Didja Know?

 

This episode is dedicated to the memory of Don S. Davis and Miguel Ferrer, the actors who played Major Briggs and Albert Rosenfield. Davis died in 2008, Ferrer in 2017.

 

Characters appearing or mentioned in this episode

 

Agent Cooper

Naido

Major Briggs

American Girl

American Girl's "mother" (unseen, heard banging on door in the purple room)

Mr. C

Dougie Jones (discorporated in this episode)

Jade

Mike

Gene

Jake

Mikey (mentioned only)

Little boy

Drugged-out mother

Hawk

Andy Brennan

Lucy Brennan

Lawrence Jacoby

Old lady slot addict

Jackie (casino floor attendant)

FBI Deputy Director Gordon Cole

Agent Albert Rosenfield

Agent Tamara Preston

Agent Chris Rummel (referred to only as Chris in the episode, last name listed on the Twin Peaks Wiki)

Sam Colby (video of corpse only)

Tracey Barberato (video of corpse only) 

 

 

Didja Notice?

 

This episode introduces us to Naido (named only in the end credits), an Asian-appearing woman in an otherworldly building (or maybe a spaceship), in a purple room, whose eyes appear to have been partially-sewn and partially-grown shut. She seems to have some sort of connection to Cooper's former secretary Diane Evans in Part 17: "The Past Dictates the Future". The name "Naido" is almost an anagram of "Diane", with the "e" replaced with an "o". In Japanese Buddhism, naidō means "inner path".

 

At 4:47 on the Blu-ray, a hand appears to be motioning for Cooper (McLachlan?) to stop in the bottom right corner of the screen, barely noticeable. It is Naido's hand, the motion seen from Cooper's point of view in a shot seconds later as time seems to stutter in the room.

 

In the purple room, there are two wall lamps lit up on either side of the fireplace and there are two unlit floor lamps as well. The floor lamps appear to be the same design as the two seen in the Red Room.

 

    At 7:35 on the Blu-ray, Cooper approaches a large electrical socket labeled "15" in the purple room, but Naido stops him from getting close. Later he enters another non-purple, but otherwise almost identical, room with another electrical socket labeled "3" and he is taken back to Earth through it. Could the "3" indicate this episode, which is Part 3 of this season? In which case, the "15" socket may indicate Part 15 ("There's Some Fear in Letting Go"), the episode in which Cooper/Dougie gets his mojo back and becomes the full Cooper again through an electrical socket in Dougie's home.

   What if Cooper had used socket 15 and had returned to Earth in Part 15: "There's Some Fear in Letting Go"? He would not have helped Dougie Jones' family, would not have aided in the rehabilitation of Anthony Sinclair, and would not have befriended the Mitchum brothers.

 

The blind Naido feels Cooper's face with her hands and seems to react to what she finds, trying to speak in dull, cutting sounds. Possibly, this is Diane recognizing Cooper by the feel of his face.

 

A loud banging begins to sound on a metal door leading into the purple room. Naido seems frightened of it and warns Cooper to remain silent with a finger to her lips. The banging is never explained (though American Girl later says "My mother is coming," when the banging starts again), but may be related to whatever the Fireman referred to in Part 1: "My Log Has a Message for You" when he said, "It is in our house now." What is it? Judy? Perhaps the banging is the same as that heard, in reverse, at Glastonbury Grove when Hawk visits it at night in Part 2: "The Stars Turn and a Time Presents Itself".

 

Naido leads Cooper up a ladder to a hatch resembling an attic door in the ceiling and they emerge on the top of a boxy structure floating in space. The structure appears much smaller on the outside than the purple room and environs they were just in. A bell-shaped form with a lever on it sits on the roof of the structure; it's not clear what this is, but seems to be electrical in purpose, as it shocks Naido when she pulls the lever, sending her falling down into space. (Possibly it is this incident that sent Naido to the Ghostwood Forest near Twin Peaks, where she is found on the ground outside the entrance to the White Lodge (?) in Part 14: "We Are Like the Dreamer".)

 

When Naido pulls the lever, a light shining on her and Cooper goes out. What was the source of the light?

 

After pulling the lever, Naido is shocked by electricity and falls off the structure, down through space until she disappears. Was the shock that knocked her from the structure punishment for pulling the lever? It seems that by pulling the lever, Naido has switched the room the ladder leads to, allowing Cooper to escape.

 

The face floating through space that Cooper sees at 11:16 on the Blu-ray is that of Major Briggs and it speaks in the voice of the major.

 

When Cooper climbs back down the ladder, he finds himself in another, similar room, with a giant electrical socket labeled 3 instead of 15. The woman seated there is credited as American Girl in the end credits, played by Phoebe Augustine. Augustine also played Ronette Pulaski in the original series...so is American Girl really Ronette? It seems to me the sobriquet of "American Girl" may be a hint that it is Ronette. Ronette might still be considered a girl in the original series, where she was a high school student, but the person in the purple room is clearly much older, a woman. So, why is she not called American Woman? Maybe because, to Cooper, she is still the young high school girl he met in Twin Peaks in 1989. Recall that the song "American Woman" appeared in Part 1: "My Log Has a Message for You". And Jerry Horne, comments on brother Ben's attractive new middle-aged secretary Beverly in that same episode, stating, "Is that the new girl? Or should I say "woman"? A woman like that, you can't call a girl." The song and Jerry's dialog almost seem to be auguring this very argument.

 

A blue rose is seen in a vase on a table in American Girl's room at 12:58 on the Blu-ray.

 

At 14:02 on the Blu-ray, American Girl's watch appears to indicate a date of Saturday the 1st. If this season takes place in 2017 as indicated in The Secret History of Twin Peaks, then it is either April 1 or July 1. April 1 is also April Fools' Day, ironically. Of course, in the strange otherworld Cooper is trapped in at this point, what do dates really mean?

 

The time on American Girl's watch changes to 2:53 p.m. as she looks at it. The time of 2:53 reappears throughout the season.

 

When the banging on the door starts again, American Girl tells Cooper "You'd better hurry. My mother is coming." Does her mother (Judy?) want to stop Cooper from returning to Earth?

 

Is there any significance to Dougie Jones having the same first name/nickname as Dougie Milford (whom we learned was a colonel in the U.S. Air Force and head of Listening Post Alpha on Blue Pine Mountain in Twin Peaks in The Secret History of Twin Peaks)?

 

Why do Cooper's shoes get left behind when he gets sucked through the giant electrical socket? It took him with the rest of his clothes, why not the shoes? Notice also that when Dougie is drawn into the Lodge at 23:17 on the Blu-ray, he also does not have his shoes. Possibly it's reference to Dorothy's ruby slippers that allow her to return home in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.

 

At 17:46 on the Blu-ray, Mr. C's Lincoln town car is seen to have South Dakota license plate, TJF 397.

 

The house Dougie and Jade have their tryst in has a "for sale" sign in front, with Sudermore Real Estate of Las Vegas as the listing realty company and the last name of (Michelle?) Gomes as the agent. Most of the houses on the street have "for sale" signs in front from assorted realtors.

 

Jade's vehicle is a 2015 Jeep Wrangler Sahara with Nevada license plate 704 AJQ. Dougie's is a 2000 Ford Taurus with Nevada license plate DUGE LV; the DUGE obviously stands for "Dougie" and possibly the LV stands for Las Vegas.

 

In Dougie and Jade's tryst bedroom, a bottle in a brown bag is seen on the floor. Probably they enjoyed some liquor in addition to sex.

 

Dougie Jones is wearing the Owl Cave ring and his arm has suddenly gone numb. The numbness is presumably an indication that he is about to be drawn into the Black Lodge.

 

At 2:53 p.m., both Mr. C and Dougie vomit up garmonbozia while red drapes appear in front of them. Then Dougie is drawn into the Lodge, leaving Mr. C behind on Earth. It seems likely that this was the reason Dougie was "manufactured" (to use Mike's term); Mr. C used Dougie to take his place in the Lodge when his 25 years on Earth were supposed to be up.

 

When Cooper emerges from the electrical wall socket into the tryst house, he is wearing his suit, minus shoes, but also minus his FBI lapel pin. Why is it not still on him? Where did it go? It did not fall to the floor with his shoes in the purple room. Its absence may be symbolic of Cooper not being his whole self yet (in fact Cooper is soon literally walking in Dougie's shoes!), but it doesn't explain where the pin went.

 

The tryst house was filmed at 37890 Lopez Lane, Palmdale, CA. The home of the drugged-out mother is across the street, as depicted.

 

The car driven by Gene at 29:38 on the Blu-ray is a 1971 Chevrolet Chevelle. Jake's car is a 1986 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS.

 

The house across the street from the tryst house has a DirecTV satellite dish on the roof.

 

Notice that the headrests are missing from the seats in Jade's vehicle as she drives Dougie-Cooper out of the housing tract. This is common to see in film and television productions, presumably to keep the actors' heads more visible in the shots. However, the headrests are back in place when she drops him off at the casino at 41:38 on the Blu-ray!

 

At 30:16 on the Blu-ray, Jade and Dougie-Cooper drive past Sycamore Street. This appears to be a fictitious road in Las Vegas. Cooper turns his head to look at it, his memory likely harkening back to the twelve sycamore trees at Glastonbury Grove near Twin Peaks, where the entrance to the Black Lodge is located.

 

The shot of the Rancho Rosa Estates sign was filmed on Woodbank Way in Palmdale, California.

 

The realtor listed on the sign at 30:39 on the Blu-ray is Peter Glavich.

 

Jake radios Gene that they'll see each other at Mikey's. We never learn who Mikey is.

 

The drugged-out mother across the street from the tryst house is drinking Evan Williams bourbon and smoking Fortuna cigarettes. She also has the same brand of playing cards (Pavilion) that Mr. C has an ace from in Part 2: "The Stars Turn and a Time Presents Itself". A red balloon is seen on the floor behind her. Is there any connection to the red balloons later seen at Lucky 7 insurance?

 

    The drugged-out mother starts calling out "1-1-9" when Gene approaches Dougie's parked car across the street. Possibly, she means to say 9-1-1, the emergency phone number in the United States. Is she supposed to be keeping an eye on the tryst house? Is she supposed to "call 911" if something happens there? If so, who put her up to it?

    What drug is she on? Is it sparkle? Has the drug put her in partial connection with the Black Lodge, accounting for her speaking 9-1-1 "backwards"? 

 

The South Dakota Highway Patrol car that pulls up to investigate Mr. C's crash is a 2006 Dodge Charger very similar to actual the vehicles used by SDHP, but the emblem is slightly different, with the real one being an inverted triangle.
Production car	Real world SDHP Charger (photo from mattsphotocollection.com)

 

During the deputies' search for whatever is missing from the Cooper case files, Hawk has brought coffee and donuts from the RR Diner, as seen by the RR2GO logo on the boxes.

 

The box of chocolate bunnies from the Laura Palmer case looks identical (or nearly so) to the one used when the box first appeared in Episode 0B: "Northwest Passage".

 

Lucy reveals that she ate one of Laura Palmer's chocolate bunnies back when the case was still active, having heard that chocolate may help to relieve gas. Actually, the way most cocoa is prepared, it is more likely to cause gas! At the time the Palmer case was opened (in 1989), Lucy was pregnant and pregnancy is known to cause excess gas due to increased amounts of the hormone progesterone during pregnancy.

 

The gas mask Jacoby wears while spray painting his new shovels is made by Sperian, a real world company. Notice that the mask already has a lot of gold paint residue on it, seemingly dry. Is he in the habit of spray painting things gold? Has he already painted more shovels than just the six we see here? At 39:20 on the Blu-ray, note that he has quite a stockpile of gold spray paint shelved in the cabinet next to his trailer. Later in the series, we see him offer these shovels for sale through his internet broadcast, the Dr. Amp Blast. Perhaps he has offered other gold items in the past as well?

 

Jacoby wears his red and blue glasses even under the mask!

 

Jade drops Dougie-Cooper off at the Silver Mustang Casino. This is a fictitious casino in Las Vegas, filmed at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and Commerce Casino in Los Angeles. Is the name Silver Mustang a play on the "white horse" that appears at times in conjunction with Black Lodge happenings (in Episode 14: "Lonely Souls", Fire Walk With Me, and Part 2: "The Stars Turn and a Time Presents Itself").

 

At 44:59 on the Blu-ray, notice that the cashier at the Silver Mustang is wearing a ring quite similar to the Owl Cave ring (but not exact). What is the significance of this? (The cashier is played by Meg Foster, known for her role as Holly Thompson in the cult classic 1988 John Carpenter film They Live, about aliens disguised as humans who have secretly taken over our world and who subliminally command us to consume, breed, and conform; by wearing special sunglasses, one can see the aliens for what they are...shades of Jacoby!)

 

During Dougie-Cooper's visit to the Silver Mustang, a number of real world slot machines are seen: Jackpot Party, Year of Best Wishes (Konami), Adorned Peacock, Wild Aztec, Goddess of Gold, Sumatran Storm, Black Orchid, Star Spangled Sevens, White Diamonds, Martini Madness, Wild Eights, Giant Jackpot, Strike It Rich, Red Hot Jackpots, American Dream, Eye of the Tiger, Candy Bars, Fireball Frenzy, Black Panther, and Big Pay Day. The machine Dougie-Cooper is led to by the red room visions for his first jackpot is fictitious: Fives and Sparklers.

 

The man who congratulates Dougie-Cooper on his first jackpot is actor Josh McDermitt, best known for his role as Eugene on TV series The Walking Dead.

 

The casino floor attendant (Jackie) is played by Sabrina S. Sutherland who is also an executive producer on the series.

 

The building in Philadelphia seen at 51:28 on the Blu-ray is City Hall. The statue mounted on top is of William Penn (1644-1718), founder of the colony of Pennsylvania in 1681.

 

As the Philadelphia scene opens, a group of FBI agents including Gordon Cole, Albert Rosenfield, and Tammy Preston are discussing a murder case (seemingly unrelated to our main storyline) involving a congressman that occurred in Georgetown. Georgetown is a neighborhood of Washington D.C.

 

The evidential gun seen on the table during the FBI meeting at 52:15 on the Blu-ray is a MAC-10 with a suppressor.

 

The evidential jar of beans on the table is a Ball brand mason jar.

 

Agent Preston makes her presentation on the Sam and Tracey killing on a Sony television screen.

 

Gordon Cole has a large blow-up photo of a nuclear explosion mounted on the wall behind his desk. This may suggest he is somehow aware that the Trinity nuclear weapons test of July 16, 1945 released supernatural forces into the world, as later seen in Part 8: "Gotta Light?".

 

    At 54:40 on the Blu-ray, Cole has a large portrait photo of Franz Kafka on his wall. Another portrait of Kafka can be seen on the wall of the Hastings home in Part 1: "My Log Has a Message for You"!

    I wonder if there is any significance to the portrait being located on the opposite wall from the nuclear explosion...is Kafka watching the explosion? Is he seeing the metamorphosis of the world in it (Kafka wrote the novella The Metamorphosis)? (Of course, Kafka died decades before the first nuclear bomb test at Trinity Site.)

 

    After hearing that someone purporting to be Cooper is in custody in South Dakota, Gordon informs Albert and Tammy that they are headed for the Black Hills and Albert sarcastically remarks, "The Black Hills? Seriously?" and Gordon responds, "As happy as this news makes us, Albert, we can't put this on the radio." Gordon seems to have misheard "seriously" for "Sirius", the satellite radio service officially known as Sirius XM Radio.

    Albert then sarcastically says he's been dying to see Mt. Rushmore and Gordon says, "It's good you want to hurry" (as in "rush more"). Mt. Rushmore is a gigantic granite sculpture, in the rock of the mountain called Mt. Rushmore in the Black Hills range of South Dakota, of four of what have been considered America's greatest presidents, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.

    Albert also adds, as an aside to Tammy, "The absurd mystery of the strange forces of existence." This is a quote from David Lynch describing his unfilmed script titled Ronnie Rocket.

 

At the end of the episode the band Cactus Blossoms perform their 2017 song "Mississippi" at the Roadhouse. 

 

Unanswered Questions

 

Why are there so many slot machines paying out big jackpots at the Silver Mustang when Dougie-Cooper plays there? Realistically, there wouldn't be so many right about to pay out at the same time. It would seem that besides just pointing out winning machines to him, the mystical mojo following Cooper around since his release from the Lodge is affecting probabilities. In fact, one might argue that Dougie-Cooper's presence in scenes throughout the season seems to affect probabilities, particularly those that concern how others treat him kindly and help him despite his seeming ineptitude.

 

Memorable Dialog

 

where are we?.mp3

banging.mp3

that's weird.mp3

Jade give two rides.mp3

chocolate bunnies.mp3

call for help.mp3

helllloooooooo.mp3

the absurd mystery.mp3

 

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