Director:

David Lynch

Writers:

Mark Frost, David Lynch | 2 more credits »

Stars:

Kyle MacLachlan, Matt Battaglia, Laura Dern

by Mary Cox

“Part 18: What is your name?”

Anyone hoping for a satisfying conclusion to the series is going to be sorely disappointed as David Lynch has decided to leave us with yet another cliffhanger. After Agent Cooper and Diane manage to jump dimensions (or something) and after yet another awkward sex scene, we learn that the Fireman’s
aforementioned Richard and Linda are none other than Diane and Coop themselves. So much for my Richard Horne theory, right?

Again, Mike (The One-Armed Man) gives us the ultimate question and central theme of this season: is it future, or is it past? The episode ends abruptly with an uncertain conclusion. This seems to be the fate of all of the Blue Rose operatives. Once they get close enough to unraveling the mystery of Judy and
the Owl Cave Ring, their reality is pulled apart and reshaped by an unseen force. Consider both the fates of Major Briggs and Phillip Jeffries.

Unanswered questions: What the hell is up with Audrey? I have a theory that the Peaks world we know, where Cooper is still Cooper, and Laura is dead and wrapped in plastic, exists only in Audrey’s coma mind. I think that the symbol on the Owl Cave Ring is meant to reference the concept of either looping time or infinity, but what does that mean for Cooper? Who are Tina and Billy? The only good news about the ending of this episode is that it leaves open the possibility for a fourth season. This is highly unlikely, but hey, you never know what’s going to happen in another twenty-five years.

My takeaway here is still that the majority of the episodes this season (and possibly those from the first two seasons) are meant to be read as existing in a “dreamworld,” so to speak. From the all-tooconvenient ways Dougie escapes from disasters, leading all the way up to the too-perfect reunion of the characters right at the Twin Peaks sheriff office in “Part 17,” everything that went down was a part of someone’s dream. The question posed by Monica Bellucchi in “Part 14” does remain, though: “Who is the dreamer?” As I’ve mentioned before, this “false dream reality” storytelling device is something David Lynch has used in his past works pretty consistently. We’ve seen it as a major element in both
Mulholland Drive and Lost Highway. That absolutely could be what’s going on here as well.

Ultimately, if you want to try to figure out what the hell is going on: my recommendation that you take a break from Twin Peaks for a few weeks. When you’re ready, come back and revisit the series from start to finish (it goes without saying that you also have to include Fire, Walk With Me) and see what
you think Twin Peaks is really all about. We now (presumably) have all of the pieces of the puzzle, so it’s up to you to try and put it together to see the whole picture.
 

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“Mary Cox is an entertainment writer from the United States. Her hobbies include making good beer and bad decisions, watching drag queens fight on the internet, and overanalyzing everything. Mary one day hopes to be the person shouting “World Star” in the back of a Waffle House brawl video. She is currently tolerating life in Toronto. You can follow her on Twitter at @M_K_Cox”t