Super fan Steve Miller selects the most memorable final frames from Twin Peaks episodes, from haunting visuals to musical moments.
For the past seven years, Steve Miller’s Twin Peaks Blog has compiled obscure Twin Peaks history and missed episode details, archived through categories including locations, props and set decoration, costumes, music, ephemera and merch. Meticulously researched but also laced with personal reflection, it’s a public record of a private life-long obsession with the show.
“In late summer 1993, I watched Wild at Heart on a borrowed VHS from my local library and was instantly hooked. Twin Peaks soon followed, yet only the pilot, first seven episodes and his 1992 masterpiece, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, were available on VHS,” Steve remembers. “I devoured them all after skipping a school day (and inadvertently ruining the mystery – new viewers should not do what I did). Months later, I discovered Bravo TV in the United States was rebroadcasting the show. The rest is history – three decades of a wonderful and strange fascination into the mysteries of life.”
Fuelled by curiosity and a drive to analyse each frame from unexplored angles (from noticing subtle logo variations to asking How Many Times Does Pie Appear in Twin Peaks?), Steve’s aim is not to uncover or argue over fixed meanings within the series, but to find meaning in simply documenting its deep well of sprawling, sometimes random, but always well-considered details.
“The word ‘acceptance’ comes to mind when I think of David Lynch. He encouraged people to think, as every interpretation of his art is correct,” he says. “He echoed this notion the only time I heard him speak during the 2018 Festival of Disruption held in Brooklyn, New York. David said: ‘Films mean something to me, but I don’t need to explain what it means. The film is the thing, there is no need to talk about it. There is a different feeling with every screening based on who attends the screening.’ His unconditional acceptance echoes throughout the Twin Peaks fan community today.”
Here, Steven selects Twin Peaks‘ seven most unforgettable final frames.
'Episode 1.002'
Season 1“Special Agent Dale Cooper suddenly awakes in room 315 at The Great Northern Hotel. He just had the most surreal dream, set 25 years into the future where a Little Man from Another Place and someone who looked almost exactly like Laura Palmer shared clues and answers in a strange Red Room. At the time, television viewers had never seen anything like it (I was left dumbfounded). The sudden jolt awake as Cooper tries recalling the dream made for the greatest cliffhanger.”
'Episode 2.001'
Season 2 “Killer BOB, played by Frank Silva, is seen screaming into the void at the end of the David Lynch-directed episode. By all accounts, Frank – who was originally the on-set dresser – was the kindest individual. He was nothing like his on-screen personality. But the image of BOB screaming still haunts my dreams. I always thought he looked like a clown in this shot. Lynch often referred to negativity being like a ‘suffocating clown suit’.”
'Episode 2.006'
Season 2 “This is an exterior establishing shot of The Great Northern Hotel. It’s a real place called the Salish Lodge & Spa, located in Snoqualmie, Washington, perched above the 268-foot Snoqualmie Falls. Opening in 1916 as an eight-room Snoqualmie Falls Lodge, the hotel was expanded and remodeled in 1988. It serves as the hotel’s exterior throughout all three seasons (interiors were either on a set in Van Nuys, California or at Kiana Lodge on Bainbridge Island, WA during the pilot). The Snoqualmie Tribe now owns the lodge and they continue serving as protectors of the land throughout the Snoqualmie Valley, where they have lived since time immemorial.”
'Episode 2.014'
Season 2 “Windom Earle’s chess board. I adore the late Kenneth Welsh’s performance as Earle. The chessboard prop would eventual make its a way to a prop collector named Bruce Phillips. In the 1990s, he had a mail order catalog where I purchased several Twin Peaks items. Decades later, I’m still purchasing unique collectibles from him via eBay as I attempt to document and archive the show’s history.”
'Part 2'
The Return “Ruth Radelet and Johnny Jewel from the former band The Chromatics playing Shadow at The Roadhouse was a perfect choice following a 25-year hiatus. In summer 2017, seeing Starring Kyle MacLachlan appear on screen was something I both loved and dreaded each week. I didn’t want the episode to end yet there was such great music in the air.”
'Part 17'
The Return “Seeing Julee Cruise perform The World Spin was a direct nod to the David Lynch-directed episode 2.007 from the second season. Her angelic voice has carried me through good and troubling times. Music was the gateway to Twin Peaks for me, so seeing her one last time made my heart sing.”
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