Part 16 - No knock, no doorbell (SPOILERS)

Discussion of each of the 18 parts of Twin Peaks the Return

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claaa7
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Re: Part 16 - No knock, no doorbell (SPOILERS)

Post by claaa7 »

vicksvapor77 wrote:
Dreamy Audrey wrote:
vicksvapor77 wrote:Sabrina got back to me on the Cooper age issue. It definitely seems to be a simple continuity mistake (which I won't be telling her haha), which is further emphasized by the case file picture I posted during the marathon. Just thought you guys would like to see!

2017-09-06_8-46-27.jpg
"It's not saying how old Cooper double is" :mrgreen:
Which I hope you realize is totally inaccurate LOL, even though she didn't realize it. Just confirming it's a simple continuity mistake!
i guess what they meant to say was "I got 25 years on you so you go..." it's not that big of a deal though imo
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Mr. Reindeer
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Re: Part 16 - No knock, no doorbell (SPOILERS)

Post by Mr. Reindeer »

It’s difficult to process the “Cooper awakens” material in Part 16 in light of the finale. When this one first aired, the stuff with Dale was one long series of fist-pumps (even if I was a little troubled when Dale’s usually impeccable moral compass apparently indicated that the murderous Mitchums had hearts of gold). After Part 18, though, it’s tough to decide how I feel about Coop, not to mention how L/F intend me to feel about him, and whether those two things are one and the same. (Heck, who knows if Lynch and Frost are even on the same page?) While Dale isn’t quite firing in full-on “maple syrup collides with ham” mode (Kyle seems unable or unwilling to pitch his voice up from his normal speaking voice as he did in days of old), it does feel like getting an old friend back. And yet...he’s controlling, bossy and commanding to everyone around him to an arguably unpleasant degree (although they all accept and even seem to enjoy it). And yet...was he always like this? He bossed Harry and the sheriff’s station crew around plenty...but there was also a warmth and sense of camaraderie there, whereas his interactions with Janey-E and Bushnell come across as a bit more condescending here, even with his rather perfunctory expressions of admiration/affection. And yet and yet...we really don’t see enough of him in “classic Coop” mode to make a firm determination on any of this. I do think that was a very conscious bit of calculation on DKL’s part, to keep us confused and debating what to do with this sequence. For instance, “I am the FBI” can be read as a joyous return to form and also as a slightly more ambiguous, troublesome expression of overextending paternalism, particularly in light of the events of Part 18. The Vedder song contributes to this ambiguity, reminding us that “who I was I will never be again.”

Whatever my ambivalent feelings on “the good Dale,” I’m sure of one thing: he makes a huge sacrifice when he leaves Las Vegas. The looks on Kyle’s face when he hugs his wife and child, and when Janey-E touches his cheek, are heartbreaking and dripping with loss. I think it’s even more than the fact that he is giving up a simple life that he longs for: if my theory about the formation of tulpas is correct, Dale actually gives up a part of himself — the part that takes joy out of things like Douglas firs and jelly donuts — when he creates Dougie 2.0. Hence, the soulless Mr. C-esque Dale we get in Part 18. Coop makes this tremendous sacrifice in order to do what he believes is right, even if it ends up being a grave miscalculation.

Are we assuming that the big rock was a trap for Mr. C, and Richard is destroyed because he shares Mr. C’s DNA? If so, Mr. C sure was lucky to have the perfect guinea pig thrown in his path. Or did someone point Richard to the Farm? It’s never clear how he got there, and it seems like a pretty big coincidence. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems to be common knowledge that Ray and Jeffries gave Mr. C the “bad” coordinates that would have killed him, whereas Diane (offscreen) gave him the “good” coordinates (which take him to the Fireman’s lair but also turn out to be a different kind of trap in Part 17)...but Diane didn’t send him the full coordinates, which is why he prompts her with the “:-) ALL” here? This all gives me a headache. Obviously Albert and Gordon feed Diane coordinates they know will lead to Mr. C being trapped/killed. Were they aware of Ray/Jeffries giving the other coordinates? Were the Ray/Jeffries coordinates Plan A and the Diane coordinates a failsafe, or were the two groups acting totally independently with different plans to kill Mr. C?

Do we think Jerry even saw who Richard was? Based on the distance he was at, the fact that he was using the binoculars backwards (obscuring distant objects/people even further) and given how stoned he was, I have my doubts. Ben ironically might never learn of Richard’s fate even though his brother unknowingly witnessed it!

I’ve been vocally ambivalent about Mr. C’s coordinate-hunting exploits. Sadly, I don’t know that this rewatch has particularly improved my opinion. The thing is, I like pretty much all the individual scenes (only the Montana arm-wrestling scene feels a tad draggy, and I think would have worked better at night). The Mr. C scenes by and large have a great mood — in fact, the Part 8 sequence of the Woodsmen “repairing” him is among my favorite scenes of the whole show. I enjoy these scenes immensely as I’m watching. But when I reflect on the show as a whole, the storyline still strikes me as a bit of a missed opportunity: the Mr. C character doesn’t say much about Cooper (he’s more interesting in this regard after Part 18, but he still comes across as more stock villain than “Dale’s dark side”), and the storyline overall still feels simultaneously overly plot driven and devoid of meaningful narrative.

Diane’s actions are interesting. The “:-) ALL” prompt seems to awaken something inside her — she says she remembers (remembers what? The rape? Did she not remember it previously during her jailhouse conversation with Mr. C? She seemed to...or is she talking about something else?). Her “Oh, Coop,” seems to indicate that she is good...but she then goes to kill Gordon. Does she know Mr. C is a doppel or does she believe he is the real Dale? Does she send him the “trap” coordinates knowingly or is she just a pawn?

I’d forgotten that Diane implies Mr. C took her to the convenience store/Dutchman after raping her. This is interesting. Is that where he trapped her as Naido? Did he create the tulpa, or did a bit of Diane manage to escape back into the world? More importantly, did he also take Audrey there after raping her? Is this the key to understanding where Audrey is and what is going on with her?

I really love the resonance of Vedder’s song for both Dale and Audrey. Dale has literally lost 25 years of his life (and as I said above, I believe sacrificed a piece of himself for his family, so he will never be who he was again). Audrey’s situation is less straightforward, but whether she is trapped in a coma, the Lodge, or a bitter loveless marriage, the contrast to the innocent teenager of the original show is equally poignant. “Now it’s gone, gone.” The song even literally references mirror-gazing, very relevant to both characters but especially Audrey in Part 16. “There’s another of us around somewhere with much better lives.” Is there, though? Is Mr. C’s life better than Dale’s? Is Carrie Page’s life better than Laura’s? Is there another Audrey somewhere?

I loved the dark humor of the Hutchenses’ ‘Bonnie & Clyde’ comedy-of-errors end when it aired, but the idea of a shootout in Vegas is unpleasant and unsettling in light of recent events. It’s not the show’s fault — and I hope this isn’t too preachy/political on my part — but the bad timing made the sequence play for me as a dark reminder that the entertainment industry tends to often make light of gun violence instead of confronting the realities. DKL is just having fun with genre conventions, and I think in six months or a year I’ll be able to enjoy the scene at face value again, but perhaps we as a culture should rethink what those genre conventions say about us, and begin to move past them.
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Re: Part 16 - No knock, no doorbell (SPOILERS)

Post by cgs027 »

Mr. Reindeer wrote:Are we assuming that the big rock was a trap for Mr. C, and Richard is destroyed because he shares Mr. C’s DNA? If so, Mr. C sure was lucky to have the perfect guinea pig thrown in his path. Or did someone point Richard to the Farm? It’s never clear how he got there, and it seems like a pretty big coincidence. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems to be common knowledge that Ray and Jeffries gave Mr. C the “bad” coordinates that would have killed him, whereas Diane (offscreen) gave him the “good” coordinates (which take him to the Fireman’s lair but also turn out to be a different kind of trap in Part 17)...but Diane didn’t send him the full coordinates, which is why he prompts her with the “:-) ALL” here? This all gives me a headache. Obviously Albert and Gordon feed Diane coordinates they know will lead to Mr. C being trapped/killed. Were they aware of Ray/Jeffries giving the other coordinates? Were the Ray/Jeffries coordinates Plan A and the Diane coordinates a failsafe, or were the two groups acting totally independently with different plans to kill Mr. C?

I’ve been vocally ambivalent about Mr. C’s coordinate-hunting exploits. Sadly, I don’t know that this rewatch has particularly improved my opinion. The thing is, I like pretty much all the individual scenes (only the Montana arm-wrestling scene feels a tad draggy, and I think would have worked better at night). The Mr. C scenes by and large have a great mood — in fact, the Part 8 sequence of the Woodsmen “repairing” him is among my favorite scenes of the whole show. I enjoy these scenes immensely as I’m watching. But when I reflect on the show as a whole, the storyline still strikes me as a bit of a missed opportunity: the Mr. C character doesn’t say much about Cooper (he’s more interesting in this regard after Part 18, but he still comes across as more stock villain than “Dale’s dark side”), and the storyline overall still feels simultaneously overly plot driven and devoid of meaningful narrative.
Yeah, this stuff doesn't really add up for me, either. If we assume Albert/Gordon fed her the proper coordinates that they retrieved from Ruth, then how the hell would they know this would lead to the Fireman tricking Mr. C? As other people have said, it would be very negligent on their part to knowingly send Bad Coop into the Twin Peaks area without warning anyone and/or being there themselves to manage any likely disaster scenarios that could occur with him showing up there. And, likewise, wouldn't they play up the fact that these mystery Hastings/Davenport coordinates pointed right to the Twin Peaks region?! That always bugged me. On on the flipside, if we argue that Albert/Cole gave her different coordinates than those -- again -- how would they know that the Fireman would be waiting to help out at that particular vortex, let alone know to come up with these doctored coordinates?

It "almost" makes more sense that Ray/Diane both ended up giving the coordinates that pointed to the rock. At least one could argue that the FBI could have set up the exploding booby trap there. And they had hooks into both Ray and Diane (although they apparently still had some form of contact with Jeffries, as well).

I think they obfuscated this coordinate subplot way too much... Don't even get me started on the purpose of the secretary character, etc...
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Re: Part 16 - No knock, no doorbell (SPOILERS)

Post by bowisneski »

Mr. Reindeer wrote:It’s difficult to process the “Cooper awakens” material in Part 16 in light of the finale. When this one first aired, the stuff with Dale was one long series of fist-pumps (even if I was a little troubled when Dale’s usually impeccable moral compass apparently indicated that the murderous Mitchums had hearts of gold). After Part 18, though, it’s tough to decide how I feel about Coop, not to mention how L/F intend me to feel about him, and whether those two things are one and the same. (Heck, who knows if Lynch and Frost are even on the same page?) While Dale isn’t quite firing in full-on “maple syrup collides with ham” mode (Kyle seems unable or unwilling to pitch his voice up from his normal speaking voice as he did in days of old), it does feel like getting an old friend back. And yet...he’s controlling, bossy and commanding to everyone around him to an arguably unpleasant degree (although they all accept and even seem to enjoy it). And yet...was he always like this? He bossed Harry and the sheriff’s station crew around plenty...but there was also a warmth and sense of camaraderie there, whereas his interactions with Janey-E and Bushnell come across as a bit more condescending here, even with his rather perfunctory expressions of admiration/affection. And yet and yet...we really don’t see enough of him in “classic Coop” mode to make a firm determination on any of this. I do think that was a very conscious bit of calculation on DKL’s part, to keep us confused and debating what to do with this sequence. For instance, “I am the FBI” can be read as a joyous return to form and also as a slightly more ambiguous, troublesome expression of overextending paternalism, particularly in light of the events of Part 18. The Vedder song contributes to this ambiguity, reminding us that “who I was I will never be again.”
I think Coop is like he is because he is so sure of himself and knows that if his plan succeeds like he thinks it will, none of this will ever happen. He may just be telling the Mitchum bros what they want/need to hear to get him where he needs to be.

Mr. Reindeer wrote:I really love the resonance of Vedder’s song for both Dale and Audrey. Dale has literally lost 25 years of his life (and as I said above, I believe sacrificed a piece of himself for his family, so he will never be who he was again). Audrey’s situation is less straightforward, but whether she is trapped in a coma, the Lodge, or a bitter loveless marriage, the contrast to the innocent teenager of the original show is equally poignant. “Now it’s gone, gone.” The song even literally references mirror-gazing, very relevant to both characters but especially Audrey in Part 16. “There’s another of us around somewhere with much better lives.” Is there, though? Is Mr. C’s life better than Dale’s? Is Carrie Page’s life better than Laura’s? Is there another Audrey somewhere?
I totally agree. In hindsight I am extremely glad that this is the one Roadhouse song I knew ahead of time. I got the vinyl from his recording at Jack White's studio last summer, and it very much served as a way to prepare myself for what was coming and a road map to the ideas of the season.
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Re: Part 16 - No knock, no doorbell (SPOILERS)

Post by Rhodes »

Mr. Reindeer wrote:After Part 18, though, it’s tough to decide how I feel about Coop, not to mention how L/F intend me to feel about him, and whether those two things are one and the same. (Heck, who knows if Lynch and Frost are even on the same page?)
You adress a very important point here.

I was never on board with the ""Lynch and Frost are equally important camp". And I never believed in the synergy hypothesis either. I was and still am very worried that they had to compromize over several issues, and that this damaged The Return.

I strongly believe that there should be one ultimate decisionmaker in orde to produce the best quality show.
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Re: Part 16 - No knock, no doorbell (SPOILERS)

Post by Xavi »

Why on earth did Cooper make an appointment to meet the Mitchum bros at the lobby of The Silver Mustang Casino, whereas he seemed to be in a hurry to get at the Sheriff's station on time? What was so crucial for him that "urged" him to say good-bye from "his family" between those one-armed-machines? Why didn't he go in a straight line from the hospital to the airport, where he would meet the Mitchum bros and where a family's farewell would be much more appropriate?

Am I missing something here?
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Mr. Reindeer
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Re: Part 16 - No knock, no doorbell (SPOILERS)

Post by Mr. Reindeer »

Xavi wrote:Why on earth did Cooper make an appointment to meet the Mitchum bros at the lobby of The Silver Mustang Casino, whereas he seemed to be in a hurry to get at the Sheriff's station on time? What was so crucial for him that "urged" him to say good-bye from "his family" between those one-armed-machines? Why didn't he go in a straight line from the hospital to the airport, where he would meet the Mitchum bros and where a family's farewell would be much more appropriate?

Am I missing something here?
He scored a few quick jackpots offscreen. He needed some quick easy cash before returning to Twin Peaks, he had a 25-year-old tab at the Double R in the quintuple digits.
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Xavi
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Re: Part 16 - No knock, no doorbell (SPOILERS)

Post by Xavi »

Mr. Reindeer wrote:
Xavi wrote:Why on earth did Cooper make an appointment to meet the Mitchum bros at the lobby of The Silver Mustang Casino, whereas he seemed to be in a hurry to get at the Sheriff's station on time? What was so crucial for him that "urged" him to say good-bye from "his family" between those one-armed-machines? Why didn't he go in a straight line from the hospital to the airport, where he would meet the Mitchum bros and where a family's farewell would be much more appropriate?

Am I missing something here?
He scored a few quick jackpots offscreen. He needed some quick easy cash before returning to Twin Peaks, he had a 25-year-old tab at the Double R in the quintuple digits.
Thanks, your reply was really helpful.
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Xavi
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Re: Part 16 - No knock, no doorbell (SPOILERS)

Post by Xavi »

The very name "Silver Mustang Casino" caught my mind in a spin and it brought me to several thoughts. What else can one do than searching for associative patterns in a work made by Lynch?

The word "Casino" roots from Italian "casa" which means home/house. In someways one could argue that The Return is a quest for home, which makes Cooper's decision for his farewell from Janey-E and Sunny Jim somewhat reasonable.
Would you like a room? Good meal? A drink? A little companionship? On the house. Think of us as a home away from home.
- Home.
And do you live around here?
Where is your home?
- Lancelot Court. Cab ride.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casino#Et ... _and_usage
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Re: Part 16 - No knock, no doorbell (SPOILERS)

Post by Xavi »

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Re: Part 16 - No knock, no doorbell (SPOILERS)

Post by dreamshake »

https://twitter.com/TwinPeaksArchve/sta ... 7699876867

checked out the end of part 16 to see what this was all about. I think the "voices" are actually a reversed guitar but I dunno it could be voices. ANy one else hear voices? Or have any idea what they might be saying?
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Re: Part 16 - No knock, no doorbell (SPOILERS)

Post by eyeboogers »

Probably nothing, but had the thoughts that these shots are similar. A beginning and an ending.
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Re: Part 16 - No knock, no doorbell (SPOILERS)

Post by Jonah »

So it seems pretty clear Audrey's sequences were some sort of dream or coma or possibly even a Lodge illusion, right? And that includes her time in the Road House and the Eddie Vedder song there too? But could that indicate all - or most - of the Road House scenes and those side conversations among random and various town inhabitants were part of a dream too? Many of them mentioned Billy, who Audrey talks about a lot. I'm guessing all the Road House scenes that didn't involve James/Shelly or anyone else who's in the main narrative (assuming the main narrative itself isn't a dream, which it very well could be and is hinted at too) could just be dreams or illusions? And who the heck is Billy anyway? The guy bleeding from his mouth in the station or the truck guy? And why is Billy talked about so much by everyone? I feel there's probably no point in asking this questions, but I can't seem to help it. Lol!
I have no idea where this will lead us, but I have a definite feeling it will be a place both wonderful and strange.
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Re: Part 16 - No knock, no doorbell (SPOILERS)

Post by karlas_marxas »

Audrey's story seems like a heavily distorted rendition of Mark's original script (as presented in TFD). It sounds like Audrey's attempting to get in touch with a "reality" that involves, among other things, her son Richard and the hit-and-run incident. But for some reason this reality only appears obliquely and indirectly, as if affected by some disturbances, and may be featuring Audrey's alter egos, such as "Tina". Some have speculated that it may even imply incest. Another prominent aspect of Audrey's story and all the conversations linked to it by some key words and key names such as "Billy", is drugs. At least some of the action/talk/vision seems to be drug induced, hence the link to the Black Lodge, whose influence on the mundane life of TP population had been shown to proceed via the "Spark" drug and dealer figures such as Red (presumably an otherworldly figure).
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Re: Part 16 - No knock, no doorbell (SPOILERS)

Post by Mr. Reindeer »

I really like that first scene, but there are a bunch of mystifying lines in it. The "twenty-five years your senior" thing, the weirdly non-Peaks "Goodbye my son" which seems like it came from a different movie/show, and of course the endlessly frustrating case of the three people who gave the doppelganger coordinates. (Coordinates!)

We know of:
Ray (we don't see what the numbers are)
Jeffries (we see the beginning of the sequence: 48 degrees
55’ 1.4)

And then of course Diane, but only AFTER this scene takes place. The numbers seen on Ruth's arm are 4855142117[smudged number]63956. The sequence Diane texts the doppelgänger later is almost the same as this (she puts a 1 where I have a smudged number). The only other difference is that she inserts a 0 which is not on Ruth's arm as the eighth number (between the 2 and the double 1s).

Based on the text message that links the doppel/Richard scene with the Diane scene, it doesn't seem likely that the Diane scene was moved in editing and was originally intended to precede the doppel scene. I wonder if it's possible that Lynch just lost track of the sequencing? This seems unlikely, since both he and Cori Glazer are very attentive to detail. Barring that, who are the possible people who may have given the doppel a third set of coordinates? I'm really blanking on possibilities.

It makes me laugh that Bushnell puts the phone back in his pocket without hanging up (and it definitely doesn't seem from the way he ends the conversation that Phil hung up). I like to imagine Phil not sure if he should stay on the line. I also get the sense that Don Murray may not use cell phones often.

Speaking of Don Murray, I don't think I've mentioned him on this rewatch, but he is such a warm, comforting presence. I love the moment where Dale shakes his hand and says he won't soon forget his kindness and decency. On the Comic Con panel, Don comes across as such a classy, sweet human being. I love when everyone is laughing about the fan telling Lillard to do his Shaggy voice, and Don goes out of his way to praise Lillard's work on the show.

That whole sequence on the Joneses' block is so much fun. We see so many aspects of the show crashing into each other (Joneses, Mr. C's underworld, FBI, Mitchums), all escalating into a hilariously violent comedy of errors brought on, appropriately for TR, by a complete rando with no ties to anyone.

Jennifer Jason Leigh is so funny in that scene with the accountant. I love the way she barks "GO FUCK YOURSELF!!" completely out of nowhere. I've really grown to love the Hutchenses, they're among my absolutely favorite new characters on TR.

Rod's button on the scene, "People are under a lot of stress, Bradley," is such a beautiful thing. Followed by Brad very contemplatively whispering, "Yeah."

Dr. Budway, I presume? I know Lynch was probably just reusing the actress and forgot/didn't care she was on the original series, but I do like to imagine in my personal head canon that Louie got her medical degree and improbably ended up treating a comatose Cooper.

That's a nice little oner of the Joneses driving off from the hospital (with Kyle doing his own driving) just as the FBI pulls in.

Any thoughts on the meaning of " : - ) ALL." ? Is this the doppel's twisted way of telling Diane to kill the whole Blue Rose crew?

The text seems to activate a memory in Diane. It's strange: contrary to what you might expect, the text actually seems to turn her "good," at least momentarily. She invokes Cooper's name (even using the term of endearment "Coop"), and it seems to me her telling Coop she remembers ties directly in to Part 17, when Cooper asks the real Diane if she remembers everything. Is tulpa Diane remembering whatever plan we see them enact in Part 17/18? Further supporting this interpretation, she then seems to send the doppel false coordinates ("I hope this works...")...very likely the same coordinates that lead to him being trapped and ultimately killed in Part 17, per the Fireman's master plan. But then immediately afterwards, she gets this steely look and goes to shoot Gordon & co.! The whole sequence is kind of mystifying. Once she looks at the text again in the hotel room (notably, her reply with the coordinates is now gone!), she panics and says, "I'm in the sheriff's station. I gave him those coordinates. I'm in the sheriff's station because..." It seems like the text provides her a glimpse of the future, and a sense of the link between her sending the coordinates and the real Diane appearing where/when she does. She then keeps repeating "I'm not me," almost as if she's struggling against her programming to warn them. When she pulls the gun out, it's almost as if she's doing it automatically and wants to get an unavoidable task done as quickly as possible, or maybe she even wants to get killed. (Notice that Albert is reaching for his gun as soon as she says, “I’m not me.") She doesn't seem terribly fazed to be dead once she appears in the Red Room, almost as if she's resigned herself to nonexistence. Maybe she does actually become good, and purposely gets herself killed so the real Diane can return? But why would a text from the doppel have that result?

I know a few weeks ago there was some debate on one of the threads for an earlier Part about tulpa Diane's intentions and level of awareness. I think on a literal level, the doppel manufactured her as an entity he could control. On a metaphorical/psychological level, I think she is in thrall to him, the way many victims of rape and abuse feel their attacker has almost magical powers over them. I still view her as sincere in the Part 7 prison scene, asking who the doppel is and being scarred by the trauma of that night, even as she is also his accomplice. Notice how terrified/disturbed she is whenever she gets a text from him, behavior consistent with someone suffering trauma.

Other random oddities: Diane gets off on the 11th floor, but the room number is 1827. And the elevator car seems to strangely only have an "up" button and a "down" button, with no floors!

It's oddly sweet when Diane says, "I just wanted to hear everything about where he'd been and what he'd been doing." She must have missed those tapes coming in constantly! Strange relationship those two had, even before all the doubles got involved.

It still rubs me a little bit the wrong way that pacifist Albert shoots her, even if it is self defense. It's hard to even imagine Albert carrying a gun. TR treats him much more as a straight FBI agent, and he rarely does any forensic work (the scene where he's bonding with Constance is one of the few examples I can think of).

I know some people think that the shtick is overplayed, but I could listen to Laura Dern say "fuck you" for hours. I love that Diane is completely unfazed by Mike, and is the one person who has cursed in the Red Room.

I know I've said it before, but that goodbye scene with Janey-E and Sonny Jim is one of the most poignant of either series for me, and I think one of the most important for Coop's character. Kyle sells his sincerity and sense of loss so well when he says, "We're a family," and reassures Sonny Jim that he is his dad. His face when he hugs them both says all we need to know about how badly he wants to stay, and everything he's given up for the Bureau, for public service, for his investigations into the supernatural, and his devotion to helping, benefiting, and advancing humanity. If Mark's theory of Part 17/18 is that Cooper's hubris leads him to overreach while trying to do good, perhaps one moral is that it's sometimes better to touch a few lives deeply than to try to save the world. Perhaps Cooper would have done more good by staying with the family that loves him.

The whole ending Audrey sequence, starting with "Severson" taking the stage, is so haunting. It's one of my favorites in all of TP. So many lyrics in that song have resonance to the themes of the show, and to Cooper and Audrey's situtations in particular. Not sure if I've made/noted this connections before, but "Offered the hand of a disembodied man" calls to mind Garland Briggs's attempts to help/hinder the various Coopers. I still get chills when the MC says, "Audrey's Dance," and the crowd shuffles to the side as if hypnotized. I think it's one the best dream/nightmare-like moments in Lynch's entire oeuvre. Another detail there I hadn't noticed before: the ominous cymbal roll is actually a diegetic sound! Watch the percussionist as the crowd moves to the side: he's doing a cymbal roll while staring directly into camera (presumably staring at Audrey). It's creepy as hell.

I said a few Parts back on this rewatch that I'm halfways-convinced Audrey is in fact in a mental institution, in light of some stuff I latched onto this time around, particularly in the Emily Stofle scene. I really hesitate to put a definitive label on the Audrey material, because it does work so well as pure dream-logic, and I'm not sure Lynch really wanted us to "solve" it. I'm now also realizing that this interpretation was colored by the early episodes of the original series. I made note on this rewatch that Audrey does seem to be portrayed as somewhat mentally ill, or at least having a behavioral/social disorder early on. There's something "off" about her in those first few hours that fades away even by the middle of season 1.

Building on my idea that she is perhaps in an institution and her “contract” with Charlie is to marry him in exchange for her mind/spirit being allowed to roam free in a constructed reality...note that the moment the reality breaks is when she refuses to toast her marriage to Charlie. Charlie toasts "to us," and Audrey defiantly toasts, "To Billy." It's at that very moment that the Roadhouse MC announces "Audrey's Dance." I had also previously noted that two of the three other people who reference Billy are DKL's family members. In keeping with the themes of our reality invading the world of TP (Mary Reber, etc.), note that, although we don't get a good look at his face, 1st A.D. Scott Cameron is the guy who breaks the hypnotic mood of Audrey's dance by bashing another dude with a bottle. I'm not quite sure what to make of that.

Dale's Diet:
-- "Bushnell, pass me some of those sandwiches. I'm starving." After waking up from his coma in the hospital, Cooper eats two finger sandwiches (both look like roast beef and greens)
-- Coffee in the Mitchums' limo
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