Part 18 - What is your name? (SPOILERS)

[AgentEcho]

I'm speechless and it's going to take me a while to unpack that.

Gotta hand it to Lynch, he intentionally leaked the end of the whole thing and still made it completely unexpected and confounding.

It wasn't intentional but yeah, you can't spoil something that is literally indecipherable to begin with.

I don't know enough about the situation to know if it were intentional or not, but quite honestly wouldn't surprise me if it were intentional. I've gotten the sense of Lynch wanting to play with expectations throughout, and the lax security around filming what they clearly knew was the end of the season if not the show just seems fitting as a particularly subversive extension of that.

[richsmith]

Does anyone have any thoughts about the incredibly disturbing Sarah Palmer scene, in which she smashes and stabs at the iconic Laura prom queen photograph? I'm assuming it's not a coincidence that right after it Laura disappears from Cooper's sight?

[Wally Brando]

Erm... anyone even mention the dead guy in Laura/Carrie's house?

Never mind the dead guy, did you see the white horse on the mantle?

[vawriter]

So one thing I thought for sure we'd see, but didn't as far as I can tell, was a return trip to Jack Rabbit's Palace by the Sheriff 's patrol. We saw the trip there on presumably Oct. 1, but there was no similar journey on the next day as Major Briggs instructed. All we saw was Mr. C go there and get transported to the White Lodge (and then get kicked out by the Fireman). Any thoughts why that second day trip never happened, or did I miss something?

[Ashok]

Does anyone have any thoughts about the incredibly disturbing Sarah Palmer scene, in which she smashes and stabs at the iconic Laura prom queen photograph? I'm assuming it's not a coincidence that right after it Laura disappears from Cooper's sight?

i was actually wondering about this too. Unfortunately I've got absolutely nothing. Someone needs to interview David Lynch for like 10 hours first thing tomorrow morning.

[BGate]

I'm speechless and it's going to take me a while to unpack that.

Gotta hand it to Lynch, he intentionally leaked the end of the whole thing and still made it completely unexpected and confounding.

It wasn't intentional but yeah, you can't spoil something that is literally indecipherable to begin with.

I don't know enough about the situation to know if it were intentional or not, bit quite honestly wouldn't surprise me if it were intentional. I've gotten the sense of Lynch wanting to play with expectations throughout, and the lax security around filming what they clearly knew was the end of the season if not the show just seems fitting as a particularly subversive extension of that.

IIRC it was after this that the whole "Keep the Mystery Alive"/anti-spoiler message began coming out from the production, and supposedly Lynch himself. The powers that be here could probably speak more specifically on that.

[roadkill]

I was expecting a cliffhanger, no real resolution... but this was far beyond that. It felt like the entire story just stopped mid sentence.

The finale made it seem like the previous 16 hours served no purpose.

That appears to be the case. Also Season 1, Season 2, and FWWM. And the Missing Pieces. And TSHOTP.

"it is happening again"

[N. Needleman]

That swerve tops Mulholland Drive for me, based on my emotional investment.

I... could live with it if that's the end, because I am assuming the town of Twin Peaks is okay even if Dale is not. But I sure hope it ain't!

Still - dark, harrowing but fantastic.

[TwinsPeak]

Does anyone have any thoughts about the incredibly disturbing Sarah Palmer scene, in which she smashes and stabs at the iconic Laura prom queen photograph? I'm assuming it's not a coincidence that right after it Laura disappears from Cooper's sight?

Guessing here but maybe Sarah Palmer(or whatever lives inside Sarah) wanted Laura dead and was upset that Cooper changed her fate. Sarah might have been working with BoB all along...not sure

[richsmith]

Genuinely astonished by how many people there are that didn't enjoy 18, to the point where there are multiple posters claiming they're in tears at how awful it was.

I'd rate it as my second favourite episode of The Return after 8. Loved it.

I think tonight's reaction is almost identical to what I remember after Series 2's finale. The vocal majority absolutely detested it, a passionate minority adored and defended it. Of course, Season 2's ending is now considered one of the all-time greats, and I suspect The Return's equivalent will come to be seen the same way in time. Either way, you simply have to be amazed and impressed by Lynch and Frost's uncompromising vision... and the fact that they clearly have incredibly large testicles.

[QuantumMechanic]

Does anyone have any thoughts about the incredibly disturbing Sarah Palmer scene, in which she smashes and stabs at the iconic Laura prom queen photograph? I'm assuming it's not a coincidence that right after it Laura disappears from Cooper's sight?

Guessing here but maybe Sarah Palmer(or whatever lives inside Sarah) wanted Laura dead and was upset that Cooper changed her fate. Sarah might have been working with BoB all along...not sure

That was our reaction as well. We were thinking that Sarah is hosting Judy and Judy was pissed off to have lost her prey due to Cooper's interventions.

[Mace]

"I have no idea where this will lead us, but I have a definite feeling it will be a place both wonderful and strange." Dale Cooper in Season 2

"What I need, what any detective needs, is a good case. Something to test oneself to the absolute limit. To walk to the edge of the fire and risk it all. The razor's edge. Are there any great cases anymore, Diane? Is there a Lindbergh kidnapping, a Brinks robbery, a John Dillinger, a Professor Moriarty? If I was to say that in my heart I hoped there was, then I should hang up my badge and gun and retire. As the saying goes, be careful what you wish for, you may just get it.)" Dale Cooper - My Life, My Tapes.

Say what you will, I know the source for the second quote isn't canon, but I think it fits perfectly with my view of The Return.

For me, the mystery is still alive.

[Rex]

Does anyone have any thoughts about the incredibly disturbing Sarah Palmer scene, in which she smashes and stabs at the iconic Laura prom queen photograph? I'm assuming it's not a coincidence that right after it Laura disappears from Cooper's sight?

I thought her opening her face was worse than that.

[FlyingSquirrel]

As this sinks in, I'm getting a strong MD feel. The "dream" has a happy ending (Bob is shattered, Mr. C is sent back to the lodge, Janey-E and Sonny Jim get the husband/dad they want, plenty of sandwiches for everybody, Laura is saved, etc.). Then we see an ugly real world. Idiots with guns harassing a hard working waitress (at "Judy's diner" no less), reborn Laura in serious trouble and perhaps some of the darkness we've seen in TP like Steven/Becky, zombie girl, etc. I think Laura screamed for all of us at the end.

It did kind of feel like another Lost Highway/Mulholland Drive-style identity-flip by the end. I'm just not sure that works in the context of a relatively literal real-world -but-with-supernatural-elements narrative like Twin Peaks. Plus, in both LH and MD, what we saw reflected the character flaws and myopia of Fred/Pete and Betty/Diane in a metaphorical way that made psychological sense if not literal sense. What character point is being explored here? Is Cooper *still* overconfident in how he handles all this supernatural strangeness even after his previous failure in the Red Room? Even that would be an okay concept, but I'm not sure it merits 18 episodes and there wasn't much build-up to it.

[crash_and_burn]

A fitting coda for the Twin Peaks experience. Laura's scream at the end is a painful reminder of the trauma of abuse that lies at the heart of this story. No matter how far the story strays from that, it will always come back to Laura's pain. Although the characters may try to ignore it, and in spite of some reality shift that almost deletes it, Laura's horrible life experience is always looming in the shadows and crying out for recognition. As unsettling as this ending is, it does do her struggle justice in that it acknowledges the horror of it.

At least in this instance Cooper is there to confront it with her. So maybe that's a silver lining here?

Sure, the silver lining was the fucking Angel that appeared to Laura in the Waiting Room with Dale, in FWWM, or so I thought.

Now what?

We're left to realize that it's Dale who is on the Fire Walk?

For all his imperfections?

That Laura was already saved by Dale and now it's Dale that needs saving by Laura?

Yet we're left unsure?

What of The Mother/The Experiment/Judy/Sarah Palmer/The Jumping Man?

So Carrie/Laura heard Sarah call out "Laura ...."

So what.

The Chalfonts/Tremonds are the ones able to curtail an investigation, nothing we didn't know already.

So Dale's fate is left in limbo as is Chet Desmond.

No, this WAS shit cliffhanger. Pure and simple.

I'll accept that Episode 17 was the end of TP as we know it and 18 was the start of something else, if there's a fourth Season.