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Twin Peaks
Episode 5:
"Cooper's Dreams"
TV episode
Written by Mark Frost
Directed by Leslie Linka Glatter
Original air date: May 10, 1990
Page last updated 1/5/2022
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Clues are found in Jacque’s apartment
and Cooper finds a surprise in his room; Audrey gets a job;
James and Donna conspire with Maddy; Hank comes home; the log
speaks.
Read the episode transcription at Glastonberry.net
Didja Know?
For the titles of the Twin Peaks TV episodes, I have taken
the unique approach of using both the episode numbers, which were
the only titles given the scripts by series creators David Lynch and
Mark Frost, and the translated German titles of the episodes that
were assigned when the series aired in that country. Frequent
readers of PopApostle know I like the aesthetic of actual episode
titles, but I also wanted to honor the simple numbering used by
Lynch and Frost, hence the expanded titles presented in these
studies.
Notes from the Log Lady intros
When cable channel
Bravo
obtained the rights to air reruns of the Twin Peaks
in 1993, David Lynch directed all-new introductions to each
episode featuring the Log Lady, portrayed by original
actress Catherine E. Coulson. These intros also appear as
options on the DVD and Blu-ray collections of the series.
The Log Lady remarks, "I play my part on my stage." This may
be an allusion to a quote from Shakespeare's MacBeth:
"Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and
frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more: it
is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
signifying nothing."
"I play my part on my stage. I tell what I can to form
the perfect
answer. But that answer cannot come before all are ready to
hear.
So I tell what I can to form the perfect answer.
"Sometimes my anger at the fire is evident. Sometimes it is
not
anger, really. It may appear as such, but could it be a
clue?
The fire I speak of is not a kind fire."
Didja Notice?
This episode opens on the morning of Wednesday, March 1,
1989.
At 2:50 on the Blu-ray, notice that Cooper is apparently
still reading Great Expectations, an 1861 novel by Charles
Dickens, as seen previously in
Episode 1:
"Traces to
Nowhere". Notice also that he has what appears to be an FBI
coffee mug sitting on the night stand which he later
carries down with him to the Great Northern dining room for
his morning coffee.
Discussing the visiting Icelanders with Cooper, Trudy
remarks that she hopes the herring holds out. Pickled
herring (and other styles of serving the fish) is popular in
Iceland.
At 4:11 on the Blu-ray, notice that Trudy gives an amused
looked behind Cooper's back as Audrey joins him once again
for breakfast.
Notice that the table behind Cooper at breakfast is occupied
by what appear to be four Native Americans.
Audrey tells Cooper she is 18 years old. But the Twin
Peaks collectible card set has her birthday listed as
August 15, 1972. But
"Diane..." The
Twin Peaks Tapes of Agent Cooper
has her birthdate as
August 24th. Not only is the date different, but if she
was born in 1972, she would be only 16 at the time the
series takes place. Was Audrey lying so he wouldn't think
she was too young? Or is the card set just wrong?
At 5:17 on the Blu-ray, notice that a layout of the proposed
Ghostwood Estates is presented on a tripod behind Ben's
desk. Below the "Ghostwood" heading is a banner reading "A
project of Horne Development Corp."
At 6:02 on the Blu-ray, Jerry's collar pin appears to be a
silver Cupid.
The blood on Leo's shirt is revealed to be AB-Negative,
Jacques Renault's blood.
At 8:32 on the Blu-ray, Cooper asks Andy to hold his donut
and coffee for a minute while he pulls down a hidden copy of
Flesh World magazine from the ceiling lamp in
Jacques' apartment. Just seconds later, notice that Andy
absentmindedly takes a bite of Cooper's donut and takes a
drink of his coffee!
At 8:59 on the Blu-ray, notice that there is a bong and a
pair of droopy eye spring glasses sitting on a table in
Jacques' apartment. At 9:58, we also see a chessboard
covered with a bunch of popcorn
and orange rinds scattered all over the table.
Judging from the cover, the Flesh World
issue found in Jacques' apartment appears to be the same
issue found in Laura's safe deposit box in
Episode 0B: "Northwest
Passage". Yet the photo of Leo Johnson's
truck in it is completely different! And why would he send a
photo of his truck to the magazine anyway? Also, is it just
me, or does the color photo look as if Leo's truck has
Christmas lights strewn across the wheel well and hood? |
 |
 |
Leo's Flesh World
truck photo in this episode |
Leo's Flesh World
truck photo in
Episode 0B: "Northwest
Passage" |
Notice that above the photo of Leo's truck in
Flesh World, an unrelated swinger's ad
begins with "Ladies cum first"..! Appropriate for a
magazine of this type, but kind of risqué for a prime time
network TV show in the early 1990s! The producers probably
figured they could get away with it because it appears for
only a second and on only a small portion of the
visible page.
Bobby comments on Shelly's mistake in dropping out of the
11th grade to marry Leo.
During the phone call with Leo, Shelly remarks to him, "You
know how paranoid you get when you've been popping bennies
on the road a couple of days." "Bennies" is a reference to
Benzedrine, the trade name of an amphetamine with
psychoactive properties.
At 13:02 on the Blu-ray, there is a highway mileage sign,
right next to Big Ed's Gas Farm, for
various upcoming sites, but
it is too blurry to make out. There is also an advertising
sign to "Ski Mt. Waterman, 6 miles ahead." This indicates
the shot is from on location in the San Gabriel Mountains of
California, as that is where Mt. Waterman is located. The
car Ed is working on in this scene is a 1955
Buick Special.
At 13:14 on the Blu-ray, notice James' Harley parked at the
Gas Farm.
The car Norma drives to Big Ed's Gas Farm is only seen in
partial shots, but it's the RR station wagon seen in later
episodes (not the one used in
Fire Walk With Me),
a 1960 Ford Country Squire.
Ed tells Norma that Nadine is at the patent attorney's in
Fairvale. As far as I can tell there is no real world town
called Fairvale within a less-than-a-day driving distance
from the area of Twin Peaks.
At 13:34 on the Blu-ray, the log-hauling trailer behind Ed and Norma
is seen to be a
Whit-Log Trailer.
Notice that Emory Battis has a lot of toy or model cars in
his office at Horne's Department Store. He must be a car
aficionado.
James states that his father was a musician who ran out on
him and his mom when he was 10. In
Episode 1: "Traces
to Nowhere", he told Dr. Hayward that his father
died when he was 10. Both incidents could be true.
In Jacques' apartment, besides the photo of Jacques' log cabin in the woods, there
is a postcard of a restroom built into a giant log segment
and a photo of Chickita's Sex Parady, a real world sex shop
in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
At 19:22 on the Blu-ray, a can of
Campbell's soup is seen
sitting on a table in Jacques' apartment.
At 19:55 on the Blu-ray, the shot of the
Flesh World page with Laura's photo does not
have the associated blurb with it that Cooper has just read
out loud.
Cooper claims the red drapes in his dream were
representative of the red drapes they find in Jacques'
mountain cabin, where the initial assaults against Laura and Ronette
took place. But, we later learn that the red drapes are part
of the "waiting room" of the Black Lodge in
Episode 30:
"Beyond Life and Death".
When Maddie comes into the RR Diner to meet with Donna and
James, James gets her a Cherry
Coke
at her request. But then they only talk for a minute and
leave without her having taken a single sip!
Maddie reveals that the day before Laura died, she (Maddie)
had a feeling that Laura was in trouble. This may be an
indication that Maddie has certain psychic powers as well,
just like Laura and Sarah. In later episodes, she has a
couple of visions as well.
In the scene at the RR, we see that Hank has been in the
next booth listening in on the collusion of James, Donna,
and Maddie. But he never uses the information in any later
episodes.
The small TV in the kitchen of the RR is a Quasar. This was
an electronics brand at the time, currently owned by
Panasonic but not in use.
Normally a psychiatric session in film and television
depicts the doctor sitting upright in a chair and the
patient in a reclined, relaxed position.
During Dr. Jacoby's counseling session with the Briggs family,
ironically, the Briggs' are sitting upright on a couch while
Jacoby is reclined and relaxed with his hands resting behind
his head!
Dr.
Jacoby is wearing a tie that appears to have an image of a
hunter and his dog on it. He also appears to be wearing a
bowling shirt with someone else's name on it. The name is
partially covered and only what looks like "rnie" is seen.
Maybe it says "Ernie", as in Ernie Niles, who appears in
season two and is Norma's stepfather and an ex-con. Maybe he
was formerly a patient of Dr. Jacoby and left his bowling
shirt in the office after a session, so Jacoby acquired it!
During the family counseling, Bobby makes a sarcastic remark
about the fact that his father has killed people and the
major defends himself that it was during wartime. Most
likely Major Briggs is referring to service during the
United States' involvement in the Vietnam War from
1962-1973. Bobby's bringing up his father's
killing may be an indication that he himself is feeling
guilt over shooting and killing Deer Meadow Deputy Cliff
Howard, as depicted in
Fire Walk With Me.
During his one-on-one session with Dr. Jacoby, notice that
Bobby plays with the zipper on the cuff of his jacket.
The sidearm of choice of Sheriff Truman and his deputies (as
seen when they approach the Log Lady's cabin) is a
Smith
& Wesson Model 10.
The sweater worn by the Log Lady here is the same one she
wears in all of the first season "Log Lady Intros".
The Log Lady has a number of old or antique items on her
porch and in her cabin, such as old lumber saws, a butter
churn, metal milk canisters, old wooden snowshoes, an ice
box, a cast iron stove, a grandfather clock, and a wagon
wheel.
There is also a dreamcatcher hanging in the entryway. A
dreamcatcher is a small, webbed, willow-wood hoop decorated
with feathers and other sacred items, believed by a number
of Native American peoples to trap bad dreams and allow only
the good ones to pass through to the owner.
There is an owl statue on the mantle above the fireplace in
the Log Lady's cabin. Notice that the fireplace itself is
boarded over and several fire extinguishers are visible in
locations throughout the house. She may be constantly on
guard for fire due to the supernatural aspect that it seems
to have in the Twin Peaks universe and the fact
that fire killed her husband.
The Log Lady's cabin appears to be quite small. Notice that
what looks like her bed is in the room with her dining
table.
It's odd that Cooper is able to "see" much more than the
average individual and generally easily accepts what others
consider strange, but he seems to have some difficulty
reading and accepting the Log Lady during the first season
of the series.
It's clear the Log Lady has been expecting Truman, Cooper,
Hawk, and Dr. Hayward and she tells them they are two days
late. Two days previous would have been Monday, February 27,
the day of Laura Palmer's funeral, at which she was present.
The Log Lady says, "Fire is the devil, hiding like a coward
in the smoke." This may be the meaning of the "fire walk
with me" phrase used by denizens of the Black Lodge...they
are calling on the devil.
At 29:42 on the Blu-ray, we can see that the Log Lady has a
wedding band on her left hand, in addition to the two rings
she wears on her right. These are seen in the "Log Lady
Intros" as well.
Hawk seems to prompt the Log Lady by saying, "The wood holds
many spirits, doesn't it Margaret?" At this point she picks
up her log and tells Cooper he can ask it now. Was Hawk
referring specifically to the log when he said "the wood
holds many spirits"? Or was he referring to wood in general?
I have speculated that the log holds the spirit of the Log
Lady's husband, but maybe it actually holds many spirits? On the other hand, it does seem that Hawk may be
speaking of wood in general, as witnessed in the second
season when Josie's spirit is hinted at haunting the wooden
structure of the Great Northern.
After the Log Lady
picks up the log and indicates that Cooper can ask it his
questions, he asks it what it saw the night Laura Palmer
was killed. Notice that after he asks the question, the Log
Lady quickly pats her hand on the log and whispers, "Shhh,
I'll do the talking." I had not noticed the "shh" before and
had assumed her statement of "I'll do the talking" was
simply said to Cooper and the others. But, the hand pat and
the "shh" imply she is speaking to the log!
The song that plays over-and-over on the record player in
Jacques' cabin is "Into the Night", performed by Julee
Cruise, with lyrics by David Lynch.
At 34:41 on the Blu-ray, notice that Waldo's birdcage
actually has his name on it.
At 34:48 on the Blu-ray, notice that there is a whip draped
off of the table holding the record player.
The One-Eyed Jacks poker chip with a missing chunk that
falls out of the cuckoo clock refers back to the small piece
of poker chip that was found in Laura Palmer's stomach in
the autopsy (Episode 3:
"Rest in Pain").
Why were several $1000 poker chips from One-Eyed Jacks
stuffed into the cuckoo clock in Jacques' cabin? Jacques was
employed at One-Eyed Jack's as a blackjack dealer, and Laura
and Ronette were employed there as prostitutes (it would seem).
It would probably be rather difficult for poor high school
girls to get away with $1000 chips, but probably hard for
Jacques as well. Possibly, Leo won the chips while gambling
with his drug-running earnings.
At 35:25 on the Blu-ray Josie is seen sitting in the dark in
Ben's office. But a few minutes later, Ben and Catherine go
to his office for a one-on-one and Josie is nowhere to be
seen. Then she's back again to meet him there shortly after
that!
The party for the Icelandic business contingent at the Great
Northern is held in the Timber Room, where we've seen Agent
Cooper take his breakfast.
The greeter at the party is holding a guest list
with two small Icelandic flags attached to it.
As Pete and Catherine enter the party, the Icelanders are
singing a song in Icelandic. I can't identify the real song,
but it seems to have the same rhythm as "Home on the Range"!
The waitress Trudy is seen to be playing the piano for this
song.
Major Briggs comments to Einar, head of the Icelandic
business contingent, that his people must still hold a
vestigial interest in the legends and folklore of ancient
Iceland. Einar seems a bit bemused as he responds,
"Vestigial. Absolutely." In reality, Icelandic belief in
much of the country's folklore and mythology is still
strong, with farmers and even road construction crews
observing respect for the stone "homes" of trolls, gardeners
building tiny homes for elves, etc., so Einar's bemusement
may come from the fact that an Icelander's respect for
folklore is much more than vestigial. Major Briggs may have
brought up the topic due to his own work with the government
in regards to the mysterious woods around Twin Peaks (as
revealed in season two and in
The Secret
History of Twin Peaks).
Jerry tries to convince his Icelandic goddess Heba that her
name is an American figure of speech, exclaiming, "Heba!
Heba!" He is referring to the phrase "Hubba! Hubba!" used,
usually by American males, to express appreciation for the
looks of a member of the opposite sex.
As Leland walks into the party at 36:43 on the Blu-ray, it
looks as if he may have cut himself shaving. Notice a small
white dot of paper covering the left side of his chin.
While speaking with some of the Icelanders at the party, Ben
remarks that he travelled through their country once,
calling it beautiful, but "not many trees". Although Iceland
was once covered with forests in historical times, it
suffered deforestation due to cutting of trees for firewood
and timber, and now little forestation remains in place. Of
course, this might be quite shocking to someone from Twin
Peaks. A bit later, Pete seems to think the entire country
of Iceland is above the timberline, but this is not strictly
true; the timberline is the edge of where trees can grow,
due to the environment, such as cold or lack of sufficient
moisture.
When Ben tells the irked Catherine he will meet her in his
office in two minutes, she retorts, "Hell hath no fury..."
The phrase comes from the paraphrasing
of a line from William Congreve's 1697 play, The
Mourning Bride: "Heaven has no rage like love to hatred
turned, Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned." The more
well-known paraphrase in full is "Hell hath no fury like a
woman scorned."
After Ben tells Catherine to give him two minutes to break away
from the party, he approaches an off-screen person, saying,
"Ah, Thor. I've been meaning to ask you. Are you familiar
with the work of Knut Hamsun?" Knut Hamsun was a Norwegian
writer and winner of the 1920 Nobel Prize in literature; he
was later criticized for his support of Nazi Germany and
Chancellor Hitler.
Alone in his office with Catherine, Ben complains of her
dumping her Dom Pérignon on his shoe.
Dom
Pérignon is a premier brand of Champagne.
After their kiss, Ben offers Catherine a breath mint. I
suppose he found her to have bad breath at that moment!
Possibly her breath may reek of alcohol, as she is seen
drinking several glasses of champagne and Pete even warned
her earlier to "go easy on the sauce tonight". The
breath mint case looks like it may be of the
Tic Tac
brand.
If you look closely in the background at 41:05 on the
Blu-ray, you can see Audrey enter the Timber Room and hide
behind the totem pole to observe. She can be seen hiding
back there in the distance in several shots.
For unexplained reasons, dance music suddenly starts playing
during Jerry's speech at the party, leading to another
Leland breakdown. Who started the music? It wasn't Leland,
he was among the crowd listening to Jerry's speech. Maybe
Audrey set it to play earlier on a brief time delay as a way of messing with her father's party, just
before sneaking in and hiding behind the totem pole; this
might explain why we see her crying when we finally get a
close-up of her a minute later...she did not intend her
prank to have the effect on Leland that it had.
At 42:28 on the Blu-ray, a photo of Laura and Donna together
is seen on the phone stand in the Palmer house.
While Maddie is on the phone with Donna, we can hear Sarah
upstairs calling for Leland and asking, "Leland, where'd you
go?" This might imply that Leland snuck away to attend
the Icelander event at the Great Northern without telling
her.
At 44:23 on the Blu-ray, Leo's pick-up is a
Ford
F-250.
After Leo pulls up to his house in his pick-up, he pulls two
gas cans out of from the under-house storage. This is a
foreshadowing of his arson of the Packard Mill in
Episode 7: "The Last Evening".
After beating up Leo, Hank warns him only to do what he's told
or next time he'll watch him take "your little chippy apart
before I kill you." "Chippy" is a slang term for
"prostitute", so Hank is presumably making a derogatory reference to Leo's wife,
Shelly.
Lucy is not seen in this entire episode. In the following
episode (Episode 6:_"Realization Time"), Cooper
asks her if she's feeling ok, remarking that she was out
sick "yesterday". This is an early indication of her
pregnancy, which we will learn about in
Episode 7: "The Last Evening".
The gun Cooper draws as he realizes someone is waiting for
him inside his hotel room is a Smith & Wesson Model 629
Snub.
Notes from the audio commentary by director Leslie
Linka Glatter
According to Glatter, Cooper does not see the copy of
Flesh World magazine hidden above a light on the
ceiling, but senses something is there.
Unanswered Questions
Why is Dr. Hayward along for the hike to Jacques' cabin in
the woods?
Memorable Dialog
see you later, Audrey.wav
Twin Peaks' best and brightest.wav
we never want to hurt anyone.wav
Harry, you're all right.wav
I had a feeling that Laura was in trouble.wav
our folks were always telling us how much alike we were.wav
tune in tomorrow.wav
they move so slowly.wav
my log does not judge.wav
the owls won't see us in here.wav
shut your eyes and you'll burst into flames.wav
the fish aren't running.wav
my log saw something.wav
fire is the devil.wav
the wood holds many spirits.wav
music in the air.wav
go easy on the sauce.wav
Heba!
Heba!.wav
I want to cook for you.wav
above the timber line.wav
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