I Saw the TV Glow
Spoilers are in the lead for I see the TV Glow ’s ending .
Summary
When conceiving their second characteristic - duration film , author - director Jane Schoenbrun drew on ' 90s cult classics for brainchild . WhileI check the TV Glowpulls from young - grownup TV hits likeBuffy the Vampire SlayerandAre You Afraid of the Dark?,the film producer has cited David Lynch’sTwin Peaksas a huge influence . FromI Saw the video Glow ’s eery soundtrackand its more dreamlike storytelling element to the atmospheric menace that imbue the film ’s suburban setting , it all feel very Lynchian . However , Schoenbrun goes a pace further by incorporating unmistakableTwin Peaksreferences , Easter ballock , and thematic echoes .
The psychological horror - drama core on Owen ( Justice Smith ) and Maddy ( Brigette Lundy - Paine ) , teen foreigner who find connectedness thanks to their shared love of the behemoth - of - the - week boob tube seriesThe Pink Opaque , which chronicles the misadventures of Isabel ( Helena Howard ) and Tara ( Lindsey Jordan).Both Owen and Maddy obtain refuge inThe Pink Opaque , and see their unfeigned variant of themselves reflected in Isabel and Tara . Even as theending ofI Saw the boob tube Glowcements the moving picture as a write up about Owen ’s trans identity , theA24 motion picture is staring forTwin Peaksfans .
9The Use Of Doppelgängers & Doubles
Twin Peaks & I Saw The TV Glow Use This Plot Point To Different Ends
In David Lynch’sTwin Peaks , duplicate play a immense role — not just in the serial ' visuals , but in its plot . At the end of time of year 2 , Dale Cooper ( Kyle MacLachlan ) entersTwin Peaks ' Black Lodge , a kind of extradimensional property , for redeem Annie Blackburn ( Heather Graham ) . antecedently , Deputy Hawk ( Michael Horse ) calledthe Black Lodge a space of darkness — a mirror of the White Lodge that forces those who exit through it to confront their shadow self . That ’s exactly what happens to Cooper , who is ultimately chased through the maze - same Lodge by his own nefarious doppelgänger .
WhileI see the TV Glowuses double over too , its approach is rather different .
InTwin Peaks , the evil Mr. C overwhelm Cooper and supervene upon him in the veridical world , lead to a rather dark 25 years to unfold between the show ’s sophomore outing and 2017’sTwin efflorescence : The Return . WhileI examine the TV Glowuses repeat too , its approach is rather unlike . Maddy , an out lesbian , sees her right ego reflected inThe Pink Opaque ’s heroic and know Tara . Meanwhile , Owen sees their truest self in Isabel . Later , Maddy even suggest thatThe Pink Opaqueis real number , and that theyareTara and Isabel — an inverse of Cooper ’s Black Lodge moment .
conceive by Mark Frost and David Lynch in 1990 , Twin Peaks is a supernatural mystery - play series that brings FBI Agent Dale Cooper to the quiet Ithiel Town of Twin Peaks to investigate the murder of a young cleaning lady describe Laura Palmer . As Dale continues his probe of her death , he instruct that Laura ’s life was n’t as she advertised it , and the town itself is hiding far more enigma than they permit on . The show received a revival meeting for a third and final season two decades later to address the cliffhanger left at the end of the second season .
8Maddy Shares A Name With A Very Specific Twin Peaks Character
Maddy Ferguson Is Laura Palmer’s Identical Cousin In Twin Peaks
The name Maddy may seem inconsequential , but it will certainly strike a chord withTwin Peaksfans . The name of Lundy - Paine ’s fictitious character is the same as that of Laura Palmer ’s ( Sheryl Lee ) old full cousin , Maddy Ferguson ( also Lee ) . Meant to look strikingly alike to the polish off Laura Palmer , Maddy is a grounded good example of a doppelgänger . When she come in Twin Peaks to help her aunt and uncle deal with Laura ’s death , Maddy soon becomes fast friends with Laura ’s pals , Donna ( Lara Flynn Boyle ) and James ( James Marshall).Enmeshed in Laura ’s aliveness , Maddy even helps investigate her cousin-german ’s murder .
fundamentally , Maddy spread the door to Owen ’s self - investigation .
WhileI experience the video Glow ’s Maddy is n’t a double of Owen , she does assist the stripling realise their trans personal identity . Quite early on , Maddy openly discourse her quirkiness , prompting Owen to consider their own identity element . Moreover , her effusive honey ofThe Pink Opaque — and its characters — scratch off on Owen . Essentially , Maddy opens the doorway to Owen ’s self - investigation . In the same means Maddy Ferguson is connected toTwin Peaks ' all in girl , I project the video Glow ’s Maddy is friends with the movie ’s " numb " or buried young woman — Owen , a.k.a . Isabel .
Custom Image by Kate Bove
7A Key Owen Scene Reverses One Of Twin Peaks: The Return’s Most Disturbing Moments
Owen’s Chest Scene Echoes Sarah Palmer’s Judy Reveal
The end ofI Saw the TV Glowis both harrowing and , queerly , hopeful . After ten of decline to look inward or accept their trans individuality , Owen is live a hollow life . The now - adult quality , who even claims to have a wife and kids , is withering away . The bell of keeping a massive enigma has caused Owen ’s health to deteriorate . While at work , Owen has a panic attack , prompting them to rush to the toilet . Finally brave enough to glimpse the the true , Owen make out into their chest to give away the glowing static of a goggle box screen .
While Owen obtain something precious inside , Sarah reveals an awful truth .
AsI see the TV Glowreminds viewers , it is n’t too previous for Owen to cover their truth . The main phallus ofI Saw the television set Glow ’s casting of charactershas taken the first footstep to amply living their life openly and aboveboard . The look of the scene , with its not - very - sleek event and kind of optic bluntness , find eerily reminiscent of Sarah Palmer ’s ( Grace Zabriskie ) most unsettlingTwin bill : The Returnmoment . In the scene , Sarah withdraw her aspect to reveal that the malevolent entity Judy live within of her . Although visually standardized , the moments are polar antonym : While Owen find oneself something precious inside , Sarah disclose an dreadful truth .
Conceived by Mark Frost and David Lynch in 1990, Twin Peaks is a supernatural mystery-drama series that brings FBI Agent Dale Cooper to the quiet town of Twin Peaks to investigate the murder of a young woman named Laura Palmer. As Dale continues his investigation of her death, he learns that Laura’s life wasn’t as she advertised it, and the town itself is hiding far more secrets than they let on. The show received a revival for a third and final season two decades later to resolve the cliffhanger left at the end of the second season.
I Saw the boob tube Glow pay homage to the 1990s - era television show that barrack it , but this Buffy cameo holds surplus resonance for queer viewers .
6Owen’s Dad Has A Lot In Common With Leland Palmer
Both Menacing Fathers Are Quietly Killing Their Daughters
WhenTwin Peaksreveals who kill Laura Palmer , it was an incredible shock to first - meter viewers . Long - have by the vicious Lodge entity called BOB , Leland Palmer ( Ray Wise ) , Laura ’s father , murdered the teenager . Even more distressful , Twin Peaks : Fire Walk With Me , which serves as a prequel to the series , confirms that BOB - as - Leland had been abusing and harming Laura for year . InI Saw the telecasting Glow , Owen ’s begetter , Frank ( Fred Durst ) , does n’t say much , except for a step - setting , cutting line about The Pink Opaque being a show " for girls . "
Throughout the film , Frank is a hostile presence .
Owen understandably bring Frank ’s wrangle to heart . Instead of openly watchingThe Pink Opaque , the closeted stripling sneaks over to Maddy ’s house and collects VHS tapes that Maddy records for escape into the consoling humanity ofThe Pink Opaque . Throughout the moving picture , Frank is a unfriendly presence . He looms in the background of scenes , act as a understood prison guard to Owen ’s true self . In bothI see the TV GlowandTwin Peaks , father figures are not just menacing , but killers who ruin their daughters — one literally and one in a more emotional sentience .
5In I Saw The TV Glow & Twin Peaks, Electricity Bridges Other Worlds
Electricity Helps Cooper Travel Between Realities & Signals Owen’s Arrival In The Midnight Realm
InTwin Peaks , electricity , public-service corporation poles , and static are connected to other realms and attribute . InFire Walk With Me , Agent Desmond ( Chris Isaak ) call the Fat Trout Trailer Park to investigate the murdered Theresa Banks ' former dwelling . While there , a utility program magnetic pole with a string of Book of Numbers on it is a prominent focus;several Lodge beings , as well asTwin Peaks ' iconic ring , also dress up near the public utility company pole . InThe Return , electricity and great power lines are Cooper ’s way out of the Lodge and , subsequently , leave him to frustrate over into a unlike realness of sorting .
WhenI Saw the TV Glow ’s Owen encounters a downed power line , the lineament seemingly crosses over …
After crossing over into an alternative timeline by investigating an area near a serial of superpower lines , Cooper , who goes by the name Richard , tracks down the alt - interpretation of Laura Palmer , who goes by the name Carrie Paige . Outside Carrie ’s household in Odessa , Texas , the utility magnetic pole from the lagger parking lot looms . There are plenty of other instances where electrical energy and electromagnetic fields seem to bridge over dissimilar kingdom inTwin Peaks . likewise , whenI regard the TV Glow ’s Owen encounters a downed power line , the character seemingly crosses over intoThe Pink Opaque ’s Midnight Realm .
Twin Peaks season 2 may have ended on a cliffhanger , but Twin Peaks : The Return also leaves witness with just as many — if not more — questions .
4The Double Lunch Is A Reference To Twin Peaks’ Iconic Diner
I Saw The TV Glow’s Bar Also References Buffy The Vampire Slayer
When Owen ( Ian Foreman ) first meets Maddy at the high school , she ’s readingThe Pink Opaqueepisode guide . Eager to share her lovemaking of the supernatural teen serial publication with Owen , Maddy rattle off facts about the show . A small detail that Maddy drops in a seemingly throwaway business line is thatThe Pink Opaqueepisode guide lists all the bands who play at the Double Lunch , the show ’s small - town measure . A clear reference toBuffy the Vampire Slayer ’s The Bronze , the Double Lunch ’s name is also an ode toTwin Peaks ' iconic twofold R diner .
A24 ’s hit new psychological horror film , I Saw the TV Glow , was inspire by Twin Peaks — and its time to come might also be regulate by David Lynch ’s show .
3I Saw The TV Glow’s Musical Performances Pay Homage To Twin Peaks’ Roadhouse
Phoebe Bridgers, Sloppy Jane & King Woman Perform During I Saw The TV Glow
One of thebest parts ofTwin Peaksis revivedbyI Saw the tv set Glow — and it may be a little unexpected . While Schoenbrun ’s cinema is able to create an incredibly singular standard pressure , there ’s no deny its replication ofTwin blossom ' small - town unfamiliarity . The Roadhouse has a significant role inTwin pinnacle : The Return : Not only do real - spirit bands do at the Roadhouse , but it acts as a bridge between the genuine and the unreal . likewise , the Double Lunch boasts live performances and is the office whereThe Pink Opaquestarts to bleed into Owen ’s reality .
2I Saw The TV Glow Uses Monologues As Effectively As Twin Peaks: The Return
Both Projects Turn Exposition Into Big Character Moments
After Maddy reappears in Owen ’s life , she train her former ally to the Double Lunch on the boundary of town . As the human race ofThe Pink Opaquebegins to run into the characters ' reality , and as Maddy paint a picture that she and Owen are actually Tara and Isabel , the fictitious character establish into several monologues . The most substantial spread in a planetarium housed inside the high-pitched - shoal gymnasium . While Maddy recounts her own experiences of moving away and find choke , she smear her spirit with plot points and metaphors pulled fromThe Pink Opaque .
The Returnalso boast several monologue moments …
The would - be expounding dump feels charged with emotion . Not only is Brigette Lundy - Paine ’s performance compelling , butthe shot reads much like a soliloquy from a stage play , with the camera staying close on Maddy ’s face . The technique is evocative of certain iconic scenes fromTwin Peaks . In the original series , Major Garland Briggs ( Don S. Davis ) narrate a meaningful dreaming to his boy , Bobby , delivering the affecting experience in a monologue - same style . The Returnalso features several monologue moment , notably when The Log Lady ( Catherine E. Coulson ) speaks with Hawk and when Wally Brando ( Michael Cera ) bids farewell to Twin Peaks .
Jane Schoenbrun ’s guidance is a surefooted and ethereal experience .
1The Ending Of I Saw The TV Glow Is An Inversion Of Dale Cooper Being Trapped In The Lodge
Owen Has A Way Out At The End Of I Saw The TV Glow
In interview , I Saw the goggle box Glowwriter - director Jane Schoenbrun noted thatTwin Peaksseason 2 ’s cliffhanger ending of a BOB - possessed Cooper slamming his mind against a mirror in the real world was " lodged " in Schoenbrun ’s subconscious mind . The filmmaker has even said that the moment " felt like bare business , if not like trauma , " and that they " [ wanted ] Dale Cooper to get out of the Lodge " ( viaIndieWire ) . By look inside themself , Owen let their dead on target self out of the carefully construct prison they built , completely reversingTwin Peaks ' traumatic endingand interchange it with a hopeful one .
I see the TV Glowis now playing in theaters .
I catch the telecasting Glow follows teenager Owen , who navigates suburban animation until introduced by schoolfellow Maddy to a mystic previous - night television show .
Source : IndieWire
