We Live Inside A Dream: Twin Peaks episode 14

The Fireman’s idea of movie theaters could use some improvement.

• The episode starts with a taste of the old days by showing Gordon calling Lucy and Sheriff Truman, finally getting the FBI contingent of characters closer to Twin Peaks. We also learn that in addition to working at the sheriff’s station, in the last 25 years Lucy has been to Bora Bora and also home. Gordon remembers the hard way why small talk with Lucy is something to be avoided.
• Apparently the first Blue Rose case involved Gordon and Phillip witnessing a woman kill her own doppelganger. Tammy speculates that the doppelganger was a tulpa, a figure from Tibetan mysticism that is conjured from someone’s thoughts. This not only recalls Cooper’s fascination with Tibet — as well as the manner in which the Giant/Fireman created Laura — but also works with Lynch’s larger approach of life-as-dream.
• In a surprise reveal, Diane explains that Janey-E is actually her estranged half-sister. (“I hate her,” she says with typical Diane bluntness). While Diane is almost definitely telling the truth, it’s doubtful she was surprised by Cole and Albert’s line of questioning, as Mr. C had already inquired as to whether or not the FBI had asked her about Las Vegas. It now seems fairly clear how Evil Douche Coop managed to orchestrate this whole business: copying himself to create Douglas Jones in 1997, fixing up Dougie with Diane’s sister, and then switching out Dougie’s wedding ring for the Lodge ring as the appointed time approached. As to what and how much Diane actually knows, that remains largely obfuscated.
• The Bureau office in Vegas sure seems on top of things!
• Gordon’s Monica Bellucci dream is the kind of random thing that could only happen with David Lynch’s involvement, as it feels like this moment exists precisely because Lynch is friends with Bellucci and thought it would be fun to film something with her in Paris. But it proves surprisingly not gimmicky, as the sequence is charged with an almost trance-like atmosphere that imparts a cosmic sense of unreality instead of just being silly or indulgent. (Also note the looks on Tammy and Albert’s faces when Cole proclaims he “had another Monica Bellucci dream.” Tammy’s amusement and Albert’s expression of weary blankness demonstrates that they’ve been around this block before).
• Bellucci recites a paraphrased verse from the Upanishads which Lynch famously quoted before some screenings of Inland Empire. This speaks to Lynch’s continued fascination with the idea that we create the world around us from the world within us. But the back end of this sequence returns us to Phillip Jeffries’ bizarre appearance in Fire Walk With Me, allowing the departed David Bowie an archival cameo in the new season (a la Don Davis and Frank Silva) and helping Gordon to realize that Jeffries’ reticence about Cooper in that scene may have been prophetic. It’s also worth noting that Jeffries uttered “It was a dream. We live inside a dream,” which goes unmentioned here but remains significant, especially given the context about dreams. So, per Monica’s question to Cole, who is the dreamer? Do we dream our own individual lives, or do we inhabit the dream of someone or something else? Is Twin Peaks the dream of Laura Palmer? The Giant? Tommy Westphall?
• In keeping with the mystical feel of this hour, we finally get the much anticipated visit of Bobby, Frank, Hawk, and Andy to Jack Rabbit’s Palace, which turns out to be a giant stump in the middle of the forest. 253 yards away they find Naido, the eyeless woman who Cooper encountered in episode 3, before a swirling vortex pulls Andy into the Giant’s living room. Now establishing that the Giant is a supernatural being known as the Fireman, Andy is shown a rundown of events pertaining to Bob/Mother/the Woodsmen/Evil Douche Coop before being sent back. While the thought of Andy crossing into an interdimensional realm might sound ridiculous at first, it makes complete sense when all is said and done, as Andy is possibly the most pure-hearted character in Twin Peaks. The way Harry Goaz plays Andy as assured, determined, and changed by his otherworldly experience is a payoff 27 years in the making. We’ve never seen Deputy Brennan like this, and it’s wonderful.

It’s all fun and games at Jackrabbit’s Palace in this deleted scene.

• Not only does it fit that the Fireman would choose Andy — given Andy’s unwavering compassion for others — but this is also a callback to the pilot, where Andy cries over Laura’s body and is chastised by Sheriff Truman. But here, Andy doesn’t break when they discover the body of another naked woman (Naido) in the wilderness, and he emerges from the Fireman’s realm even more confident. (I also love that Andy holds her hand for a minute before he is taken into the Zone. Andy’s simplicity and gentleness make him the perfect candidate to bring a message from beyond).
• It’s certainly very odd seeing an alien presence like Naido in a jail cell at the Twin Peaks police department, and in some ways the show could be taking the power out of its surrealness by putting such a character in a very mundane situation. But it works. Also effective is the sweetness that Lucy and Andy show Naido, who seems confused and afraid of whatever is happening.
• This brings me to Chad, who can suck it. What a treat it was to watch him caught off-guard and arrested. I especially liked knowing that everyone’s been onto him for months, so not only is he a shitty cop but also a shitty criminal. And considering that he’s trapped in a room with a chirping creature from another universe and a drunk weirdo who keeps obnoxiously mimicking her noises, Chad is already serving his punishment.
• Extra kudos to the way this scene references the Bobby and Mike barking scene from the pilot. I guess people in the Twin Peaks jail just feel compelled to make animal noises. I mean, it’s jail, so what else are you gonna do?
• This episode definitely taught me a valuable lesson: I could go a lifetime without ever having to watch that guy drool blood all over himself and the floor again. *shudders*
• Happy birthday, James! I never pictured you as a security guard at the Great Northern, but you seem to be enjoying yourself so right on.
• Well, apparently Freddie the British kid was instructed by the Fireman to put on a magical green gardening glove which will give his hand superhuman strength before flying to Twin Peaks, Washington, USA where he must wait for his calling to fight evil and thus fulfill his destiny. I think most of us had already assumed that but it’s nice of the episode to confirm it I guess.
• The Great Northern definitely has an Overlook Hotel feel to it this season, and that was especially apparent when James walked into the spooky boiler room. What is that hum? My feeling is that it probably started when Cooper’s room key first arrived at the hotel, but in any case, it seems as if James may be approaching the source.
• Annnnd then we find out that Sarah Palmer has an experimental movie playing on a loop behind her face and also she eats people sometimes. Okay! Twin Peaks is great at doling out the unexpected, but in this instance Lynch and Frost have really gone above and beyond when it comes to pulling the rug out from under the audience . . . and this is an episode that opened with Monica Bellucci playing herself, which was not on my list of Things That Will Probably Happen On Twin Peaks This Season. So, what does this mean? While I doubt anyone will miss or feel sorry for Mr. Truck You, the implications for Sarah are less than comforting. What I took from it is that we very likely just saw Mother, or something akin to her. Sarah removing her face to reveal a void of chaotic darkness is the polar opposite moment of Laura removing her face to reveal a glowing light, so this pits mother/Mother and daughter against each other, at least thematically. This begs the question: does Sarah have Laura? Something took Laura at the start of the season, and her whereabouts (along with whatever she whispered to Agent Cooper) are probably part of wherever this story is heading in its final stretch.
• While we’re on the subject, what exactly happened to Sarah Palmer? There are many possibilities. The woman we saw in that bar could be her doppelganger. (On the hand that appears behind Sarah’s face, is it the spiritual mound that’s blackened?). Or, Sarah could be the girl that swallowed frogbug back in the 50s. Or, it’s totally possible that the lifetime of pain, heartache, and suffering that Sarah has endured eventually opened her up to darkness. Let’s not forget that Windom Earle sent a message from the Black Lodge through her in the final episode, and Sarah’s psychic shine has always allowed her to see hints of the dark forces which pulse through Twin Peaks. So it’s no wonder that she’d be susceptible to whatever this is that has taken up residence within her. (Assuming, again, that this is actually Sarah). It adds an extra note of tragedy that now both of Laura’s parents have fallen prey to this terrible thing.

JESUS TRUCKING CHRIST

• Cut to the obligatory scene of characters we’ve never met before, trading gossip in the Roadhouse. While I’m sure some viewers are bored by these moments, I like them just fine; they’re almost like a weird little Greek chorus of side characters, not exactly commenting on what we’re watching, but not exactly not commenting on it, either. In this instance that’s especially true, as Billy and Tina become the subject of the conversation. Apart from confirming that Billy and Tina are real and that Audrey and Charlie aren’t engaging in the world’s creepiest foreplay, we still know very little. The description of Billy makes him sound a lot like the drunk in the jail cell shown earlier in the episode, but who knows? Something ominous is certainly afoot, though.
• Lissie’s song is not bad but I must insist they go back to lip syncing school.

Final Thought That Happened:

Here we are. Just four hours left until this Twin Peaks wraps up for good. While I have few expectations for where Peaks will ultimately go, there are a handful of threads that have to reach some manner of resolution for this to have been an actual story with a beginning, middle, and end. Certainly, Cooper waking up, Mr. C going back home, and Laura’s fate are all big plot elements that point to a destination, and are the most pressing concerns needing to be addressed. There’s also the various clues and hints that have been teased: 430, Richard and Linda, two birds with one stone, Laura’s message, Naido’s significance. The show hasn’t even begun to get to most of these things. While Lynch sometimes likes to introduce clues that have no actual specific answer, in the case of Twin Peaks, these moments do tend to have a certain level of payoff. Being that these seeds were planted early in the new season, most likely they’ll come to fruition soon. But that also means this tale has a lot of work to do in four episodes, so it will be interesting to see how Lynch and Frost manage to pull this off.

That said, I expect there will be plenty of things not entirely resolved by season’s end. There or may not be more Twin Peaks one day, but part of the idea here is that life in Twin Peaks continues whether or not we’re watching it. No matter when Twin Peaks goes dark for good, we’ll always be able to dream about what came next. And then live inside that dream.