) I will get around to watching the edited episodes in their original form, will update the review if necessary. From what clips I have seen of them though I think that could only make this edit look better in comparison!

I'm an avid David Lynch fan and I've watched Twin Peaks straight through many a time. Season 2 becomes a slog, many know that. I'm normally not keen on Lynch fan edits, but considering that he didn't have as much input in this stretch of episodes, a fan edit seemed appropriate for this case.

MisterCooper worked fantastically to trim the clumsier elements from the later third of the series, resulting in two fewer episodes when everything's said and done. Some highlights:

- James's arc is stripped to its bare essentials, giving more of a glimpse into his soap opera escapades rather than languishing in it. I consider that this works, as the less of this content, the better.
- Little Nicky is gone.
- Ben Horne's Civil War charade is reduced to a single-scene inclusion.
- Windham Earle is handled verrrrrry differently. While I appreciate his character in the original show, the restraint in his inclusion here works to boot the mystique of his presence.

The edit itself is technically tight and the narrative holds together with greater tension and a more focused mystery. My only qualm is the inconsistent runtime of the separate episodes, but I understand that managing this while stitching together a fragmented story would be difficult. In the case of marathoning, this note is minor anyhow.

I'd suggest any fan of Twin Peaks give this edit a shot, definitely for any nonpurist who struggles through season 2.

I've been a fan of David Lynch's work since this series back in the 90's. I, like many others, were sorely disappointed in how the second half of Season 2 went. Despite this, I ended up buying probably every release of this show, including VHS, the Korean release of the Pilot episode, multiple versions of the DVD releases, and now digitally.

The parts that MisterCooper deals with are exactly the things that need removing. This version definitely returns a good-watching experience with the show's second half. I agree with some of the others, that there may be a little too much Nadine, with the wrestling or tossing. But at least its watchable as presented. It felt like the James story line was left hanging a bit. But to be fair I couldn't have cared less. This version was much better than what we were given.

Technically the transitions, music, and video cuts are absolutely phenomenal. The quality of this release is on par with the digital version that I started with. Absolutely stunning!

All in all, an amazing release that any TP fan should give a watch. Thanks MisterCooper, I look forward to other fanedits you have in the works.

I have watched the original series multiple times. As many will agree the second half of season 2 went off the rails. This edit corrects that and makes the second half stand on its own. After completing the edit, I can't say there was anything that I really missed, instead I was left with a sense of satisfaction knowing that I can look forward to rewatching season 2 again in the future. Thanks MisterCooper for this truly essential edit!

All right now, so, Twin Peaks is not just any show; it's easily one of the absolute richest, most tantalizing, unusual, daring, confoundingly mysterious mythologies existing in fiction. I remember seeing the premiere way back when and the show never left me; lo these long years waiting to see what happened to our dear fallen angel "Agent Cooper" (Audrey's last words...), and in 2017 getting more than just a valentine from that most scrupulous of alchemical wizard magicians, David Lynch, but instead a stone masterpiece which exploded all of our attempts at theorizing the mythos, and into a brand-new, expanded sphere beyond the wildest dreams of even the most die-hard champion of Twin Peaks, who understands innately that this isn't a "show". Never was, and never will be.

Now that I've planted my flag firmly in the ground, let me say to you, dear reader, taking your time and, grinning perhaps in that achingly knowing way only a fellow fan would understand, or grinning in bewilderment over this dude's weird rambling if you're uninitiated (poor you!), that you know as much as I do the flaws that exist in Season 2 remain forever the (necessary?) fly in the ointment.

I've tried my own hand at editing the series down, with little success, although with a cheap piece of software it's relatively easy to isolate the idiocy of some of those decidedly pseudo-Lynchian plotlines and jettison them. I had my own cut for a while which succeeded to a degree, but I wanted to watch a more professional labor of love. My two cents:

Coop here has done the expected - let me break down the pros and cons of this project:

*Dick & Nick - gone. Nothing needs to be said here.

*James & Evelyn - gone....almost. I think our last glimpse of James should be riding the bike out of Twin Peaks. There's no need to bring the story in at all, as it is awkward and as jittery in this truncated form. Just have Donna get that postcard from San Fran and that's that.

*Pete & Catherine - interesting to see the stuff of them with Josie (<-- you understand why the log lady talks to her log, right?) jettisoned; now that it's gone, it does seem extremely out of character for Pete to bully her, given the utter sweetness of that relationship. Pete in general has such a charm that any scene with him and any woman in Twin Peaks is worth keeping (more on this later), but the few scenes where he goes on with Catherine are indeed weird.

*Ben / Audrey / Bobby - yes, minimized to include only the bare essentials of getting Bobby in with Ben. (*it is telling how inane Sherilyn Fenn's "like to lick" line is delivered; she clearly is needing the maestro's hand to handle these kinds of scenes)

*I think we still have one Nadine wrestling scene too many; otherwise, I've always been pleasantly charmed by this plotline.

*The entire plotline with Lana serves ultimately to deal with the Mayor's reaction to her not winning. I wonder if any of that stuff is even remotely needed, because I think his "outrage" could be edited around. Intrepid editor - is there a larger reason for keeping all this in there other than the buildup to the contest and her loss?

*Pete & Audrey - now, now, now....we absolutely HAVE to have the scene where Pete comforts Audrey post-Jack blowing town. I mean, c'mon, that's a beauty, and goes right with the awkwardly charming age gap between Pete and any woman 1/3rd his age (and leads nicely into their sweetly greeting one another as she's chained to the bank vault in the finale - Pete meets his demise in her presence, and this scene should be there. "Love stinks." - Audrey. Indeed. Pete invites her fishing. Man, that's such sweet stuff I was sad to see it go.

However, I'm more than happy to have Jack's "yes I tuck in my sweater" moment gone. What a howler that one always was.

*Earle - now, this was interesting to see, or, more to the point, to ***not see***. I didn't ever think to remove his scenes with Leo and, yes, in thinking about it they are pretty ridiculous, but now the absence of these makes Earle a better character. I do think it would be interesting to have him simply say, "I'm Windom" to Leo without the last name. His absence is great, fantastic, and it does add a layer of real weirdness to what may exactly be going on with Windom and Leo (that's up to our viewer now), especially in light of Coop's discovery of the handwriting, and Leo's return to Twin Peaks (at the beginning, not end, of your Ep 19) with him chained up and trying to ensure the Major doesn't suffer the same mysterious fate as whatever it is he is going through (again, less is more here!)

HOWEVER, we have got to have the spiders. We have to have the spiders. If for no other reason than to allow for Lynch's finale episode to have that wonderful moment where Leo is shown "having the time of his life" with the spiders. Spiders! Let's have spiders!

All the kudos in the world to you, Agent Cooper. I had a blast watching this over the past number of weeks. Anyone who appreciates the mythos of Twin Peaks on the deep rabbit hole level it should be appreciated on can relate to editing projects like this one. If you're interested and game for any of the suggestions above for a v2 or 3 of any of the eps, please let me know, I'd love to see them.