Sigh. I did a lot of sighing and a lot of crying this week, crying with joy, love, pride, triumph, and true sadness and grief—even a little bit of relief. Part 15 of Twin Peaks the Return really had it all.
First off, we see Nadine, gold shovel over her shoulder, and I must admit at first I thought a crazed look on her face. What on earth was she planning to do with it? What shit is she going to shovel herself into? Thankfully I was wrong. She walked all the way through to visit her husband Big Ed Hurley, to tell him the most wonderful news.
She told him that he had been a Saint, that she had manipulated him, guilted him into staying with her, and he did. But she knew he was in love with Norma, always had been, and she was setting him free so he could be with her. “Go and enjoy!“. With tears in his eyes he knew, it was as if he was released from a curse. Perhaps a self-imposed curse from back when he first shot out Nadine’s eye accidentally way back when. His guilt was so tremendous even after all this time that he couldn’t leave her, no matter how much he wanted to be with his true love Norma. Could this be his chance, finally? After all these years?
Nadine was happy for him as if she had a destiny of her own that she now has to travel, and I suspect she does. She and Dr Amp/Jacoby must play a bigger part in this performance. I fear for Nadine, her enlightened expression. Whatever this calling is, it may be her last, but the only one she was ever meant to face.
Ed struts to the RR Diner to win the love of his woman once and for all. Otis Redding’s ‘I’ve Been Loving You Too Long‘ booms quite probably in his head alone as he enters the door. With a huge smile and wave, reminiscent of the last time they were together when Nadine was in love with Mike/Snake, he walks over to Norma and tells her that Nadine has given him his freedom. Sadly at this moment, Norma has to tell him that she’s sorry, but Walter is there. Creepy, corporate Walter. Ugh. This is never going to happen, is it? Are they forever meant to be apart?
Ed sits at the counter, and Shelly asks him if he would like to order anything. He chooses coffee, and after she’s out of earshot, “and a cyanide tablet”.
Norma sits with Walter in the booth behind and tells him that she’s exercising the option for the franchise to buy her out for family reasons, and interestingly, Walter says that he thought she had told him that she didn’t have any family. Norma says, ‘no, I have a wonderful family and I want to take care of them’. So who is Norma talking about there? Chances are she’s not talking about any blood relatives. She did not get on with her mother at all, rightly so as she was pretty terrible to her; besides, she would most likely be deceased now. Then there’s Annie, who has been largely omitted from the story other than Hawk mentioning her existence concerning the entry in Laura Palmers recently discovered diary pages. Is Annie who Norma was talking about? I would guess not. Whatever her fate, it would seem more likely she’d say ‘sister’ than family. My personal view is that she was talking about her real family, the people she loves in Twin Peaks, Shelly and Big Ed.
The music disappears for the scenes between Norma and Walter but roars back when we see Ed, who sits at the counter and closes his eyes – he looks pained but peaceful. He’s wishing, dreaming hard. The music echoes away again as we pan back to Norma. She doesn’t want seven diners; she just wants one. Walter tells her she is making a big mistake and leaves. The music starts getting louder again, and we see Ed now smiling, eyes tight shut. I thought I heard the faintest tingle of the guitar from ‘Just you and I’, and then a hand touches his shoulder. Norma embraces him. Ed asks, “Marry me?” they kiss, Shelly watches on welling up. “Of course I will“. They kiss again. There go my first tears in full flow.
Pure and absolute joy. Not just for Ed and Norma finally getting together but for the possibility that love actually IS enough and that it can last forever, and it can triumph over all else. There is still a chance for the town of Twin Peaks to win the battle against the evil in those damn woods which appears to be spilling out into the streets. As long as they have enough love in their hearts to win the fight—there does seem to be an overwhelming amount of ‘bad’ out there, but the balance has been shifted slightly this evening.
Next, we’re driving again with Mr C/Dopplecooper. He does like his night drives, doesn’t he! With a flash of white light, we see him pull up outside the Convenience Store. A Woodsman stands in front of his car, waiting for him. This particular Woodsman isn’t too dirty. He appears to be wearing dirty white jeans and a top with a red plaid shirt. Does how blackened a Woodsman tell us anything? Maybe how long they’ve been dead? Assuming they were ever alive in the first place. The Woodsman leads him up the outside staircase to the roof, at which point the two of them flicker and disappear.
I love it when I am right. When we first saw the Convenience Store in Part 8, I wondered if there was a secret room as we always knew it was supposed to be the room ABOVE the convenience store where they met. This is most certainly the case. Doppelcooper enters the room, which is also the trees of the woods he is walking through; he’ll see us in the trees. He gets to a doorway, where another woodsman sits in a chair. This Woodsman is particularly unpleasant, not only blackened with eyes white, but he’s bleeding from the mouth, blood or oil spilling down onto his chest. A projection of Billy? Or is he linked to the ‘drunk’ (who may also be Billy) in the prison cell in Twin Peaks? Doppelcooper tells him he’s looking for Phillip Jeffries. The Woodsman pulls a lever that creates an electrical frenzy. Then, we see the Jumping Man, a blurred, rapidly moving and grotesque image of his masked face. But not just his face, there are others in there; Sarah Palmers is almost definitely seen and quite a few others possibly too. Maybe Jeffries, possibly Leland, but it is hard to tell for sure.
So who or what is the Jumping Man? He has only ever been seen in the Convenience Store, so we can assume he is contained there, but what is his purpose? Is he the controller of the portals? The actor who plays him, Carlton Lee Russell, once said that Lynch told him he was a Talisman brought to life. That would mean he was the physical manifestation of something like a charm or perhaps an inscribed ring? Is this how the jade owl cave ring moves around as it does? And does, therefore, wearing the ring wed you to the Jumping Man himself? It’s no coincidence that the Little Man From Another Place wore the same red suit.
Another woodsman, the Hastings head crusher, now leads Dopplecooper down a corridor, through the trees, and to a staircase – a familiar place, the place we saw the Woodsmen standing inside the vortex that Gordon Cole looked into. The stairs with the wallpaper from the picture that was given to Laura by the Tremonds. So we now know for sure that she was given a direct doorway to the Convenience Store – did she ever go further inside than we saw? Was it the real Laura that came out? Or could she have faced her doppelgänger in there? Is the Convenience Store part of the Black Lodge? a doorway to it perhaps?
At the top of the stairs, there is another door—this door would have led to Laura’s bedroom at one time, but perhaps the pulling of the lever upon Dopplecoopers request to see Jeffries changed where he would be sent to this time. This door leads to an outside space, again a familiar place — the Red Diamond Motel, where Leland Palmer arranged to meet Teresa Banks for an orgy with two other beauties. He, of course, fled the scene when he saw the girls were Ronette and his daughter Laura. While we know BOB was part of Leland then, we don’t know the real reasons he turned away. Was it the horror of finding out his daughter was a prostitute, or was it BOB not wanting to be discovered by Laura? The motel room wall then had a strange burn mark on the wall, very similar to that of the stairwell in Buenos Aires when Jeffries reappeared. It certainly seems that this place had been visited by Lodge folk previously, and whoever travelled there before almost certainly gave Teresa the ring. Is this how Gordon knew Teresa’s murder was a Blue Rose Case? Have the Task Force been aware of the portals’ locations for a while, but the one Hastings led them to was new to them?
In the courtyard outside the motel, Dopplecooper meets another Woodsman who takes him to the door of room #8. A bizarre and creepy figure approaches, dressed in a grubby nightgown and robe as he reaches the door. My immediate thought was, this looks like Mrs Tremond. It’s not her, but there is a familiarity in the look. “I’ll unlock the door for you,” they say in true black lodge reverse speak. This place is definitely not in our astral plane.
Doppelcoop walks in, and there are a few flashes of electricity. A large bell type shape appears, very similar to what we saw in the purple place with Naido in Part 3 and similar to the alarming bell the place where Senorita Dido and The Fireman live. This time though, the bell has a spout that is spewing smoke and a golden halo of light projected not too dissimilar to the golden aura seen in the opening credits, whooshing above the trees in Twin Peaks. The bell speaks:
“Oh it’s you“, “Jeffries“, Dopplecoop replies. Hold on a minute, Jeffries is now a talking teapot? Just when you thought the Evolution of The Arm was weird. But you know I reckon Bowie wouldn’t want it any other way. Jeffries replied, “Thank god“. Dopplecooper asks, “Why did you send Ray to kill me?”, “What? I called Ray“, Jeffries replies. “So you did send him? Did you call me five days ago?” Jeffries says, “I don’t have your number“. “So it was someone else who called me?”, “We used to talk”, Jeffries says, and Dopplecooper agrees, “Yes we did“. We then see a flashback of Jeffries in Fire Walk With Me and the infamous line, “Well now I’m not going to talk about Judy, and we’re not going to talk about Judy at all”.
Dopplecooper replies, “1989. You showed up at FBI Headquarters in Philadelphia and said you’d met Judy“. Jeffries, “So you ARE Cooper“. Dopplecooper asks him, “Phillip why didn’t you want to talk about Judy? Who is Judy? Does Judy want something from me?” Jeffries tells him, “Why don’t you ask Judy yourself? I’ll write it down for ya” and then in the smoke appears the coordinates 48551. Dopplecooper impressively has a notepad and pen in his jacket pocket. A Bit unexpected from an evil entity.
He asks Jeffries again, “Who is Judy?” and Jeffries tells him, “You’ve already met Judy”. “What do you mean I’ve met Judy?” A phone on the table starts ringing. Doppelcoop becoming agitated, asks again, “Who is Judy?” Phillip Jeffries disappears. Dopplecoop picks up the phone, which transports him to the outside phone, the dial tone goes dead.
While I do not doubt that this is Jeffries, just what has happened to him? Was the bell just a communication device, or is that what he is now? Much like Josie became a doorknob and Samson Lanterman became a log, has Phillip Jeffries died, and his spirit now become trapped in this metal form? As there are other ‘bells’ does that mean that they were once living things too? This may explain the ‘humming’ noise at the Great Northern. The trapped spirits can talk.
The coordinates lead to Twin Peaks, and that is where Doppelcoop will find Judy. Why is Jeffries telling him where to find her? Does Jeffries assume that this is the Good Dale before him? Is Jeffries good or bad or something in between? I am certain he has a good reason for leading him straight to her/him/it.
Who is Judy? Well, it’s looking increasingly likely that she is Naido, who has found herself in a Twin Peaks police cell. Jeffries says that Coop has met her before, but Doppelcooper has not. Only the ‘Good Dale’ met her on top of the purple world. Did Jeffries know that and was messing with him? He wasn’t lying.
The more I watch Doppelcooper, the less evil I think he is. Now I’m not suggesting he’s the real Coop or a good guy; he’s just a lot less brutal than I’d imagined the evil doppelgänger inhabited by BOB would be. He appears to wear the FBI pin in his hair. While he doesn’t seem phased by the Woodsmen, he doesn’t appear to be their boss either. When we first met the inhabited Doppelcooper, he was a crazed, hysterical sprite, noticeably different to the man we know now, cool, calm and calculated. Have years on earth had this effect on him? He’s learned how to live here largely unnoticed because he only hangs out with other bad guys who won’t flinch so much when he kills. But the punishments he dishes out are generally for a reason. He hasn’t targeted anyone for the fun of it. He’s on a mission, yes, and anyone who threatens to ruin it or get in the way is long gone like a turkey in the corn, but it is true to say that Dopplecooper is way more like the original Cooper and has been throughout, and you can see the good Cooper in him somewhere behind those black eyes. So was it Cooper’s doppelganger that escaped from the lodge that night? We didn’t actually see who won that scrap to exit the curtains; we have only ever assumed that it was the doppelgänger. What if the real Cooper got out, but it was him that was possessed by BOB all this time? It’s unlikely, I know, but something to consider now.
Dopplecoop said that the phone call between him and ‘Jeffries’ only happened five days ago. That was the day he killed Darya, and wow, that seems like a lifetime ago now. So much has happened in such a short time when you think back. Who really did call Dopplecooper five days ago? Whoever it was said that they wanted to be back with BOB. Now the only definite person we know to have been inhabited by BOB was Leland, but it’s unlikely to be him; he wants the Good Dale to find Laura, so he doesn’t want to be back with BOB. MIKE/The Evolution of the Arm? We think that MIKE has been helping the good Dale, but it is hard to tell their intentions. It could be that they need to join forces to fight against something worse even than themselves. Mother?
After leaving the phone booth, Doppelcooper is confronted by Richard Horne, who points a gun towards him. Richard tells him that he recognised him at The Farm and that he knows he’s FBI. He tells him he’s seen him in his FBI suit in a picture shown to him by his mother *sound the heralding trumpets!* Audrey Horne! Finally, the definitive answer is here, no more guessing that he could be Donna’s or Johnny’s; he is, as largely expected, the son of Audrey. But who’s the daddy? When Richard tells him who he is, there is a slight look of care on his face. Is this the first time he’s met his son? Or a fond memory of Audrey? Dopplelcooper spits, punches him in the face then kicks him in the stomach. He tells him to get in the truck and that they’ll talk along the way. It is pretty likely now that he will be revealed as his father, but the question is whether Audrey was raped by Dopplecooper or did she go there willingly. Whatever her story is, she may be living in what seems to be a Psychiatric Hospital. I don’t think she’s dreaming or in a coma, but that her mind has unravelled, and Charlie may be trying in his own way to put her back together again. He knows she’s never going to leave that house; he’s pushing her to do it, but she’s pushing him back and literally attacks him.
Suppose Billy is the chap in the cells in Twin Peaks who is copying everything anyone says, including Naidos squawks. In that case, it’s likely that he is also a Psychiatric patient at the same hospital. He may have escaped, ran through a wire fence of some kind which would explain the twine on his face and the damage done. Would that make Tina a patient too? Anymore mocking bird squawks, and Deputy Chad may end up there soon too.
Back to Richard, we must remember The Fireman’s first words to the Good Dale in Part 1. Listen to the sounds. Remember 430, Richard and Linda, two birds, one stone. If Richard is Dopplecoopers son, then maybe Linda is another child of his, and I still have my money on Candie. Is Diane the mother? Or Annie?
Talking of Diane, we see Doppelcoop text who we assume is Diane, as we have seen this message being received by her in Buckhorn. The text read ‘Las Vegas?’ and Diane replied, ‘they haven’t asked yet’.
Now we are in the trees of Twin Peaks, past the waterfalls, we see a man walking his dog. It’s Mark Frost! I’m not ashamed to say I squealed a little when I saw him, being the Cyril Pons fangirl that I am.
Next, we see Steven and Gersten Haywood nestled up together against a huge tree. My interest was sparked in the choice of shirt Gersten wears. Burgundy in colour, much like the dress Naido wore in the purple place and also what the French Woman wore while being entertained by Gordon Cole. If she was indeed a ‘key’ like Lil the Dancer, then that dress/colour is a clue for sure.
Steven and Gersten have a conversation that is difficult to decipher because Steven is so high that he doesn’t make sense. It appears that Steven thinks he has done something, possibly to Becky, but Gersten tells him he’s wrong, and Becky did it. That Becky has given him something, and he’s really stoned. Steven takes out a handgun and starts loading it. Gersten begs him not to. He asks her if she’s coming with him, and she tells him no and that he’s not going either. He tells her he’s going to end it and asks if he will be with God? Or with the rhinoceros? or the lightning bottle? Or will he be completely turquoise? Yep, Sparkle is some heavy stuff. It’s interesting to note that those under its influence mention animals; zebras, penguins, now rhinoceros.
Cyril Pons stumbles across the pair, and Gersten runs away in fear to the other side of the tree. Cyril keeps his distance and flees. Gersten has left Steven by himself, and we hear a single gunshot ring out. We don’t know precisely when this is; we know that Becky has said he’s been missing for two days, but did this happen before or after she shot through Gersten’s apartment door? Is Becky ok? For the love of Shelly and Bobby, we hope so.
Cyril walks back to the Fat Trout Trailer Park, tells Carl Rodd what he’s seen, and points out the Becky and Stevens trailer.
At the Roadhouse, the MC adorably excitedly plays ‘Sharp Dressed Man’ by ZZ Top. In walk James Hurley and Freddie Sykes. Renee sits in a booth with her husband Chuck and another couple. James says hello to her, which angers her husband. James tells him he’s only trying to be polite and that he likes her. Chuck asks if he has a death wish and starts beating him up. I have to admit that going up to the girl you want in front of her husband wasn’t James’ best move. Maybe that motorcycle accident affected his ‘appropriate behaviour’ radar.
Of course, Freddie steps in to protect his friend, and he lays out Chuck and his buddy with a one-inch punch. They both end up in intensive care.
In Las Vegas, the FBI have found Dougie Jones and Janey-E, but little do they know it’s not the right family. We then see Mr Todd, who asks his Assistant, Roger, if he’s heard from Anthony, he hasn’t. Just then, Chantal walks in and blows Mr Todd’s head to bits. We never even saw Mr Todd get up from behind that table! She shoots Roger but doesn’t kill him the first time, so she has to go back for another shot when she hears his collapsed lung moans. Chantal says she still has one more hit to go, presumably Dougie Jones.
Bobby and Hawk take James and Freddie to their cells at the Sheriff’s station, James in cell 7, Freddie in cell 8. If this means anything, I am not sure what just yet, and the numerology in Twin Peaks may need a whole entry of its own once the series is done. You know Lynch and Frost have put enough in here to keep us busy for at least another 25 years. James notices Naido, and she holds her arms out to him and squawks. Do you ever get the feeling that everything happens for a reason? We know it’s Freddie’s destiny to be there in Twin Peaks, and now he’s in the same place as Naido, who requires protection from something bad. I doubt those metal bars will contain him if his services are needed.
Dougiecoop sits at home. Janey-E brings him a piece of chocolate cake which he agrees is delicious. Janey-E says, “Oh Dougie, it’s like all our dreams are coming true!” TRUE. He pushes a salt shaker across the table, then presses a few buttons on the remote, but nothing happens. Then he presses the green button, and the TV comes on. It’s the movie Sunset Boulevard. He watches, and when the name ‘Gordon Cole’ is uttered, he remembers! In that second, you see the real Agent Cooper flood back into force. I have to say it’s some truly superb acting by Kyle MacLachlan here. You can really see the transition from Dougie to Agent Dale Cooper just materialise across his face.
He notices the plug socket; it’s the last thing he remembers before ending up in Las Vegas. Instinctively he picks up his fork and crawls to the socket. He sticks the fork in and is electrocuted. Janey-E screams in terror, Sonny-Jim calls down, ‘Mom, what was that?’ and the whole house goes black. Have we lost Cooper the second we got him back? I would guess no, whether now he’ll travel through the socket to somewhere else or will he be hospitalised? Just as Janey-E thought all her dreams were coming true, her world is about to be ripped apart. She may have money, a nice car and an awesome gym set for Sonny-Jim, but all she really wants is a good husband and a great father for Sonny Jim.
Chantal and Hutch are on their way to Vegas to take him out. He may already be gone, but I am sure Chantal would love her chance to torture Janey, and I wouldn’t put it past her Sonny-Jim too; she is that devoid of empathy. Janey won’t have a clue where he has gone; she can only hope that someone else arrives before they do. The FBI appear pretty hapless. Will Dougie’s newfound friends, the Mitchum Bros, have his back? Will his boss Bushnell Mullins have one fight left in him? Will Candie, Mandie & Sandie find it in themselves to do something, or will they just admire themselves as the shit goes down?
Doppelcooper doesn’t appear to be heading that way, he’s got the coordinates to Twin Peaks. It seems pretty likely that Gordon, Albert, Tammy and Diane will head that way too. So can Janey-E be saved? If Cooper is still in Vegas but hospitalised, this could bring the FBI to his bedside. Is this the vision sent to Andy from The Fireman of him propping Lucy outside a room? Will this be when she sees Cooper again?
Back in Twin Peaks, Hawk sits at his desk. The phone rings, Lucy tells him Margaret Lanterman is on line one.
Margaret, “Hawk, I’m dying“, “I’m sorry Margaret“, he replies. “You know about death, but it’s just a change, not an end. Hawk, it’s time. There’s some fear in letting go. Remember what I told you. I can’t say more over the phone. Watch for that one. The one under the moon on Blue Pine Mountain. Hawk my log is turning gold. The wind is moaning. I’m dying. Goodnight Hawk“. “Goodbye Margaret“, replies Hawk with a croak in his voice that I can only believe was genuine.
I am crying as I type this. This was tough to bear. The Log Lady was perhaps the poster girl for all that was weird and wonderful about Twin Peaks; she summed it up perfectly. She was strange, but she was damn right awesome, strong, intellectually and spiritually intelligent, independent, fierce, kind. By being all those things, she was an inspiration to women— in fact, humans—everywhere. She had one true love who was taken from her on her wedding day. She never loved another, and she stayed faithful and cared for her log for the rest of her life. Let’s hope they are reunited finally now. When she died a huge part of Twin Peaks, both the town and the TV show died with her.
We can reference that the one under the moon on Blue Pine Mountain is the face of ‘mother’ as seen on Hawks ‘living map’. So will someone be meeting Sarah Palmer here as she seems to be the host for ‘mother’? We know that there were two dates on the note that Briggs left for Bobby and the crew, so they need to return to where they found Naido.
For the cast and crew, this scene must have been harrowing. Catherine Coulson was dying in real life while filming and passed away shortly after filming her scenes. They all did an incredible job of honouring her and her character in her final moments; they couldn’t have done it better or more touchingly. Bravo.
Hawk calls Lucy, Andy and Bobby into the conference room where Sheriff Frank Truman is working. He tells them that Margaret has passed away. The men are all in the dark, and their faces cannot be seen, only Hawk in the shadows. Lucy, due to her short stature, is lit up under the bright low light. A tear drips down her face. Real tears. In the woods, we see her cabin in the dark. The light goes out. She is gone. Goodnight Margaret. Goodnight Catherine.
All images courtesy of Showtime/CBS unless stated otherwise.
