Didja Know?

 

The so-called "third season" of Twin Peaks aired during the summer of 2017 on the Showtime premium cable television network. All 18 episodes of the series were written by Mark Frost and David Lynch and directed by David Lynch. Lynch directed the series as if it were one long movie, then edited it into 18 ~1-hour episodes (running times vary).

 

While the original TV series was based on the format of the prime-time soap operas that were popular at the time (1990), the new, "limited event" series is based on the season-long "prestige TV" storytelling that is popular in television dramas today.

 

The new series takes place about 25 years after the events of the final episode of the original series, Episode 29: "Beyond Life and Death". The series does not answer all the questions about the characters left behind in that episode, but most of those that were not are addressed in the novel that followed this series, The Final Dossier by Mark Frost.

 

The series' official title is just Twin Peaks, but Showtime aired it as Twin Peaks: The Return, to differentiate the new episodes from those of the original series, which it also aired in the months leading up to the new series.

 

In each case, the episode's title is derived from a line of dialog in the episode. These are the titles that were presented in the Showtime description each week and are also on the Blu-ray boxed set of the series. 

 

The production company of the series is Rancho Rosa Partnership. The logo colors change for each episode. The company logo features an RR design, making one think of the RR Diner in Twin Peaks. Is there any particular significance to this juxtaposition? A housing tract in Las Vegas is also called Rancho Rosa Estates in several episodes and it has the same RR logo as the production company. And when the series was in pre-production, in order to keep things under wraps from fans, it was referred to as Rancho Rosa. Mark Frost has said the name is a private reference to one of this favorite films (probably 1981's True Confessions which has a housing development called Rancho Rosa; the film is loosely based on the 1947 Black Dahlia murder case, which has interested both Frost and Lynch in the past).

 

This episode is dedicated to the memory of Catherine Coulson, the actress who played the Log Lady. She died of cancer shortly after filming of the season completed.

 

Characters appearing or mentioned in this episode

 

Agent Cooper

Laura Palmer

The Fireman

Richard (no last name given, mentioned only)

Linda (no last name given, mentioned only)

Joe

Lawrence Jacoby

Sam Colby (dies in this episode)

Bittner (security guard)

Tracey Barberato (dies in this episode)

Ben Horne

Beverly Paige

Mrs. Houseman (mentioned only)

Jerry Horne

Lucy Brennan

Deputy Andy Brennan

Wally Brando Brennan (in photo only)

insurance salesman (unnamed)

Sheriff Frank Truman (mentioned only)

Sheriff Harry Truman (mentioned only)

Mr. C (Cooper's doppelganger)

Robby (shotgun man)

Otis

Buella

Ray Monroe

Darya

the experiment (glass box apparition, may be Judy?)

Marjorie Green

Armstrong (Marjorie Green's dog)

Ruth Davenport (deceased)

Officer Olson

Officer Douglas

Barney (mentioned only)

Darlene (mentioned only)

Hank Fillmore

Harvey (mentioned only)

Chip (Barney's brother, mentioned only)

Coroner Constance Talbot

Detective Dave Macklay

Major Briggs (deceased)

Log Lady

Deputy Chief Hawk

Bill Hastings

Phyllis Hastings

Morgans (friends of the Hastings, mentioned only)

George Bautzer (mentioned only)

Detective Don Harrison

Betty (Bill Hastings' assistant, mentioned only) 

 

 

Didja Notice?

 

The opening titles of this first episode of the season are slightly different from those in the following episodes. This one includes additional images of places and events in the town of Twin Peaks.

 

The opening scene (before the opening titles roll) is an edited version of Cooper and Laura's meeting in the Red Room in the final episode of the original series, Episode 29: "Beyond Life and Death", where Laura tells him, "I'll see you again in 25 years." 

 

The opening image in the opening titles is of a mountaintop covered with trees. If you look closely, you can see that it is not a pristine nature scene; there is a tall, chain-link fence on the top, with a concrete bridge that is part of a road or parking lot and the back of a building is just visible through the trees. It might be the back side of the Great Northern Hotel (Salish Lodge) or some other site. Or possibly the location of Listening Post Alpha (SETI Array 7-1) on Blue Pine Mountain, as mentioned in The Secret History of Twin Peaks. In the real world, the site appears to be the lower observation deck of Snoqualmie Falls, the stand-in for White Tail Falls next to the Great Northern in the series; so possibly in the Twin Peaks universe, we're seeing an observation deck for White Tail Falls.

 

A character who appears identical to the Giant advises Cooper. In the closing credits, actor Carel Struycken is credited only as ??????? and remains that way until Part 14: "We Are Like the Dreamer", where he is referred to as the Fireman. It remains unknown whether the character is the same one Cooper called the Giant in the original series.

 

All the characters in the Black Lodge (the Fireman, Cooper, Laura, Mike, etc.) who appear in the new episodes are visibly older now, about 25 years older, than they were in the original series. Of course, this is because the actors are 25 years older, but it also implies that time proceeds normally in the Black Lodge. It is interesting to note that when we finally see BOB again (in Part 5: "Case Files" and later episodes) he appears to be the same age he was before; this is because actor Frank Silva died in 1995 and his appearances here are all borrowed images from the original series.

 

The Fireman tells Cooper to listen to the sounds coming from what appears to be an old phonograph speaker (though no record is seen playing). He says, "It is in our house now." The sounds are kind of sound like an insect rubbing its legs (or mandibles?) together. In Part 8: "Gotta Light?", a strange creature that looks half-insect and half-amphibian crawls inside the mouth of a young woman. It may be that this creature was Judy and that she may also have gotten inside the Fireman's home (the White Lodge?).

 

The Fireman also tells Cooper to remember "430" and "Richard and Linda. Two birds with one stone." This seems to refer to the 430 miles Cooper and Diane will drive in Part 18: "What is Your Name?" and how they have seemingly taken on the new identities of Richard and Linda overnight there.

 

At 6:18 on the Blu-ray, Jacoby's pick-up truck appears to be an approximately 1984 Toyota model.

 

Lawrence Jacoby is seen to live in a trailer in the woods off a dirt road. According to The Final Dossier, it is located near the peak of White Tail Mountain.

 

A man named Joe delivers a shipment of shovels to Jacoby. Joe drives a 1973 Ford F-350 pick-up. One of the rear backup indicator lights is out. Oddly, the truck does not appear to have any license plate on front or back.

 

    At 7:04 on the Blu-ray, notice that Jacoby has an old TV set sitting on top of a metal cabinet outside his trailer. It looks as if a pair of wires or cords lead from it into a window of the trailer, perhaps providing power and antenna?

    What may be a hot water heater is seen mounted outside the trailer, with a plastic water pipe rising from the top and possibly going inside the trailer.

    An Alpenrose milk crate is seen outside the trailer. Alpenrose is a dairy in Portland, Oregon. 

 

Jacoby is seen to still wear his classic red-and-blue-lensed glasses.

 

At 8:30 on the Blu-ray, the Chrysler Building is seen among the skyscrapers of New York City.

 

At 12:48 on the Blu-ray, the security guard outside the door of the glass box room has a badge identifying him as Bittner. He is wearing a Motorola walkie-talkie.

 

The coffee cups Tracey brings to Sam appear to have a Z logo on them. As far as I can tell, this is a fictitious logo.

 

Sam has what appears to be a bonsai tree on the table next to the couch in the glass box room.

 

It seems as if Ben Horne may have moved his office to another room in the Great Northern from where it was before. It seems too drastically different to have simply been remodeled. The totem painting on the wall behind the desk is the same, but the main entry doors no longer open into a hallway, but into another outer office for his secretary. A new set of double doors is also on the wall behind his desk and the fireplace that used to be on the wall opposite the main door is no longer there.

 

A photo of Whitetail Falls is on the wall next to Ben's desk. A different Indian rug from the one seen in the original series is on the floor.

 

When Jerry asks Ben if he's banging his new secretary yet, Ben disgustedly says, "Oh, Jerry! R-E-S-P-E-C-T." He is likely quoting from Aretha Franklin's hit 1967 feminist R&B song "Respect". Jerry follows it up with "Sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me..." another line from the song.

 

Jerry goes on to tell Ben, "Swimming in my mind at this time, literally, is my new hydroponic indica sativa hybrid, a touch of the mythic AK-47 by way of the Amsterdam express." Cannabis indica and Cannabis sativa are the two species of cannabis, with hybrids of the two constantly being bred by growers. AK-47 is a strain of hybrid cannabis. "Amsterdam express" is a reference to cannabis sold in the city of Amsterdam, Netherlands.

 

Ben warns Jerry, "...a prophet is without honor who eats his own profits." This appears to be an original aphorism by Ben.

 

Jerry explains to Ben that his eating the infused banana bread and jam is R&D (Research and Development).

 

Jerry says his new legally-sanctioned enterprise is tripling their revenue. The state of Washington voted to legalize marijuana in 2012.

 

Ben asks Jerry if the knit hat he is wearing was their mother's. We don't hear the answer.

 

The Twin Peaks Sheriff's Station has a new sign, similar to the original.
New sign	Old sign

 

At 18:26 on the Blu-ray, the name plate on Lucy's desk indicates her last name is Brennan, informing us she did indeed marry Andy sometime after the events of Episode 29: "Beyond Life and Death". Lucy uses a pair of Dell monitors on her receptionist computer (Hawk also has a Dell monitor on his desk later in the episode). A solitaire layout of playing cards is seen on Lucy's desk. A Christmas photo of Lucy, Andy, and, presumably, little Wally Brando is seen on the shelf behind her, though it appears to be a very poorly Photoshopped (or even physical cut-and-paste) of the family members' heads placed on top of smaller bodies! Why would this be the case? Does Lucy have no actual family photos? The photo is seen again in Part 4: "...Brings Back Some Memories". See a bit farther below for speculation about Wally.

 

The tree painting in the waiting room of the Sheriff's station is similar, but different, from the one seen in episodes of the original series.
new tree painting	old tree painting

 

The song that plays as Cooper's doppelganger (hereafter referred to on PopApostle as Mr. C) drives through the woods is "American Woman" (David Lynch Remix) by Muddy Magnolias.

 

The car Mr. C. drives is a 2015 Mercedes-Benz S-Klasse Coupé, an expensive luxury-class sedan.

 

Otis appears to be drinking moonshine out of a Mason jar. Also, a number of animal furs are hanging on the wall next to Otis.

 

Mr. C's shirt looks as if it may be made of snake skin or some other reptile skin.

 

At 21:50 on the Blu-ray, there are several hands of playing cards sitting on tables around the room.

 

When Ray and Darya leave Buella's house with Mr. C, notice that the two each hand something (an envelope?) to the man in the wheelchair. What was it? Payment for something?

 

At 31:25 on the Blu-ray, notice that Tracey appears to have a Z on the lapel of her dress. The dress must be her uniform for the "Z" coffee shop.

 

The apparition in the glass box appears to shatter the glass as it emerges, it doesn't just pass through it.

 

The introductory shot of Buckhorn, South Dakota is actually of Butte, Montana. Buckhorn is a fictitious city. In Part 2: "The Stars Turn and a Time Presents Itself", we see a map of South Dakota showing the location of Buckhorn (the red dot in the western part of the state).

 

Marjorie Green's dog, Armstrong, appears to be a shorthair deer head Chihuahua.

 

Marjorie lives in apartment 218.

 

The police cruiser from the Buckhorn PD seen at 36:21 on the Blu-ray is a 2003 Ford Crown Victoria. The department's motto appearing on the vehicle appears to be "Creating a safe community."

 

According to Officer Douglas, the apartment complex where Marjorie Green lives (and where Ruth Davenport lived) is at 1329 Arrowhead in Buckhorn (though Marjorie corrects him that it's 1349; this is confirmed later in the episode).

 

As the policemen walk behind the apartment complex at 38:44 on the Blu-ray, a pallet of what appears to be South Bay Salt Works water softener crystals is seen under the stairway.

 

From 40:24-40:40 on the Blu-ray, several books are seen on Ruth Davenport's bookshelves: Cose in Corso, a 2014 book of the art of Dutch artist Mark Manders; Visions of Antiquity (a couple books by this title exist; this may be the one subtitled Neoclassical Figure Drawings by Richard J. Campbell and Victor Carlson); Engines of Change (several books by this title exist); American Image: Photographing One Hundred Fifty Years in the Life of a Nation by Martin Sandler (1989); America's Fascinating Indian Heritage by Reader's Digest books (1989); The Farmhouse; The Mercenary (several books by this title exist); Personal Injuries, a novel by Scott Turow (1999); Dreamland, a novel by Kevin Baker (1999); Hunter's Green; Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon (2010); Last Resorts by Claire Boylan (2010); and Blindsight, a 1992 novel by Robin Cook.

 

Hank's pick-up at 41:27 on the Blu-ray appears to be a 1985 Nissan 720.

 

The beheaded male body seen under Ruth Davenport's head in Ruth's apartment is revealed to be that of Major Briggs in a later episode.

 

The Log Lady's house seen at 43:33 on the Blu-ray is the same house of hers seen in Episode 5: "Cooper's Dreams".

 

At 43:52 on the Blu-ray, Hawk has what appears to be a model cabin made of Lincoln Logs on his desk. He also has a "totem pole" lamp.

 

When we see the Log Lady in her cabin, she is obviously not in the best health, having an oxygen tube under nose and she has only a fringe of hair, suggesting she has been undergoing chemotherapy. Her ailment is not explained exactly in the series, but actress Catherine Coulson was fighting cancer at the time and she died shortly after she finished filming the season.

 

At 45:21 on the Blu-ray, the Buckhorn Police Department is also using Dell monitors.

 

    At 45:43 on the Blu-ray, Constance's work computer appears to be running Windows 7. The taskbar on the screen gives the appearance that she has Microsoft Office Word and Microsoft Office Excel windows minimized. But there is no indication on the taskbar of her fingerprint analysis program running!

    The print analysis on the computer indicates it is scanning the CODIS database to match the prints. CODIS is the Combined DNA Index System, a national database maintained by the FBI.

 

The South Dakota driver's license for William Hastings displayed on the CODIS database result is a recent design used by South Dakota. Hastings' license lists his height as 6'3". His address is 439 E. Elm Street, Buckhorn, SD.

 

    Andy and Lucy's son, Wally, was born on the same day as Marlon Brando. This means Wally was born on April 3. This seems unlikely considering Lucy was still not showing her pregnancy in March of 1989 in the original series' second season and yet we're asked to believe Wally was born less than a month later! It's possible Wally is actually Lucy's second child (maybe the first didn't survive to term) and he was born in April of 1990. Lucy remarks that Wally is 24 years old. If Wally was born in April of 1989, the current year of the series would be 2013, if born in 1990, it would be 2014. None of which really seems to add up. Could it be that Wally is adopted and not the biological offspring of Andy (or Dick) and Lucy? Might this in some way explain the cut-and-paste photo of the family seen at Lucy's desk?

    Marlon Brando (1924-2004) was an Academy Award winning American actor.

 

State Police detective Don Harrison arrives to assist with the Davenport murder case in Buckhorn from Rapid City.

 

Bill Hastings' house was filmed at 2037 Skyview Drive, Altadena, CA.

 

At 56:55 on the Blu-ray, a portrait of Franz Kafka can be seen through a window hanging on a wall of the Hastings house! Kafka (1883-1924) was an Austrian-Czechoslovakian writer known for his surrealistic stories, admired by David Lynch.

 

Bill Hastings drives a Volvo 940, possibly 1995 year. SD license plate 68N 416. The license plate design is an actual one used is South Dakota, with the state slogan "Great faces, great places" on it. The slogan may be partially a reference to the famous carved faces on Mount Rushmore. The car next to it in the driveway (presumably his wife's) is a 2012 Toyota Prius III.

 

At 58:14 on the Blu-ray, a Coleman Party Stacker ice chest and Plano tackle box are seen in the trunk of Bill's Volvo.

 

Detective Macklay's flashlight keeps flickering on and off as he searches the trunk. He tells Harrison it's broke. Is there any connection to the electrical effects that sometimes occur at scenes involving beings of the Black Lodge? Or is it just a broken flashlight since Macklay seems to already be aware of it?

 

Unanswered Questions

 

What happened to the security guard at the building where Sam watches the glass box? Why did the guard disappear? It's never explained except that even the NYPD doesn't know what happened to him when they investigate Sam and Tracey's murder in Part 3: "Call for Help". Sam says that the person who is behind the glass box observation is an anonymous "billionaire" and is later implied to be Mr. C. Did Mr. C order the guard to be removed so that Tracey could enter "unofficially"? Possibly Mr. C was hoping Sam and Tracey would have sex in the room, which they do, in order to draw in the apparition who appears in the box at that time.

 

Who or what is the apparition that appears in the glass box and escapes it to kill Sam and Tracey? It appears to be female. Is it Judy? In the closing credits it is referred to as "the Experiment", presumably because it appeared as a result of the billionaire's mysterious project involving the glass box. In the book Conversations With Mark Frost by David Bushman, Frost says that he and Lynch had a secret code for the thing in the box which he does not reveal here. As Bushman notes, that is an interesting answer in and of itself!

 

What was in Harvey's bag? It's never revealed. Is it drugs? Is it the sparkle drug that is also plaguing the youth of Twin Peaks?

 

What is the piece of meat found in the truck of Bill's car? In an interview, Lynch has said it was just a piece of meat, not intended to be a human body part.

 

Memorable Dialog

 

sounds.mp3

try me.mp3

the new girl.mp3

my log has a message.mp3

I'll bring the coffee and the donuts.mp3 

 

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