Twin Peaks School -Week 9 - The Return Part Nine

YOUR READING ASSIGNMENTS

[Twin Peaks] Chapter 17 Hour Nine "This Is The Chair"

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Class Agenda Week 9: “The Pieces Begin to Converge”

Twin Peaks School – Class Agenda for Part Nine of The Return

A welcoming and serious discussion based on JB Minton’s analysis of fragmentation, moral investigations, and the hidden mechanics of Cooper’s dream in Twin Peaks: The Return

• Part Nine is about information, but not necessarily understanding. JB Minton’s analysis suggests this episode marks a turning point in The Return, where multiple investigations—Cooper’s, the FBI’s, and Mr. C’s—begin to intersect yet remain just out of reach of resolution.

• Key Themes for Discussion:

  • The Nature of the Dream – How The Return deliberately disrupts causality.

  • Who is in Control? – Mr. C’s next moves and the tightening grip of fate.

  • The Search for Meaning – The Blue Rose Task Force’s investigation as a reflection of our own.

  • The Awakening of Bobby Briggs – A moment of hope in a fractured world.

  • Sound as a Guide – The humming in the Great Northern and other resonant tones.

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Scene-by-Scene Breakdown & Discussion Questions

1. Mr. C’s Contingency Plan: Is He Always One Step Ahead?

📍 Key Idea: Even after death, Mr. C is in control—or is he?

• Mr. C, bloodied and barely alive, follows a contingency plan, using a red handkerchief as a marker.

• Minton describes this as a pre-programmed fail-safe, suggesting Mr. C always knew a pushback force would challenge him.

• His plan moves forward, but his expression suggests irritation as if something has not gone according to plan.

Discussion Questions:

1. If Mr. C is in control, why does he seem annoyed by how events unfold?

2. Does the red handkerchief represent a planned step or a reaction to an unexpected failure?

3. Minton argues that Mr. C and Cooper are “hobbled” versions of the same person, both missing critical aspects of themselves. What does this mean for their eventual reunion?

🔹 Challenging Statement: “Mr. C believes he is in control, but he is as much a pawn in the dream as Cooper.”

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2. The Blue Rose Investigation & The Viewer’s Role

📍 Key Idea: The FBI is circling the truth but never quite reaching it—just like us.

• Gordon Cole receives a call about Major Briggs’ reappearance, and the Blue Rose Task Force shifts focus to Buckhorn, SD.

• Minton emphasizes that the viewer is the real detective, as Gordon, Albert, and Tammy remain several steps behind the narrative we’ve already seen unfold.

• The FBI characters exist on a higher layer of the dream but are still limited in what they can see.

Discussion Questions:

1. Why does The Return give the viewer more information than the investigators?

2. Minton argues that some characters—like Gordon and Diane—can move between “layers” of the dream. Does this mean they are more accurate than others?

3. Does the backward numbering on the FBI jet suggest they are inside the dream structure itself?

🔹 Challenging Statement: “The FBI is not investigating a case—they are investigating the structure of the dream itself.”

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3. Dougie Jones: A Man Without a Past

📍 Key Idea: The absence of history is as meaningful as its presence.

• The Fusco detectives confirm that Dougie Jones had no record before 1997, adding to the growing realization that he is not real.

• Bushnell Mullins’ protective rage suggests a moral force protecting Cooper, even as the world doubts his reality.

• Cooper, meanwhile, is drawn to sound once again, mesmerized by an American flag and the footsteps of a woman in red heels.

Discussion Questions:

1. What does it mean that Dougie Jones has no history? Does this confirm he is a fabricated identity?

2. Minton highlights the use of sound as a guide in The Return. Is Cooper beginning to follow these signals more consciously?

3. What is the significance of the American flag at this moment? Is it a call back to Cooper’s moral core?

🔹 Challenging Statement: “Dougie Jones does not exist—he is the dream’s way of keeping Cooper sedated.”

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4. Bobby Briggs & The Chair: A Legacy Reawakened

📍 Key Idea: Major Briggs was waiting for this moment to happen.

• Bobby, Hawk, and Sheriff Truman visit Betty Briggs, who reveals that Major Briggs predicted this encounter decades ago.

• The hidden metal tube inside “the chair” contains critical instructions, proving that Major Briggs was operating on a different level of awareness.

• Minton describes this as one of the few moments of genuine warmth and resolution in The Return.

Discussion Questions:

1. Why did Major Briggs know Bobby would eventually take on this role? Is this fate or careful planning?

2. Minton suggests that Major Briggs is one of the few truly “good” characters in The Return. What does this mean for his role in Cooper’s story?

3. Is Bobby finally becoming the person his father always believed he could be?

🔹 Challenging Statement: “Major Briggs did not predict the future—he designed it.”

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5. The Great Northern’s Humming: A Sound From the Past

📍 Key Idea: Sound as a bridge between realities.

• Ben Horne and Beverly search for the source of a mysterious humming noise inside the Great Northern.

• Minton connects this hum to other resonant tones in The Return—the Red Room, the FBI plane, and the ringing in Dougie’s ears.

• Ben is drawn to Beverly but resists—suggesting that this frequency is not just calling to Cooper but to others as well.

Discussion Questions:

1. Why does The Return use sound as a recurring motif? What does it signal?

2. If this hum is connected to Cooper’s journey, does it suggest that Ben is also experiencing remnants of the past?

3. Why does Ben stop himself from acting on his attraction to Beverly? Has he changed, or is something else holding him back?

🔹 Challenging Statement: “The humming sound is a beacon calling Cooper home.”

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6. The Mystery of Major Briggs & Hastings’ Testimony

📍 Key Idea: Hastings and Ruth found something they weren’t supposed to find.

• William Hastings confirms that he and Ruth Davenport entered another dimension and met Major Briggs, who was “hibernating.”

• Hastings describes an attack by unknown figures, leading to Ruth’s death and Major Briggs’ decapitation.

• Minton suggests that this dream actively covers its tracks, eliminating figures who uncover too much.

Discussion Questions:

1. What does “hibernating” mean in this context? Was Major Briggs waiting for the right moment to act?

2. Does the attack on Hastings and Ruth confirm that “outside forces” are policing the dream?

3. Is this proof that Cooper is not the only one trying to escape?

🔹 Challenging Statement: “The deeper someone digs into the mystery, the more likely they are to be erased.”

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Final Reflection: Are We Any Closer to the Truth?

• Minton argues that the viewer’s role is shifting—from passive observer to active participant.

• Like the characters, are we simply collecting information with no way to resolve it?

🔹 Final Thought Exercise:

• If you were a character in The Return, would you continue searching for answers—or would you accept the dream as reality?

Next class… "Part Ten”

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