Spoiler-Filled [In-Depth Analysis] "Twin Peaks: The Return"

This article was originally published on my personal website on May 8, 2022.

Introduction

A sequel to the American TV series "Twin Peaks" was produced after 25 years. On this site, I would like to provide a spoiler-filled analysis of this seemingly complex work.

*Please be aware that this contains spoilers from the start, so proceed with caution if you have not seen it.
*Although the creator, David Lynch, titled it "The Limited Event Series," I will continue to refer to it as "The Return" on this site for convenience.

So, what is it actually about?

At the end of the previous series, Cooper, who returned from the Black Lodge, was possessed by the evil spirit Killer BOB.
And what returned was Cooper's doppelgänger (double).
The main plot follows the real (?) Cooper returning from the Black Lodge.

The story progresses with both the good and evil Coopers

Cooper, who was told by Laura in the previous series to "see you in 25 years," was indeed able to return 25 years later, alternating with his double possessed by the evil spirit BOB (hereafter referred to as Evil Cooper). (A law of nature?)
However, due to Evil Cooper's schemes, another double of Cooper had been created. Because of this, Cooper, who was supposed to return by swapping with Evil Cooper, instead returns to the mortal world as that other double, Dougie. (Hereafter referred to as Good Cooper).

The settings are as follows:

Good Cooper -> His company, his home, and the casino

Evil Cooper -> His activities and those of his subordinates

This is how it is structured.

First, Good Cooper

He was trapped in another dimension for 25 years in real-world time, but returned to the mortal world as Dougie.
However, he has no memory of being an agent and lives with the intelligence of a toddler.
(This part is depicted over a long period with plenty of humor.)
Then, one day, he hears the name "Gordon Cole" from the television, begins to remember, and his memory is restored by an electric shock from an outlet.
He brings FBI members to the Twin Peaks Sheriff's Station to defeat Evil Cooper (the evil spirit BOB). With the help of the former agent Jeffries from another dimension, he avoids the past murder of Laura Palmer.

Then, together with the good Diane, he heads to another parallel world to find a Laura who did not die. There, he meets someone who looks like Laura and goes to what was the Palmer house in Twin Peaks, but he cannot find any evidence that the Palmer family lived there, and the story comes to an end with the identity of the person who looks like Laura remaining a mystery.

Next, Evil Cooper

Possessed by the evil spirit BOB, he has spent 25 years in the mortal world running a criminal organization while searching for "coordinates" to meet the fundamental force of evil known as "Judy." To achieve this, he avoids being pulled back into another dimension by sending Dougie in his place.
He has people in his criminal organization indirectly murder Dougie (Good Cooper) and others involved in investigating the coordinates.

Ultimately, he obtains information on three coordinates.

1. Information from his subordinate Ray
2. Information from former agent Jeffries
3. Information from the evil Diane

1 and 2 point to the same location, while 3 is different. He sends Richard, his son with Audrey, to the location of 1 and 2, but it is a trap, and Richard is killed in an explosion.
3 is transported to the front of the Twin Peaks Sheriff's Station.
This 3 is also a trap set by good spirits, and he is literally pulverized by the actions of the "man with the green glove's megaton punch," prepared by a spirit in the form of a giant who calls himself "The Fireman."
(Not just Evil Cooper, but the evil spirit BOB as well.)

That is the general flow of the story.

Regarding the film "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me"

For those who have only watched the previous Twin Peaks television series, it will likely seem quite baffling. If you have only seen the TV series, please watch the film "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me".
You might think this film would make things easier to understand by depicting the past of the previous TV series, but the first half deals with the Teresa Banks murder case, which occurred before the Laura Palmer murder case, making it even more confusing...
Also, Agent Phillip Jeffries, a key person in this new series, makes a very brief appearance. (He is played by David Bowie.)
Conversely, parts that were mysterious in this film have been clarified in this new TV series.
If you haven't seen it yet, please watch it first.

Good and Evil

This time, good and evil are clearly separated.

The Good Side
The Giant who calls himself "The Fireman"
Mike, the One-Armed Man
Mike's severed arm
The woman who looks like an opera singer
Laura
The woman with her eyes closed
Agent Phillip Jeffries
Major Briggs

The Evil Side
The "Woodsmen"
The group of black-clad homeless figures
The horned monster
Sarah Palmer

I will explain them one by one.

The Good Side

* The Giant who calls himself "The Fireman"
He is called the Fireman, but in terms of nuance, "Fire Extinguisher" might be easier to understand.
Since "fire" is a metaphor for evil, as the evil spirits say "Fire, walk with me," I think it is fine to interpret him as "one who defeats evil."
In the previous TV series, he appeared as the spiritual form (?) of the tall, elderly hotel room service waiter.

* Mike, the One-Armed Man
He directly helps Dougie in the real world.
He seems to have been an evil spirit alongside BOB, but he became a spirit of good after cutting off his left arm, which had the tattoo "Fire, walk with me" carved into it.

* Mike's severed arm
In the previous TV series, this took the form of a dwarf. Because it had the tattoo "Fire, walk with me," it didn't feel entirely on the side of good in the previous work, but this time it is on the side of good.
It has a tree-like appearance, and while it is said in the work that it has "powered up," due to production circumstances, it became an object because the actor could not appear.

* The woman who looks like an opera singer
Is she perhaps playing the role of a queen on the side of good?
To counter the evil spirits "the horned monster" and "BOB" created by the nuclear test, she gives birth to the good spirit "Laura."

* Laura
Seeing her created in the aforementioned depiction of the nuclear test, she seems to be more of an incarnated form of a spirit of good rather than just a single woman.

* The woman with her eyes closed
A mysterious existence from another dimension played by Nae Yuuki. She seems to be an ally of Cooper, and after being discovered at the coordinates Major Briggs entrusted to his son, Deputy Sheriff Bobby, she is hidden at the Sheriff's station.
Her true identity was the real Diane.

* Agent Phillip Jeffries
A former member of the FBI's Blue Rose team who was known to be missing in the film "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me," and a former colleague of Gordon Cole. It seems that before he went missing, he entered the Black Lodge and became an existence capable of moving between dimensions.
In this work, he appears as a kettle-like object, not in human form.
This is because the actor, David Bowie, fell ill and passed away, making it impossible for him to appear.
He seems to reside in another dimension and is trying to defeat the evil spirits. He only interferes in the real world through the telephone.

* Major Briggs
He continues to exist in another dimension as only a head.
He is trying to defeat the evil Cooper.

The Evil Side

* The "Woodsmen"
It seems they are not small fry even among the army of evil spirits.
Are they at the level of a monster in Shocker terms?
They appear in the real world to kill people with their bare hands and broadcast ominous messages over the radio that cause people to collapse.

* The group of black-clad homeless figures
The evil side, such as the evil spirit BOB from the previous work, has a look that is wild, or dirty if you want to put it negatively.
They feel like the combatants in Shocker terms.
This army of evil spirits has the power to appear in a group and touch the evil Cooper to heal his wounds even if he is physically killed. They also kill people with their bare hands like the "Woodsmen."

* The horned monster
A black object with something like playing card horns that the evil Cooper asked his subordinate Darya about.
It appeared in a machine in New York and killed a couple.
It was created in the 1945 nuclear test. (?)
It is also drawn on the Native American map that Hawk had. When asked what this drawing represents, Hawk replied, "It's better not to know." Judging from the flow of the story, it is thought to be an evil spirit.

This is likely "Judy," and it is thought that the evil Cooper was looking for the coordinates to meet it.

* Sarah Palmer
Laura's mother.
Unlike Laura, who was filled with light when her face was opened, when her face was opened, it was darkness.
She kills a man who hit on her vulgarly at a bar, and when she was young, something like an insect entered her through her mouth.

This Sarah might just be the final boss. (If there is ever a next installment...)

That concludes the "Good and Evil" of this series.

Note update: Summary

January 16, 2025
Director David Lynch has passed away.
Since the ending felt like it was clearly setting up a sequel, I really wanted them to provide a proper conclusion this time.
How would they rescue Laura, the incarnation of good who survived in the parallel world?
How would they defeat Sarah, the incarnation of evil?

Well, the defeat of Bob this time ended in an instant thanks to the efforts of Megaton Punch Man (?), so I also speculate that maybe this is just how it ends.

The main screenwriter, Mark Frost, is still alive, so I think that in the worst-case scenario, a sequel with a different director might be possible.

I thought it would be unkind to those who became interested, so I have included a link. *Rest assured, this is not an affiliate link.