Now that the final two episodes of David Lynch and Mark Frost’s show have aired, Nick Joy takes a spoiler-filled look back at the 18 episodes and ponder whether it was it worth it.

One of the criticisms thrown back at negative reviews of the episodes has been, ‘you can’t judge it in segments, it’s basically one big 18-hour movie’. I disagree. It was commissioned and transmitted as a weekly show – I could only accept the argument if it had arrived Netflix-style, will all instalments available simultaneously, allowing an 18-hour single binge boxset watch. Indeed, a number of people will now probably do that, but in its purest sense the most authentic way to tackle it is as a one-a-week experience.

Because it is narratively structured like a single movie, it eschews the standard TV episode format. There’s no beginning, middle and end with a cliffhanger, just a series of scenes that may or may not finish at a satisfactory place. In fact the only thing you could guarantee was Kyle MacLachlan’s appearance, as other characters might go for a whole run of episodes before returning, or not at all. While this allowed certain longueurs, with some scenes running far longer than they ought, it also meant you’d look up at the clock and consider that you were 20 minutes in and nothing had actually happened.

Clearly we all had a view of the show that we wanted to see; Frost and Lynch had a different set of ideas. I can understand that to merely continue the story that was left dangling in June 1991 would be unfulfilling. Part of the Twin Peaks charm was that it was completely different to other TV in the 90s, and TV has matured in such a way that old Twin Peaks would no longer be seen as ‘out there’ or cutting edge. Its style and influences are so far-reaching that if you made a regular Season 3 then it would look like a pastiche or something stuck in the past. Instead, Lynch and Frost have created something as different to 2017 TV as classic Peaks was to its contemporary culture.

Let’s address some of my criticisms that I focused on during my weekly reviews: Too much Dougie, too many new characters and not enough old Peaks.

You have a great character in the form of Agent Cooper, the backbone to the first two seasons of the show, and then spend around 14 episodes sticking him inside the body of a simpleton/idiot who bumbles around solving crimes, avoiding assassination and winning in the casino. It’s a one-joke setup and how I railed against it. Every week I hoped that he would break free (it didn’t happen until late in Episode 16) and every time he bumbled and stumbled around I felt robbed of some precious Cooper time. I get the joke, but I feel it was stretched too far. I wanted Coop back, on a plate, but the creators thought otherwise.

I can’t help but think that some of the Dougie time earlier in the run would have been better spent developing the story that ends so abruptly, but it’s us that ran out of time, not the director and writers. They knew exactly where this show was ending and I imagine that even if it was nine episodes (as originally planned) then we’d still end at the same destination.

The cast list is absolutely jam-packed, featuring short but relevant scenes with returnees like Harry Dean Stanton and David Duchovny, but did we really need Michael Cera as Wally Brando, or Tim Roth and Jennifer Jason Leigh as hitmen-for-hire? Every moment spent with these new people felt like it was robbing time from the old guard, many of whom  only consequently had a few significant scenes across the run. The ‘roadhouse song of the week’ concept also didn’t entirely work for me, and I suspect that a lot of it might have been in Audrey’s mind, but shame on you David for not giving us that closure.

But the positives are plenty too. Episode 8, showing the creation of evil in the universe and how good was released to the world, is by far the most inventive hour of television I’ve seen in years. It’s pure Lynch, it’s bonkers, and yet in the form of the Woodsman and the hybrid insect frog it’s the stuff of nightmares. Many of Lynch’s characters like Richard Horne and Evil Cooper are the vilest you’ll encounter on the screen. No punches are pulled in the depiction of extreme violence in this world where bad is not always punished.

But on the flip side there are the crazy characters (the gurning woman by the plane, the angry driver beeping her horn) and of course the Mitchum Brothers and their cocktail waitresses – I think I’m in love with Candie. Lynch returnees Naomi Watts and Laura Dern as Janey-E and Diane (yes, THE Diane) are both triumphs, thanks to actors who totally get Lynch and can play the material to its strengths. I also enjoyed the appearance of Major Briggs, BOB and Pete Martell, even though the actors playing them had passed away.

Verdict: I am frustrated to hell that the show finishes where it does. It’s unresolved, there’s more story to be told and I get the feeling that we won’t get to see this on screen. I hope I’m wrong. We got the showdown that we expected in the Sheriff’s Office, but then were taken somewhere else, questioning whether we are now in the past or the future, and just what the identities of our characters actually are.  8/10