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Twin Peaks
"The Past Dictates the Future"
Season Three, Part 17
Written by Mark Frost & David Lynch
Directed by David Lynch
Original air date: September 3, 2017 |
Gordon discloses previously classified
information about Cooper to his cohorts; Jerry finally makes a
connection; Mr. C is redirected; Cooper arrives in Twin Peaks;
temporal transmutations ensue.
Read the episode summary at the Twin Peaks wiki
Didja Know?
This episode is dedicated to the memory of Jack Nance, who
played Pete Martell in the original series and who appears in
flashbacks to
Episode 0A:
"Wrapped in Plastic" in
this episode. He died in 1996.
Characters appearing or mentioned in this episode
Gordon Cole
Albert Rosenfield
Agent Tammy Preston
Major Briggs (spirit form only)
Judy (mentioned only)
Agent Cooper
Ray Monroe (mentioned only, deceased)
Phillip Jeffries
Mr. C
Agent Headley
Douglas Jones (mentioned only, discorporated)
Bushnell Mullins
Bradley Mitchum
Rodney Mitchum
Naido
drunk (unnamed)
Deputy Chad Broxford
James Hurley
Freddie Sykes
Ben Horne
Jerry Horne (mentioned only)
Sergeant Williams
Fireman
Deputy Andy
Lucy Brennan
Sheriff Frank Truman
Hawk
Candie
Mandie
Sandie
Woodsmen
BOB (seemingly destroyed in this episode)
Bobby Briggs
Diane Evans
Mike
Jumping Man
Laura Palmer
Leland Palmer (in flashback only)
Deputy Cliff Howard (mentioned only, deceased)
Donna Hayward (mentioned only)
Leo Johnson (in flashback only, deceased)
Ronette Pulaski (in flashback only)
Jacques Renault (in flashback only, deceased)
Josie Packard (in flashback only, deceased)
Pete Martell (in flashback only, deceased)
Catherine Martell (in flashback only)
Sarah Palmer
Didja Notice?
At the beginning of the episode, Gordon is holding a
Smith
& Wesson Model 19 revolver. As he fondles the gun, he
admits to Albert he "couldn't do it." He is referring to
shooting Diane (actually a tulpa of her) when she tried to
kill him in the previous episode,
Part 16:
"No Knock, No Doorbell".
Luckily, Albert and Tammy took care of it for him.
At 1:57 on the Blu-ray, a bottle of Chateau Bellvue wine is
seen in the FBI hotel room. There are several different
wineries that sell by the name Chateau Bellvue around the
world. I have not been able to find one that has the same
label design seen here, so it may be a prop bottle.
Gordon reveals some information to Albert and Tammy about a
plan he had made with Major Briggs and Agent Cooper 25 years
ago to lead them to Judy and that Cooper had said at the
time he was trying to kill two birds with one stone. The
Fireman had used the phrase "two birds with one stone" with
Cooper in
Part 1:
"My Log Has a Message for
You", so the Fireman may have been
clueing Cooper in that he can help him with his plan. It's
not clear at the end of the season exactly what Cooper meant
by killing two birds with one stone, but it seemingly must
have to do with saving Laura Palmer and also leading them to
Judy.
Gordon reveals that Cooper had told him that if he, Cooper,
disappeared, he should do everything he could to find him.
The fact that Ray Monroe, henchman to Mr. C, was actually an
informant for the FBI, suggests that Gordon was trying to
find Coop and knew about the existence of Mr. C long before
the evil double's incarceration at Yankton.
After telling Albert and Tammy about the plan, Gordon
confesses he doesn't know if the plan is unfolding properly
because they should have heard by now from Cooper. If he's
referring to the 25-year absence of Cooper, then, yeah,
Gordon should probably have given up on the plan by now.
But, the fact that he's bringing it up now may suggest he
somehow knows of the 25-year captivity of Cooper inside the
Lodge and that he should have returned to Earth by now and
contacted them.
The note from Cooper that Mullins reads to Gordon states,
"It is 2:53 in Las Vegas and that adds up to a ten, the
number of completion." In some numerology systems, 10 is
considered the number of completion.
When Gordon ends his phone call with Mullins, he closes
with, "And that makes two of us." I think he is referring to
Mullins' last statement that he is Dougie's boss. Both men
are Dougie's/Cooper's boss at two different jobs at this
time.
After learning that Dougie is Cooper and the circumstances
of Dougie/Cooper's electrocution and subsequent time in a
coma at a Las Vegas hospital, Gordon says, "A Blue Rose
case, most definitely," possibly indicating that Blue Rose
cases are, in fact, ones that have to do with a
double/tulpa, as speculated in the study of
Part 14:
"We Are Like the Dreamer".
At 9:20 on the Blu-ray, Freddie seems to be looking toward
the drunk in the other cell as the drunk mimics the sounds
made by Naido. This may indicate that the drunk is a
real person and not some entity invisible to all but Chad as
speculated in the studies of previous episodes starting with
Part 14:
"We Are Like the Dreamer".
However, James does not seem to react to the man. Notice
also that while the drunk mimics a line spoken by Freddie,
he does not mimic James. If Freddie is able to see him, why?
Is it the supernatural connection of Freddie's green glove?
Ben Horne receives a call from the
Jackson Hole, Wyoming police department telling him that his
brother Jerry has showed up with no clothes. Jackson Hole is
a valley in Wyoming; the town there is actually just called
Jackson.
How did Jerry wind up all the way in Jackson Hole
after going for a hike in the woods around Twin Peaks? Why
is he missing his clothes? Did Jerry pass through some kind
of doorway in the woods related to the White/Black Lodges?
Did he meet anyone during the passage?
The house seen on the theater screen in the White Lodge (?)
at 12:56 on the Blu-ray is the Palmer house.
The Fireman makes a swiping gesture with his right hand that
changes the image on the theater screen, almost like swiping
through images on an iPhone or tablet device!
At 13:27 on the Blu-ray, a large number of the bell-shaped
electrical contraptions are seen through the glass doors of
a room next to the theater screen room.
In her jail cell, Naido suddenly wakes up and makes upset
noises, crawling around on her bed, distressed when Mr. C is
transported from the White Lodge to the parking lot of the
sheriff's station.
Andy's station wagon is a
Ford LTD
Country Squire.
At 16:33 on the Blu-ray, we see that Deputy Chad has a key
to the jail cells hidden in the heel of his right boot. The
boot does not appear to be Circle Brand.
Sheriff Truman and his deputies appear to wield Smith &
Wesson Model 19 revolvers, including Chad, who steals one
from the weapons locker after letting himself out of his
cell.
At 22:10 on the Blu-ray, Mr. C pulls an
IMI Jericho
941 F pistol on Sheriff Truman, but Lucy shoots Mr. C down
first with a Smith & Wesson Model 67 revolver; it's not
clear where Lucy got the pistol from.
Mr. C gets a shot off at Truman before he is struck by
Lucy's bullet. Notice at 22:11 on the Blu-ray that Truman's
hat lifts a couple inches off his head; Mr. C must has hit
the hat without hitting Truman, though no holes are seen in
the hat afterward.
After hearing the gunshots upstairs, Andy tells the
incarcerated prisoners he needs to bring them all up there now
(apparently according to his vision from the White Lodge).
He brings all but the unconscious and dangerous Chad, of
course, and the unnamed drunk, suggesting the drunk is not
really there physically, but only visible to a few.
Agent Cooper and his Mitchum entourage arrive at the Twin
Peaks Sheriff's Station in a 2015
Cadillac
Escalade ESV.
Cooper knows who Freddie is, though no one in the material
world has told him about the young man with the green glove.
Minutes later, he also knows that Sheriff Truman was in
possession of the room 315 key from the Great Northern,
saying, "Major Briggs told me Sheriff Truman would have it."
Did he also learn about Freddie's power from the major?
Notice also that as soon as the BOB orb hears Freddie's
name, he begins to attack him, as if he also is aware of
the threat Freddie poses to him.
At 28:04 on the Blu-ray, the BOB orb says to Freddie, "Catch
you with my death bag." BOB said the same thing in Cooper's
dream in
Episode 2:
"Zen, or the Skill to Catch a
Killer".
After seeing Naido, Cooper's face becomes superimposed on
all scenes from 30:23-36:02
(though the image fades away mostly from 33:36-34:18 while
Cooper and Diane kiss and share in the afterglow). The
superimposed face possibly suggests that the world as we're
seeing it now is part of Cooper's dream...that Cooper is the
proverbial dreamer. Did seeing Naido (who soon transforms
into the real Diane) trigger a realization (or memory) that
he is the dreamer? Why does the image of Cooper's face fade
away during the kiss? Is it suggesting that love makes the
dream reality? At 34:39, Cooper's superimposed face even
tells us, "We live inside a dream," (this same phrase was
spoken by Phillip Jeffries in
Fire Walk With Me).
Gordon, Albert, and Tammy arrive at the Twin Peaks Sheriff's
Station in a 2015
Chevrolet Tahoe.
Cooper seems to warn his friends at the sheriff's station,
"...there are some things that will change," adding, "the
past dictates the future". This seems to be a warning that
the past/present is about to be altered. Hawk nods,
seemingly understanding what Cooper is telling them.
When Naido transforms into Diane, she and Cooper share a
passionate kiss, implying they had an intimate relationship
before his disappearance in 1989.
The clock on the wall of Sheriff Truman's office is a
General
Electric model. Note that it is 2:53 in the afternoon,
the same time seen and spoken of in earlier episodes this
season.
At 34:39 on the Blu-ray, an ominous whooshing sound is heard
by everyone in Sheriff Truman's office. It seems as if
Cooper and Gordon may have some inkling of what's about to
happen, as Cooper shouts, "Gordon!" and Gordon shouts,
"Coop!" Suddenly, the scene shifts to Cooper, Diane, and
Gordon walking in the dark through the basement of the Great
Northern to the door from behind which comes the humming
sound, while the ominous whooshing noise fades out. It seems
as if the trio has suddenly been transported from Truman's
office to the Great Northern, yet they walk calmly as if
it's natural for them to be there, as if they arrived in a
normal manner. Has some time passed where they drove over to
the hotel and gained access to the basement? Or did they
actually get instantaneously transported there as it seems?
The transition seems to have a dream-like quality of its
own, where the dreamer just accepts a sudden change in
surroundings without question.
At 35:46 on the Blu-ray, notice that the electrical
transformers in the basement of the Great Northern have a
similar bell shape as the odd contraptions in the White
Lodge.
Why would Cooper's old room 315 key fit the door in the
basement? Normally, only a master key would fit any door in
a particular building and surely a temporary hotel tenant
would not be given such a key.
When Cooper walks through the door in the Great Northern
basement he encounters Mike, who once again chants his
familiar "Fire Walk With Me" poem from
Episode 2:
"Zen, or the Skill to Catch a
Killer".
| I only just noticed it in this episode,
though a similar scene occurs in
Part 15:
"There's Some Fear in Letting Go",
that the trunks of the trees in the woods superimposed as
Cooper and Mike walk towards the stairs leading to the
Dutchman's Lodge bear a resemblance to the convolutions of
the red curtains in the Black Lodge. |
 |
 |
| The woods corridor |
The curtain corridor
(from
Episode 29:
"Beyond Life and Death") |
After Cooper and Mike ascend the stairs to the Dutchman's
Lodge, the Jumping Man (the man with the mask) is seen
descending the stairs in stuttered "jump-starts". What is
the significance of this juxtaposition? Could Cooper and the
Jumping Man be one-and-the-same in some sense? Recall that
Leland/BOB, waiter/Giant, Gerard/Mike were all
one-and-the-same in a way in the original series.
At 40:30 on the Blu-ray, Cooper somehow recognizes the
steam-emitting machine as Phillip Jeffries.
Cooper gives Jeffries the date of
February 23, 1989. This is the day before Laura Palmer's
death (she was murdered in the early hours of February 24 of
that year). Jeffries seems to relate it to locating Judy.
Upon hearing the date, Jeffries says,
"I'll find it for ya." Pause. "It's slippery in here." What
does he mean by "slippery"? Is it a reference to changing
timelines, making it somewhat difficult for him to know what
occurred on a certain date?
Jeffries tells Cooper it's good to see him again. When does
he think they met? In
Fire Walk With Me they did meet at the Philadelphia
office in 1988, but Jeffries seemed to be under the
impression then that Cooper was actually his evil
doppelganger. Has Jeffries simply learned better since then?
Jeffries tells Cooper to say to Gordon "He'll remember
the unofficial version." What is the "unofficial version"?
Is it the "original" events in Twin Peaks, before Cooper
prevented the murder of Laura Palmer (as Cooper does by the
end of this episode)? In
The Final Dossier,
Agent Preston writes
that her own thoughts about the Twin Peaks events are
starting to get fuzzy and indistinct, suggesting that
everyone may be forgetting the original timeline of
the series. So why would Gordon still remember them (if that
is what Jeffries is suggesting)? What is special about
Gordon?
After incongruously telling Cooper, "This is where you'll
find Judy," he then adds, "There may be someone. Did you ask
me this?" It almost seems as if Jeffries is confused about
where he is in time, possibly mistaking Mr. C's question of
"Who is Judy?" (from
Part 15:
"There's Some Fear in Letting Go")
for Cooper's statements now.
The image that appears in Jeffries' steam at 41:50 on the
Blu-ray is the Owl Cave symbol. It then morphs into a
double-diamond symbol and into a figure-eight. A
figure-eight is a sort-of vertical version of the infinity
symbol, which refers to time. The 8-symbol flips itself
vertically, possibly implying a parallel timeline. After
this, Jeffries tells Cooper "You can go in now," implying
that Jeffries has set a "gateway" to February 23, 1989 for
Cooper to enter, as, indeed, Cooper does, leading to his
preventing the murder of Laura Palmer.
After Jeffries tells Cooper, "You can go in now," he then
says, "Remember," and Mike adds, "Electricity." Are the two
warning him that time travel between the spiritual world and
Earth can only take place in a time where electricity is in
industrial use? This would correspond to the beginning of
the Second Industrial Revolution, roughly around 1870. Lynch
is fond of incorporating industrial mechanisms and sounds in
many of his works.
Most of the scenes from 43:20-48:45 are from
Fire Walk With Me, except for the scenes in which
Cooper appears and those seen from his vantage point.
At 44:56 on the Blu-ray, Laura screams at seeing Cooper
hiding in the woods where she and James have stopped on the
road. She made this same exact scream at this moment in
Fire Walk With Me, yet, presumably Cooper was not
present then to alter the timeline and prevent her murder at
BOB's hands. So, why did she scream in
Fire Walk With Me? What did she see if it wasn't
Cooper? Was she seeing a sort of shade of Cooper, a ghost of
what might come if the timeline should be altered (as
finally occurs in this episode)?
After running away from James, Laura runs into Cooper in the
woods and she wonders who he is, saying, "I've seen you in a
dream." In
Fire Walk With Me she had a dream in which Cooper
warned her not to take the Owl Cave ring.
Many of the shots from 50:22-52:32 are direct shots or
modified shots from
Episode 0A:
"Wrapped in Plastic".
"Insect" sound is heard when Laura vanishes, like the sound on
the phonograph in
Part 1:
"My Log Has a Message for
You"
As Sarah smashes the photo frame of Laura's portrait, notice
that it keeps trying to reassemble itself as she smashes the
glass.
| Some fans believe that the young Laura Palmer who takes
Cooper's hand in the altered
Fire Walk With Me timeline is actress Francesca
Eastwood, who has a somewhat similar look to original
actress Sheryl Lee. Eastwood is credited only as Texas
Waitress Kristi at Judy's Coffee Shop in the following episode,
Part 18:
"What is Your Name?" |
 |
| |
Francesca Eastwood as Texas
Waitress Kristi |
At the end of the episode, Julee Cruise performs her song
"The World Spins", presumably at the Roadhouse, though it's
not clear. She also performed this song in the original
series in
Episode 14:
"Lonely Souls". Cruise
was seemingly upset on her
Facebook page at the time about the truncated version of
her performance that appears here.
Unanswered Questions
Was BOB destroyed by Freddie's gloved fist as it seems? The
shattered debris of the BOB orb ascends through the ceiling
of the sheriff's station...what happened to it?
Cooper goes back in time to 1989 and seemingly prevents
Laura Palmer's murder. Why does Laura then disappear from
his grasp at the end of the episode? In
The Final Dossier,
it seems that Laura "disappeared" in 1989, no body ever
found. What happened to her?
Memorable Dialog
you've gone soft.mp3
discovery of an entity.mp3
a plan.mp3
two birds with one stone.mp3
we should have heard by now from our dear Dale Cooper.mp3
that's strange even for Cooper.mp3
look who's here.mp3
since before Wally was born.mp3
I understand cellular phones now.mp3
catch you with my death bag.mp3
what's going on around here?.mp3
your father was well aware.mp3
many years ago.mp3
the past dictates the future.mp3
give my regards to Harry.mp3
we live inside a dream.mp3
I hope I see all of you again.mp3
see you at the curtain call.mp3
through the darkness of future past.mp3
the unofficial version.mp3
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