Twin Peaks: What Happened To Leo Johnson After The Original Series?

His ultimate fate was never resolved following the Twin Peaks season 2 finale, so what happened to Leo Johnson? Twin Peaks debuted in 1990 and was co-created by David Lynch and Mark Frost, and its impact on the television landscape can’t be underestimated. Its thoroughly unique mix of genres and cinematic tone wasn’t something that had really been done with network TV before, and it paved the way for trailblazers like The X-Files, Lost, and many more.

Twin Peaks revolves around the murder of teenager Laura Palmer in the title town, with FBI agent Dale Cooper arriving to investigate. Laura’s death digs up a whole host of the town’s darkest secrets, and the show blended everything from soap opera to Lynchian horror. The first season is still considered groundbreaking but after Laura’s killer was revealed early in season 2 – a reveal Lynch was forced to make – audience interest waned and it was canceled by the end of the series. David Lynch later directed dark prequel Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me in 1992 and returned for 2017’s aptly titled revival Twin Peaks: The Return.

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Twin Peaks: The Return brought back the vast majority of the cast from Kyle MacLachlan to Sheryl Lee, though some notable actors like Michael Ontkean and Joan Chen didn’t return. Another character whose fate was unresolved is Leo Johnson, played by Eric DaRe (Starship Troopers). Leo appeared in the first two seasons and was the abusive husband of waitress Shelly (Mädchen Amick), in addition to being a local drug dealer and an all-around scumbag. Leo was also present the night Laura was murdered but had no direct involvement in her death.

By the end of Twin Peaks’ first season Leo was shot by an unknown assailant, but he survived. Shelly and boyfriend Bobby were then forced to take care of Leo, who was left an invalid following his shooting. He remains that way for much of season 2, with Shelly and Bobby having a good time mocking the former bully. Of course, he eventually wakes up and after trying to murder Shelly again, he escapes into the woods. This is where he’s captured by Twin Peaks season 2’s main villain Windom Earle, who attached a shock collar to Leo and forces him to be a virtual slave.

Leo must obey all of Windom’s orders but is still regularly beaten or humiliated. After spending most of season 1 tormenting others, Leo became the victim due to being under Earle’s control. After Earle threatens to kill Shelly, Leo is able to free Garland Briggs after he’s also kidnapped. Needless to say, Earle isn’t happy with this, and Leo is last seen on Twin Peaks tied up and left holding a nest of tarantulas above his head by a string between his teeth; if he lets go, he’s dead.

Leo’s fate wasn’t revealed on the Twin Peaks season 2 finale, but 2017 book Twin Peaks: The Final Dossier by Mark Frost provided the answer. It’s revealed Leo was later fatally shot in the chest by another unknown assailant, with the autopsy being performed by Agent Albert Rosenfield (Miguel Ferrer, RoboCop). Albert concludes Leo was probably shot by Earle himself judging by the wounds, who maybe took mild pity on Leo after he dished out so much abuse.

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