Reaffirming my feelings that not a moment is wasted in this show.Every scene serves a purpose to advance and compliment the story and are not simply there to just fill in some blanks.What Mark Frost and David Lynch are doing with this extended work of art is beyond the pale. I hope it influences future programs and brings forth change to storytelling in the television format.
This episode opens where we left off. More and more the episodes continue to pick up right where we last were in the story versus moving to another corner of the puzzle the morning of the following day.. The time-frame of one day per episode now carrying over into the next.
The Bad Dale and Ray are making their escape. Tension is in the air, as Ray doesn't know that the Bad Dale has killed Darya but the Bad Dale knows that Ray intends to kill him.Hence, his request for a "friend" in the glove-box.
The Bad Dale has interesting skills. With a simple phone he is able to deduce that the car they are currently within has three tracking devices implanted.(C,third letter of the alphabet=3? or is each icon one of the devices? FIRE?) One, he disables in some manner by connecting it to an unsuspecting truck.in front of them The second,presumably, was within the phone itself. But the third doesn't appear to be addressed. Unless, the Bad Dale is suggesting Ray is the third.Nothing else is said about a third device or replacing the car quickly, so its possible that Ray is the third in reference as Bad Dale knows about the deal to have him killed for half a million.
This is the first sign that the Warden isn't going to let the Bad Dale get away that easily.Despite the mystery threat of Mr Strawberry. Or, could the Warden have had the tracking devices placed there as a means of covering his action.When exposed, the Warden could say that despite letting the Bad Dale escape, he took measures to track him.Considering that the Bad Dale had not seen trial (only days have passed since his arrest on the side of the road) , he may have only been held there till trial but not legally required to be detained.This, despite the FBI telling the Warden that this man must be kept locked up.
Random observation, the key words that pop up on the Bad Dales phone when he types in the trucks license plate are : Degrees,Edge,Defense,Defeat,Degas,
The subject of Darya is raised. Ray still assumes she is alive and asks where she is. The Bad Dale lies and says she is waiting for a phone call once they get to some place safe.
The Bad Dale thinks Ray would like to go to The Farm. My impression is that this is a house of prostitution that has been visited by the two before.Enough that the Bad Dale would know that is it on Rays mind due to their vicinity. Ray IS eager to stop there as he knows that the law will bound to be looking for them,so the time for fun is limited.
The Bad Dale could care less.He turns to Ray and cuts him off.The turning of his head is a wonderfully simple ,spooky moment."You have something I want ,Ray" Again,want ,not need.
Ray" Yes, I do. All numbers, memorized perfectly. " All numbers? What could this be? Similar to the sequence of numbers the Bad Dale typed into the phone in a previous episode? A combination to communicate to the other side?Connect to the phone outside the convenience store?Does the Bad Dale need to ,dare I say it.....phone home?
But Ray oversteps his place.He tries to hold one over on the Bad Dale and attempts to make a deal for more money.You can just see the Bad Dales thoughts -"This insignificant insect thinks he can demand money from me? I am so going to kill you, you worthless little backwoods trucker piece of shit"
I want to take a moment and say how much I love David Lynch driving POV shots.The energy that he can build in these straightforward shots combined with the menacing soundscape or score always thrills me.I would watch a entire short film of a cars POV going down various terrain in anticipation of the mysterious final destination.
The Bad Dale has Ray pull off the highway on an apparently previously discussed route.Where did Ray think they were going that he doesn't question suddenly being on a dirt side road? Have they often taken the backroads of America in pursuit of their crimes?
Ray makes a request to pull over so he can "take a leak" You can tell by the way the Bad Dale glares at Ray that he knows what is about to occur.Or at least he decides that this is the moment Ray will die.
Ray seems to have made a deal with the Warden .Though the Warden had provided a gun to the Bad Dale as requested,it appears it is missing a necessary part to trigger.Seems like the Warden was not completely afraid of what the Bad Dale could reveal about Mr Strawberry.Or he hoped that Ray would kill him and his troubles would be over. Invulnerability apparently not a known or suspected power of this dark man.
The Bad Dale lets Ray know that he is aware of the half a million deal for his life and requests the information he wants, one last time.This sequence of numbers remains important to the Bad Dale. If he doesn't have access to them in all his Doppelganger years of travel, what type of person could?Are their importance financial or spiritual? Are they numbers Computer code that could open up the other side to traveling through computers via electricity? We've seen a potential message sent by the Bad Dale via a computer to the desk of Ducan. William Hastings secretary supposedly had theses numbers.Did she steal them from Hastings? Who is/was Hastings that he would have access to these numbers of importance that the Bad Dale would not, when Hastings is known to be a Principal? Hastings is connected to the murder of Major Briggs. Are these numbers obtained from Major Briggs Government surveillance work ?
"Tricked ya ,Fucker"
And with that, the Bad Dale is shot three times. Interestingly, in a similar location on his body that the Good Dale was shot in the original Episode 8(Pilot plus first 7 episodes) of the original series by Josie..Agent Cooper was shot three time then,as well.
Ray moves in close to give one last tap to the head when from the darkness three wood spirits appear.They fluctuate in time and space and appear to be more than just three woodsmen as they attempt to cross over to our time and place.
Ray appears to witness some elements of this moment. Does he SEE the Woodsmen? or just what is happening to the Bad Dales body? Seeing it move around as it something is pressing against it.Seeing the blood and dirt move all over his body. Seeing the face of evil emerge from within.
The Woodsmen, at first, perform a small ritualistic dance around the body.Then they begin to pat the dirt around and through the fallen Bad Dale.Their touch seems to cause waves of moment as their hands both move through and then physically touch the body.As they continue to solidify on this side of existence ,they appear to be rubbing something all over the face and body of the Bad Dale in their ritualistic efforts.Scorched engine oil? Or simply earth and blood?Fixing a Golem?They move positions again in what appears to be part of a the dance. They are seen patting down the body as if searching for something. Something inside.And then that something emerges. A veined orb sac that contains the gleeful leering face of BOB!
Who or what called the Woodsmen forward to this moment?For whose purpose did they appear at this moment?And before next to William Hastings cell and near Major Briggs body? Have they been searching for BOB all these years? We're the Woodsmen removing BOB or repairing the Bad Dale BECAUSE he had BOB inside him?We never see the complete removal of BOB.Though at one moment near the end of the scene we catch a glimpse of what looks like something round in one of the Woodsmen's pockets. If BOB is removed , what does this mean for the flesh of the Bad Dale?And why is BOB so gleefully happy at this act?They chose a look of malicious happiness for this moment. BOB is pleased with the turn of events.Or maybe he is just enjoying freaking the fudge into Rays shorts because Ray can see him being removed. When we see the same face of BOB in the sac, later in the episode, he has a serious glaring expression.( The production is limited at what images are available to use of Frank Silva as BOB since his passing so many years ago)
In a previous episode, the Bad Dale was pleased to find out that BOB was still with him.What purpose did BOB serve a Doppelganger? The Bad Dale seemed to be capable and in control and in no need for BOB to guide him.Does a certain level of immortality come with BOB's presence? Or might BOB have been a guiding influence on this side of existence. BOB has spent many years among us. Learning how to be human.And to manipulate humans.He my have had a wealth of ideas and advice on how to cause pain and suffering
Ray stares right into eyes of this strange removal of BOB and understandably this causes him to flee in terror. He calls "Phillip".And says he is not sure if he killed The Bad Dale, as it appears he had some help. But he saw something in Cooper and it might be the key to what this is all about.... ?? What have Ray and Phillip been working on together?What information have THEY wanted? They know that the Bad Dale wanted the numbers for a purpose, but it would seem it is unclear to at least Ray and possibly Phillip what that may have been. The Bad Dale was focused on working towards a end.But whose?
Now, is this actually the long lost Phillip Jeffries? Or might it be Phillip Gerard?Pretending to be Jeffries.The voice heard previously as being "Phillip" said he wanted to be with BOB.... AGAIN.
We know that MIKE and BOB used to be partners in pain.Perhaps Phillip has been missing the old collaboration.MIKE has been shown spending most of his time on the other side within the red room of the Lodge.Perhaps ,Phillip Gerard has felt empty without MIKE inside.And thinks finding BOB could bring them back together. Maybe Gerard is ill, and the invulnerability that comes with having a host is a life or death matter.
And if this "Phillip" is Gerard .What does that mean for the "help" the Good Dale is getting from MIKE? Phillip Gerard was the host for MIKE.Could this mean that The Good Dale is in trouble of being double crossed? That they want to use the Good Dales body as host for BOB,wherein BOB will have more control, but this cant happen until the Doppelganger returns to the Lodge?
Next, the dark mood is perpetuated with our musical interlude that comes barely 15 minutes into this episode:
"Ladies and Gentlemen, the Roadhouse is proud to present THE Nine Inch Nails". "THE" ? How do they afford a band like this? Damn,the straight-A high school girls must make a lot of money for the Renaults to afford a band such as this.Its not like Prince who would perform at a large arena show and then find a small club to jam at afterwards.
"Shes Gone Away" is a song that was released digitally on an EP in 2016. It's possible that the lyrics could have been written with intent to fit into the themes of Twin Peaks. There are certain echoes in the lyrics to events in this episode alone. The song itself feels like a reference or call back to the Downward Spiral song "Reptile" ....she has the blood of reptiles, underneath her skin.......like the little girl who swallowed the frog-fly-perhaps she'll die.
You dig in places till your fingers bleed
Spread the infection, where you spill your seed
I can't remember what she came here for
I can't remember much of anything anymore
She's gone, she's gone, she's gone away
She's gone, she's gone, she's gone away
Away
Away
A little mouth opened up inside
Yeah, I was watching on the day she died
We keep licking while the skin turns black
Cut along the length, but you can't get the feeling back
She's gone, she's gone, she's gone away
She's gone, she's gone, she's gone away
She's gone, she's gone, she's gone away
She's gone, she's gone, she's gone away
Away
Away
Away
Away
(Are you still here?)
The live performance of the song is considerably darker than the officially released version.The studio version felt cold and clinical.This one has teeth gnawing at the meat on the hook. And it works as a nice transition between the first half of this episode and the second. The now standard Roadhouse performance or song of each episode would not have worked at this episodes completion. In fact, it would have completely ruined the impact of the final half.The second half of Episode or part 8 had to end on its own without any other distraction or change in tone.
Just like the Bad Dale, a good NIN song can wake me up as well.Does he instantly sense that BOB is gone away? What does this mean for our Bad Dale? Much like when BOB removed Leland's bleeding pain and sorrow in Fire Walk With Me, The Woodsmen appear to have removed BOB and bullets.The Bad Dale has survived a bullet shot to the belly thanks to the assistance of the Woodsmen. Will this happen again if he is fatally injured? Or has the removal of BOB removed his invulnerability and the Bad Dale is just as at risk as the Good Dale?
What would the Woodsmen need with BOB? They have their own powers.What could BOB give them? What,in fact was he providing the Bad Dale ?
And then it happens.....
10...9......8......7.....
July 16,1945
White Sand ,New Mexico
5:29 MWT (approximately 4:30 AM in Twin Peaks at this point and time)
6....5......4....
The Trinity Nuclear explosion.Trinity was the code name of the first detonation of a nuclear weapon.
The birth of the most evil thing man has created. The bomb as a way for man to completely destroy itself.
B-O-m-B is a warning :Beware Of my Bomb
An M-looks like two peaks.
..3...2...
Definition:
Trin·i·ty
One God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (the Good Dale-order, the Bad Dale-chaos,Holy Spirit -BOB?)
A group of three people or things. (three coopers?)
The state of being three.(third season?)
...1...
"Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima" as composed by Krzysztof Penderecki kicks in with it's screeching violins.( I was very pleased to discover that I had this song already in my collection. My first introduction to this artists work was from the score to the movie The Exorcist.) The title of this piece is disturbingly appropriate for the proceedings.The Black and White visuals for this moment are a stunning compliment to the music.
The camera begins its unwavering movement forward towards the destruction. and finally into its center.
For a moment , the image reminded me of the Evolution of the Arm, with the bulbous head of the explosion upon the long neck.
The visuals of this moment and the following sequence cements my wish that one day this entire series will be shown on the movie screen.
We move inside the destruction and David Lynch takes full reign of the visual proceedings. According to the production, Lynch went away and created this 8 minute sequence on his own. Keeping it a secret.
It appears as if we are moving down..down....down the stalk of the explosion to its base and below. Around us, the destructive energy appears to be creating big bangs of creation.Something is being birthed from this end.
Dissolve to "The Convenience Store". This is a place we have heard about before , but never seen. Phillip Jeffries witnessed a meeting above this store.
Then suddenly , the Woodsmen come into existence, walking around aimlessly.They have no purpose yet in this place.
Just as quickly as they appeared, they suddenly disappear inside the Convenience Store. The first meeting? The sound design and score seem to indicate that something of dark implication and significance is occurring here.The brief images we can make out inside give the impression that the Woodsmen are moving,dancing, in the same manner they did around the Bad Dale before.
The camera moves in closer.....and enters something.But we are not given a clear indication as to what.Inside this new place of darkness we see what I believe to be "Mother". The Mother of Abomination to be more precise.Her arms appear to be bent back,though it could be because the way the hands are attached,backwards. If you look close, you can make out two protrusions on its head that make the face closely resemble the image scrawled on the playing card the Bad Dale held in front of Darya.This creature looks like the one we saw devour the faces of the couple in Episode 1
Will Mothers be a big theme of this series? Sarah Palmer,Laura's Mother? The drugged out Mother? Janey-E and her motherly care of the Good Dale and Sonny Jim?The Mother who lost her child in the car accident?Shelly and her daughter Becky?The Mother of Abominations?
She expels a strings of seeds within an umbilical cord of evil vomit.( I love that I have a reason to say that phrase) One extra dark sac in particular contains the essence of BOB. Fully formed in his evil. As the camera continues to push forward into the darkness,we see one of the seeds just behind BOB's head escape from the goo.
BOB is the only one to appear as a full image, as we had seen him earlier in this episode. With the passing of Frank Silva, the appearance or representation of BOB would always be an issue.Mark Frost and David Lynch not only have found interesting ways to invoke BOB , but have managed to create an origin story for the beast. A character that was created out of pure happenstance on the set during the production of the pilot. Frank Silva was a set designer who was literally in the right place at the right time .His off screen reflection appearing in a mirror above Sarah Palmers head during the filming of a scene combined with David Lynch seeing Mr Silva kneeling down behind Laura Palmers bed ,as he was working on set dressing ,created that visual spark in David Lynchs imagination resulting in the creation of one of the most evil characters on film.The visual of BOB's grinning face inside a sphere hearkens back to the gold sphere we saw "Dougie" turn into in a previous episode and the seeds of evil we see later in this episode.
Is this his moment of BOBs birth?It implies that this is the beginning.Born bad from the start.Was this Mother creature so sickened by what Man has created that it vomits up its own horrors in disgust,in reply-You think that's evil? here hold my creamed corn...!BARF!.The Mother of Abominations sickened by what destruction man has done to itself.
The other side has been present since before the time of Lewis and Clark according to the Secret History of Twin Peaks.But have the Black Lodge spirits always been there too? Or has there creation been the result of the effects of American Frontiersmen and their destruction of nature and themselves in the name of progress, upsetting the natural balance that indigenous peoples practices tried to preserve between man and Mother Earth?Culminating in the invention and dropping of the first atomic bomb The extreme final act of self destruction leading to the creation of the darkest of Black Lodge spirits.
Was this act a invocation to the darkness?
The camera continues to move forward,inside the vomit.The visuals almost subconsciously pull us in to look closer...what else might we spot inside the seeds? and then !BOOM! we are struck with a fiery explosion. From whose center we approach a golden,gooey orb. Which we are then shown entering as well. Going ever further inside this chaos.
Could this singular special golden orb be a response to the expelled horrors of the Mother?A counterbalance of one greater good vs the many evils
The scene transitions to a place we have seen before.Are we still inside the chaos, or have we moved onto another moment, place, and time?
A wide purple ocean of natural power and force moves below a lone lighthouse tower which stands atop a small island.The Good Dale had used this place to escape the Lodges not long ago. A calmness now sets in as the camera moves in close and enters a window on the side of the building.
Inside we find a beautiful woman,Senorita Dido, dressed elegantly. Sitting on a couch listening to a gramophone play music by David Lynch.Where were from ,there is always music in the air.
Sounds like a wonderful Sunday to me.
In the same room is the similar bell like object that we saw the woman with no eyes use to help transition time and place for Coopers escape.The floor of this room looks not unlike the earth of White Sands before the explosion.
Dido has meanings of : a mischievous or capricious act : prank, antic — something that is frivolous or showy.Also referenced with a legendary queen of Carthage in Virgil's Aeneid who kills herself when Aeneas leaves her. Could her name portend her fate? If the Giant leaves or is killed in the conflict?
Part of me has also begun to theorize,but not wholly commit to, that the Giant, or ??????? is the evolution of Cooper. That is why he helps him specifically, repeatedly.In the end, Cooper will have to return to the Lodge, but choose to stay and fight another day.Evolving and transcending time to stop BOB.Circles and circles and circles again. Got to stop spinning.
After taking a moment to listen intently to the alarm,or some unspoken communication underneath it all, the ??????? turns off the bell and exits.We follow him to the theater.He passes another bell,communication device. and enters a theater.There sits to the left yet another one of the bell devices.
With a motion he calls forth what must have triggered the alarm. The atomic explosion appears on the movie screen.The Woodsmen search for meaning.Mother vomits up BOB. When BOB becomes clear, the screen stops and the ??????? moves into position immediately in response.
Senorita Dido enters and watches the proceedings in fascination at its beauty.As she takes the stage the image of BOB fades away and the screen is full of stars moving forward in space.My God,it's full of stars.
Witnessing the darkness, he creates light.From within his head emerges a golden light. It takes on the shape of the female reproductive system. Fallopian tubes. From this emerges a singular golden orb. Called forth to be sent to earth.
Within this orb we see the smiling familiar face of Laura Palmer.Since the beginning of the series, Laura Palmer's face has appeared within the opening credits. This episode calls to attention the glowing circle that can be seen floating over Laura's face as she fades in and out of the mist. What was once thought to just be a Lynch visual trope now actually possesses meaning.She is watching over these woods. Laura has always been important to the fight against darkness. She refused to let BOB win.Willing to let her self die before he could possess her. Laura always tried to do good, even when she never felt she deserved goodness. She tried to help others when she couldn't help herself. From Meals on Wheels to Johnny Horne, to Josie. Laura always tried to be a good person, but the darkness that BOB put inside her kept her in constant battle.
The Golden orb descends into her hands.She kisses it for good luck and releases it once more. It enters the screen and descends towards earth. I was unable to see where the orb moved over the depiction of North America and whereabouts we last see it before the scene ends.
Does it go to the northwest to become the Laura we know to fight BOB at a later date? Or does it go somewhere new? to become a third version of the image of Laura. This time a red head? Lynch had told Sheryl Lee back during the original series that they would find a way for her to return once again as a Laura Look alike,as a red head. Or does she descend to......
1956
August 5
New Mexico Desert
One of the seeds from Mother is seen hatching into a strange fly frog moth cross breed of a creature.The creature takes its first steps and begins to move with purpose within moments of its birth.The full moon bright in the sky becomes obscured by dark clouds.
A very young couple are shown walking home together. The young girl finds a penny. For the third time a coin has been found and there is a reference to luck. Red and Richard . Hawk and the diary pages. and now the young couple.Could these be our Richard and Judy that we have been foretold? They remain nameless in the credits , for the moment.
A woodsmen descend.
Do these filthy men smell of scorched engine oil?Living embodiment of petroleum?
One walks in search of a light. "Got a light?" Have you any light to fight the darkness? Wanna play with fire...little boy? Wanna play with BOB?
With the electrical sound that accompanies their presence, I am reminded of the message the ??????? gave Cooper. Listen to the sounds.The noise in particular that the ??????? references sounds not unlike what I have heard a Geiger counter as presented on film.Considering the nuclear implications of this episode.It may not be far off the mark.!BOOM!
What brought the Woodsmen to our side at this place and time? His first thing back on this side of existence and all he wants is a smoke.What would the spirit need with this mortal indulgence?They appear by the roadside and seem intent on interacting with the locals.Something happened in the other car on the side of the road, but we never get a clear look. The Woodsman's voice and repeated request seems to hypnotize the driver of the second car,lowing down time.If not for his wife's screaming he might have fell victim. But they drive off ,understandably frightened.
The implication is that next our young couple will cross paths with the Woodsmen and are in danger.But this does not pass. We are treated to a simple scene of teenage budding love.Their innocence and sweetness together makes for a contrast for the darkness to come.When we see the young girl taken and invaded against her will, we can not but feel sympathetic for her inevitable suffering.Who is she? who will she become in this story?
The Woodsman in need of a light approaches a local radio station. Drawn, most likely to the electricity of the place. He steps inside and right into a Edward Hopper painting.
Or did the giant use this past event as a moment in time to take advantage of for his own use.To send the seed of a Laura injected spirit to be reborn once more.This time ,away from the direct influence of BOB.
On the radio plays Platters " My Prayer" ( of amusing note, one of the members of the Platters has the name David Lynch).The 45 playing is a promo copy from their version in 1956. A song of someone at the beginning of love, and the hope that it will last forever.
When the twilight is gone and no songbirds are singing
When the twilight is gone you come into my heart
And here in my heart you will stay while I pray
My prayer is to linger with you
At the end of the day in a dream that’s divine
My prayer is a rapture in blue
With the world far away and your lips close to mine
Tonight while our hearts are aglow
Oh tell me the words that I’m longing to know
My prayer and the answer you give
May they still be the same for as long as we live
That you’ll always be there at the end of my prayer…
The woodsman sends people into a slumber with his words, and death with his hands. Is he calling to his brethren? Now is the time, now is our hour?Come to this side and drink full of the pain and sorrow?
"This is the water, and this is the well.
Drink full, and descend.
The horse is the white of the eyes, and dark within"
Random thoughts on the words:
If you drink all the water in a well , you could conceivably descend to the bottom.Depths of depravity?
Is this horse , like the Trojan horse,like a possessed person.Darkness within?
Don't FIRE until you see the whites of their eyes?Are sure the person is possessed
The Woodman causes many locals to slip into slumber while he repeats his poem. Adding different inflections to different words each time.All the while he slowly crushes the head of the DJ. Is he generating strength to boost his signal from this act of pain? The Woodsmen powers seem to be to control with their voice and great strength. Again, what would they need with BOB?Have they never been able to exist for great lengths on this side of existence and they need BOB to show them how?
When the little girl slips into slumber the frog moth creature enters her room and then somehow makes her open her mouth against her will. It then crawls completely inside her.closing the mouth behind it.
What are we witnessing here?
Was this the first earthly host of BOB? Leland describes when he became taken by BOB as " He opened me, and I invited him, and he came inside me"
Did BOB crawl inside Leland like this frog moth creature?
Did BOB give you this .....Or is there someone new?
Is this that seed we saw escaping the goo behind BOB's orb in the previous scene? Or is just one of the many seeds that has grown into something that has invaded innocence over the years?
Is this the new Laura?
-sent down by the ??????? to grow into a new force against the darkness of BOB? Laura was in the the gold sphere. Gold spheres are connected to manufactured individuals. Could the bug crawling into the little girls mouth mean she is the mother of the new Laura?It's unlikely this girl is the future Mrs Sarah Palmer.
Was Laura ,all along, Manufactured for a purpose?To stop BOB
The Woodsman, his work done. The DJ's head thoroughly crushed. Returns to the darkness. We see a flash of light.Often associated with passage from one side to the other as he walks away. And from the darkness, we hear the sounds of horses whinnying.
As the credits roll. we once again see the prone girl on her bed. The Geiger counter sounds and hum fill the air.The little girls eye twitches as if in R.E.M sleep. What nightmare will she wake to?
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