‘Fix their hearts or die’: The 14 best ‘Twin Peaks’ episodes, ranked
Twin Peaks shines in its ability to explore the horror and humor of the human condition, especially the range of emotions we experience in our darkest times.
Here are the 14 best Twin Peaks episodes, ranked, for your viewing pleasure.
14. “Episode 25” / “On the Wings of Love”
The voice Twin Peaks co-creator David Lynch chose for Agent Gordon Cole is iconic. It’s so iconic that Alex Hirsch, the creator of the Twin Peaks-inspired Disney cartoon Gravity Falls, originally wanted Lynch to revisit that voice on his series (ultimately, what you hear on the series is Alex’s impression of Lynch as Cole).
13. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
Premiering a year after ABC canceled Twin Peaks, the cinematic prequel/pseudo-sequel Fire Walk with Me was released. Because Fire Walk with Me is technically a prequel, some entertainment websites will suggest watching the film first. Since following this viewing order will ruin the mystery of the original ABC series, my suggestion is … don’t do that. Although not perfect, the film will answer some of the lingering questions you’re guaranteed to have after completing the original series, giving you, the viewer, the closure you’ll be looking for after the show’s abrupt ending (like all the best shows, Twin Peaks was canceled too soon by its network).
As a bonus for any Ziggy Stardust fans, the film also features the only appearance of David Bowie as FBI Special Agent Phillip Jeffries. As a result of a joke between members of the Twin Peaks production team, Bowie was cast in the role. Bob Engels, who co-wrote the film with Lynch, explained to 25YL in a now-deleted interview quoted on Reddit:
“When we were writing Fire Walk With Me at David’s house, his assistant at the time would be in the other room, and she would come in to give David a phone message or something. She would hear what we were talking about, and she would always jokingly say, ‘As played by David Bowie.’ We’d always laugh. When we got done with the script, David said, ‘I think we should get David Bowie.’ That’s where that comes from. Of course, David being David, he can just call him up.”
12. “Pilot” / “Northwest Passage”
“Pilot,” titled “Northwest Passage” when released in Germany, was written by series creators Mark Frost and David Lynch and directed by Lynch. It immediately throws viewers into the main mystery of Twin Peaks’ first two seasons when the local sawmill manager discovers the body of a murdered teenage girl washed up on a river bank near the Pacific Northwest pie town. Whereas some murder mysteries make it immediately obvious who the killer is, Lynch and Frost do an excellent job of preserving the show’s main mystery, deeply investing viewers in the “whodunnit” plot line by leaving them to question the role of many of the town’s residents in Laura Palmer’s death or if the case will be solved at all.
The episode is one of two 90-minute episodes of the series, with the other one being “Episode 8.” The movie-length pilot was the highest-rated TV movie of the 1989-1990 season with a 22 rating.
11. “Part 16” / “No Knock, No Doorbell”
Although the beginning of Audrey’s season 3 story arc was confusing to many fans, it ended with a bang. After finally getting to the Roadhouse, she reprises her famous dance (“Audrey’s Dance”) from the beginning of season 1. In what appeared to be an elaborate dream sequence, the entrancing moment left many fans wondering if what they were seeing was the internal experience of a still comatose Audrey (remember: Audrey was in a hospital bed unconscious at the end of season 2).
“Part 16” is also the episode where Kyle MacLachlan finally returns as Cooper, with all of the character’s eccentricities and instincts intact. Upon his return, he uttered the fan-favorite phrase, “I am the FBI.”
10. “Episode 2” / “Zen, or the Skill to Catch a Killer”
Written by Lynch and Frost and directed by Lynch, “Episode 2,” alternatively titled “Zen, or the Skill to Catch a Killer,” mixes some of the first season’s most surreal scenes with some of its grittiest. It is widely considered one of the most innovative, groundbreaking episodes of TV ever due to the ending dream sequence in the red room.
The episode also includes one of my favorite moments in the series, when we (along with the Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Department) are introduced to Cooper’s (played by Kyle MacLachlan) unusual deductive method. Coming to Cooper in a dream, the deductive technique he calls the “Tibetan method” involves mind/body coordination and the deepest levels of intuition. If a randomly thrown rock hits and breaks a glass bottle, it indicates that a particular suspect warrants further investigation. But, can Cooper’s extremely non-traditional techniques be trusted?
9. “Episode 9” / “Coma”
Written by Harley Peyton and directed by Lynch, “Episode 9,” or “Coma” opens with a quintessential Albert Rosenfield (played by the late Miguel Ferrer) scene that showcases the character’s humorously calculated facial expressions and dry wit as he listens to Cooper’s updates about the Laura Palmer case and explanation of Buddhist traditions and Tibetan history.
8. “Episode 14” / “Lonely Souls”
“Episode 14,” or “Lonely Souls,” is ranked as the best episode of Twin Peaks by over 7,000 IMDb users. A lot happens in this episode story-wise but it appears on this “best of” list to celebrate the musicians who made the series great: the late Julee Cruise, best known for her collaborations with Lynch, like the 1989 single “Falling” that doubles as the Twin Peaks theme song, and Angelo Badalamenti, a Grammy Award-winning composer who’s also best known for his work Lynch, such as scoring the Twin Peaks franchise, Blue Velvet, and Mulholland Drive.
In “Lonely Souls,” Cruise sings “Rockin’ Back Inside My Heart” and “The World Spins.” After the singer had a falling out with Lynch, it was questionable if she would return for the show’s reboot. However, thanks to the filmmaker reaching out to Cruise to repair their relationship, she returned to The Roadhouse in “Part 17” of The Return to reprise her “The World Spins” performance.
7. “Episode 20” / “Checkmate”
When Cooper is held hostage, transgender DEA agent Denise Bryson (played empathetically by David Duchovny, a cisgender man) gets a chance to shine as an FBI Agent while wearing the heck out of the RR’s sexy café outfit. Although Denise’s fieldwork in this episode ultimately saves Cooper, what’s really important about these scenes is that they demonstrate the power of living authentically. It’s only when Denise appears in the field as herself that she’s able to prevail and have the others acknowledge her abilities as an agent.
6. “Episode 8” / “May the Giant Be with You”
One of the show’s key episodes is the season 2 opener “May the Giant Be with You,” which grapples with the cliffhangers of season 1 while also introducing some key information about Laura’s murderer when Ronette briefly awakens from her disassociative state, only to experience a flashback of Laura’s murder that cunningly reveals her true killer. “Episode 8” is the first time we hear the show’s famous, enigmatic phrase: “The owls are not what they seem.”
Lynch was a fan of casting stage actors in his work, and this episode showcases why with over-the-top yet outstanding performances from Leland, the Horn brothers, and Andy, all of whose bring the larger-than-life body humor unique to actors with lots of stage experience. In addition, MacLachlan shines in this episode, highlighting Cooper’s character, a kind, funny man even in the face of death.
It also introduces Hank Worden as the world’s most decrepit room service waiter, Señor Droolcup, and harold of the Giant.
5. “Part 8” / “Gotta Light?”
Season 3 had 18 hours of unforgettable—and sometimes indecipherable—imagery, which showcased the creators’ love of experimental French films. Receiving Emmy nominations for cinematography, editing, and sound, the eighth installment of The Return was the pinnacle of Lynch’s filmmaking vision, giving longtime viewers some insight into the origins of Bob with a slow-motion nuclear bomb scene where his face appears in the weapon’s plumes. Done entirely in black and white, the episode also includes the scene at the radio station where the Woodsmen keep asking, “Gotta light?
4. “Episode 16” / “Arbitrary Law”
Although Lynch reportedly did not want Laura’s murderer revealed to viewers, when pressure from the network prevailed, Lynch/Frost delivered “Episode 16,” a plot-heavy episode that features the series’ best performances of Ray Wise and MacLachlan. After Cooper discovers he’s been having the same dream about the Black Lodge as Laura, it leads him to her killer: Laura’s father Leland, who had been under Bob’s control at the time of the murder. As Bob’s spirit leaves his host, Leland becomes aware of his actions (though, he is beckoned to the afterlife with a peaceful vision of his daughter’s smiling face).
3. “Part 4” / “… Brings Back Some Memories”
In Twin Peaks: The Return, we learn that Special Agent Denise, a transgender woman, is now the Chief of Staff at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, one of the organization’s top positions. Lynch and Frost’s choice to have Denise rise through the FBI’s ranks has a meta component, acknowledging the lack of respect that Duchovny’s The X-Files character Special Agent Fox Mulder often experienced while investigating extraterrestrial life.
More importantly, though, the episode includes the famous exchange between Denise and Gordon, where he tells her the story of standing up to the “clown comics” on the promotions board who didn’t respect her decision to transition when he said, “When you became Denise, I told all of your colleagues, those clown comics, to fix their hearts or die!” Today, it has become a rallying cry for the trans community, often found on activists’ social media profiles.
2. “Episode 3” / “Rest in Pain”
In “Episode 3,” all the townsfolk attend Laura’s funeral. Even though the focus of the episode is the wide range of human responses to tragedy and the death of a loved one, there is also an element of humor with the introduction of the shit-talking Albert Rosenfield. The blend of tragedy and comedy makes it a quintessential episode of the series.
1. “Part 15” / “There’s Some Fear in Letting Go”
“Goodnight, Margaret. Goodbye, Margaret.” The final words exchanged between Deputy Tommy “Hawk” Hill, played by painter, jeweler, and actor Michael Horse, and Margaret Lanterman, better known as the “Log Lady” and played by the late Catherine Coulson, served as Frost and Lynch’s eulogy to the iconic character and actress alike. The scene where Hawk and Margaret’s fifth and final phone conversation occurs is one of TV’s most memorable goodbyes, especially when combined with the scene where the Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Department gathers to mourn her death. The Log Lady scenes for 2017’s The Return were filmed right before Coulson died in 2015. Notably, it was the actress’s final role. It was a fitting final role, too.
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