Are The Mysteries Of Twin Peaks Better Unsolved?
As far as finale's go it doesn't get much better than the last moments of the David Lynch and Mark Frost created TV show Twin Peaks. Our hero FBI Agent Dale Cooper played by Kyle MacLachlan has solved the mystery of "Who Killed Laura Palmer" but the viewers all know that the killer was also "possessed" by a spirit known as BOB.
Dale has saved Annie Blackburn who is played by Heather Graham from his nemesis Windom Earle who had kidnapped and taken her into the Black Lodge which is located in the haunted woods that surround Twin Peaks. The lodge has been seen in Cooper's dreams for the majority of the series and the inside contains strange characters, doppelganger's and dead people from the town. Earle is killed by BOB while in the lodge and Dale and Annie manage to escape. When they get out are they alone? Needing treatment Annie is taken to the hospital while Dale, Sheriff Truman and Doctor Hayward are at Coopers room at the Great Northern Hotel where he has been staying since arriving in Twin Peaks from his FBI base in Philadelphia.
Cooper is asleep in the bed while the doctor and sheriff are standing beside the bed constantly checking on the special agent's condition. Dale then wakes and asks the Sheriff "How's Annie?" to which he replies "She is going to be just fine, she is at the hospital". Dale then says "I need to brush my teeth" and climbs out of bed and walks towards the bathroom. "I need to brush my teeth" he speaks again hinting that he is ok to go in by himself.
He locks the door, puts the toothpaste on the tooth brush and all seems well. All of a sudden he randomly starts squeezing the toothpaste down the drain. Something is not right. Coop then stares up at his reflection, revealing the person he see's in the mirror is not himself but BOB!. Dale then headbutt's the mirror leaving a huge crack. The sound grabs the Doctor and Sheriff's attention.
"Coop! Are you alright?". Because the door is locked they can't get in. The scene crosses back to Coop in the bathroom. BOB is still in the reflection. Dale's head turn's toward the bathroom door and he starts talking and laughing like a man possessed. "How's Annie" he keeps saying over and over!. "How's Annie... Ha ha ha ha!!".
Shocking...Mind Blowing...Gut Wrenching are all ways to describe at that time what we thought was the end to Twin Peaks. A Television series that captivated the world when it asked the question "Who Killed Laura Palmer" and from then on was intriguing because of it's never ending mysteries and all out wierdness. A perfect way to end a show that was dark and emotional and was never full of happy moments. It had plenty of funny moments but overall delved into some depressing topics and never really looked like having a happy ending.
With Season 3 about to screen on the SHOWTIME Network after 26 years there is the risk that the fantastic finale and question mark ending can be ruined by the revival of the show. So far spoilers from the new season have been very few. Lynch and Frost do a VERY good job in not letting storylines get leaked. When they filmed the Laura Palmer killer reveal they apparently not only captured Leland Palmer killing Maddy Ferguson (Laura's cousin) but there is a rare scene of Ben Horne killing Maddy as well to help throw off the cast and crew as to who was the true killer in the storyline.
Lynch and Frost apparently gave actors false scripts to keep the secret. They even encouraged the scripts be "destroyed" after use to prevent leaks. One can presume some of these methods are being used to keep the season 3 plot a mystery.
One thing in particular that could be costly for the success of the returning show could be all the original cast members that have passed away since it's first run. It is a long list which includes Warren Frost (Who played Doctor Hayward and is also Co-Creater Mark Frost's father). Jack Nance who played Pete Martell who was the guy who found Laura "Dead, Wrapped in Plastic". We would assume that his character didn't survive the bank explosion anyway.
Don S. Davis played Major Garland Briggs. His character will be a major headache for the new season because his character was abducted while in the woods with Agent Cooper. A bright light appeared and Briggs disappeared. When he re-appeared two days later he revealed he knew about the black lodge and the existance of a white lodge and how to open the doors.
We already knew he was an airforce pilot and had been investigating Twin Peaks, the surrounding forests and the mysteries that the woods had contained in them. His work was kept classified even from his family and his son Bobby Briggs. He had been working on Project Blue Book which alot of fans have connected to a random "Blue Rose" that was seen in the Twin Peaks prequel movie Fire Walk With Me and is also seen in a few SHOWTIME promo pics for Season 3. One of the main objectives to Project Blue Book was to find the place referred to as "The Black Lodge". Major Briggs and his disappearance and re-appearance has also started the rumours of alien activities maybe being linked to Twin Peaks and it's strange occurances.
The next on the deceased list is major character The Log Lady who was played by Catherine E. Coulson. The Log Lady makes numerous appearances in both seasons adding to the strangeness of the place as she is always carrying her "log" with her everywhere she goes. In the story she is said to be very spiritual and can even communicate to the spirit world through her log. Lynch even had the Log Lady doing introductions for every episode on a special DVD edition that was released of the show.
Frank Silva played arguably one of the scariest characters on TV as BOB or as some call him "Killer BOB". He scored the job by accident having been a cast designer on the set. Lynch caught Silva's reflection in a mirror by accident in a scene that also involved Laura Palmer's mum Sarah. This casting has got to be a problem for Lynch because how can you replace such an iconic serial killer. A mythical one at that. It will be interesting how the show counters this.
Miguel Ferrer who played Agent Albert Rosenfield got the part through David Lynch's love of the original Robocop movie from 1987. Will he be re-cast?. The deceased Dan O'Herlihy who played the Andrew Packard character was also in the first Robocop movie. Michael Parks who played Jean Renault only passed away two weeks ago but his character was killed off in season 2.
The man lucky enough to play the mayor of the whacky town John Boylan passed away in 1994. The character's name was Dwayne Milford. Rock and Pop legend David Bowie was said to be very excited to revive his Fire Walk With Me character Agent Phillip Jeffries before his untimely death in 2016.
Another major problem for Lynch and Frost are the actors that are still alive that refuse to reprise their roles. The Sheriff Harry S. Truman character played by Michael Ontkean is said to be not returning. The reason for this is not known.
Probably the most unique character from the Twin Peaks franchise that is rumoured to be not making a return, The Man From Another Place Michael J. Anderson is very much alive and well. The apparent falling out of him and Lynch along with Michael feeling he was going to be well underpaid for season 3 means it's unlikely Anderson will be seen in any new episodes. Michael has even resorted to trying to smear Lynch's reputation on social media prompting many to believe he may be suffering from a mental illness. But this may also be a swerve tactic because in the storyline there is a scene from the last episode of season 2 from the black lodge where the character is talking in the language only spoken in the lodge (Words spoken backwards but heard normally). He explains that "When you see me again it won't be me". Is this a reference to the new season?.
In the same episode Laura is talking to Dale and says "I will see you in 25 years". Is this another hint that Lynch was always going to make a season 3 in the future 25 years later?. These are some of the mysteries that might be better left unsolved. Along with what happened to Coop, is he still possessed by BOB?. Did Leo get out of Wyndham Earle's hideaway in the evil woods alive?. Did Audrey Horne survive the bank explosion?. Did her father Ben survive getting his head cracked over a fireplace?. 25 years ago these mysteries were left unsolved and that was part of the legacy this show left behind. The new episodes unfortunately now risk that legacy but at least they have the original captains at the helm and that's what gives the fans excitement. After 26 years there is no turning back. In less than 2 days the biggest Twin Peaks mystery will be solved...."How's Annie?".
