Stack up the donuts, pack up the pies
You knew it was coming. You could hear the almighty footfalls in the distance. You could see the water glass vibrating. I promised it lo, these many weeks ago and now I'm back to keep my promise. This is the EPIC TWIN PEAKS RECOMMENDATION POST OF EPICNESS.
( Put on the trenchcoat, rack up the lies )
( Put on the trenchcoat, rack up the lies )
I actually think that the finale was a return to the quality of earlier in that season- not the show at it's height, but close. I think that's largely attributable to David Lynch coming back to direct after he'd left midseason to make Wild At Heart. The thing I find most fascinating about it is the beauty pageant storyline, and how it measures up next to the show's earlier themes and stories. One of the more intriguing aspects of the show is how they played with various tropes and subverted expectations- Laura the broken beauty queen, Audrey the femme fatale who was actually a virgin. They did a lot of interesting things with female archetypes, and a beauty pageant is basically the highest form of female archetype. So in that sense, it was a really interesting plot for them to choose. In a way, the way the characters respond to being in the pageant fits perfectly- Audrey basically makes a speech saying "yeah I don't care about this whole thing, but it furthers my cause, so here I am." which is truer to her character than anything the writers did with her after 2x09. But at the same time, there's Annie, who- ugh. I have a lot of complex feelings on her. I don't hate her like a lot of fandom seems to, because most of the hate she gets is tied to a Die For Our Ship mentality. I feel like she was what Laura would have been if the writers had never invested any depth or complexity in her character. She was just this blank slate for Cooper to worship, for Earl to kidnap, and for the judges to applaud. And what's even ickier is that she was made into this childlike person- Cooper actually says he's infatuated with her because "her thoughts are fresh and original, like a child's" shortly before he mounts her and declares "I want to make love to you." And that fetishization of "innocence" is actually very typical of beauty pageants, so it would be an interesting observation if they'd bothered to point it out- but they never did. In a way, she's emblematic of everything the writers were doing at that point- neglecting to give their female characters depth outside of their male counterparts. And it's really depressing, and infuriating, and you probably were not expecting this giant wall of text when you asked. Er. Sorry about that.
As for the VERY end . . . it's a fitting conclusion for the series, after a fashion, because the whole show had that creepiness and uncertainty to it. But it wasn't a very nice thing for them to do, since they knew they were getting the axe. Maybe they were hoping that a cliffhanger like that would persuade the network to give them another chance, but it was still a bit of a smack in the face for audiences who'd stuck it out. "No resolution! For anything! Bwahaha!"
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I don't hate her like a lot of fandom seems to, because most of the hate she gets is tied to a Die For Our Ship mentality. I feel like she was what Laura would have been if the writers had never invested any depth or complexity in her character.
THIS. I thought there were some really interesting things about Annie, but did the writing staff bother to play them up and give her some agency? No, and it sucked. Also, potentially blowing up Audrey? Not cool.
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And ugh, Audrey getting blown up. I have huge issues with that whole storyline where she instantly forgave her neglectful dickbag of a father without any kind of improvement on his part, or even a reason on hers'. And then there was that stupid, stupid, stupid storyline about him being Donna's father, and Josie getting fridged, and arrrrgh I hate that part of the show so muuuuuch.
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So according to Kyle McLachlen, Cooper wouldn't get involved with a high school girl, but he would jump a "childlike" 20-year-old fresh out of the convent.
WHAT the FUCK.
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(Fun fact: Sherilyn Fenn was/is actually older than Heather Graham. The irony is so very, very bitter.)
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I can't decide whether to laugh or swear. OH WAIT, I can do both.
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