The Secret History of Twin Peaks

[Mr. Reindeer]

Glad the Lemurians are officially a part of TP mythology!

[N. Needleman]

Both Nixon and Jack Parsons wore the ring.

[Mr. Reindeer]

I'm taking my time with the book, savoring it and fact-checking / doing research on some of the interesting real-world elements. Something rather curious: the copyright page for the book credits FATE Magazine for allowing the use of not only the cover of the first issue, but also for the two-page Kenneth Arnold article. I assumed that the article was fictionalized (albeit incorporating various real-life occurrences / rumored occurrences), because it mentions Milford, because it's clearly not a direct reproduction of a period magazine (unlike many other real sources in the book), and because the actual Kenneth Arnold-penned article in that issue apparently had completely different content. I wonder if the "Kenneth Arnold in Tacoma" article appeared in another issue, or if the copyright page is in error?

[N. Needleman]

[Special Agent Phillip Jeffries] went through Bureau training at Quantico with Gordon Cole, where they graduated as the top two agents in their class of 1968. Twenty years into a distinguished career, Jeffries disappeared without a trace while on assignment in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1987. I also came across a vague reference, in a Bureau station log from that period, to Jeffries making a sudden reappearance in 1989 - apparently in Philadelphia - followed by another disappearance which continues to this day. To dig deeper I need to requisition reports that are currently classified beyond my reach in the deputy director's files.

I'm beginning to wonder if I'm going to be able to show this to anyone without getting fired. The world of Doug Milford is like a hall of mirrors. Frankly, I could use a drink. - TP (Tamara Preston)

[Major Briggs]

Just The Idea of Bad Coop murdering Major Briggs give me The chills. Makes sense given that he knew Cooper Went to The Black lodge, so that makes him a loose end DoppelCoop wouldn't let go. Maybe that's even why Bobby joined The police?

[N. Needleman]

Everyone knew Cooper went there.

Briggs' notes on other characters don't seem to quite end immediately after the date of the finale, but TP/Preston does indicate that his chronicling abruptly ends - though neither she nor Briggs seem to give a specific timestamp for that. Days, weeks, months, a year, two years, three? His mentions of Ben and Catherine post-finale seem to look back a bit.

Preston says further files on the fates of Cooper and Briggs are classified above her clearance.

[Major Briggs]

Everyone knew Cooper went there.

Briggs' notes on other characters don't seem to quite end immediately after the date of the finale, but TP/Preston does indicate that his chronicling abruptly ends - though neither she nor Briggs seem to give a specific timestamp for that. Days, weeks, months, a year, two years, three? His mentions of Ben and Catherine post-finale seem to look back a bit.

Preston says further files on the fates of Cooper and Briggs are classified above her clearance.

So would you say that we know for a fact that Cooper didnt go on a killing rampage like expected?

[N. Needleman]

I would say we are 100% sure we are not sure.

I have absolutely no clue.

[N. Needleman]

As to what people were worried about before: Both Deer Meadow and the Banks case are explicitly mentioned. Only the exact location of Carl's actual Fat Trout park seems to be somewhat vague from what I've seen, but that's not a big deal to me. A former TP resident, he seems to live on the outskirts of several neighboring towns, TP included.

Hel-lo. From the Archivist/Briggs:

After returning to Philadelphia himself, forensic expert Sam Stanley suffered some sort of unspecified breakdown - perhaps related to alcoholism - and was placed on administrative leave. I find no record of his returning to active duty.

From TP:

The names of [the Banks investigation] agents also appear on a short list from an erased document I recovered from a secure server in the FBI's Philadelphia office. I ran a search for Desmond and Stanley and came up wth this:

Gordon Cole
Phillip Jeffries
Chet Desmond
Sam Stanley
Windom Earle
Dale Cooper
Albert Rosenfield

I can't determine whose computer this was on. Nothing else was on the page. Just those names. I have no idea what it means or implies. Checking this out now.

[...]

We can safely conclude the aforementioned list is clearly not a very good one to be on. But what did it signify? If it's a list of agents who've suffered terrible fates, Gordon Cole and forensic expert Albert Rosenfield remain notable exceptions; both are healthy and on the active duty roster. There has to be another link. - TP

This would seemingly imply Cooper is no longer active duty, and the doppelganger did not keep up its ruse for long.

[N. Needleman]

Jacoby's final notes on the Palmers indicate Laura was 18 at time of death, and claim she first came to see him the day after her eighteenth birthday. Whatever! Similar gaffes in the trading cards and Laura's diary, to be honest.

Sarah's maiden name is Novack. Maddy was Laura's cousin on her mother's side - Beth Novack and an unknown Mr. Ferguson.

Following examination of the Palmer case, the Washington State review board suspended Jacoby's license and he settled in Hawaii to begin his memoirs.

Other news: Lana waited for Dougie Milford's estate to close, then split Twin Peaks. "Once the check cleared, she was gone like the Hindenberg. (But not before providing a thrill the whole town wouldn't soon forget with her performance of 'contortionistic jazz exotica' at the Miss Twin Peaks Contest.) She allegedly fled to the Hamptons, and briefly dated a bizarrely coiffed real estate mog"OH MY GOD!

[Ross]

The stuff about Cooper knowing all about Andrew, and Truman's handwritten note also don't make much sense.

[N. Needleman]

I didn't have much of a problem buying into that one. I thought the Bookhouse journaling made sense. What I wasn't sure about is whether Truman is supposed to have written that drunken note around Episode 24 or later on. I can buy him having another depressive episode over Josie (and Coop) post-Episode 29.

[Sid]

I am so frustrated by all these discrepances I read about.

It doesn't matter if they mainly concern stuff from s2 that most fans (including me) dislike, or minor characters back stories.
All that "minor" stuff makes up a big chunk of s2. I just have a hard time accepting Frost would rewrite such a big part of TP canon.
Remember how we all felt when the announcement was made that Lynch and Frost are at the helm of this?
---They know their show, they know their characters. We are safe, right?---

I still believe there must be an alternate reality thing going on. Briggs (and probably others) time travelling leading to this conflicting informations maybe? He disappeared several times as Betty stated in the show. The book is called Secret (as in unknown, hidden?) History. What is the opposite of secret? Open, known, public....that is the history/canon we have so far?
Maybe I am going in circles here, but I can't just let it go like that.

[Panapaok]

I think Lynch doesn't really give a damn about the second half of S2 (besides the last episode) and he gave Frost his blessing to fix whatever issues and problems there are. I'm not neccesarily fine with that decision but I can't say I mind it either. Changing Ed's and Nadine's wonderful backstory, that was presented in one of the greatest episodes of the series (written by Frost and directed by Lynch) is something I can't forgive, though. Actually, screw it, I'll consider as canon the show and not the book as far as that storyline goes.

[GeekBoyEric74]

Random thoughts, mostly about the continuity errors from the book, if they are in fact that, and what they mean for the new season.

So I just watched the first two episodes of this season of CW show The Flash. On the show, the Flash goes back in time to prevent the murder of his mother, only to create an entirely different timeline as a result. When he realizes this timeline is an aberrant one, he goes back in time once again, this time allowing his mother to die, presumably to re-set his present to the way it was. Only the present he returns to is slightly different from the one he remembers, with the general gist of history being the same, but certain important details being different.

Why bring this up? Because I'm wondering if we won't be seeing something similar play out in the new season of Twin Peaks. In FWWM, we saw the "Good Dale" in the Lodge, communicating to Laura Palmer through dreams, telling her not to take the ring. Clearly, he was trying to prevent her death that he knew from his timeline, but failed. But he's probably going to be in that Lodge for 25 years...could he have manipulated history from there with others? When he emerges from the Lodge, could it be in a Twin Peaks with a slightly altered past, but one not so different as to not notice right away?

After reading here that Laura Palmer's death is being given as 18 -- when the show went out of its way multiple time to stress that Laura was "just 17" in the first several episodes -- I just can't beleive it's a mistake on Mark Frost's part.

Anyways, that's my theory for right now.