1) A Chain Reaction of Self-Actualization -- There seems to be a widespread reaction that the Ed and Norma thing didn't have enough within season building, and I would agree except that I don't think this story is about them and I don't think that this is the last beat of it.
Dr. Jacoby receiving those shovels was the first real-world scene we saw in the first part. We waited 5 parts for the payoff and went "Oh, how funny! They were messing with us" like that was the goal of the shovel story. Then the podcast story continues, with an image of Nadine listening adoringly each time, with the reveal of the Golden Shovel and her storefront, and then we thought "Well, is that all we get of Nadine?" And no, we got to see Ed, lonely, for one ep, and Nadine meeting Jacoby and explaining how the shovel was a positive symbol for her, a talisman for her own betterment. And we thought, was that the payoff?
Well, no.
We see Nadine, carrying her golden talisman all the way from her place to Ed's, to prove to him she's thought about this and she's realized that she will be okay without him. And Ed, who we saw introduced as lonely and in love with another, rushes to the diner to realize his dreams.
Norma we've been seeing for several episodes, stuck in that booth in a beaureaucratic hell which wasn't as lonely and isolated as Ed's situation, but still kept her at a distance from those she loved. And, upon hearing Ed is free, she sits down to a business meeting and does what she's clearly been wanting to do for a while but, as of last ep, seemed very reluctant to do. She sells the franchises and goes back to just her diner, her home. And then she goes to Ed.
So, so far we've seen a chain reaction of self-actualization that has made Nadine, Ed, and Norma estactically happy. So while that kiss was the culmination of a 25-year-old plot, I don't believe it was the end of THIS plot, which has been slowly building from the very first hour. What happened between Ed and Norma this episode will likely have a direct effect on those around them, inspiring someone else to self-actualization and so on and so forth as we reach the climax of the season.
My money's on Shelly being the next link, because she was watching this with such emotion.
Either way, this didn't come out of nowhere. This was built out of scenes we've seen with Nadine, Norma and Jacoby since the very first 4 hours. The thing I think that's throwing people is the Ed piece is where they expect their POV to come, but the true action and the true character change we were watching was Nadine's as she joyfully viewed those Dr. Amp videos.
2) The Bosomy Woman -- I was watching the
Mild Fuzz TV review of this ep and they were speculating that she and the Jumping Man were gatekeepers. I like this idea, and that would explain why she's played by a man. She's a liminal spirit, a spirit that exists to help cross boundaries, to help cross worlds and crossing gender is a touch that adds to that. It puts her on the threshold of a binary from the second you see her. It's also worth noting... Mr. C talks forwards, Jeffries talks forwards. She uses backwards speak, and I believe is the only person in the sequence to do so. She exists between genders, between worlds, and between those doors that line this space. That scene change at the end of the credits, long after the Roadhouse song ends, even implies she exists between episodes/parts.
3) The Jumping Man and Sarah -- I have to say, though, I don't think the Jumping Man is a gatekeeper like they do. I think he's a
herald. The Jumping Man is the official of the court who greets the guests and announces their arrival. Only, instead of saying "Dale Cooper, Black Lodge Doppelganger and Crime Lord" he appears briefly and does some sort of ritual dance. He's a ceremonial role rather than a guardian.
And one of the reasons I say Herald instead of guardian is because the evidence is mounting that the Jumping Man is the one inhabiting Sarah. And the Herald of the Black Lodge taking a human host imply that something/someone extremely important is going to come to Twin Peaks. I suspect that he has come in advance of the Experiment.
