LateReg wrote:Andromedeaux wrote:
Given all that you both wrote, and great points btw, I still wonder about the contribution of these so-called bad episodes and subplots to the Twin Peaks world at large. I'll make the argument that they are in fact bad in this context: Most of those subplots (Dick Tremayne and little Nicky, Evelyn Marsh, Audrey's BF come to mind) seemed concerted attempts to make this palatable or commercially successful while retaining the TP "feels"; but those subplots went nowhere and we ended up back Lynch's brain in the last episode. We are all accustomed to subplots going nowhere as we are Lynch fans. In The Return unresolved and inexplicable subplots are there ostensibly for the sake of being unresolved and it's a cruel trick but one that I love. I love the randomness of it, like I love Clickhole, and other forms that fuck with expectations.
Season 2 BS Subplots (S2BSSP) went nowhere but as if to weave some standard TV writing into Twin Peaks in desperation or even an attempt to profit off former success. I do wonder how bad they would have become and how hackneyed the formula would have been during a hypothetical S3 in 1992. But we got FWWM instead and I'm so thankful for that because it is my favorite of all.
I agree with all that. Billy Zane's purpose in the plot is very much manufactured and one of the worst elements, imo. Evelyn Marsh is the most hated aspect of the series for obvious reasons, and in those moments the show is spinning its wheels in a way that has little to do with anything of consequence in an attempt to give a character something to do. Little Nicky is a small blemish to me, but I love Dick Tremayne so much that he gets me through it. All of those moments are bad in my opinion, because of and beyond reasons you suggest. But what I'd point out is that those moments only occur in less than a third of the season's episodes, and even then there are sequences in each of those episodes that provide some level of mystery. So yeah, I think there's some bad stuff, but I also think that there's enough good stuff - mysterious plot related stuff, funny asides and character moments - in most of the episodes that the season balances out to a win, gradually regaining momentum around episode 25 or so. Which is all to say that other than a handful of bad episodes, I think the season is a bit better than its reputation suggests. In its stretch of episodes from 17 thru 28, it doesn't feel all that much different from a lot of that period's decent TV, and still more creative than some of today's prestige programs.
+10
Goddamnit the brains on this forum... the braiiinnsss!!!