To say I was excited and extremely hyped up for this reboot of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks franchise is the biggest understatement of the year. I was probably more excited for this than season seven of Game of Thrones, and that’s a ridiculous thing for me to say. I’ve loved Twin Peaks for a very, very long time. I watched the series approximately ten years ago, and have enjoyed many re-watchings since, reading the books about it, and immersing myself in its strange world and mythology.

For us Australian viewers, season three of Twin Peaks (known to some as Twin Peaks: The Return) is available to view on the excellent streaming platform Stan. Stan is so great, because it has a plethora of my favourite television shows available for viewing at any time, including new series’ such as season nine of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Thus far, Stan has four whole episodes of this reboot, plus the original series, available for viewing – four! (Also, this is not a paid promotion for Stan – I just love Stan.)

I’ve watched each episode once and am looking forward to a rewatch this weekend. What I can tell you, is that I absolutely love this reboot. I adore it. I am enamoured by it. As a hardcore Twin Peaks fan, I am very pleased with what we have been given so far, where David Lynch is taking us on this ominous and surreal journey.

I won’t be recapping Twin Peaks episode by episode this year (Game of Thrones will really only be my ‘professional’ recapping job for the foreseeable future), but perhaps after the reboot has finished, I’ll write a bit of a reflection on the whole thing. What I can offer instead of recaps, are these five pieces of spoiler-free advice from a long-term Twin Peaks fan, regarding the things that you need to consider before watching this new reboot.

Without further ado, here are those five pieces of spoiler-free advice:

1. You should probably watch Twin Peaks series one and two before watching this reboot

It’s a serious undertaking in terms of time, watching the two original seasons just to see this newer reboot, because there are 38 episodes in total and some of the episodes in season two are tough going. But in order to fully comprehend and enjoy the world of this new season of Twin Peaks, you absolutely need to see the original series. Some may say that this reboot can work on its own, given how weird and random it seems to be (at least, in the first four episodes). Yes, thus far, the reboot is extremely surreal and strange – a trip down a garden path laced with peyote. But that doesn’t mean that you don’t need to have some form of grounding for where Lynch needs you to go. Given how wonderful the series is, it’s essential viewing anyway.

2. You should also probably watch Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me before watching this reboot

The reboot thus far (at four episodes into its eighteen episode run) has a whole bunch of references to the prequel film to the original Twin Peaks series, which was conceived and directed by David Lynch partially in response to the way that network television handled the second season of the show. Lynch wanted to explain and explore more about the mysterious Laura Palmer, and Fire Walk With Me did just that. This reboot doesn’t have so many references to the film that the whole thing is nonsensical, but it has just enough that you might end up Googling a whole bunch of little things (e.g. a ring, a blue rose, someone called Phillip Jeffries) to understand them, and then you run the risk of spoiling the whole thing via accidental Google spoiler-peeking. Not worth it. Take your time to immerse yourself in this film’s weirdness, and dip further into this crazy, Lynchian world. In my opinion, Fire Walk With Me is one of David Lynch’s most underrated films.

3. Throw all of your expectations out the window

I tried ever so hard not to expect anything from this reboot. As aforementioned, I was extremely excited and hyped up, but I tried not to expect what the story might have been like, what the overall tone of the episodes might have been, to wonder whether David Lynch would be up to his old tricks, or whether this new reboot would be as charming and original as the first two seasons. Going into this series without expectations was difficult, but I simply hoped that I would enjoy it. Even though I didn’t expect anything in particular, David Lynch still blew me away with his crazy imagination and surreal sensibilities. He is at his peak Lynchiest. It is amazing. This is a key piece of advice – expect nothing, just experience and enjoy everything.

4. David Lynch has complete and total control this time around, so don’t freak out

As aforementioned, David Lynch has gone full blown David Lynch this time. He has full control of this series, which some may say is a blessing, and some may say is a curse. As a result, do allow yourself to be surprised, frightened, and amused by his very individual vision. I feel very confident in saying that literally no one else could make a series like this.

5. The cameos are not what they seem

You’ll have heard about a lot of random cameos popping up in this reboot, with lots of famous names being mentioned – Naomi Watts, Michael Cera, Sky Ferreira, Amanda Seyfried, Laura Dern, Trent Reznor, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Eddie Vedder, the list continues. I’ve seen a couple of these famous names in the four episodes I’ve seen, and all I can say without spoiling anything is that, again, you need to throw all your expectations out of the nearest window. Particularly when it comes to Michael Cera. Holy moly.

And an extra one…

6. Think about the numbers on screen

Lynch is showing us a lot of numbers and is heavily insinuating that we might want to remember them for some reason. I don’t know what it means, but I thought I might let everyone know, to pay at least a little bit of attention to them.

So, those are my five (plus one extra) pieces of advice to consider if you’re thinking about watching this new reboot of Twin Peaks. I have to repeat myself, I am absolutely loving it so far, and can’t wait to watch the next episode. What do you think? Have you seen the new episodes, or are you thinking about watching Twin Peaks for the first time? Let me know!