Chapter 4: Introduction By Jeff Lemire
004 - A Skeleton Key To Twin Peaks, 2nd Edition
There are few things in life I love more than watching Twin Peaks. Reading about Twin Peaks comes close behind, though. And luckily, I’m not alone in these passions. David Lynch and Mark Frost’s masterwork has inspired one of the rabid fan communities. We love debating new theories and analyzing Twin Peaks from new angles. Even if I don’t agree with many of the theories, I still find I always learn something new about Twin Peaks from them. Never has this been truer than with JB Minton’s heartfelt and challenging, A Skeleton Key To Twin Peaks. I had the good fortune of meeting JB through the excellent Red Room Podcast, which he co-hosts with Scott Ryan and delves into Twin Peaks and many other interesting corners of the ever-widening TV landscape. But Skeleton Key is all JB. It’s his thesis on Twin Peaks and his unifying theory of this dense and layered work. And I may not agree with all of it, but goddamn, if it didn’t make me think twice about my own deeply held views and opinions.
This book is a wonderful companion piece to Twin Peaks and a fresh and compelling rethinking of its meanings. Perhaps the most striking part of JB’s book is the ingenious use of graphic design and iconography to help organize his thoughts and theories. He’s almost created his symbolic sub-language here that perfectly reflects the visually rich world of Twin Peaks (which can be confounding and disorienting at the best of times). With this clever iconography as his vessel, JB casts off into Lodge space and spins an incredibly detailed and compelling argument about the true meanings of Twin Peaks and, in particular, the beyond-brilliant Season 3 [The Return].
I don’t believe there is any one unifying theory of Twin Peaks. I think it’s a work that is far too complex and far too nuanced for that. I don’t believe I will ever truly or entirely understand it. And that’s okay. That’s what keeps us coming back to watch and rewatch. One certain thing, though, is that Special Agent Dale Cooper is the core of Twin Peaks and the centerpiece of JB’s thesis. And with Skeleton Key, he takes readers episode by episode alongside Coop as he travels between worlds and between dreams. Like Twin Peaks, JB’s theories can be frustrating and thrilling at once, but I am so glad I took the journey. I loved reading this book. I loved re-reading it. And I think you will too. So fire up the coffee pot and settle in. You are about to enter a dream. And to answer the eternal question, in this case, JB is the dreamer and has written it down for all of us to enjoy.
Jeff Lemire is a comic book writer, artist, and television producer. He is the author of critically acclaimed titles, including the Essex County Trilogy, Sweet Tooth, Maze Book, Snow Angels, and many more. In 2021, Sweet Tooth was adapted as a Netflix television series through Susan and Robert Downey Jr.’s production company Team Downey, with Lemire serving as an on-set consultant. Lemire has also collaborated with musicians like Eddie Vedder. Jeff is also a big Twin Peaks fan.
Listen to Jeff Lemire interview JB Minton below on the Red Room Podcast (4/7/2019)
Listen to Jeff Lemire join hosts JB Minton and John Thorne on the In Our House Now Podcast, Season 1 Episode 2 (4/18/2020) to discuss the theme of #Memories.
Where I'm at right now, in understanding Twin Peaks, is that it's a bit like Inland Empire in that it does not have a solid unifying theme. I think David Lynch just swung from the hip, and was more concerned with how he felt about a particular scene than how to unify his story. I think a lot of the events in Twin Peaks season 3 have little or nothing to do with the plot. For example, the Audrey scenes. I think they have absolutely nothing to do with the story, nothing at all. I think David Lynch and Sherilyn Fenn were having disagreements about what to do with the Audrey character in season 3, and as a result of their arguing, Lynch put himself into the story as Charlie and warned Sherilyn that he was thinking of discontinuing her story completely. I think Charlie is David Lynch. And that has exactly nothing to do with the rest of the story. I like Charlie constantly telling Audrey that he's tired. I think Lynch was tired of Sherilyn's arguing. I really think Charlie's whole purpose in the season was to express what David Lynch was feeling about Sherilyn. And I think that in almost all of David Lynch's movies he flies by the seat of his pants and doesn't have a unified story in mind. He doesn't comment on what his stuff means because it's all pretty fuzzy in his own mind.