Recap / Twin Peaks

This is a Recap page for Twin Peaks (1990-91, 2017), a Genre-Busting series focusing on an FBI agent's investigation of the murder of teenager Laura Palmer in a seemingly sleepy Town with a Dark Secret. Spoilers will be unmarked.

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Season One

"She's dead. Wrapped in plastic."

— Pete Martell

1. "Pilot" or "Northwest Passage": When Laura Palmer, the town darling of Twin Peaks, Washington is found murdered, FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper takes control of the local law enforcement to lead an investigation.
2. "Traces to Nowhere": Cooper and Truman's investigation on Laura Palmer's murder continues with their interrogation of Laura Palmer's secret boyfriend, James Hurley.
3. "Zen, or the Skill to Catch a Killer": Cooper deploys eccentric investigation methods in discovering links between Laura Palmer and local suspects, and fellow FBI Agent Albert Rosenfield arrives in town and ruffles some feathers.
4. "Rest in Pain": Cooper deduces the meaning behind his strange dream the night before, Laura Palmer's funeral is disturbed by her father and incoherent boyfriend, and Truman introduces Cooper to the secret society of the Bookhouse Boys.
5. "The One-Armed Man": Cooper and Truman locate the One-Armed Man from Cooper's dream, and Josie Packard spies on Ben Horne and Catherine Martell as they conspire to burn the Packard Sawmill.
6. "Cooper's Dreams": Truman, Cooper, Hawk, and Doc Hayward venture into the woods and locate Jacques Renault's cabin. Bobby Briggs and Shelly Johnson devise a plan to get revenge on Leo.
7. "Realization Time": Cooper and "Big" Ed Hurley venture undercover to One-Eyed Jack's, where Audrey Horne's own investigation has earned her a secret job. Maddy, Donna, and James continue with their plans by planning to steal one of Laura's therapy tapes from Dr. Jacoby.
8. "The Last Evening": In the season one finale, Leo uses Ben's plan to burn Packard Sawmill and betray Catherine to simultaneously get rid of Shelly. Jacques Renault is lured away from the Canadian border and arrested, and Hank Jennings reveals his role behind the scenes.

Season Two

"I have no idea where this will lead us, but I have a definite feeling it will be a place both wonderful and strange."

— FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper

1. "May the Giant Be with You": Albert Rosenfield returns to Twin Peaks to find out who shot Cooper, and Cooper looks into new information that has come to light concerning Laura Palmer, despite his wounds. Shelly and Pete are hospitalized after the fire, with Catherine and Josie missing.
2. "Coma": Donna takes over Laura's Meals on Wheels route to find out more about her connections around the town. Audrey blows her cover at One-Eyed Jack's when finding out more about how Laura came to work there.
3. "The Man Behind the Glass": Donna grows closer to Harold Smith, who had a strange relationship with Laura. Audrey is held hostage at One-Eyed Jack's, James and Maddy grow closer, and Lucy informs her lover, Dick Tremayne, that she's pregnant.
4. "Laura's Secret Diary": Leland is arrested for the murder of Jacques Renault. Ben Horne is sent a ransom video of Audrey and seeks Cooper's assistance in recovering her. Josie returns, claiming to have gone to Seattle.
5. "The Orchid's Curse": A raid is staged on One-Eyed Jack's by Cooper and Truman, Donna and Maddy plot to steal Laura's Secret Diary from Harold, and Ben receives a business proposition from Mr. Tojamura. Shelly and Bobby take in a catatonic Leo for the financial benefits.
6. "Demons": Gordon Cole, Cooper's boss, comes to Twin Peaks to warn Cooper about threats being made by his former partner, Windom Earle, who went insane and escaped federal custody.
7. "Lonely Souls": Audrey reveals information concerning her father's involvement at One-Eyed Jacks to Cooper, and Laura Palmer's killer is finally revealed.
8. "Drive with a Dead Girl": Leland, under possession of BOB, disposes of evidence concerning the murder of his niece, Maddy, and further implicates Ben Horne for murdering Laura Palmer, for which he is awaiting trial.
9. "Arbitrary Law": Cooper's plan to incarcerate Laura Palmer's killer, whom he knows is under possession of BOB, leads to yet another death. Ben is tricked by Catherine into signing away the Packard Sawmill, and Andy and Dick Tremayne confront each other.
10. "Dispute Between Brothers": Despite the investigation concerning Laura Palmer's murder coming to a close, Agent Cooper must stay in Twin Peaks when involvement in the raid on One-Eyed Jack's puts his job on the line.
11. "Masked Ball": Cooper's old friend Dennis Bryson comes to town while the FBI and DEA continue to investigate his role in the raid on One-Eyed Jack's. James falls into a scandal with a beautiful blonde, and Andrew Packard returns to Twin Peaks alive.
12. "The Black Widow": Major Briggs returns from his disappearance into the woods, and Bobby trails Hank Jennings while Ben Horne continues to slip into a senseless state of mind.
13. "Checkmate": Nadine stops Hank from attacking Big Ed when he finds out about his romantic involvement with Norma. Cooper sets up a plan to arrest Jean Renault, but Ernie Niles' nervousness leaves the situation in a standoff.
14. "Double Play": Cooper indulges Truman on his past with Windom Earle now that he has apparently come to Twin Peaks to take Cooper head on in a deadly game. James learns that his role in Evelyn's affair was a set up the whole time.
15. "Slaves and Masters": Cooper seeks assistance from Twin Peaks's resident chess master, Pete Martell, to decipher Windom Earle's moves. Donna attempts to save James from his implication in the Marsh murder, while Nadine breaks things off with Ed in her teenage state of mind.
16. "The Condemned Woman": While Hank is arrested for Leo's murder, Ed proposes to Norma. Audrey finds romance in an admirer from her past; James breaks things off with Donna.
17. "Wounds and Scars": Catherine receives a puzzle box from Eckhardt, while Truman becomes depressed at the loss of Josie. Cooper falls in love with Norma's sister, Annie Blackburn, and Ben Horne figures out a way to delay Catherine's construction.
18. "On the Wings of Love": Cooper and the Sheriff's Department investigate Owl Cave while Audrey and John Justice Wheeler start a relationship.
19. "Variations and Relations": Windom Earle makes his next move as Dick Tremayne holds a wine tasting at the Great Northern. Cooper grows closer to Annie while he and Truman continue to decipher the hieroglyph from Owl Cave.
20. "The Path to the Black Lodge": Major Briggs is kidnapped and interrogated by Windom Earle about the Owl Cave hieroglyph, while Cooper warns Donna, Shelly, and Audrey about the potential danger they face by entering the Twin Peaks Beauty Pageant concerning Windom Earle's planned abduction.
21. "Miss Twin Peaks": Cooper and Truman decipher some of the Owl Cave hieroglyph before Windom Earle crashes the Twin Peaks Beauty Pageant disguised as Log Lady and abducts Annie. Major Briggs escapes Earle's custody with some help from Leo Johnson.
22. "Beyond Life and Death": In the Series Fauxnale, Audrey Horne stages an act of civil disobedience at Twin Peaks Savings & Loan, where Andrew and Pete open Eckhardt's safety deposit box and accidentally set off a bomb Eckhardt had planted. Agent Cooper follows Windom Earle into the Black Lodge in an attempt to save Annie's life.

The Movie

• Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
  • Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces

Season Three

"I hate to admit this, but I don't understand this situation at all."

— FBI Deputy Director Gordon Cole

1. "The Return: Part 1"
2. "The Return: Part 2"
3. "The Return: Part 3"
4. "The Return: Part 4"
5. "The Return: Part 5"
6. "The Return: Part 6"
7. "The Return: Part 7"
8. "The Return: Part 8"
9. "The Return: Part 9"
10. "The Return: Part 10"
11. "The Return: Part 11"
12. "The Return: Part 12"
13. "The Return: Part 13"
14. "The Return: Part 14"
15. "The Return: Part 15"
16. "The Return: Part 16"
17. "The Return: Part 17"
18. "The Return: Part 18"