Do The Missing Pieces work as the last part of Twin Peaks?

[LostInTheMovies]

If considered as part of the story, I think The Missing Pieces work best as a bridge between the series and the film. With that in mind, I've cautiously recommended first-time viewers consider watching them in that order. So far, most disagreement has implicitly been with my premise (the scenes should be considered part of the overall viewing experience) rather than my conclusion (they fit best between series and film). While understandable, this disagreement interests me less than hearing from people who do recognize them as part of the story, but prefer to watch them after the movie.

So there are 2 questions at hand:

1) Do you view The Missing Pieces as canon?

2) If so, when does it make the most dramatic and emotional sense to watch them?

I'm mostly interested to hear from people who answer "yes" to #1 and "at the end of the viewing experience" to #2. What is about the scenes' perspective of Laura & the community that you feel works best after Fire Walk With Me? What is about the final scenes that you feel serves effectively as a conclusion to the whole Twin Peaks saga?

I'm genuinely curious; I doubt David Lynch will ever come out and recommend a particular viewing order (that's not really his style). Thus we have 3 achronological, overlapping yet separate entities at hand here - the series, the film, and the collection of deleted scenes - and it's up to us to determine the approach with the strongest narrative impact.

[BobCooper]

It's all canon. I don't think the Epilogue or anything wraps it up, if anything it asks more questions. I do think though that Cooper and Laura in the Lodge from FWWM works as an ending to the series. I still think though that there is another chapter left in the story.

[LostInTheMovies]

It's all canon. I don't think the Epilogue or anything wraps it up, if anything it asks more questions. I do think though that Cooper and Laura in the Lodge from FWWM works as an ending to the series.

Would you say the scenes fit best before FWWM, if one were to watch all the material straight through as one story? Even for first-time viewers?

(Obviously I do, with the caveat that the deleted FBI scenes feel somewhat awkward this way; but I think the Laura stuff really makes sense as a tonal/stylistic/narrative bridge from the series' perspective to the film's, as I've explained elsewhere.)

[LostInTheMovies]

I still think though that there is another chapter left in the story.

I sense this is all the story we'll get (other than Between Two Worlds as a kind of epilogue). I very much agree that the image from FWWM is the strongest end to the series (certainly stronger than Cooper laughing in the mirror/Laura in the coffee cup on the show or Cooper asking about brushing his teeth/garmonbozia on a spoon in the Missing Pieces).

I'd also add that there seems to be kind of a split in the Frost & Lynch conception of Twin Peaks. At least this is what I gather from what I've read in interviews with both of them, but also observed based on what they created or didn't create:

Frost sees the Twin Peaks story as moving forward into new territory, which is why he didn't want to do the prequel, and still hopes there will be more Peaks in the future. For him, it remains unresolved. Lynch, on the other hand, ended up "ret-conning" it similarly to Mulholland Dr. & Inland Empire (not just through FWWM, but also the Log Lady intros and the re-editing & presentation of the Missing Pieces). He reinvented it as a circular, multifaceted story chronicling a spiritual journey. Although he initially hoped to add more to the story he seems content with how it now stands and doesn't seem interested in resolving Cooper's fate (which, ironically, was set more by Frost than him). It's also worth noting that the story became more and more about Laura Palmer for Lynch as it went along, whereas Frost seemed anxious to move beyond her when it became clear audiences were fixated on her mystery.

[BobCooper]

It's all canon. I don't think the Epilogue or anything wraps it up, if anything it asks more questions. I do think though that Cooper and Laura in the Lodge from FWWM works as an ending to the series.

Would you say the scenes fit best before FWWM, if one were to watch all the material straight through as one story? Even for first-time viewers?

(Obviously I do, with the caveat that the deleted FBI scenes feel somewhat awkward this way; but I think the Laura stuff really makes sense as a tonal/stylistic/narrative bridge from the series' perspective to the film's, as I've explained elsewhere.)

Hmmm, The Missing Pieces make more sense if you've already seen Fire Walk With Me, but like I said, to me the ending of the saga (unless we get any more) is Cooper and Laura in the Black Lodge. Cooper comforting Laura as she prepares to enter the White Lodge with the angels is a powerful image to end on, as Laura is finally finding peace. Cooper though gets a sad ending, but it almost makes him a martyr in a sense. He had the purest heart of them all, and he had to give up his soul to save the woman he loved.

Like I said in another thread, I actually think Fire Walk With Me/The Missing Pieces would probably make more sense if it was a 4 part mini series, because a lot of Cooper and the FBI's stuff especially is its own story.

Episode 1: Cooper/Desmond/Jeffries/Epilogue
Episode 2: Scenes Featuring Non-Laura Cast
Episode 3: Laura Part 1
Episode 4: Laura Part 2/Fire Walk With Me's ending scene

[LostInTheMovies]

It's all canon. I don't think the Epilogue or anything wraps it up, if anything it asks more questions. I do think though that Cooper and Laura in the Lodge from FWWM works as an ending to the series.

Would you say the scenes fit best before FWWM, if one were to watch all the material straight through as one story? Even for first-time viewers?

(Obviously I do, with the caveat that the deleted FBI scenes feel somewhat awkward this way; but I think the Laura stuff really makes sense as a tonal/stylistic/narrative bridge from the series' perspective to the film's, as I've explained elsewhere.)

Hmmm, The Missing Pieces make more sense if you've already seen Fire Walk With Me, but like I said, to me the ending of the saga (unless we get any more) is Cooper and Laura in the Black Lodge. Cooper comforting Laura as she prepares to enter the White Lodge with the angels is a powerful image to end on, as Laura is finally finding peace. Cooper though gets a sad ending, but it almost makes him a martyr in a sense. He had the purest heart of them all, and he had to give up his soul to save the woman he loved.

Like I said in another thread, I actually think Fire Walk With Me/The Missing Pieces would probably make more sense if it was a 4 part mini series, because a lot of Cooper and the FBI's stuff especially is its own story.

Episode 1: Cooper/Desmond/Jeffries/Epilogue
Episode 2: Scenes Featuring Non-Laura Cast
Episode 3: Laura Part 1
Episode 4: Laura Part 2/Fire Walk With Me's ending scene

I know what you mean. The whole combine-FWWM-w/-Missing Pieces fanedit idea doesn't really work for me because Lynch edited the Missing Pieces very differently than Fire Walk With Me. Although they were scripted and shot to be part of the same movie, the way they are both edited and presented marks them very differently. While I haven't watched the Q2 fanedit yet, I can't imagine it working very well aesthetically for that reason. And dramatically/narratively speaking, it seems much more effective to watch Laura from a distance, and THEN move in for a closer look rather than switch back and forth. I even like the idea of watching the same scene twice, once extended and with the emphasis on an "objective"/multicharacter view and the second time more subjective and focused on Laura's experience (the Bobby scene is a good example of this).

Yet by the same token, the FBI stuff doesn't work great before FWWM. I'm not too inclined to break up Fire Walk With Me since I think, while messy, it stands on its own two feet as a standalone film. However, if I were to get fancy w/ it I think my "fanedit" would look much like your ideal version...at least if I understand it correctly.

So in your version, would ep. 3 be the Laura stuff from the Missing Pieces & ep. 4 the Laura stuff from FWWM? Or would all the Laura stuff be mixed (like in the fanedit) with ep. 3 being the first few days, and ep. 4 being the last ones? Or would most of the Missing Pieces Laura scenes be part of "scenes featuring non-Laura cast" (since most of those scenes do have Laura in them, but either interacting with other characters or as a secondary/background character)?

[FormicaTable]

It appears that, as of now, Between Two Worlds is the conclusion/last word/epilogue on TP. Laura's last words certainly leave the door open for more, which I think gives Lynch that option should he chose to do something more down the road.


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