“Harry, I have no idea where this will lead us, but I have a definite feeling that it will be a place both wonderful and strange.” Well, you weren’t too far off there, Agent Cooper. After 24 years of letters and petitions and shouts from the tight-knit Twin Peaks fandom, we’re finally getting a third season. Why so long? Well, some may think it was intentional, what with Laura Palmer’s promise to see everyone again in 25 years, but I think there’s definitely a more obvious reason: If Twin Peaks were released today, it would catch like wild fire.

One of the biggest things that set Twin Peaks apart was its “weirdness.” Some people loved it, but most people hated it. The supernatural element laid the groundwork for insanely popular shows like The X-Files and Lost, both of which had over double the amount of seasons as TP. What made them different? Aside from coming out a few years after TP got axed, these introduced an element that helped people understand the supernatural: The Skeptic.

What is The Skeptic? It’s a character like Agent Dana Scully or Jack Shepard. It’s someone who looks at all the weird crap happening all around them and goes, “There has to be some sort of logical explanation for this.” It’s because of this character that we, as an audience, are able to accept the supernatural nature of a TV show. Their search for an explanation allows us to understand that, there are some things that we will not understand. Understand?

Twin Peaks’ lack of a skeptic character is—at least, what I believe—what led to its downfall. The audience was introduced to this super weird world with little to no explanation. The show was essentially saying, “Yep, this is how it is, get used to it,” and introduced concepts that people just couldn’t grasp. Why is there a giant standing over Dale? What do you mean, the owls aren’t what they seem? Why aren’t people more worried about the very clear and present supernatural phenomena in the woods? Because that’s just how it is.

But the times have changed. We now live in a world where we embrace the “weird” and revel in it. Part of the reason Guardians of the Galaxy did so well in theaters (aside from being part of the MCU) was because it was hardly anything we’d ever seen before. Mad Max: Fury Road is the same way. If Twin Peaks were released for the first time in 2016, I would bet that audiences would have no problem accepting the jarring nature of The Black Lodge or that giants appear in visions to give advice. Hell, if Ryan Murphy can create a series like American Horror Story and have it be so widely popular, why couldn’t David Lynch and Mark Frost?

I guess the only thing we can do now is wait for season 3!

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