Third Day Theories: A Recap of the Latest Theories, Analysis and Predictions Generated from Season 3 Part 14, We Are Like The Dreamer

Welcome back, dear reader.  Wow, another amazing hour of Twin Peaks.  This one had a theme of stories running through it.  Albert tells a story.  Gordon tells a story.  The Fireman tells a story.  Freddie tells a story.  Even the randoms at the Roadhouse have stories to tell.
Don’t worry though, this isn’t a dream.  This is what we do in the FBI.  We theorize.  Let’s begin.

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Theory: There are alternate timelines / realities at work here.

Analysis: Not as much play on this one this week.  There was a strange effect when Truman, Hawk and Bobby returned to Jack Rabbit’s Palace, kind of like multiple realities overplayed on each other and then coalescing into one reality.  On the flip side, Gordon called both Las Vegas and Twin Peaks this episode, tying those events tighter.

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Theory: The Audrey / Charlie scenes are not part of reality.

Analysis: Another small mention for this one.  At the Roadhouse, one of the two girls talking is self identified as Tina’s daughter, and is of course talking about her and her mother being the last to see Billy.  These people apparently have existence outside of Audrey’s reality.  So minor downgrade to the Audrey dream theory this week.

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Theory: Diane is working for Team Doppelganger

Analysis: We got two juicy tidbits from Diane this week.  Bad Cooper mentioned Major Briggs when he last saw Diane and Janey-E is Diane’s estranged half-sister.  But can we trust anything she says?  The first wouldn’t seem to help or hurt Bad Cooper either way.  But the latter is a great way to get them on track with the events in Las Vegas, which can only serve to work against him.  It would seem she was asked “Las Vegas?” because she knows about Dougie Jones, and by virtue of that, she knows of Janey-E.  The half-sister relationship could be a fabrication, or she could have set up her hated half-sister with the Dougie Jones construct nearly 20 years ago if she was somehow complicit in his manufacturing.

So the “-E” stands for Evans, same last name as Diane?  That would work.  Hmm.

Note also that she didn’t seem too surprised about the story they told her about Major Briggs (died 25 years ago but not really).  She was more exasperated than anything at Gordon’s question about whether Bad Cooper had mentioned him.

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Theory: (You name it) is the Dreamer

Analysis: Personally, I don’t even know where to start on this one.  Let’s at least review a few possibilities:

• Some have theorized that Bad Cooper has the abilities of a lucid dreamer, able to manipulate the dream reality, have super powers, etc.  But maybe it’s more like he’s aware that he’s in a dream, and thus is manipulating it.
• If not him, then perhaps the real Agent Cooper.
• Gordon seems to be the central character who was present back to the beginnings of the Blue Rose task force.
• Jeffries is “still nowhere”, which now with what we know sounds like he could be living in a dream state of some sort.
• The 1956 Girl was dreaming, after the frog-roach crawled in her mouth (many have observed her eyes were in REM state).
• Maybe it’s Lucy, given the future scene Andy saw and the Scott Ryan theory that Andy and Lucy are the key to understanding everything in this season.

We just don’t know enough to yet, but we’ll keep tabs on this one for sure.

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Theory: Sarah Palmer is possessed by (you name it)

Analysis: OK, I’m going to start out by saying that I don’t like the idea of yet another retcon origin story, this time for Sarah Palmer.  People are now theorizing that, on the heels of the other theory I completely disagree with, that Sarah is 1956 Girl, she has always been either possessed or a lodge entity of some sort.  I refuse to believe this is what Frost and Lynch have come up with after 25 years to think on things.  They are just not going to retroactively nullify all of the pain and suffering Sarah, Leland and Laura went through at the hands of BOB.

So, given that starting point, there is a real Sarah Palmer, and she has either been possessed or replaced.  I personally lean towards the former, given the inner monologue she’s previously displayed (“find your keys Sarah”) and the Leland like way she flipped into hysterical screaming at the dead trucker, and flipped back into cold, calculating mode with the bartender (“Sure is a mystery, huh”).

The way she removed her face to reveal the darkness within kind of leans towards the Black Lodge construct / entity theory, though many have proposed this is just a visual vehicle Lynch is using to convey what possession looks like, now that he has the technology to do so.  It is, obviously, very reminiscent of the Laura in the Red Room removing her face to Cooper to show the light within, and that may not have been the real Laura (“I feel like I know her”).

As to who might be possessing Sarah, here’s a few points to consider:

• The voice behind Sarah’s face that says “Do you really want to fuck with this?” sounds like the Mystery Voice that Bad Cooper talked to on the phone in Part 2.  [Source u/onewayness on r/twinpeaks]
• The smile seen behind Sarah’s face is Laura’s, from the prom queen photo [Source: Morgan McGinnis, “Twin Peaks (2017)” FB group].
• There are also images floating around that show that the hand image comes from Laura as well, from a scene in FWWM where she is wearing the Owl Cave ring.

Here’s a run down of a few candidates:

• Laura’s doppelgänger – Given the images of Laura seen behind Sarah’s face, maybe this is a possibility.  We know from the season 2 finale that she has one, and we’ve not seen or heard from it yet this season.
• BOB – If he was removed from Bad Cooper and is now loose, he may have returned to Twin Peaks, and no one is broadcasting more pain and suffering that Sarah Palmer in that town.  He may even be working some angle of Bad Cooper’s larger plans, waiting for a cue to take action.
• MIKE – If the Mystery Voice is MIKE (looking forward to being with BOB again), and the theory that those voices are the same is true, then it could be MIKE hiding in Sarah, waiting for his cue to act.  Though likely against Bad Cooper’s plans.
• Experiment / Mother – Assuming these are the same thing, Sarah is a “mother” and maybe Mother is hiding out is her, waiting for the endgame.  She, or some avatar of her (Experiment Model), is loose upon the real world since the NYC glass box attack.  Perhaps this is where she went.

Whatever the case, they seem to be setting up a battle between Laura, filled with light, and Sarah, filled with darkness.  So much for Sarah’s moment of redemption I was hoping for this season.

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Speed Round:

• The boiler James checked out is reminiscent of the one where Bob was holed up in the European ending to the original series pilot [Source: Twin Peaks: The Gifted And The Damned podcast].  The Great Northern hum also seems to be coming from behind that door.
• The “Drunk” in the jail cell may be the long lost Billy, based on the story Tina’s daughter told.  Though the Billy of her story had blood coming out of his nose and mouth, and the Drunk seemed to be leaking from the big sore on his cheek.
• People don’t seem to understand that the images Andy is shown come from a giant pine cone that appeared in his hands after the Fireman introduced himself.
• In the future scene where Andy pushes Lucy towards something, she looks left and right.  Perhaps she, purest of heart, will have to choose which Cooper is the real one.  [Source: u/ModestyMaltese on r/twinpeaks]
• Several people have proposed that the Roadhouse scenes with random non-central characters are this season’s version of “Invitation To Love”.
• This part was about telling stories, which is interesting after Charlie’s threat the end Audrey’s story in Part 13.  [Source: u/noregiannotgone on r/twinpeaks]
• The male friend of Monica’s disappears from the dream scene after introductions.  He may perhaps be a Dreamwalker chasing Cooper through Cole’s dream (see [S3E14] Cole’s Coffee Date. Monica Brings New Blood to the Party…).
• Naido was yanked and shows up in the real world.  Laura, or a Laura construct of some nature, was similarly yanked, so perhaps she is now somewhere in the real world as well.
• Kudos to u/ninetysixbooks of r/twinpeaks for spotting the possible origin of Naido’s name in a Kafka story, a parable about the relationship between artist and audience (see [S3E14] Naido, the Singer).
• Everyone is drawing parallels to the monkey hooting that Naido, the Drunk and Chad were making in jail, to the dog barking Bobby and Mike were directing at James in the same cells back in the original series.  Chopping Wood Inside podcast also pointed out that the sounds Ray was making while he watched the Woodsmen heal Bad Cooper when sped up were actually monkey hoots.
• The tree stump of Jack Rabbit’s Palace looks very much like the rocky island in the Mauve Zone.  [Source: Cheryl Lee Latter, “Twin Peaks (2017)” FB group]
• Many are now surmising Naido may have flipped the switch to change places with Good Cooper.  But to what reason?
• “Fireman” is also a term that was used in early railroad days for a person who fired and lubricated steam locomotives, and assisted the engineer of a diesel or electric locomotive.  [Source: u/Yetlive on r/twinpeaks]
• If you speed up the sound in the scene in the woods and with Andy in the Black and White Room, by 430% (following the Fireman’s clues), you can hear opera music.  [Source: u/Lassig on r/twinpeaks]
• Freddie has obviously been sent to counter a particular threat.  We know Bad Cooper has super strength.  Nadine used to have super strength, though I doubt that’s her role in the endgame.  Billy apparently displayed some sort of feat of strength, leaping over a 6 foot fence.
• Nathan Frizzell was listed in the credits as “Voice”.  He has apparently tweeted that he dubbed over the lines from David Bowie in Gordon’s dream sequence.  The other “voice” of concern on the show was the Mystery Voice on the other end of Bad Cooper’s phone call to not Jeffries.  And now this guy is dubbing the actual Jeffries’ voice.  Hmm.

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As always, please reply below with your own comments and corrections, or give me your own well thought out theory.  You can catch me on various Facebook groups, such as “Twin Peaks (2017)” or our own “25 Years Later” page, on the Reddit r/twinpeaks forum, or email me at catnapspirit@gmail.com.  See ya next week.