purps

So I guess it isn't called "The Return" anymore?

I feel like I have a decent handle on the ending now that I've thought about it for awhile. I'm like 70-80% of the way there. Here's my interpretation as of now: Cooper asks Jefferies to send him back in time to the night Laura dies as that was the night that started all of this. He is successful (we see her body disappear) but then Judy angrily intervenes, through Sarah Palmer. I 100% subscribe to the theory that Sarah is host to Judy through the frogmoth. Visually the scene where she opens her face both looks similar to the moth creature and the creature in the box (who I also believe is Judy). Also I rewatched a clip of episode 8 and noticed something I completely forgot about. After the frogmoth goes in the girl's mouth, the woodsman stops his broadcast and walks outside and disappears into the darkness. As he does that there is a faint sound effect of a horse neighing. The white horse is seen twice in the history of the show, both times by Sarah Palmer. The exact meaning of the horse I'm not completely decided on, but no doubt about it that it's linked heavily to Sarah. The other big clue to this is in the final episode after Bad Coop goes through the portal and gets caught in that cage in the White Lodge/Movie Theater/Whatever the Giant changes the destination from the Palmer house to the Sheriff's station. Bad Coop was looking for the Palmer house. In episode 1, Bad Coop shows the image of the black circle with antenna looking things (which we also see on Hawk's map) and says that is what he is looking for. As many people pointed out, the figure that vomits up BOB and the eggs has similar antenna to that image. All of these things are Judy. Bad Coop was looking for Judy at Sarah Palmer's house. Not totally sure on why, maybe to destroy her and take her place? Or just never have to go back to the Lodge? Not clear. Anyway, we see Cooper leading Laura away from her murder and the events starting to undo themselves, when suddenly she screams and disappears. We then cut to the scene of Sarah smashing the picture frame of Laura. Judy is seeing what Cooper is doing and sending her away to another world where she becomes Carrie Page. The Fireman gives Cooper the information to go find her (first scene of episode 1) and him and Diane drive the 430 miles and enter the other world. The other world is under Judy's control. We see the diner named Judy's. The people in it are horrible and evil (truckers harassing the waitress, Carrie Page's horrible life complete with a dead body in her living room). And the existence of the Chalfonts/Tremonds suggest this is part of or related to the lodge. I think it's some sort of hell or prison maybe? The biggest thing I am unclear on, is Diane's role in all of this, and specifically the sex scene. It's purpose and meaning eludes me completely. Most of the theory from waggish.org I don't buy much at all, but the idea of the sex scene being a way to summon Judy ala the black box sex scene is the closest thing to a plausible theory I've heard but I'm not totally sold on it. Some other assorted thoughts: Audrey "waking up" in the Roadhouse, is that white room the same world Carrie, Richard, and Linda are in? We live inside a dream. Audrey woke up from the dream. Also, Jefferies saying "Say hi to Gordon for me, he will remember the unofficial version". This reads to me as seeding for a possible season 4 or movie. Cooper needs to find Gordon in the alt-world. He will remember Twin Peaks. If they were to continue the show, would the show be about Cooper, Laura, and Cole all trying to get back home? Maybe we would see alternate versions of all the Twin Peaks cast playing different characters? Although these might go against the alt-world being part of the lodge or created by Judy. Feel free to poke any holes in this if you see any. Seems pretty solid to me. I think I'll have an even better handle once I rewatch the whole show from front to back.

There are a lot of interesting ideas in there. One thing that stuck out to me was drawing a line between the two teens sex scene in the box room and Cooper/Diane's sex scene. Interesting t think about. And I totally see Sarah and Judy being linked in some way. But I just can't see the ending as a victory. Emotionally it just doesn't match, it feels so bleak. Like something has gone horribly wrong. The final image of Laura whispering in Cooper's ear and his reaction being horrified at what he is hearing. Doesn't track that the actual secret meaning of that is "we destroyed the ultimate evil!" I also don't see this alternate world we end up in as a place of the white lodge/fireman or whatever you want to call it. Everything we see in it is linked to evil. The diner named Judy's and the horrible violent people inside it. The white horse, which always seems to appear before something terrible happens (Laura being raped, Maddie's death etc.). Chalfont/Tremonds etc.

The ending feels specifically designed to work as both a cliffhanger in the case that they get to do more, and a ending if they don't.

This was in Mark Frost's likes on twitter...

From a interview with Sherylin Fenn this week... https://inews.co.uk/essentials/culture/television/twin-peaks-sherilyn-fenn-audrey-david-lynch/ Also some people noticed that Mark Frost was liking tweets where people were saying that they hope a season 4 happens.

I don't think Lynch and Frost are done with Twin Peaks. This felt like it's the ending in case it had to be, but it very deliberately left the door open. Sounds like right now it's time for Showtime to gauge fan reaction and ratings and make a decision.

Definitely. The main story of this season was we need to put the doppleganger back in the lodge and bring Cooper home. Episode 17 was the ending. There are still some hanging plot threads from earlier in the season but the bulk of it was concluded. Satisfyingly for the most part IMO. 18 definitely feels like them leaving a door open to continue if they can/want.

Oh god what if Lynch announces there will be another Twin Peaks movie and it takes place before season 3 and has NOTHING to do with that ending. Man that would just be perfect. Literally do it again.

The mother fucker did again... See you guys in 25 years

Rest in peace Dougie Jones. Gone but never forgotten

The Sarah Palmer stuff could still work with the existing fiction. It's been established since the pilot that she has a connection to the supernatural that others don't, I.E. having a vision of the locket in the woods and being able to see BOB in Laura's bedroom, the white horse. Somewhere in season 1 Donna says to Maddie something to the effect of "Laura's mom has always been spooky". Her having some sort of monster inside her is a pretty big jump, but it's not completely out of the blue

A TSA agent probably had a dream about a man with a green glove...

I was under the impression that Bad Cooper does. Mr Todd is working for Bad Cooper, and he is the one who put a hit out on Dougie first with Ike the Spike, then the deal with Anthony.

I have to think that Diane is lying. Obviously she would have noticed at some point her brother in law looks exactly like Cooper? Maybe she is trying to trick them into thinking Dougie is the bad cooper? Remember the "did they ask about Las Vegas yet?" message?

Man, I get that they are tired of telling Chad not to eat in the conference room, but arresting him over it seems like a bit much

Well nevermind, the president of showtime addressed this. http://deadline.com/2017/08/twin-peaks-no-second-season-showtime-david-lynch-david-nevins-tca-1202144491/ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/twin-peaks-wont-be-revived-again-at-showtime-1027586 TLDR: This was always envisioned as one season and there have been zero discussions about there being more. However Showtime is very happy with the new season and will be having discussions with Lynch after the show is finished airing to see if he wants to do more Twin Peaks or something else at Showtime.

I'm started to see some anxious posts around the web about if the show will be able to satisfyingly wrap up all the plot threads and give a ending with 5 episodes left. But do we know for sure that this is a one and done season? When people have asked Lynch if there will be additional seasons after this one, he's been very coy. Saying something to the effect of "never say never". Someone asked Maclachlan and his response was that he thinks there would be a good chance of it happening but that it comes down to what Lynch/Frost want to do. The fact that no one has straight up said "No, this is it. Just this season." has me suspicious. Is the last episode going to end with Cooper getting his mind back and Gordon Cole telling him about a strange murder in the town of Twin Peaks? And if that's the case, I hope the ratings are good enough for this season. I've heard a lot of mixed things. It performed very poorly on Showtime broadcasts, but there's been talk that it's the best ratings they have ever had on their streaming service. On the otherhand, there's something sort of perfectly Twin Peaks if the last episode ends with a huge cliffhanger and it gets canceled yet again.

I wonder if the people complaining every episode about cooper not waking up would have been the same people constantly complaining about them not revealing Laura's killer.

Boy people really do swing hard on their opinion of the show episode to episode. Y'all were gushing after last episode some people saying they think it might be better than the original show, now everyone hates it and are angry about it in it's entirety...

Yeah, Lynch seems to be a big stickler for that stuff. The Criterion blu ray for Eraserhead has a little guide for correctly calibrating your TV before you watch the movie along with a message from Lynch asking you to do it before watching the movie. There was also a story about how when he first screened The Missing Pieces to an audience he spent a long time personally calibrating the sound system in the theater I believe as the audience was seated because he wasn't happy with it.

I think that's true. Lynch has said for years and years that he's done with Twin Peaks. And he's also spent the last 10 years publicly complaining that the studios no longer have interest in funding the types of movies he wants to make and couldn't get anything off the ground. I think he wasn't really all that interesting in making something like old Twin Peaks again, but he recognized that television had become a place where more risks are being taken. And with Netflix, tons of people have been discovering the show in the last 5 or so years and have been beating the drum to bring it back. It was the perfect opportunity. That's my theory

I think this episode is when I have finally completely accepted what this show is. Like some other people I was somewhat frustrated with the lack of plot progression and waiting for Cooper to wake up and the lack of Badalementi score etc. But everything just seemed to click in this and to some extent last episode. I kinda stopped caring about forward plot progression and just got into these weird little vignettes as their own stand alone things. If they turn into something later, great! If not, who cares because I still enjoyed the scene. Also, best shot of the entire series right here

So after this episode, Naomi Watts posted a snippet of a text conversation with Lynch on her instagram and it's very bizarre.