Summary

• Twin Peaks revolutionized TV with genre-blurring mystery, humor, and horror.
• The cult classic was canceled after Season 2 but returned with new questions (and a few answers) in 2017.
• Twin Peaks: The Return offers puzzles and unresolved threads, leaving fans wondering about the world of Twin Peaks even now.

When David Lynch and Mark Frost's Twin Peaks debuted in 1990, it changed the television landscape for good. A hugely influential series, Twin Peaks might have been a serial mystery at its core, but it also blurred genre lines, incorporating offbeat humor, horror tropes, and soap-opera-level melodrama. Initially, the cult classic revolved around a vital question: Who killed Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee)? It's that mystery that brings FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) to town, propelling him on a strange investigation that straddles the line between the real and the fantastic.

Infused with Lynch's signature surreal elements and atmospheric menace, Twin Peaks, and its ensemble of quirky characters, are easy to get invested in. Unfortunately, ABC wanted Frost and Lynch to reveal the identity of Laura's killer in season 2. With the show's core mystery solved, ratings and viewership declined, resulting in the series' untimely cancelation in 1991. While Lynch followed the show up with the feature-length film prequel Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, viewers were left reeling over Twin Peaks season 2's cliffhanger ending for about 25 years.

Instead of asking viewers to uncover a mystery, The Return presents viewers with puzzle pieces, asking them to put it all together.

In 2017, Showtime played host to Twin Peaks: The Return — a third season of the show that Lynch dubbed his 18-part follow-up movie. Set 25 years after the events of the original series — in a fitting ode to Laura Palmer's cryptic Twin Peaks quote, "I'll see you again in 25 years" — Twin Peaks: The Return boasts a remarkable ensemble of new and returning cast members. Led by MacLachlan, who plays both Cooper and his evil double, Mr. C, The Return is the opposite of the original show in many ways. Instead of asking viewers to uncover a mystery, The Return presents viewers with puzzle pieces, asking them to put it all together.

The second season of the show ends with Dale Cooper entering Twin Peaks' Black Lodge — an extradimensional space that seems to be a place of pure evil. After entering the Lodge through a portal in the woods, Cooper encounters all sorts of doppelgängers, including his own evil double, who chases Coop through the Lodge's maze of red curtains. Ultimately, the evil Cooper (Mr. C) escapes from the Lodge, leaving the real Cooper trapped in limbo for 25 years. Twin Peaks: The Return may resolve that thread, but it also raises many, many more questions.

9 What Did Laura Whisper To Cooper At The End Of Twin Peaks: The Return?

Laura Palmer Previously Told Cooper Her Killer's Identity

When Dale Cooper encounters Laura Palmer in the Red Room of the Black Lodge in the original series, she tells him many cryptic things. Most importantly, she whispers the identity of her killer in Cooper's ear. It's eventually revealed to audiences that Leland Palmer, Laura's father, killed her after years of physical abuse. In turn, Leland was possessed by an entity of pure evil called BOB, who lives off pain and suffering. However, it's possible that there's something even worse than BOB — potentially Twin Peaks' mysterious Judy. Laura could have been whispering just about anything to Cooper, but given their past exchange, it seems related to Cooper's mission in the last two episodes of The Return.

8 What Year Is It By The End Of Twin Peaks: The Return?

Cooper & Laura Don't Find What They Expect In The Finale

In Twin Peaks: The Return's final moments, Cooper, who goes by the name of Richard, and an adult Laura, who goes by the name of Carrie, drive to the Palmer's house in Twin Peaks. Previously, Cooper and Diane (Laura Dern) followed the Fireman's instructions, which led them to what seems to be a parallel universe. In this other universe, Laura Palmer wasn't murdered by her BOB-possessed father, but she also isn't doing too well. To get to the bottom of things, Cooper and Laura visit the Palmer house, and a stranger opens the door. Afterward, Laura starts screaming — much like she did before her death — and Cooper wonders what year it is, ending The Return on a wild cliffhanger that could be explored in Twin Peaks season 4.

7 Where Is Audrey Horne In Twin Peaks: The Return?

Audrey's Fate Is One Of The Series' Biggest Mysteries

At the end of Twin Peaks season 2, Audrey Horne (Sherilyn Fenn) had chained herself to a bank vault in protest. When an explosion rocked the bank, Audrey's fate was left up in the air. It has been confirmed that she survived and ended up in a coma. While incapacitated, Audrey is assaulted by Mr. C, leading to the birth of their child, Richard (Eamon Farren). The fan-favorite Audrey only appears in a handful of scenes in The Return. For most of her screen time, she's arguing with a man who appears to be her husband about leaving the house. She also can't stop talking about a character called Billy.

Other theories suggest that Audrey's sequences, which seem cryptic even by Lynch's standards, are part of a dream.

Later, Audrey dances in the Roadhouse to her iconic theme. In her final Twin Peaks appearance, Audrey comes to in a stark white room and stares at her own aged reflection. While some viewers theorize that Audrey is still in a coma, others believe she's living in some sort of sterile medical institute due to the trauma she endured at the hands of Mr. C. Other theories suggest that Audrey's sequences, which seem cryptic even by Lynch's standards, are part of a dream. For now, Audrey's fate remains one of Twin Peaks' biggest unanswered questions.

6 Who Are Richard & Linda In Twin Peaks: The Return?

Cooper & Diane Enter A Parallel World (Maybe)