My apologies for the lateness of this final recap but like anyone watching this pair of finale episodes knows, there was a lot to sort out with them. Added to this is Hurricane Irma and the part it has played in interfering with a long planned post Twin Peaks family vacation. Needless to say it has been a stressful week.

With parts 17 & 18 finally here I am both excited to see what happens and sad that it’s all coming to an end. The very fact that it is 2017 and I have spent my summer watching new episodes of Twin Peaks is still hard to believe.  Twin Peaks is my favorite show and David Lynch is my favorite director. I don’t know what’s to come but I can be certain it will be unexpected.

Twin Peaks: The Return Part 17

At the Mayfair Hotel in Buckhorn, SD Gordon Cole (David Lynch) sits holding his gun and shaking his head. He tells Albert (Miguel Ferrer) that he just couldn’t do it. Albert says to Gordon, “You’ve gone soft in your old age.” Gordon mumbles back, “Not where it counts, buddy.” Along with Tammy (Chrysta Bell) they toast to the bureau.

Gordon then begins to tell them that 25 years ago Major Briggs told Gordon and Cooper of his discovery of extreme negative force entity called Jowday. Over time the name became Judy. Gordon, Cooper and Briggs put together a plan that would lead them to Judy. However, then Briggs and Cooper both disappeared. Many years ago Phillip Jeffries had told Gordon he was on to Judy as well before he disappeared.

The last thing Cooper told Gordon was that if he disappeared like the others, Gordon needed to do everything he could to find him. Cooper was going to try to kill two birds with one stone. But now there are two Coopers. Gordon continues that their paid informant Ray Monroe sent a message that the Cooper they met in prison was looking for a set of coordinates from Major Briggs. He apologizes to Albert for not being able to tell him about this earlier but he knows Albert understands. Gordon is concerned however that he has not yet heard from Cooper.

With that the phone rings. Gordon answers it to find Agent Headley (Jay R. Ferguson) on the other end. Agent Headley proudly proclaims that the found Douglas Jones but they don’t know where he is.  Albert asks. “Has my watch stopped or is that one of the Marx Brothers?” Headley explains his hospital bed is empty but they have the whole story. Headley is interrupted by Bushnell Mullins (Don Murray) asking if that’s Gordon Cole on the line because he has a note for him from Dougie. Annoyed, Headly hands Bushnell the phone.  Bushnell reads the note:

“I am headed for Sheriff Truman’s. It is 2:53 in Las Vegas and that adds up to a 10, the number of completion.”

Gordon asks his name. Bushell responds with his name and adds he is his boss. Gordon thanks him and says that makes two of us.  Gordon hangs up and says to the other two with great surprise, “Dougie is Cooper!? How the hell is this?” Tammy and Albert begin reading the info being sent over from The Las Vegas FBI about Cooper’s recent whereabouts and associations. Gordon tells them to pack up; he knows where he’s going.

In the jail at the Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Station, Deputy Chad (John Pirruccello) sees the drunk is asleep but as he makes a move for something, the drunk (Jay Aaseng) wakes up. The two exchange words, the drunk simply repeating Chad’s insults. Meanwhile Bad Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) is driving closer. Appearing to sense this, Naido (Nae) wakes up, raises her arm to the sky, and begins making loud noises.

Ben Horne (Richard Beymer) receives a call from Sgt Williams of the Jackson Hole Police in Wyoming. Sgt Williams tells Ben that they have found his brother Jerry naked and raving about his binoculars having killed somebody. Ben lets Sgt Williams know that he will make arrangements to pick him up.

Bad Cooper has parked his truck along the side of the road where Sheriff Truman and the boys had when they visited Jack Rabbit’s Palace and ultimately found Naido. He follows the coordinates “Diane” had sent to the spot where Andy entered the White Lodge.

Bad Cooper finds himself as a large floating head in a cage. He is in the theater room across from the giant floating head of Major Briggs (Don S. Davis). The fireman (Carel Struycken) is floating in the air on his back while on the screen behind him is the Palmer house. The fireman moves his and creates a whooshing sound as the image on the screen changes to show a roadway. Bad Cooper’s cage moves across the theater to the golden tube that takes in the cage and rotates to the screen. Bad Cooper soon appears on the screen with his back to the theater.

Outside, on the same road, Bad Cooper materializes. Naido sits back up in her cell.  Bad Cooper turns around to see he is in front of the Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Station. Andy (Harry Goaz) is outside getting a picnic basket out of the back of a station wagon. Andy spots Bad Cooper and calls to him. He is shocked to see him. Bad Cooper walks toward him and says, “Hi Andy.” Down in the Jail, Naido is freaking out even more intensely than before as James (James Marshall) and Freddie (Jake Wardle) look on trying to figure out what’s going on.

The drunk suddenly passes out in his cell. Deputy Chad takes off his shoe and opens the heal revealing two keys, a cell key and another door key. Oustide, Andy tells Bad Cooper that everyone is going to be so happy to see him. Bad Cooper states that he wants to see them too. As they enter, Lucy (Kimmy Robertson) is also really excited to see Cooper. Andy introduces him to Sheriff Truman (Robert Forster) which confuses Bad Cooper. Frank clarifies he is Harry’s brother. Frank invites him into his office as Lucy and Andy exchange smiles.

Suddenly Andy remembers something he saw in the White Lodge. An image of he and Lucy, in the same sweater she is currently wearing,  walking to Frank’s office and seeing something that cause Andy to run away.  Down in the jail, Chad opens his cell and heads for a door. He goes through a couple of doors to the armory.

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Upstairs in Frank’s office, Andy gets Bad Cooper a chair. He asks Bad Cooper if he’d like a cup of coffee which he refuses. Andy runs off to tell Hawk that Cooper is there. Downstairs as Chad loads bullets into a gun, Naido continues her freak out as the drunk begins pulling a bandage off his cheek. As Andy runs by Lucy’s desk to find Hawk he points at her and says, “Very important, very important.”  Lucy sinks into her chair seemingly knowing what he meant.

Andy enters the jail looking for Hawk, and comes face to face with a gun wielding Deputy Chad. As Chad moves down the hall preparing to shoot Andy, Freddie begins clenching his green gloved hand.  Freddie punches his cell door knocking Chad in the face and to the ground. Andy runs over and cuffs him.

Lucy answers the ringing phone and is shocked when she hears who’s on the line. She transfers the call to Frank insisting that it’s a very important call. He takes the call from Agent Cooper who has just crossed into the Twin Peaks city limits. Sensing something amiss, Bad Cooper draws his gun as does Frank. A shot is fired and Bad Cooper falls to the ground revealing the shot was fired by Lucy in the doorway. Having heard the shot Andy tells James, Freddie, and Naido he needs to get them all upstairs. Frank tells Cooper that Bad Cooper is dead. Cooper emphatically warns Frank not to touch that body. Andy and the others come into Frank’s office from the other door. Lucy sees Andy and excitedly tells him she understands cellular phones now.

Hawk (Michael Horse) comes running in from the hall to see Bad Cooper sprawled out on the floor. Frank warns Hawk that Agent Cooper said not to touch the body. Hawk replies “But that is Agent Cooper.” Frank responds that it’s not. Andy runs over to Lucy and out of the room. The room grows dark as three woodsmen appear begin “attending” to the body of Bad Cooper. Outside Agent Cooper’s vehicle pulls up and he jumps out. He meets Andy in the lobby and they head off to Frank’s office.

The woodsmen finish with Bad Cooper as Bob (Frank Silva) in the form a ball rises out of him. The ball charges at Cooper knocking him down. He gets up and spots the green glove across the room. He asks if he is Freddie to which Freddie replies he is and this is his destiny. Bob charges at Freddie knocking him to the ground attacking him violently.  Freddie makes a fist and punches Bob back. The two fight before Freddie punches him through the floor into a pit of fire.

However, it’s not long before Bob returns and begins attacking Freddie again. Cooper yells at Freddie to get up. Bob backs off for just a moment and tells Freddie he’s going to catch him with his death bag. Bloodied, Freddie stands and as Bob approaches once more, Freddie punches him with such might that he shatters into several pieces. The pieces disappear through the ceiling as Freddie asks if he did it. Cooper confirms that he did.

Cooper then places the ring on Bad Cooper’s finger. He steps back and watches Bad Cooper fade away. A stunned Rodney MItchum (Robert Knepper), standing in the doorway with his brother Bradley (James Belushi), says, “One for the grandkids.” The ring drops into the Black Lodge. Cooper turns to Frank and asks for the key to room 315. Surprised, Frank asks Cooper how he knew about that. He explains that Major Briggs had told him that Sheriff Truman would have it.

As Gordon and team pull up outside, Cooper steps up to address everyone in Frank’s office. However, he looks at a now very calm Naido.  A close up of his fills the screen in a way that overlays the proceeding action. Bobby (Dana Ashbrook) runs in to find out what’s going on. Cooper tells Bobby that his father was very much aware of what’s going on today. Gordon, Tammy, and Albert arrive at the door. Cooper continues telling everyone that some things are going to change and the past dictates the future.

Candie (Amy Shiels), Mandie (Andréa Leal), and Sandie (Giselle DaMier) enter carrying baskets of sandwiches. Looking at everyone in the room, Candie tells Cooper it’s a good thing they made so many sandwhiches.

Turning to Frank, he asks him to give his regards to Harry. Naido comes over to Cooper and places her hand on his.  Naido’s face cracks open as black smoke comes out her mouth. The red room appears behind her and in place of her face. She disappears and an egg of sorts appears revealing the face of Diane (Laura Dern). Naido’s body reappears this time with Diane’s head. The red room fades from behind her. Cooper smiles and says, “Diane!” She smiles back as the two are drawn into a passionate kiss as the others all look on. She says, “Cooper, the one and only.”

Cooper asks Diane if she remembers everything. She says yes.  He looks at the clock which appears to be bouncing back and forth between 2:52 and 2:53. The large face of Cooper that has been linger over the scene says, in a deep slowed voice like we heard from Bad Cooper in the prison, “We live inside a dream.”  The Cooper in the scene continues “I hope I see all of you again.” The room again grows dark as loud whooshing noise is heard. Cooper calls out to Gordon and Gordon responds in kind. Everything fades to dark leaving only the large overlay face of Cooper. With the face still on the screen, Cooper, Diane and Gordon come walking out of the darkness. The face continues to linger for a while before fading into the next scene.

In the bowels of the Great Northern Hotel, the trio approaches the door that James discovered was hiding the tone. Cooper uses his room key to unlock it. He tells Gordon and Diane they are not to follow him through the door. He hugs Diane and shakes hands with Gordon before opening the door. As he enters he turns to them and says he hopes to see them at the curtain call. Inside he steps forward out of the darkness.  Walking toward him is Gerard (Al Strobel). Gerard recites the Fire Walk with Me poem. Electricity flashes and then they are walking down the hallway of the room above the convenience store to the staircase.

They go up and through the door out into the motel courtyard. They enter Jeffries’ room. Looking at the large teapot like structure. Cooper gives Jeffries (Nathan Frizzell) the date of February  23, 1989. Jeffries shows him the owl symbol. The “wings remove themselves and form a second diamond on top of the original. The corners soften and it becomes an 8 with a dot inside. The dot moves around a bit then stops and Jeffries tells Cooper he can go in now. Gerard calls for electricity and after several flash a frozen Cooper with his eyes closed is zoomed in on and slowly the scene turns to black & white.

Still in black & white we see Laura (Sheryl Lee) running down from her house and get on the back of James’ motorcycle and Leland (Ray Wise) looks on from the house. James stops the bike in the woods. Nearby Cooper appears and watches them. As they are kissing she suddenly grows concerned for James safety. Laura fears Bobby might kill him. Then, seeming to spot Cooper in the woods, she lets out a blood curdling screams. As James holds her, she goes back to being concerned for James telling him about the guy that Bobby killed. He doesn’t believe her. She insisted that she’s not good. That’s there’s stuff about her no one knows. She tells him to take her home.

As they are riding she falls off the bike. He tries to help her up and she pushes him away. As she runs off into the woods, he rides away.  She stumbles her way through the woods as Leo (Eric DaRe), Jacques (Walter Olkewicz), and Ronette (Phoebe Augustine) wait for her by Leo’s car. As she heads their direction, she comes face to face with Agent Dale Cooper. She asks who he is but then stops when she remembers having seen him in her dream. He reaches out his hand to her and she steps closer. She trusts him and therefore takes his hand.

Her body wrapped in plastic is seen on the shore where Pete found it. But a moment later it disappears. Back in the woods (now in full color,) Laura asks Cooper where they’re going. He replies home. The next morning we see Josie Packard (Joan Chen) sitting in front of her mirror putting makeup. Pete Martell (Jack Nance) tells his wife Catherine (Piper Laurie) he’s going out to fish. He walks outside and instead of discovering Laura’s body, he fishes instead.

Back in the living room of the Palmer home in the present day, Sarah (Grace Zabriskie) can be heard wailing in the next room.  Sarah enters the room and grabs Laura’s picture off the table and begins stabbing it relentlessly as she continues to wail in agony.

Cooper continues to lead Laura through the woods when suddenly she gone. He looks back and sees nothing however he hears her intense screaming. The woods soon fade in Julee Cruise singing “The World Spins” on the Roadhouse stage in front of a red curtain.

Part 18

As you no doubt noticed, I did not do my usual commentary above for Part 17. Well, for Part 18, I’m not going to do my usual recap. Outside of the beginning of the episode, which shows the Bad Cooper sitting in fire in the red room and Gerard creating the new Dougie who then shows up at home and hugs Janey-E (Naomi Watts) and Sonny Jim (Pierce Gagnon), the episode overlaps the end of the previous. We see Cooper leading Laura through the woods when she suddenly disappears.

From here through the end the episode appears to operate on dream logic. Don’t assume anything that you don’t see on the screen. Such as when Diane is waiting for Cooper in Glastonbury Grove and soon after he comes out, we see them driving in a car. When you are dreaming sudden changes in action or location happen all the time often without you, the subject of the dream taking notice. This is also demonstrated leaving from a different motel in a different car following his night with Diane and waking to find a goodbye note addressed to Richard signed by Linda.

It seems to me that this dream state is a sort of purgatory created for Cooper by Judy as punishment for his attempt to undo Laura’s death. As the new version of the scene from pilot shows, Cooper was verging on being successful. However, I believe that the Judy possessed Sarah was able to negate his action by stabbing at the photo causing Laura to vanish from Cooper’s hand.

In this world of the dream state, Cooper’s persona has changed; almost as if he were a merging of both the Cooper we have always known and Bad Cooper.  His mannerisms and way of speaking are very similar to Bad Cooper while at the same time he carries with him a sense of trying to do the right thing.  It’s as if the motivations are Cooper’s but the methods are more Bad Cooper’s. We see him do things that are out of character for Cooper, such endangering people around him by putting loaded guns into a deep fryer.

Additionally, there are many things that appear to strike him as familiar but he doesn’t seem to know why. Such as when he reads the note from Linda to Diane, he doesn’t no those names but yet he does but can’t remember why. It feels like he stops at Judy’s for the same reason. And that he just knows things like when he sitting at Judy’s he suddenly knows to ask about another waitress. He doesn’t why.

Like in a dream he moves along without questioning things that he didn’t seem to know a moment before. When he walks up to the waitress’ house he has no idea who might come to the door. You can see all this on his face. When Laura opens the door he is visibly surprised and you can hear it in his voice. Seeing that it’s Laura he just knows he needs he needs to get her back to Sarah and that will make everything right in the world.

Laura, like Cooper, is real in this dream world. All of the other people are just figments created by Judy but I believe it was Judy who snatched Laura from the Black Lodge and put her here. She too operates with dream logic in her actions.  She also has moments where she reacts to things Cooper says with an odd sense of familiarity that she doesn’t seem to understand.

In the last scene, when Cooper and Laura arrive at the Palmer house only to find the owner of the house not Sarah. But instead the familiar named Mrs. Tremond (Mary Reber). Mrs. Tremond being the name under which we first met the mysterious Mrs. Chalfont and her grandson. Chalfont also happens to be the name of the former owner of the house according to this Mrs. Tremond. Clearly Cooper is unnerved by all of this and left in a state of confusion that he can’t reason his wait out of. Finally, the only thing that occurs to him is to question the year. Which in true dream logic, neither he nor Laura seem able to come up with. As Laura stares at the house she hears her mother call to her as if from a memory that unlocks who she is causing her to let out a scream that blacks out the world. Or was it Judy simply hitting reset on the world she has trapped these two souls in.

Final Thoughts

While some may find themselves frustrated with the way the series ended, especially in not providing answers to the many questions it posited. Chiefly being the Audrey situation. However, I think one of the things David Lynch does very well is to create exciting scenarios that cause our imaginations to run wild and then not ruining them by answering them. In the original run of the show Lynch and Frost never intended to answer the question of who killed Laura Palmer. Every question has an answer of some kind and many have more than one.  So often with stories the audience follows along and develop many different theories but almost always when the creators get around to revealing the answers there is much disappointment. Either because “it was too obvious” and “why didn’t they come up with something more clever” or “ugh, that’s not what I thought was going to happen.”

Twin Peaks has a whole is a perfect example of the saying “It’s not about the destination; it’s about the journey.” This is so true about this series and particularly about this season. There have been so many great characters and moments of their lives that we have been able to experience. And just like in life, sometimes you just don’t get to find out the whole story or what happens next to the people you meet along the way.

If this were final end of the saga, I would be okay with that. However, I smile at the fact that it is not the end as there is another book coming from Mark Frost. Twin Peaks: The Final Dossier will be released on October 31st. The book will cover the 25 years in Twin Peaks between seasons 2 and 3. The book is sure to provide additional clues to what we have seen. I’m hopeful that light will be shed on Audrey’s part of the story this season.

About the Author

Amantha is first and foremost an avid David Lynch fan (especially Twin Peaks). In addition, she is a vital member of the team responsible for HorrorBuzz's monthly Horror Movie Night at The Frida Cinema, as well as, The Screaming Room short film festival at the annual Midsummer Scream convention.