If there was ever a headline that will raise people’s suspicious, it’s that one. Of course, art is subjective and Twin Peaks is art. This list of 10 best Twin Peaks episodes ranked is inevitably going to bring about debate and conversation, because it should. As someone who has studied, written about and interviewed many cast and crew members from Twin Peaks, I’ve put a lot of thought into this but at the end of the day, these are still my opinions. So do me a favor, readers and friends, and sound off in the comments and tell me what you agreed with and didn’t agree with. I’ll put the coffee on and we can enjoy some damn fine conversation.
10. Part 3 – Shades of Purple in The Return
I know many people who considered this their favorite hour of The Return and that’s a very valid opinion. Part 3 had the daunting task of following a hugely ambitious opening two hours and did so by diverting all expectations. I don’t think anyone had Major Briggs’ head floating in space and Cooper encountering the former Ronette Pulaski with a new identity in their Season 3 Bingo card. I didn’t at least. Part 3 was also when we got the earliest senses that The Return would heavily invoke Lynch’s earlier works by taking us to Eraserhead-like places, playing with Eraserhead-like themes. Part 3 dared to be different, providing a shock to the system for those still expecting pie and donuts, and no list of Twin Peaks episodes ranked would be complete without it.
9. Episode 7 – Season 1 Ends With a Literal Bang
Easily one of the most well written episodes in Twin Peaks history, the Mark Frost written and directed finale to the show’s first season packed every cliffhanger possible into this one hour of television. Perhaps no moment is more fulfilling to me than Pete running into the burning mill in an attempt to save Catherine, yelling out that “She’s still my wife” before risking his life to save the woman who had spent decades making his life miserable on a good day. Episode 7 was heavy on the drama and soap opera twists but that moment with Pete was so genuine, so heartfelt and real that no matter many times I see it, it gets to me a deep level. That’s what love looks like, I suppose. Of course, “Who Shot Agent Cooper” could’ve been a major mystery headed into Season 2 but for whatever reason, that question faded into the background but still provided the cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers…at least until the Season 2 finale.
8. Episode 2 – The Dream Man Dances
This episode very well might be at the top of the list for others in their list of Twin Peaks episodes ranked. For more casual Peaks viewers, this episode is easily the most iconic, the episode where David Lynch walked into people’s living rooms, grabbed them by the shoulders and said “The TV you like ISN’T coming back in style”. Episode 2 was really the welcome to what Twin Peaks really is, a show where throwing rocks at glass bottles is an acceptable form of police work. Where the subconscious can take us to fever dream-ish realms where cryptic clues, hypnotic music and backwards speak are…you guessed it…also acceptable forms of police work. There was literally nothing else like this in television and Episode 2 dared viewers to dream, to lose themselves in a daringly original work that could transform your expectations of television, if you allowed it to.
7. Part 18 – Just Like Starting Over
Controversial pick alert! I really love the ending of The Return, more than many others perhaps. I really struggled with it not being higher on my list, as blasphemous as that might be to some. I’ve written extensively on this hour of television and finally having Cooper and Laura, even as Richard and Carrie, together, felt like the natural conclusion to this narrative. There was a power in our two main characters being on this journey together, as slow moving and quiet as it was, that brought things full circle. Which of course, is exactly what happened.
6. Episode 8 – Season 2 Opens in True Lynchian Fashion
The Season 2 premiere wasn’t at all what most people expected, but set the tone for what the show was becoming. Twin Peaks embraced its more supernatural side, along with a pace that at times was painfully slow (well, for people who aren’t fans of David Lynch at least) in the kickoff to its second season, opting for giants, demons and soft spoken monologues instead of providing viewers with any insight as to who killed Laura Palmer, a revelation some thought was coming in this episode. While the first season had been more quirky than weird, with the notable exception of Episode 2, Episode 8 pulled no punches in saying that this series would do more than dabble in the mystic and in the process, created a truly memorable 2 hours of television.
5. Episode 29 – The End as we Knew It
Episode 29 is many people’s favorite episode of Twin Peaks and in a list of Twin Peaks episodes ranked, it’s a hard one to find an appropriate spot for. It’s a work of pure Lynchian art and really conjured up a lot of feelings about what all we loved about the series, before things moved in different directions in the back half of Season 2. Even before the race to the Black Lodge took over the episode, characters such as Pete, The Log Lady, Ed, Nadine and Norma felt more like we had known them to be early in the series. The energy felt familiar. There was a lingering feeling of guilt and danger both in the background, which are the feelings that made Twin Peaks what it was and so powerful. But it was the end of the story, at least for a long time. In many ways, Episode 29 was a victory lap, reminding us of how great this show could be and while we didn’t know it at the time, it would set the table for The Return.
4. Part 8 – An Origin Story
Part 8 of The Return will forever be known as one of the most surreal experiences in television history. It was unlike anything seen before or after, a visual tour de force that set forth to change the long standing mythology associated with Twin Peaks. To call it a game changer would be an understatement, quite frankly. It was something that had to be seen, felt and that needed to wash over you before you could begin to comprehend the story being told. And make no mistake about it, there was a lot of story being told. I can’t speak for everyone but I never envisioned a Twin Peaks origin story actually happening but once I saw Part 8, I sure was glad it did.
3. Part 17 – The Return Goes Home
I’ve long said that Part 17 was the hour that felt the most like Twin Peaks. Between the scenes at the Sheriff’s station, Julee Cruise singing “The World Spins” at The Roadhouse, the Fire Walk With Me flashbacks, Josie, Catherine and Pete and a healthy dose of Laura Palmer, we had all the nostalgia we craved thrown into one hour. And it felt good. But it was more than that. Part 17 was the only hour of The Return to capture that pure Lynchian terror that the original series was known for. There was this feeling of unease that lasted virtually the entire hour that felt like it had been missing during the entire revival and when we finally got it, it felt magical in ways that only the greatest episodes of Twin Peaks felt.
2. The Pilot – Who Killed Laura Palmer?
You couldn’t have made a more perfect pilot episode for Twin Peaks and in a list of Twin Peaks episodes ranked, the pilot episode has to be towards the very top. It was a perfect introduction to the town, the tone, the characters, the mystery and everything that we would come to love about Twin Peaks. It was a virtually flawless hour and a half that did more world building than almost any other pilot episode ever. From Cooper’s arrival to town, to Shelly and Bobby, Sarah’s painful wailing and Andy crying at the crime scene, Twin Peaks was a fully formed world, full of quirk and charm, suspense and guilt, terror and fear all ready to go from the beginning.
1. Episode 14 is Twin Peaks at its Finest
For the number one spot in my list of Twin Peaks episodes ranked, the choice was clear. Episode 14, the episode where Maddy’s life was ended by Leland (and BOB), was the finest hour of the series. David Lynch has made a career out of making magic happen onscreen and this might be his finest hour. It was genuinely terrifying. It was disturbing. There was an underlying tension that connected the entire episode, which is truly a remarkable feat when you think about it. It contained all of the elements that made Twin Peaks special, featuring a majority of the characters we knew and loved. It had everything you could want from an episode of Twin Peaks and we finally got the answer to the question we had all been asking ourselves, “Who Killed Laura Palmer”. Even if the answer was beyond disturbing. The world spins…