10 Best Episodes of ‘Twin Peaks’

There is nothing quite like the eerie small town mystery that runs through every minute of ‘Twin Peaks’. Across its original 1990 to 1991 run and its 2017 continuation, the series delivered episodes that built the case, expanded the mythology, and brought the story back to the woods where it began.

This list gathers ten chapters that moved the plot forward in clear ways, introduced key ideas and places, or tied major threads together. You will find early milestones from the first two seasons alongside pivotal parts from the 2017 run, all arranged in simple chronological order.

Pilot

The feature length premiere introduces the town, its families, and the investigation that starts when Pete Martell finds Laura Palmer’s body on the shore. Special Agent Dale Cooper arrives from the FBI, sets up at the Great Northern, and begins interviews that establish timelines, alibis, and connections across the Packard mill, the high school, and the Roadhouse.

Shot on location in Washington and first broadcast in April 1990, the pilot lays out the core settings like the Double R Diner, the sheriff’s station, and the Palmer home. It also presents recurring details that become clues, including owls in the woods, a one armed man, and a diary with missing pages.

Zen, or the Skill to Catch a Killer

Cooper demonstrates a practical method for sorting suspects by throwing rocks at a bottle as names are read out, which narrows attention to specific figures in Laura’s circle. That same hour features the first Red Room dream, where Cooper meets a dancing man and hears speech recorded backward that points him toward a name.

First aired in April 1990, this episode sets procedures that the investigation follows for weeks. It also introduces the visual language of the Red Room with chevron floors and red curtains, elements that return whenever the case intersects with the other place known later as the Black Lodge.

The Last Evening

The season one finale cross cuts between the burning of the Packard mill, an FBI sting at One Eyed Jacks, and criminal deals around the town. The hour ends with multiple unresolved outcomes that affect the investigation and the town power struggle, including shots fired at the Great Northern.

Broadcast in May 1990, the episode resets the board for season two by leaving the status of several characters unclear. It also confirms that the mill conflict and the casino brothel operation are not side plots but active parts of the larger crime story wrapped around Laura’s life.

May the Giant Be with You

After the events of the finale, Cooper receives three statements from a tall figure who appears in his room and tells him to listen to the clues. The investigation continues through hospital visits, forensic follow ups, and taped messages that refine the timeline of Laura’s final day.

Shown in late September 1990, the extended season two opener marks the first clear naming of the Giant and establishes that messages from another place can direct real world steps. It also brings the Log Lady and Major Briggs into closer contact with the case through information that points to patterns in the woods.

Lonely Souls

This mid season chapter identifies the person responsible for Laura’s death inside the Palmer home. The build up includes signals at the Roadhouse and a return of the Giant, who indicates that the killer is about to act, which aligns with evidence gathered since the pilot.

The episode aired in November 1990 and provides the first complete answer to the central question. It frames that answer with details that matter later, including the idea of a presence named Bob, the role of possession, and the connection between family spaces and the crimes under review.

Arbitrary Law

Following the revelation, Cooper assembles the sheriff’s team to run a controlled plan that uses earlier clues like the letter fragments and the diary’s secrets. The operation concludes at the station with a confession that lines up with forensic findings, witness accounts, and the chronology of the case files.

First broadcast in December 1990, this hour closes the original murder investigation while keeping the town’s other threads active. It establishes procedures for how the FBI and the sheriff’s department work together under Cooper’s lead, which becomes the template for the final stretch of season two.

The Path to the Black Lodge

As symbols in Owl Cave are decoded, a map takes shape that points to Glastonbury Grove and a circle of sycamore trees. Windom Earle advances his plan to reach another place through that site, while Major Briggs provides additional information from classified work that matches the cave markings.

Aired in April 1991, the episode links the cave drawings to real coordinates and sets the stage for a specific entrance in the woods. Red curtains begin to appear around Glastonbury Grove, the pool of liquid forms at the base of the trees, and the phrase Black Lodge moves from legend to an operational location.

Beyond Life and Death

Cooper enters Glastonbury Grove to follow a trail through a series of rooms with red curtains and patterned floors. Inside, he meets doubles, encounters Laura and Leland, and faces Bob, all while trying to find Annie after the events at the pageant.

First shown in June 1991, the finale ends the ABC run with a mirror image in Cooper’s room at the Great Northern and a question that remains unresolved. It fixes the Black Lodge as a physical place with rules about fear and courage, and it locks in a last image that carries forward into the 2017 run.

Part 8

The 2017 limited series reaches back to the desert of New Mexico in 1945 and shows the first atomic test, then follows a flow of images that include a figure known as the Experiment, an egg in the brush, and a creature that enters a small town. A being covered in soot repeats a line while searching for a light and a radio transmission puts listeners to sleep.

Aired in June 2017, this hour explains pieces of the mythology by placing Bob’s origin near the test and by linking that event to the Lodge world. It uses the Roadhouse stage for a band performance and then shifts to black and white sequences that connect to the Fireman, the Purple Sea, and a gold sphere sent toward a house we have seen before.

Part 17

The final night of the 2017 run opens with the arrest of a dark suited Cooper at the Twin Peaks sheriff’s station and a confrontation that ends when a gloved hand destroys a floating sphere that holds the face of Bob. Cooper then drives out with the sheriff’s team and takes steps that affect the timeline of 1989.

Broadcast in September 2017, this chapter merges the case work with Lodge travel by showing how a door in the Great Northern leads to the Dutchman’s and then back to the woods. It ends with Cooper and Diane at a highway marker before a crossing that leads to the last part, setting up a return to a familiar house and a final question about identity.

Share your own standout chapters from ‘Twin Peaks’ in the comments and tell us which episodes you would add to the list.