Twin Peaks Unwrapped: A Preview of the Final Episodes

All good things come to an end. The undisputed core of the Twin Peaks fan community, Ben Durant and Bryon Kozaczka, have put out 248 episodes of their podcast, Twin Peaks Unwrapped, which has seen countless cast and crew members, scholars and notable members of the fan community join the hosts to discuss, dissect and celebrate all things Twin Peaks. The podcast began before the announcement of 2017’s revival of the series and served as the closest thing to an official podcast during the show’s run. The duo has since published a book, which will undoubtedly serve as both a source of entertainment and conversation alike for many years to come. And now, after this most impressive run, the podcast enters its final chapter, with five more episodes to go before the hosts take their final bow and the red curtain pulls for the final time.

Speaking with Ben Durant last week, I was given the descriptions for the final five episodes and after consulting with Bryon, the duo told me to “do as I wish” with this scoop, acknowledging that I was being told the final secrets of a show that, much like Laura Palmer herself, had been filled with secrets. One final 25YL article on the podcast that put this website on the map was in the works and the result, as you will see, is a preview of Twin Peaks Unwrapped’s Final Chapter. Let’s rock!

Episode 249, May 31st

The final David Lynch Madness episode, which will feature show regulars Mya McBriar, Joel Bocko, JB Minton, John Thorne, along with Ben himself rounding out the panel. The final Lynch Madness episode brings all of the previous winners back for one last showdown. The finalists are: Lost Highway, Twin Peaks Season 1 episode “Zen or the Skill to Catch a Killer”, Season 2’s “Beyond Life and Death” and Season 3’s Part 18.

Episode 250, June 7th

The final Community Rewatch, which will feature John Thorne joining Ben and Bryon to discuss the Season 2 finale, “Beyond Life and Death”. Without question, there is no more perfect guest to complete the Community Rewatch series, discussing an episode that he has written about and studied more than perhaps anyone.

Now, anyone that has listened to any of the Community Rewatch episodes knows that the deleted scenes from that episode are acted out by members of the fan community. This episode will be no different, with one major exception. One actor will be reprising their role for these deleted scenes. Kenneth Welsh returns to the role of Windom Earle thirty years later for two scenes in a moment that no Twin Peaks fan will want to miss.

“His performance is amazing and he really becomes Windom again. It’s like we found lost footage of Windom Earle 30 years later!” – Ben Durant

Twin Peaks Unwrapped is going all out for the 30th anniversary of the Season 2 finale and concluding their Community Rewatch series in a most spectacular fashion.

Episode 251, June 14th

The description for the third to last episode is, “If Cooper Was a Little More Present in Season 3”. This title was all that I was given for this episode, but it certainly paints a picture of a classic Ben and Bryon conversation, hypothesizing and venturing into a realm of “what ifs”, that will inevitably get our minds going as well. These are the kind of conversations that many Twin Peaks fans love, ones designed to get you dreaming and writing scenes in your mind. Reading this description made me nostalgic, thinking about the much earlier days of the podcast and how much I enjoyed Ben and Bryon speculating week to week what might happen next. This has the potential to be an all time classic episode.

Episode 252, June 21st

The penultimate episode of Twin Peaks Unwrapped is the Holy Grail: the Kyle MacLachlan interview. This interview is the 2019 interview conducted for the Twin Peaks Unwrapped book but it’s the first time that it will be made available for the public in audio form. While many cast and crew members have come on the show over the years, Twin Peaks Unwrapped is going out big, with the series star on the podcast. MacLachlan isn’t someone who does a ton of interviews and certainly not outside of major publications, so this is really quite the feat. As I said earlier in this article, there was no “official podcast” for Twin Peaks but things like having Kyle MacLachlan on the show reinforce the idea that Twin Peaks Unwrapped was as close to “official” as it gets.

Episode 253, June 28th

“See you at the Curtain Call / The Final Epsiode”. 10 is the number of completion, so ending on Episode 253 feels like a good choice. In their series finale, Ben and Bryon plan to go out how they started: talking to each other. The notes for the final episode include reading listener emails, discussing favorite guests and moments from the show, a “Best of Podcast” Top 10 Moments list, and reminiscing about the show and the journey it’s taken them on. And what a ride it’s been.

Final Thoughts

Twin Peaks Unwrapped ending is truly the end of an era. A show that predated The Return and carried the torch throughout Twin Peaks triumphant comeback, Twin Peaks Unwrapped pulled fans from all over in, helping solidify a large and diverse fan community. This podcast represented the best that any fan community could aspire to be and the 253 episodes (and book) will serve as a time capsule for future generations of Twin Peaks fans. And we know that there will be future generations of Twin Peaks fans. They will benefit from the insights obtained from the interviews from both cast and crew, as well as scholars. They will enjoy the Community Rewatch series the same way that we have. They will search out the guests who came on and find their body of work. This community will live on forever, the same way that Twin Peaks itself will live on forever. And we’ll all put our headphones in, years down the road, put on a random episode of Twin Peaks Unwrapped and say, “Brings back some memories”.

Many thanks and much love to Ben and Bryon for their dedication to this podcast and community. The final chapter of Twin Peaks Unwrapped begins May 31st.