Chapter 11: Part Five "Case Files"
011 - A Skeleton Key To Twin Peaks, 2nd Edition
Please note: the entire chapter is too long for email. Please click through to the web version for the most updated content. I will be making frequent revisions over time. Paid subscribers are welcome and encouraged to ask questions and offer feedback in the comment section for each chapter.
Acronyms & Common Terms
TP = Twin Peaks (1989-1991)
TPTR = Twin Peaks The Return (2017)
FWWM = Fire Walk With Me (1992)
RRL = The Red Room Dream Layer
TVL = The Version Layer
MPL = Missing Page Layer
TFM = The Fireman’s Mansion
Twin Peaks = The entire franchise
INTRO5
Part 5: Scene 1
(0:00:00-0:01:40) Local (3:50:57-3:52:37) Global Time
1m40s
PN: INTRO CREDITS
C9
Part 5: Scene 2
The Version Layer: Las Vegas, NV | Buenos Aires, Argentina
(0:01:40-0:03:27) Local (3:52:37-3:54:24) Global Time
1m47s
PN: Black Lodge Plan
SN: Mystery
Gene and Jake are in the car talking to a woman named Lorraine on the phone. She is a handler, sending assassins’ orders and processing their payments. She ensures nothing goes wrong, but everything goes wrong during this hit on Douglas Jones. Gene says they just drove by the house, and Dougie Jones’s car is still there. Lorraine asks if he’s still inside.
Gene says he can’t tell, but the lights are still on. She is not happy because this job was supposed to be done yesterday. She asks if they are trying to get her killed. Gene says they’re all over it. Lorraine screams, “Fuck!” and hangs up the phone. Jake says, “She’s a worrier.” Gene says, “Yeah.” Lorraine is agitated. She frets and hesitates for several seconds, clearly in deep distress. Then, finally, she pulls an old Blackberry from her desk drawer and starts typing on it.
Cut to a spider-web-covered naked light bulb hanging from a dilapidated building at night, in the dark. Cut to what looks like a box with two holes inside a brass bowl between two parallel metal lines on some dusty rock floor. A dull beep sounds.
Back in her office, Lorraine cautiously types “Argent 2” into her Blackberry,
Cut back to the box where those two holes light up with two successive quick beeps.
Here we see the mid-level management of Mr. C’s corporation struggling with Cooper’s escape from the kill zone. These mistakes will blow black.
<><><>
One of the mysteries of The Return is this box and its function. One light indicates a binary machine. It’s either on or off. But two lights is a system of much greater complexity. Judging by Lorraine’s reluctance to send this message, we can surmise she is initiating a backup plan. Let’s call it Plan 2 (ARGENT2).
Consider the greeting Mr. C gave Gordon Cole in prison in Part 4. He said, “It’s yrev very good to see you again, old friend.” Now, ARGENT could mean Argentina. We know that’s where this box exists. We also know that Mr. C spent time in South America in this dream layer, amassing his massive fortune to mount his assault on the dream. But let’s also consider that as “yrev” = “very”, “argent” might equal “agent.” It’s not an exact correlation because the first is backward, but the second has an extra letter, the same errant letter in both words.
E8
Part 5: Scene 3
The Version Layer: Buckhorn, SD
(0:03:27-0:04:33) Local (3:54:24-3:55:30) Global Time
1m6s
PN: Mystery
SN: White Lodge Plan
A fat man’s body lies cut open on a coroner’s table. A pan and sink are nearby, and water is draining. Detectives Macklay and Harrison are talking to the Coroner, who jokes that the cause of death is decapitation. They do not laugh. She continues to joke with, “Here’s the headline. Actually I just gave you the headline. Yeah, I’m still doing stand-up work on the weekends.”
Finally getting to business, she says this man hasn’t eaten for days, at least not food.
She found a ring in his stomach and suggested starting with his wife. The ring is inscribed, “To Dougie, with love, Janey-E.”
How did Dougie Jones’s wedding ring get into Major Briggs’s stomach when he didn’t have a head? It’s one of the most compelling mysteries of The Return. It’s the second mystery we’ve seen in the first five minutes of Part Five. This scene connects Buckhorn to Las Vegas, implying that these are settings in the same dream world.
Ruth Davenport and Major Briggs are both decapitated, which means the Buckhorn Investigation is about two beheadings and two incomplete bodies. This seems important when considered within the context of this entire story.
So, how does Dougie Jones’s wedding ring end up in Major Briggs’s stomach? We also know that the Owl Cave ring was put onto Dougie Jones’ hand at some point, ensuring he returned to the Red Room in Mr. C’s place. How did that happen?
C10
Part 5: Scene 4
The Version Layer: Yankton Federal Prison, SD
(0:04:33-0:06:48) Local (3:55:30-3:57:45) Global Time
2m15s
PN: Black Lodge Plan
Mr. C. lies awake in his prison cell, hands folded over his stomach.
It is quiet at this hour in prison. He says aloud, “And now, food is coming.” The prison door opens down the hall, and a guard enters the hall with a tray of food, sliding the tray into the slot. Mr. C takes the tray, sets it down, and walks to the sink to wash his hands.
He looks into the mirror. We are presented with the scene where BOB and Cooper are laughing together maniacally in the Red Room. Next, we see Cooper smashing his head into the mirror in the final scene of Season Two of Twin Peaks. Now we are back in the prison cell. Again, BOB’s face morphs into Mr. C’s. Mr. C says, “You’re still with me. That’s good.”
Does Mr. C intuit that food is coming, or does he command it to appear? At the very least, he demonstrates near-omnipotence. Logistically, must he speak the words out loud to invoke action in this dream? A voice over here would be ridiculous, implying that Mr. C has an inner voice, which he doesn’t because he is an inner voice. Mr. C. is in control, despite being incarcerated. While not planned, his imprisonment does not seem to be much of an imposition. Mr. C downloaded the schematics of this prison. Later in Part Five, he will exploit this system’s weakness. And then he’ll deal with That Fucker Ray.
Does Mr. C not feel BOB’s presence until he looks in the mirror? This is consistent with Leland’s behavior in Twin Peaks Season Two. I posit that Mr. C has partnered with BOB to corrupt the machine of Cooper’s memory, and this corruption has produced this demented trap of a dream layer. Mr. C can command some aspects of reality inside TVL or is at least prescient of events to come just before they happen.
Part 5: Scene 5
The Version Layer: Twin Peaks, WA
(0:06:48-0:10:45) Local (3:57:45-4:01:42) Global Time
3m57s
PN: Something Is Wrong In Twin Peaks
In a small, “bankish” office, Mike Nelson wears a suit and sits surrounded by paper forms. There is a deer head on the wall behind him. His computer is on, but the lock screen waits for his password. Mike hits the button on his intercom and asks someone to “Send in Steven, please.” A young man in a wrinkled suit jumps up on the other side of Mike’s office window, opens his door, and enters the office. Mike asks him to sit down. Steven lounges back in the chair with unearned authority and says, “Great.” Mike says, “Yeah, well. Not great. You think you’re some sort of hotshot?” Steven feels this going south and asks, “Excuse me?”
Mike says, “This is one of the worst resumes I’ve ever seen and you didn’t fill out this form properly. Not even close. It’s worse than sloppy.” Mike pauses a moment to let the insult expand on Steven. He continues, “I wanted to see you to tell you that if you ever want to find work anyplace, then you better get your act together, do things properly, and start showing some respect for a possible future employer. Because based on this shit...”
He tosses Steven’s resume on his messy desk. “... you’d never get hired here, and I would never recommend you for any work, anyplace.” He folds Steven’s resume in half, throws it at him, and then says, “Now you can get up and get your ass out of here.” Steven takes the paper, gets up, and leaves the room. Mike watches him go and says, “What an asshole.”
Sheriff Frank Truman is on the phone in an office with the door shut. He says, “That’s rough.” Frank asks when the tests will come back. Lucy interrupts to say that his wife is here, and he sits up abruptly. Lucy says, “She went to your office and you weren’t there. I could have told her that.” Truman asks the person on the other end of the line to hold on a minute. Lucy says, “She is now walking to Deputy Chief Hawk’s office, where you are.” He thanks Lucy and says, “Doris is coming. You hang tough, Harry. I’ll check in with you tomorrow.” As he’s putting his phone away, his wife Doris kicks open the office door and demands to know why he’s not in his office. She starts on a tirade about how:
1. Dwight has diarrhea.
2. The twins are coming this weekend.
3. He got in the upper cupboard again.
4. She is not going another day with a leaking pipe.
5. The pantry floor is soaked.
6. They are going to get black mold.
Frank lets her finish without responding. She asks if he called them. He says he did, and they know all about the pipe and promise to have it fixed by tomorrow night. This isn’t good enough for Doris. He asks if she has a bucket under it, which infuriates her because why should she have to watch a bucket all day? He asks if she can get a giant bucket, and she explodes over a rug she can’t buy. She says it’s not fair. Then she asks about her Dad’s car. She will not have him killed in “That damned death trap car!” Frank says that Sammy looked at it two hours ago, and it’s okay. Doris shouts at him that he’s impossible and storms out of the office. Frank shows little emotion during this verbal assault.
This scene between Steven and Mike Nelson is one of The Return's dark and tragic comedic scenes. Mike Nelson abused Donna Hayward in Twin Peaks Season One. Nadine abused Mike Nelson in Twin Peaks Season 2. He’s grown up to be a corporate bully. Now, he abuses and resumes the emotions of weaker people. Mike Nelson is also married and has a ring in this scene. Steven is high on drugs here but wears a shirt and tie. He did show up and attempt. Mike Nelson doesn’t recognize Steven’s efforts. He destroys Steven’s confidence. Mike Nelson embarrasses a weaker person without mercy. This scene begins a dark path of descent for Steven, which will tragically impact the Briggs family of this dream layer—trauma transfers from one character to another. Mike has a choice on how to behave towards Steven. He could have offered to mentor him. Instead, the message he conveys to Steven is valid here: to get his act together and take his life seriously. Imagine if that message was delivered in an envelope of empathy. Instead, it’s submerged in acid and thrown back at Steven in the form of his resume. Steven carries this trauma now and will pass it on to the two women in his life, unfortunate enough to love him.
<><><><>
Harry Truman has a bleak terminal illness in this dream layer. We learn in Mark Frost’s The Final Dossier that Harry has cancer. Cooper was his best self in his friendship with Sheriff Harry Truman. Their relationship was incorruptible. Not even Philip Jeffries' memory machine could change it. Therefore, that friendship had to be severed and distanced in this dream layer if Mr. C would isolate Cooper enough to strip him of his virtue. Harry had to die as a memory. So, this friendship has to be nullified in this dream. Harry would have scoured the Earth in any layer of the dream to help Cooper, and Mr. C knows this.
<><><><>
We will learn that Doris Truman is a Mother who lost their son to suicide. Frank is a father suffering the same trauma. This scene transforms into a profound tragedy when we add that knowledge to what we’ve just witnessed. Let’s stop and check in with our emotions after observing these scenes. How do you feel? Your answer matters to the meaning of the story.
Sonny Jim exits the Jones home on a Sunny Las Vegas day. Janey-E is behind him, then Cooper, who looks ridiculous in his oversized suit and low-hanging tie. She fixes his tie and tells him she hid the $425,000 in their secret spot. Cooper stares at Sonny Jim, spaced out in the back of the car. Then, Cooper starts crying as Janey-E tells him to call them when he gets to work and set up a time to pay them their 50 grand. Then they’ll, “Be free and clear.”
Janey-E sees that he’s crying and looking at Sonny Jim. She grabs Cooper’s face with both hands and tells him he’s acting, “Weird as shit. Just don’t forget to call them. And no more drinking and gambling.” She tells him to get going or he’ll be late for work. But Cooper doesn’t have a car, so Janey-E has to drive him, and she isn’t happy about it.
<><><>
At the Rancho Rosa house, Gene drives by the house where Dougie Jones’s car is parked. He slows down and cases the house again, then drives on. The camera follows Gene’s car until it turns. The camera then pans back to the other side of the street. A menacing black car with black rims and intense, angry, dissonant metal music pulls up slowly to the house. Several young men in the car also stare at Dougie’s car, looking around to see who might be watching them.
<><><>
Janey-E pulls up outside the Lucky 7 Insurance company and tells Cooper to get out of the car. When he doesn’t, she tells him he’s having one of his episodes and needs to pull himself together and get to work. She has to push him out of the car. He doesn’t shut the door behind him. Cooper walks across the plaza and stops to stare at a cowboy statue holding a pistol out, aiming, ready to fire. Cooper makes the same pistol gesture and seems lost in thought. Nevertheless, he follows the gun’s direction, pointing him to one of the office buildings in this business park.
Inside the building, Cooper stands in the middle of the bustle of people until a young man (Phil) carrying several coffees recognizes Cooper as Dougie and says, “Off in Dreamland again, huh Dougie?” Cooper sees and smells coffee. He follows that smell into the elevator. Phil says, “C’mon, pal, the staff meeting starts in three minutes.” They get into an elevator playing soft jazz music. Phil hits a button and says, “Seven Up.” Cooper is facing the wrong way as the doors close. He turns around towards the coffee and says, “Coffee.” Phil says, “Sorry, Dougie, I didn’t get one for you. I didn’t know if you’d be here today.” Cooper keeps staring at the coffee. Phil finally concedes and gives him Frank’s coffee because Frank never likes his anyway, but maybe he’ll drink this Green Tea latte instead. The elevator woman beside them scrolls on her phone while Cooper drinks his coffee and hums approval. Phil watches him, smiles, and says,” Damn good, joe, huh Dougie?” Cooper nods and moans, and Phil says, “Pretty damn good.”
The doors open on the Lucky 7 Insurance Company. Cooper dawdles in the waiting room, freaking out a man speaking to a woman on the couch in the waiting room. Phil returns to guide Dougie to the conference room by the coffee-holding young man.
Several people walk into the conference room behind them. Anthony Sinclair walks up behind Dougie, slaps him on the shoulders with both hands and puts him in a headlock. Then, he says, “Hey, look who’s back from Bendersville with a new haircut.” Sinclair pulls Cooper in close and whispers in his ear, “I covered for your ass, pal. You owe me big time for that.”
Sinclair looks Cooper over, noting his baggy clothes and how much thinner he is. Finally, he asks, “What’d you do, huh? Did you go drinking in a steam bath?” Anthony gets uncomfortable when Cooper doesn’t respond. He leaves to find his seat. Cooper stands, his attention consumed by his coffee.
Darren is a handsome man sitting next to a beautiful woman named Rhonda. He leans too close to her and says, “Did you get my note?” Rhonda says she didn’t and, “Tell it to your wife, Darren.” This ends the conversation.
Frank notices that Cooper’s drinking his coffee. He gets angry and, in a huff, asks Phil what’s going on. Phil apologizes, offering the green tea latte instead. Frank transforms into a pure expression of joy when he sips and savors the first drink of his green latte.
Bushnell Mullins, President of the Lucky 7 Insurance Company, stands up from the short desk in the back of the room and says, “All right! Let’s get started!” He tells Dougie to sit down and cut the shit when he doesn’t do it. Bushnell looks at Dougie with concern and says, “Tony, lead us off.” Anthony (Tony) Sinclair is a performer. He has sixteen new claims this week. Two from last week have been processed and approved, so they must pay. Mullins asks which claims, confused. The Beakers with the broken water main and Littlefield need to pay out. Bushnell is surprised by the latter. Last he heard, forensics made Littlefield for arson. Sinclair says, “There’s no arson, Bushnell. Um, the inspectors cleared it. It checks out. It’s legit. We have to honor the claim.” Cooper is watching Sinclair’s face. Like sunlight reflected from a mirror, a flash of light moves across it. Cooper speaks clearly and with authority, “He’s lying.” Sinclair is shocked and asks Cooper what he said. Cooper remains silent, and Sinclair demands to know where he gets off, calling him a liar. Bushnell asks Cooper what he means, but Cooper is spaced again. Finally, Bushnell demands that Cooper see him in his office as soon as they are done there. Sinclair reiterates that Littlefield is legit and asks to continue, “If it’s okay with you, Dougie, my friend?”
After the meeting, Cooper is led to Bushnell’s office. Bushnell tells them to close the door behind them, “On your way out.” Cooper stares at a massive poster of Bushnell Mullins as a young boxer, “Battling Bud,” who went four furious rounds. Bushnell asks him, “Dougie, where do you get the stones to call my best agent a liar?” This word triggers something profound in Cooper’s memory. He slowly repeats, “A-gen-t.” Bushnell says, “He closes more cases in a week than you do in a month.” Cooper repeats, “Agent.” Bushnell says, “This is serious, Dougie. This is no game.” Cooper repeats, “Game.” Bushnell says, “Okay, Dougie, we’ll play a game. It’s a homework game. Since you missed the last two days of school, smart guy. I want you to take these case files home with you tonight. I need a full assessment of each case. And what you come back with tomorrow will have much to do with your future at this company.” Cooper repeats, “Case Files.”
Later, Cooper stands in the hallway, holding his crotch, the case files piled at his feet. Rhonda walks up to Cooper, asks if the men’s room is locked, and then offers to sneak him into the ladies’ room. She guides him to the ladies’ room and opens the door but then turns around and says, “You know, I was thinking maybe I’ll let you kiss me now, handsome.” She laughs and then tells him to go ahead and that she’ll keep watch. Longing look on her face as she shuts the door after him. Cooper moans loudly behind the door from the pleasure of a urination eruption while she briefly imagines the possibility of another life with that man groaning in the bathroom stall.
<><><>
The poor Silver Mustang Casino Manager and his Pit Boss are standing in the security room. They look very worried.
A voice comes over the two-way to inform them, “They are on their way up.” A close-up of the Casino Manager’s face shows he is petrified. Security footage loops of Cooper winning jackpot after jackpot. A beautiful woman in showgirl attire (Candie) enters, and a rugged pair of men look at the screens. Rodney Mitchum says, “Thirty jackpots in a row. We haven’t paid out that many in a year.” Bradley Mitchum says, “Turn him around.” Two security guards obey and seize the Casino Manager.
Three showgirls (Candie, Mandy, and Sandy), lean against the wall, bored. They seem uninterested in the violence about to happen here. Rodney steps closer to the Casino Manager and asks the Pit Boss, “How much did that man on the television win?” The Pit Boss says, “$425,000.” Rodney says, “Hmmm,” then punches him in the face. Rodney laughs and says, “Four hundred twenty f--, and you’re trying to tell us that wasn’t in on this? How much did that man win again?” The Pit Boss repeats the figure, and Rodney beats the Casino Manager mercilessly. It sounds like ribs are breaking. Rodney spits on him and says, “You’re fucking fired. Get him out of here.” The guards drag the man from the room. Bradley stops them momentarily, leans into the former Casino Manager’s face, and snarls, “Leave town. Don’t ever come back.” Bradley walks up to the Pit Boss and says, “You. You got his job.” He slaps the new Casino Manager on the shoulder and walks him toward the screen. Bradley points at Cooper and says, “You let us know if this man ever comes in here again.” The new Casino Manager nods, and the three stare at Cooper’s image on the screen.
<><><>
Back at Rancho Rosa, the bomb under Dougie Jones’ car ticks away, waiting to be triggered.
The young, dirty boy from across the street is eating saltine crackers, watching the house across the road with the car in the driveway. Some men pulled up and did something to that car, so he’s watching it and enjoying a little snack. It might be his dinner. The boy is wearing a red numeral ONE ironed onto his shirt. His drug-addict mother is passed out in her chair, the pills killing her pain for a short time. The boy crosses the front door, making his journey across the street. He is going to see what’s under that car. The bomb beeps, waiting...the boy kneels under the car. He reaches out to touch the bomb. Before the boy makes contact with the bomb, the black car from earlier comes screeching around the corner. Brakes squeal and tires smoke in front of the house. Heavy metal music blares from the car windows.
Three men jump out. One throws a rock at the little kid and yells, “Fuck off, kid. Get the fuck out of here.”
One of the men uses a jimmy on the car to open the door while the other two look out. One guy gets in and starts the car. It blows up in front of the little boy. One of the surviving criminals screams, “Fuck!” They get in their car and peel out. The boy runs home. Neighbors come out of their houses all along the street. Burnt-up bodies smoke on the ground near the remains of the car. The front door slams open and wakes his mother up. The little boy runs to the window and watches the car burn across the street. His mother wipes her mouth and sits up. Dramatic music plays as the scene ends.
<><><>
Cut to Jade getting her car washed. The attendant asks her if she has a john in Washington. She says, “What?” He produces Cooper’s key to the Great Northern, and she laughs and says, “Oh Dougie.” A close-up of the key reveals, “Clean Place Reasonably Priced Please Mail To: Great Northern Hotel, Twin Peaks, WA.” Jade says, “Give me a second, Chris.” She walks to the mailbox and drops the key inside.
Emotionally, these vignettes tell a complete story. First, Janey-E is transforming, mainly because money is no longer an obstacle to her sense of family safety. This softens her, but she’s still not melting over Cooper yet. Still consumed by potent anger from her past hurt and disappointment, Janey-E’s love will become a source of strength and a shield for Cooper.
This set of scenes begins with a deep longing for childhood innocence, as Cooper cries when he sees Sonny Jim living his young, dreamy life in the back seat of the family car. Cooper is again sent off into the unknown with a mission directed at him by a woman, “Get to work!” Outside the corporate office park buildings, the cowboy statue directs Cooper in which direction to go, and aid rushes to his side to guide him toward his salvation. Dale Cooper is following his bliss, which comes from the smell and taste of coffee. He’s chasing an emotion in how dogs chase the smell of food.
Meanwhile, we are about to see the result of Lorraine sending that message to switch from Plan 1 to Plan 2, likely a contingency plan to be executed in case Plan 1 fails. Lorraine’s job is to determine when that failure has occurred and implement countermeasures. She likely fears that if she does this, she will be murdered, which is valid.
<><><>
It’s lovely to see Cooper become attractive to Rhonda. She seems to have successfully beaten away all these rogue men around her. Rhonda’s behavior is girlish, revealing innocence of attraction. Hopeful longing fills this scene with romantic possibility from an attraction not rooted in power or sexual domination.
<><><>
This Silver Mustang scene introduces us to The Mitchum Brothers, Cooper's formidable adversary, who eventually becomes his greatest allies in this dream layer. In a metaphor for the human condition under the influence of social media, these ladies stand bored as savage violence plays out around them. Bradley Mitchum begins his journey in The Return by threatening a man’s life and telling him to leave town and never come back. His brother Rodney just nearly kicked that man to death. The Mitchums believe Cooper is their mortal enemy. From here, the Mitchums will travel a short and intense emotional journey as we determine if the power of Cooper’s Golden Seed is more potent than the force of extreme negativity that has invaded his psyche.
<><><>
The Great Northern Key being sent back to Twin Peaks from Las Vegas is a critical milestone. The Great Northern Key is the first anchor point that connects Las Vegas to Twin Peaks. Las Vegas is linked in this part to the events in Buckhorn, which include the wedding ring in Major Briggs’s stomach. These archipelago narratives are eventually connected to this dream. Cooper must reclaim his agency. It will require fate, luck, and kindness to work its magic on the hearts of those around him, many of whom right now are set on killing him on sight.
D4
Part 5: Scene 7
The Version Layer: Twin Peaks, WA
(0:31:46-0:37:54) Local (4:22:43-4:28:51) Global Time
6m8s
PN: Something Is Wrong In Twin Peaks
In the RR Diner, Norma sits in a booth, entering receipts into a ledger by hand.
Shelly is behind the counter. Shelly’s daughter Becky arrives to deliver the bread. Norma’s face lights up as they smile at each other. Norma says, “Toad, bread’s here.” Becky and Toad greet each other warmly. Then, she walks to the counter to speak with her mother. Becky says, “I can’t stand this. I need some more money. I’m sorry.” Shelly shakes her head. Becky adds, “He’s looking for work.” Shelly says,” That’s a lot.” Becky says, “He will find a job.” Shelly digs into her tips and her purse and comes up with as much as she can give. Becky says, “Thanks, I love you.” Shelly says, “I love you too, Becky,” and brushes her hair from her face like a loving mother. Becky leaves and gets into Steven’s car, the high school graduate Mike Nelson “interviewed” earlier. Norma walks up to Shelly with a compassionate but sad look. She says, “Shelly, this is the third time she’s asked you for money in two weeks.” Shelly says, “I know.” Norma says, “If you don’t help her now, it’s going to be a lot harder to help her later.” They look at each other, and Shelly says, “We both know that tune, don’t we?” They hug and look out the window at Steven and Becky, who are parked in his convertible sports car in front of the RR.
Cut to Steven and Becky sitting with a red plush interior in his Camaro. His hand was on the headrest of Becky’s seat. He asks her, “How much money did we get?” Becky pulls it out to count and says, “$72.” Steven looks amazed. She tosses the money over to him, brushes the hair from her eyes, and looks forlorn. Steven says, “Hey, cheer up. I’m good for it.” He brushes the hair from her face and then looks back at the RR and sees that Norma and Shelly are watching them. He freaks out, reversing the car across the street. He turns off the engine and says, “Kiss me.” They look at each other. She kisses him passionately. He says, “And now I’m gonna take my girl out to dinner. Hey, I saved some for you. Want a taste?” He pulls out a small vial of powder. She sees how little remains in the vial and becomes angry, asking, “Did you take all that today?” He says, “Yeah...Why wouldn’t I? For my interviews. You know how nervous I get. C’mon. Besides, I got some great fucking feedback today.” He holds his hand out with the powder, which she sniffs, wipes her nose, and waves his hand away. They look at each other, and he says, “I want to tell you all about it at dinner. And in between, I’ll tell you how much I love you, and I’ll tell you how beautiful you are, and I’ll tell you how sexy you are, and those tits, how majestic they are, and that ass--give me a break.” They start laughing as the drug kicks in, and The Paris Sisters, “I Love How You Love Me” plays on the stereo. Becky stares into the sky. Her open eyes and smile are beautiful, and she is filled with the joy of being alive in this waking moment.
In this dream, Norma and Becky are traveling different story arcs. Norma is working out of corporate servitude and into the love she has always deserved. Shelly suffers under abstract forces of darkness, pulling her down through the love of her child, suffering an addiction in a co-dependent relationship that lives under the constant threat of violence. There is so much beauty in this RR scene. Norma was always a sweetheart, but she is a guardian angel for Shelly and Becky here in this dream layer.
Becky’s moment of bliss here in the car is magnificent. She is high and worshiped, and the wind lifts her up on the screen. This is one of the few moments of pure bliss in The Return, and it is like finding water in the desert on a blazing hot day.
A13
Part 5: Scene 8
The Version Layer: Las Vegas, NV
(0:37:54-0:39:27) Local (4:28:51-4:30:24) Global Time
1m33s
PN: White Lodge Plan
It’s closing time at the Lucky 7 Insurance Company. Cooper is facing the wrong way again in a crowded elevator, hugging the case files to his chest. The doors open, and everyone yells at him to get out of the way. Phil steers him out safely, appeasing the angering mob. We see the cowboy statue with the gun. Cooper stands holding his case files, staring at the statue. The night is falling. Later, it is darker, and Cooper still stands staring at the statue. Then, finally, he leans in to look at the pant leg, scrutinizing it.
Much of Cooper’s professional career was spent inside an FBI office doing this type of work: meetings, case files, coffee breaks, and briefings. This should be second nature to him, a good incubator to bring Cooper back to the agency. This incubator will work slowly, feeling like nothing is happening for a long time. We are about to experience a miracle of cinema, where going slow ends up moving fast.
F6
Part 5: Scene 9
The Version Layer: Twin Peaks, WA
(0:39:27-0:40:45) Local (4:30:24-4:31:42) Global Time
1m18s
PN: Hawk’s Investigation
Andy and Hawk are going through the case files. Andy eventually says, “Hawk? Have you found any Indians? Anywhere? I haven’t found any Indians.” Hawk looks at Andy, almost to determine if he’s taking the piss, and says, “No, Andy.”
In Twin Peaks Season Two, Cooper tells Hawk to come to find him if he ever goes missing.
B3
Part 5: Scene 10
The Version Layer: Twin Peaks, WA
(0:40:45-0:45:22) Local (4:31:42-4:36:19) Global Time
4m37s
PN: True Love Of Big Ed & Norma
Jacoby wears his bi-colored glasses, a red smoking jacket, with a ca’s hat. The alarm clock rings, and he says, “It’s seven o’clock. Do you know where your freedom is?” He winds up a gramophone that plays John Philips Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever.” He is running a live video podcast.
He says, “Coming to you live from Studio A, high atop the escarpments of Whitetail Peak, the roof, ruff, ruff, of the American Hindu Kush. This is Dr. Amp, doing the vamp for liberty, climbing the ramp to justice, and lighting the lamp of freedom.” He switches on a shadow box with a white Statue of Liberty. He is reading from a hand-written monologue. He says, “So, what’s on your mind tonight? I mean, you know I’m going to tell you what’s on mine. We’re sinking down deep in the mud and the fucks are at it again! The same vast global corporate conspiracy, different day. You can’t see it without a cosmic flashlight. Guess what? [pulls out flashlight with wings and a Dr. Amp logo] I’ve got one. Oh, yeah and it’s beam penetrates the ignatius rock of ignorance. It flips that rock over and there they are, exposed, wriggling, squirming, crawling on their bellies like foul maggots, frantically racing back to the cover of darkness that they so crave. Yeah, we’re coming for you.”
Cut to Jerry Horne in the forest, watching Jacoby’s show on a tablet. Jacoby continues his rant in the trailer, “Let’s just see what they’re cooking up today.” Jerry says, “I know what I’ll be cooking up.” He sparks a joint.
Cut back to Jacoby, he says, “Know the ingredients. Just read what’s on the box. In fact, read between the lines. What’s lurking in that toaster waffle, those muffins, that frozen children’s treat….”
Cut to Nadine, watching Jacoby with a smile and the patch over her eye.
Cut back to Jacoby, who continues, “Poison! Deadly poisons, that’s what’s there. And what’s waiting for you? Cancer! Leukemia! Autoimmune disorders! Pulmonary embolism! Warts! Psoriasis! Eczema! Cardiac Arrest! Where are the cops when we need them? Anorexia! Body-image bullshit! Microbial toxins! Bacterial toxins! Environmental toxins! Our air, our water, our Earth. The very soil itself! Our food! Our bodies poisoned! Poisoned!” He pauses to take a breath and a drink from a beaker with a stir stick. Then, he holds his hand up in a pause gesture and says, “That’s huckleberry extract and clean boiled water from the pure artesian springs of Whitetail Peak. Yeah!” He shows his middle finger to the camera, and his middle finger has a rubber hand on it with its middle finger up. The double fuck you.
Cut to Jerry Horne smoking and watching as Jacoby wraps up his rant for the night, “Fuck that acai berry shit from the Amazon.” Jerry laughs.
Cut back to Jacoby, who continues, “In the immortal words of Pete Seeger, ‘If I had a hammer.’ Well, guess what? [Holds up a hammer] I’ve got a hammer!” He pulls a release string and one of the golden shovels swings down into camera view. He smacks it with the hammer, and it rings out. He says, “You must see, hear, understand, and act. Act Now!”
Nadine smiles. Jacoby broadcasts an infomercial for his golden shovels. The commercial finds Jacoby standing outside. A tree is behind him. He says, “Friends, we all live in the mud. In the shit! Shovel your way out of the shit!” Through the miracle of commercial editing, he is now standing knee-deep in a shit pit. He shovels a load and looks back to the camera. A commercial transition reveals Jacoby standing above the hole with the golden shovel in his hand. He has a clicker with a chord in the other. He clicks the button, a bright light shines on him, and an electric humming starts. He says, “This is your shiny gold shovel. Two coats. Guaranteed. Shovel your way out of the shit and into the truth.”
Cut to Nadine smiling at this commercial.
Cut back to Jacoby, who says, “Dig yourself out of the shit--$29.99. That’s right. Only $29.99 plus shipping. Accept no substitutes.” The ad’s call to action reads: Order Now Only $29.99 plus S & H Dr. Amp’s Gold Shit-Diggin Shovel P.O. Box 479 Twin Peaks, WA allow 2-4 weeks for delivery.
This scene is another call to action for the forces of righteousness to gather strength in Cooper’s dormant soul. The Hammer of Justice striking the golden shovel of self-redemption echoes in key forthcoming scenes. The ringing tone will serve as the soundtrack to Cooper waking up to agency in this dream during Part 16. Jacoby uses his Cosmic Flashlight and Hammer of Justice to call for help in Cooper’s time of need. Jacoby becomes someone else entirely with the camera on. He seems at peace when he is painting his shovels, but on screen, he is full of abuse and poison. He directs outrage of the moment at easy, cliché targets.
Two primary tributaries run from this scene. One is a path fear for Jerry Horne in the dark woods of his cannabis-soaked sojourn. The other tributary leads Norma to sacrifice her life for the happiness of two different people, an act that begins with her satisfaction.
E9
Part 5: Scene 11
The Version Layer: Washington D.C.
(0:45:22-0:46:38) Local (4:36:19-4:37:35) Global Time
1m16s
PN: Blue Rose Investigation
Colonel Davis sits at a desk. Lieutenant Cynthia Knox) enters his office. She says, “We got another database hit on prints from Major Garland Briggs.” Colonel Davis looks up at her and says, “Major Garland Briggs. Alright. And how many is that?” Knox says, “This would be the sixteenth time.” Davis says, “Sixteen hits in what? Twenty five years? And where’d this one come from?” Knox says, “Police. Buckhorn South Dakota.” David shakes his head and says, “Another wild goose chase I’ll bet, but we gotta check it out.” He asks if she’s ever been to South Dakota. She laughs and says, “I hear it’s lovely this time of year.” Davis smiles and says, “And remember, if this is real--but it won’t be--but if it’s real, we have to alert the FBI.”
Knox stands at attention and salutes Davis. He hails back, and she smiles as she leaves his office, saying, “I’m booking the flight.” Davis says, “First class, Cindy.” She says, “Yeah, right.” Davis exhales, looking worried.
Here, we learn that Major Briggs had been operating in this dream before Cooper was injected into this trap. He’s left a trail at least fifteen times.
D5
Part 5: Scene 12
The Version Layer: Twin Peaks, WA
(0:46:38-0:50:54) Local (4:37:35-4:41:51) Global Time
4m16s
PN: Something Is Wrong In Twin Peaks
SN: Road House Band On Stage
Trouble is on stage playing “Snake Eyes,” a gritty instrumental blues song, and trouble is exactly what’s in the air in the Roadhouse tonight. Richard Horne is a dangerous-looking man with crazy eyes. He sits alone, smoking in a Roadhouse booth. He holds the cigarette up, ashing on the table. There is a no-smoking sign near his face on the wall. Three girls are sitting in the booth before him, and one shoots him an interested glance. He isn’t concerned with her right now. A Renault brother walks up and says, “I have to ask you to stop smoking. Put that cigarette out!” Richard says, “Make me.” The Renault brother tilts his head, and one of the girls turns around to stare at Richard, incredulous. Deputy Chad walks up, puts his hand on the Renault brother’s shoulder, and says, “I’ll take care of this.” Renault says, “Just make sure he stops smoking in here.” Chad looks at the man and says, “Give me a smoke.” Richard reaches into his pocket, hands him the pack, and says, “Keep the whole pack.” Chad takes it and says, “Thanks, buddy.” Then, he walks away and opens the Morley cigarette pack filled with money. Chad smiles, winks, clicks his tongue and then walks away. Richard continues smoking his cigarette while the band plays. The music grows more intense.
One of the girls turns around and asks Richard for a light. He tells her to come here. She sits next to him with a worried look on her face. He assaults her by grabbing her ferociously, his hands cupping her breasts. In shock, she squirms and says, “Hey!” He says, “Hey what?” Her friends look on, worried. Richard asks her name, and she says, “It’s Charlotte.” He says, “You wanna fuck me, Charlotte? You wanna fuck?” Charlotte says, “No. No, stop it!,” fighting to get away. Her friend intervenes and says, “Hey, leave her alone!” Richard looks at her, laughs, and says, “Little fucking smoking babies. Makes me laugh.” He grabs Charlotte by the throat and roars in her left ear, “I’m gonna laugh when I fuck you, bitch!” Charlotte cries while Trouble plays on.
Richard Horne is an agent of chaos in this dream, where Cooper’s memories are damaged and deliberately sabotaged. Like in the physical world, every action reacts. When we push on a door in the real world, there is a pause between the force exerted transferring to the door, and this space is where potential and kinetic motion meet to move energy from one object to another in time and space. Richard Horne’s apathy and dark impact could undermine Mr. C’s plans in this dream.
E10
Part 5: Scene 13
The Version Layer: Philadelphia, PA
(0:50:54-0:52:28) Local (4:41:51-4:43:25) Global Time
1m34s
PN: Blue Rose Investigation
Tammy Preston moons over a picture of young, handsome Dale Cooper. There are fingerprints up on her computer. She looks at a picture of Mr. C, holding them side by side. Tammy pulls up both sets of fingerprints on her computer. Something concerns her.
I believe Tammy Preston is a tulpa of Dale Cooper in this dream layer. Not only does she bear Cooper’s features (fair skin and dark hair), but she also seems to channel Cooper’s brilliant inspiration along with his meticulous investigative skill. Tammy Preston is Dale Cooper, divorced from the weakness of his Lancelot complex. Tammy has Cooper’s keen eye for detail. She catches glitches of error, alerting his dreaming mind. Also, Tammy Preston is the narrator of both of Mark Frost’s books, and only a true Tulpa of Dale Cooper can put together detailed case files. Mark’s books are the actual investigation between the scenes and a bit after we leave this dream layer.
There are technically four lines of investigation in this dream layer of The Return.
The Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Department
The Buckhorn, South Dakota PD and Coroner’s Office
The Blue Rose Task Force,
US Military Intelligence: For the minimum level of depth, the military gets into during The Return, I’ve bucketed it into the Buckhorn investigation.
All these lines of investigation will eventually merge into one, highlighting The Dreamer's move from a fractured psyche into a more synthesized one.
C11
Part 5: Scene 14
The Version Layer: Yankton Federal Prison, SD
(0:52:28-0:55:23) Local (4:43:25-4:46:20) Global Time
2m55s
PN: Black Lodge Plan
Mr. C sits quietly in his jail cell. The Warden enters, puts a phone in front of him, and then says, “One phone call.” Mr. C looks at him and says mechanically, “Thank you, Warden Murphy.” The Warden looks down at him, worried, then walks up the stairs. The guard punches numbers on a keypad and leaves the room. The Warden joins his men in the control room monitoring Mr. C, who seems fully aware of this as he stares into the camera. The Warden confirms they are recording. Mr. C says, “Now that everyone’s here, I will make my phone call. Now, who should I call? Should I call Mr. Strawberry?” At the mention of this name, the Warden’s face turns white. He becomes distraught. The Warden says, “What the hell?” Mr. C says, “No, I don’t think I’ll call Mr. Strawberry. I don’t think he’s taking calls.” The Warden’s hand comes up to his face and covers his mouth. Mr. C says, “I know. I know who to call.” He picks up the phone and starts punching keys rapidly. The prison alarms start blaring, and all the lights start flashing. No one knows what is happening or what he’s doing. The Warden asks, “Did he make a call? What number did he dial?” A cooking show appears on the screen monitoring Mr. C’s cell. The camera view is replaced by a man working in an industrial setting with wires and equipment all around him. Mr. C says, “The cow jumped over the moon,” then hangs up the phone. The alarms stop blaring, and the lights stop flashing. Then, finally, the Warden asks, “What’d this guy just do?” Mr. C stares into the camera menacingly.
In Mark Frost’s book The Final Dossier, we learn that Warden Murphy once ran the Ghostwood Prison, built near Glastonbury Grove in Twin Peaks. Whoever Mr. Strawberry was, and however harmful what happened to him was, it’s enough to strike mortal terror in the heart of this powerful man, Warden Murphy.
Corrupted backstories are how manipulation works in the world. Mr. C continues to dominate through corruption in this dream layer. Will it win him his prize? The unspoken final line of the nursery rhyme that Mr. C recites into the phone is, “The dish ran away with the spoon.” Mr. C is going for broke.
H1
Part 5: Scene 15
The Version Layer: Buenos Aires, Argentina
(0:55:23-0:55:58) Local (4:46:20-4:46:55) Global Time
35s
PN: Mystery
SN: Black Lodge Plan
We see a long shot of the obelisks in Buenos Aires. Cut to the same light bulb we saw earlier when Lorraine called here at the beginning of this Part Five. We move into the interior of the attic space. We see the box with the two lights in the bowl between the parallel lines. The lights blink twice with two beeping sounds, and the box morphs into a warped nugget of silver metal.
Silver is the metal of corruption in this dream.
Mr. C used the schematics he downloaded in the hotel room after he murdered Darya to find a way to exploit this prison's technology. He also sent a signal to the box in Argentina. His signal ended the counter-programming that Lorraine kicked off earlier in this Part. Mr. C will leave no strings to be found on any level of this multi-layered dream.
A14
Part 5: Scene 16
The Version Layer: Las Vegas, NV
(0:55:58-0:56:23) Local (4:46:55-4:47:20) Global Time
25s
PN: White Lodge Plan
Cooper stands outside the Lucky 7 Insurance building. He stares at the statue. It’s nighttime now. He touches the foot of the statue, feeling the contour of the metal. A police officer approaches him and says, “Sir, there’s no loitering here, Sir. Move it along, Champ.” Cooper doesn’t register the man’s presence. He is enraptured by the statue.
The Dreamer continues to dream the big dream, drawn towards the light but caught in the darkness.
Something large and powerful holds Cooper’s attention. Something bubbles up from the depths of Cooper’s psyche. What rough beast sloughs from the arid and radiated desert of New Mexico to the blood and money-soaked desert of Las Vegas?
Music
1. “The Flame”: Written and Performed by Johnny Jewel from the album Windswept
2. “Frank 2000”: Written by Angelo Badalamenti and David Lynch, Performed by Thought Gang
3. ‘I Love How You Love Me”: Written by Barry Mann and Larry Kolber, Performed by The Paris Sisters
4. “I Am (Old School Hip Hop Beat): Written and Performed by BluntedBeatz with samples from “Good Man”: Written by R. Saadiq and Laura Latrice Stinson Performed by Raphael Saadiq
6. “Stars and Stripes Forever” Written by John Phillip Sousa, Performed and Arranged by the U.S. Army Band
7. “Habit and Tabloid”: Written and Performed by Uniform
8. “Snake Eyes”: Written by Dean Hurley, Riley Lynch, and Alex Zhang Hungtai, Performed by Trouble
9. “Windswept”: Written and Performed by Johnny Jewel