Emily

I think I like FilmCriticHulk's interpretation of Judy best, when he says: "There’s an image from the finale that’s burned into my brain. It’s when Teapot Phillip Jeffries takes the Owl Cave Ring sign and turns it into the infinity symbol as the small ball curls through it. I already mentioned how it reflects the changing scope of the narrative, but it also reflects the cycle of getting trapped in abuse. We travel along the infinity symbol, treated to the unending layers and layers of obfuscation, never realizing we are carving the same path again and again. To me, this is “Judy,” our negative force. It traps us in the belief that all this will go on and on, ad infinitum, forever and ever. It is to look at all of the despair and abuse in the world and see hell unending. There is no entity more dark" From his Episode 17/18 recap - http://www.vulture.com/2017/09/twin-peaks-the-return-finale-recap.html If you care about all the different numbers being thrown around in the show, fatecolossal has a really interesting twitter thread in which they break down what Cooper might mean when he says "What year is this?" at the end. Between these two theories, I think what Cooper might have intended by bringing Laura home was for her to face the trauma that she experienced all those years ago. To come to terms with it and bring an end to her suffering. He did, after all, think he was taking her to Sarah Palmer, who seems to have a strong connection to the malevolent force of "Judy". But Cooper is baffled when they don't meet Sarah and instead find someone else. "What year is this?" The numbers don't add up. There is a glimmer of hope when it seems that Carrie Page has awoken the memories of Laura but that is all we get to see. And perhaps that is all we are meant to see. There is always an element of uncertainty when Twin Peaks reaches a conclusion, and maybe that is simply the state Twin Peaks exists in. FilmCriticHulk's analysis is worth reading in full but I'll quote it again once more: "This is the forever state of Twin Peaks. Whether it’s waiting a week or 25 years, the cycles of plots and cliffhangers and expectations meet at the nexus of ad infinitum, the same way forever, over and over again. It’s frustrating because we may never get “out” of it through resolution or definitive ending. But like life itself, there is only that which may come to be, and that which is cut down before its time. We are the trapped magicians, longing to see between two worlds, to see through time and what the future of a show may bring. We are the ones who risk being burned by the fire itself."

It's not about the bunny.

I don't normally go in on this kind of specific interpretation of the lore but is it possible that the Cooper we see at the end (Richard) is the "complete" Cooper? If you take the differences between Dale Cooper and Mr. C to be the literal embodiment of good vs evil, perhaps the Cooper that arrived at the beginning of the original show was already acting as one half of a whole person. Part of what draws us to that character in the original show is his eccentric warmth and overwhelming capacity for kindness. As I was trying to sleep after the finale last night I was thinking of all the times Phillip Jeffries encounters Coop and the doubts he has about whether he's speaking to the real Cooper, as far as back as FWWM when Cooper hasn't yet arrived in Twin Peaks. I'm probably way off but it's something that my mind was mulling over as I was trying to take in everything that finale gave us.

You know, I think I'm okay with that being the last of Twin Peaks. If they decide to make more, I'm here for it, but as far as Lynch's work goes I think that was an incredible ending. Maybe not the one I wanted but certainly one that I'll never forget.

@Invisible Strings I think your use of "tendrils", as a sort of spreading of the decay, is really interesting! It immediately made me think of the power lines that spread all over the land, carrying electricity with them. I definitely think there's something to that analysis.

So yeah, that's one hell of an episode. I wonder if the last two episodes will go as quickly as that, or if Lynch just wanted to get a bunch of stuff out of the way in the lead up to the finale? Nevertheless, I'm really excited. I loved this episode a lot. It's weird to consider Cooper's return as fan service-y but after so much time with Dougie that's how it felt to me, but in a really satisfying way. Kyle MacLachlan slides back into that character really seamlessly. Only thing I did not care for was the description of what happened to Diane. I knew something like it was coming but I still didn't feel great about it. At least she got one last "fuck you" out before the bad video effects took her.

So the latest episode was accidentally released early for Sky viewers in the UK, and I have seen it. I won't say anything right now but it's one hell of an episode. I am very excited for next weekend and the end of this strange show.

To add to what Crunchnoisy said, I'm pretty sure the blackened finger in that scene is the same one that Gordon refers to as the "spiritual mound/finger" in an earlier episode when talking to Agent Preston.

Ah, I thought the voice sounded a little off at the time! Didn't consider it could be redubbed. Knowing that, I have a feeling we might see more of David Bowie's character. Hard to say if it's going to be using more old footage or if he'll be some kind of talking entity, though.