77% Rotten Tomatoes Score: 6 Reasons Twin Peaks Ranks Lower Than Expected
Season Two Weighed Down The Score
Twin Peaks’ first season won almost unanimous critical praise, but reviews of season 2 were more divided. ABC promoted the answer to Laura Palmer’s murder ahead of the season, prompting David Lynch to reveal the killer and weakening the mystery that had anchored the story.
The series was canceled shortly afterward, leaving its cliffhanger unresolved for two-and-a-half decades. Rotten Tomatoes aggregates reviews, and the mixed response to season 2 brought down the overall score: season 1 has 91%, season 2 has 64%, and the full series stands at 77%.
An Unconventional Story Divided Critics
Lynch and co-creator Mark Frost broke from familiar television formulas, beginning with a small-town soap opera before moving into supernatural territory. Some critics saw the approach as revolutionary, while others found it less appealing.
Rather than neatly explaining its mysteries or providing closure, the show often left events open to interpretation. That style brought Lynch’s distinctive cinematic sensibility to television, but it did not suit every viewer.
Early Reviews And Later Praise
The show’s reputation grew over time, creating a gap between its contemporary reviews and its retrospective acclaim. The account notes that Rotten Tomatoes includes reviews written long after a work’s release, so its score may not capture how critics responded when it first appeared.
It also describes the site’s ratings as an imperfect measure for older classics. Twin Peaks is still marked “fresh” at 77%, but the score is far below the ratings cited for several other acclaimed series.
The Rating In Context
The Sopranos has a 92% Rotten Tomatoes score, The Wire 94%, and Breaking Bad 96%, compared with Twin Peaks at 77%. The article also says Twin Peaks shares that score with Lioness, Taylor Sheridan’s action series.
The account points to factors beyond season 2, including Lynch’s reduced involvement, the show’s refusal to cater to casual viewers and Twin Peaks: The Return being counted separately. It does not provide further detail about those factors.
Key points
- Twin Peaks has a 77% Rotten Tomatoes score, compared with 91% for season 1 and 64% for season 2.
- Season 2’s mixed reviews followed the revelation of who killed Laura Palmer.
- The show’s ambiguous, unconventional storytelling divided critics.
- The account cites Lynch’s reduced involvement and the separate treatment of Twin Peaks: The Return as other factors.