Major Briggs (Spoilers)

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claaa7
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Major Briggs (Spoilers)

Post by claaa7 »

I'm suprised that there haven't been a specific thread dedicated to Major Garland Briggs and his enigmatic presence in The Return as I find him one of the most interesting aspects of this new story. right from the beginning it was made clear to us that he played a very important role in the story we were about to see but rather than clearing things up in some ways his story almost got more and more mysterious.

so what do we know about Briggs? lets use this thread to gather our thoughts, share theories and build.



Major Briggs is believed to have died in a fire shortly after the events we saw in ep. 29 of the original run. The day before this happened Cooper (Mister C) had visited him, and this seems to be the last action Cooper took before leaving Twin Peaks after which he was considered missing. From how I read Bobby's dialouge Briggs was visited by Cooper/Mister C, came home from work, slept, went back to work and died in a fire. Am I right in this?

During the 25 years that has passed between that event and The Return Major Briggs fingerprints has kept popping up at dozens of crime scenes, but when his body is found at Ruth Davenport's apartment his head is missing and he hasn't physically aged a day since his presumed death 25 years earlier. What does this suggest? My first thought was that Briggs had somehow faked his death and kept working underground, fighting the good fight. But that doesn't explain why he hasn't aged... Hastings mentions Briggs using the word HIBERNATING to explain his state of being. could it be then that Briggs has found a way to hide in a "place" where time is not linear or doesn't at all work like our time? Perhaps he's been hiding in The Fireman's place (which i take to be The White Lodge) as his superimposed head was seen there in ep. 17 (that might well have been the worst looking effect to my taste haha), only reappearing in our world to send messages to let Cole know he is still safe and alive. Placing fingerprints at crime scenes would be a sure shot way to get across the message to Cole without contacting him directly which presumably would be dangerous to everybody involved.. perhaps this relates to Mister C's message to Albert, something about Phillip Jeffries sending messages to let them know he is safe or something to that effect.

Build on!
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Troubbble
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Re: Major Briggs (Spoilers)

Post by Troubbble »

claaa7 wrote:Hastings mentions Briggs using the word HIBERNATING to explain his state of being. could it be then that Briggs has found a way to hide in a "place" where time is not linear or doesn't at all work like our time? Perhaps he's been hiding in The Fireman's place (which i take to be The White Lodge) as his superimposed head was seen there in ep. 17 (that might well have been the worst looking effect to my taste haha), only reappearing in our world to send messages to let Cole know he is still safe and alive. Placing fingerprints at crime scenes would be a sure shot way to get across the message to Cole without contacting him directly which presumably would be dangerous to everybody involved.. perhaps this relates to Mister C's message to Albert, something about Phillip Jeffries sending messages to let them know he is safe or something to that effect.
The show was pretty clear (lol) about Briggs' hibernation occurring in "the Zone" visited by Bill Hastings and Co.

Was that the Black Lodge? The Dutchman's? I don't think we have a firm grasp on that, OR the relation between either one and the convenience store. Nevertheless, I assume that one of these has to be what Hastings knew as the Zone. (Remember: Woodsmen appeared there, and the flowered wallpaper was seen by Gordon Cole when he approached the vortex, etc.)

Upon receiving the coordinates Briggs asked them to find, he was then apparently able to depart that place--picture his head floating off his shoulders--and flee to the White Lodge, where we see him later, as you said.

Not sure how to reconcile all this, in light of his corpse's apparent age, and the fact that he took Bobby to Jack Rabbit's Palace as a boy. Something really timey-wimey going on, to say the least... Expect Mark's next book to clear things up just a little bit more.
Obi-Wan McCartney
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Re: Major Briggs (Spoilers)

Post by Obi-Wan McCartney »

How did Dougie's ring get in his stomache?
claaa7
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Re: Major Briggs (Spoilers)

Post by claaa7 »

Obi-Wan McCartney wrote:How did Dougie's ring get in his stomache?
someone made the point that Briggs could have swallowed the ring with Dougie Jones and Janey-E's names engraved to put Gordon Cole and the team on the right track in finding Cooper.. remember that it was made clear a few times that Briggs had seen the future (the dialouge by Betty Briggs in ep. 9, Cooper's dialouge to Bobby in ep. 17, and maybe a few more instances)
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Troubbble
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Re: Major Briggs (Spoilers)

Post by Troubbble »

Obi-Wan McCartney wrote:How did Dougie's ring get in his stomache?
This is hard or impossible to really answer, but since Dougie's ring belongs on Dougie's finger, and the only thing we ever saw him wear there was the Owl Cave Ring, it is absolutely clear there is a connection between the two.

Extrapolating loosely, I tend to imagine Mike giving Briggs the Owl Cave Ring to swallow, before pulling some sort of magical switcheroo later--allowing Dougie to return to the Lodge without actually being killed (thanks to the ring's appearance on his finger), and thereby making an opening in the world for Dale while leaving an important clue for the Blue Rose folk at the same time.

In part, our confusion about this is related to our confusion about the Doppelganger's plan and the nature of the "trick" he was playing with Dougie. There are elements of that which most people seem to misinterpret, even now - mainly, that he knew Dale would be able to return, and wanted to kill him as soon as he arrived back. That's definitely wrong!

I assume now that the Doppelganger's plan was very simple. He knew he would be jolted back to the Lodge after the 25 year period, so he created another version of himself to go back in his place. All he needed to do to make this happen was kill Dougie at 2:53 on the appointed day, so that he would be sent back to the Lodge after dying (exactly like Diane's tulpa was) and satisfy the void there which demanded his return. When Mike discovers this ruse will be attempted, he does a number of things to interfere with the plan--most importantly, getting the Owl Cave Ring on Dougie's finger (as I speculated above). This is the primary element making it possible for Dale to return himself, and then forcefully send the Doppelganger back.

Not only were the assassins meant for Dougie and *not* Dale, but... I don't think the Doppelganger *EVER* realizes Dale is back before perishing at the end of the show.

Was speculating similarly several weeks ago that we were not correctly understanding this part of the plot, but was dismissed by a lot of people out of hand. Was even doubting my own reasoning for awhile, until Episode 17 made it clear that a lot of common assumptions were wrong. While waiting in the back of the van, Chantal and Hutch explicitly say that they're looking for DOUGIE - no two ways about it.

We really need to start a new discussion about the creation of Dougie and the specifics of the Doppelganger's plan, along with the ways in which Mike worked to thwart him.
Last edited by Troubbble on Wed Sep 13, 2017 12:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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powerleftist
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Re: Major Briggs (Spoilers)

Post by powerleftist »

Troubbble wrote:We really need to start a discussion about the creation of Dougie and the specifics of the Doppelganger's plan, along with the ways in which Mike worked to thwart him.
Good, Lynch and Frost would like to get to know that.
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Troubbble
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Re: Major Briggs (Spoilers)

Post by Troubbble »

powerleftist wrote:
Troubbble wrote:We really need to start a discussion about the creation of Dougie and the specifics of the Doppelganger's plan, along with the ways in which Mike worked to thwart him.
Good, Lynch and Frost would like to get to know that.
It's entertaining how butthurt you are about The Return, but even more entertaining that you're constantly posting bitter drivel about it weeks after the finale.

Move on, man. It just wasn't for you -- sorry!
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