Numerology in TP:TR (spoilers)
Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2017 2:02 am
The Return, more than any other iteration in Twin Peaks, has a particular focus on cryptic numbers and number sequences. From the very first sequence we are drawn attention to "4 3 0" and we are presented with a slew of seemingly meaningful numbers after this. Very little meaning has actually been drawn by these numbers due to their sheer impenetrability and I definitely didn't predict any meaning, as Coop seems to imply, to 2:53 (2 + 5 + 3) adding up to 10: the number of completion.
I'm hoping this thread will serve as a collection of all the possibly meaningful number motifs, as well as a forum to discuss what we infer from them...and also to trade notes on how to make the best-fitting tin foil hats.
My thoughts at the moment are that these numbers (or the digits added together) are possibly there to guide us in our quest to answer the most repeated question in this series: "is it future, or is it past?"
* 10 * 2:53 – adds up to 10, the number of completion.
* 9 * 315 – adds up to 9. The number on Cooper's old room key, which also unlocks the door to the basement in the Great Northern.
* 8 * 8 – appears from the Jeffries steam to Cooper and PMG
* 7 * 430 – in the Fireman's initial clues (or warnings) to Coop, who says he understands their significance. Coop and Diane later drive to exactly 430 miles from somewhere to 'cross over'.
* 6 * 6 – appears on numerous occasions on telephone poles in White Lodge visions and outside Carrie's house.
If this is anything more than crackpot rantings, we can see that these numbers all relate to events happening in the final 2 parts, only in descending order (or reverse). Did time stop in 'our' TP universe when BOB was defeated at 2:53? Is time now running in reverse? In the course of these numbers being shown, we see Cooper travel backwards in time to intervene in the night of Laura's death. After 'crossing' Coop and Diane appear to possibly be even further back in time with a 60s era car and the Platters playing in their sex scene. Ultimately it all ends with Cooper questioning the temporal nature of the narrative with "What year is this?" and leading us again to question: is it future, or is it past?
DISCLAIMER: I am very aware that I am quite possibly overreaching with making these numbers that appear fit a pattern: Why start at 10? Why end at 6? Why are some 3 digits which must be added, yet some are digits with significance of their own? Well, if people are interested in the numerology I will maintain a master list of all the numbers below and we can put our heads together to find a cleaner solution, or else just have all the information to come to our own decision.
MASTER LIST
2:53 – adds up to 10, the number of completion. The time that Doppelcoop was supposed to return to the Lodge. The time that the Dougie switch occurred. The time that Andy and co went to Jack Rabbit's Palace. The time that the clock stopped on after defeating BOB.
315 – the number of Cooper's room key.
430 – Richard and Linda. In the Fireman/Giant's message to Cooper at the start of the season.
8 – or infinity, appears in the steam from Jeffries. "8" is also on the outside of Jeffries' hotel room,
6 – appears on telephone poles in Andy's WL visions and outside Carrie Page's house.
119 – Repeated by the drug addict in Rancho Rosa.
3 – Appears on the first electrical outlet in the Purple Room. Naido warns Coop about this with cutting noises.
15 – Appears on the second electrical outlet in the Purple Room, which Cooper travels through to switch places with Dougie.
1 – Appears on a number of Sonny Jim's clothing.
I'm hoping this thread will serve as a collection of all the possibly meaningful number motifs, as well as a forum to discuss what we infer from them...and also to trade notes on how to make the best-fitting tin foil hats.
My thoughts at the moment are that these numbers (or the digits added together) are possibly there to guide us in our quest to answer the most repeated question in this series: "is it future, or is it past?"
* 10 * 2:53 – adds up to 10, the number of completion.
* 9 * 315 – adds up to 9. The number on Cooper's old room key, which also unlocks the door to the basement in the Great Northern.
* 8 * 8 – appears from the Jeffries steam to Cooper and PMG
* 7 * 430 – in the Fireman's initial clues (or warnings) to Coop, who says he understands their significance. Coop and Diane later drive to exactly 430 miles from somewhere to 'cross over'.
* 6 * 6 – appears on numerous occasions on telephone poles in White Lodge visions and outside Carrie's house.
If this is anything more than crackpot rantings, we can see that these numbers all relate to events happening in the final 2 parts, only in descending order (or reverse). Did time stop in 'our' TP universe when BOB was defeated at 2:53? Is time now running in reverse? In the course of these numbers being shown, we see Cooper travel backwards in time to intervene in the night of Laura's death. After 'crossing' Coop and Diane appear to possibly be even further back in time with a 60s era car and the Platters playing in their sex scene. Ultimately it all ends with Cooper questioning the temporal nature of the narrative with "What year is this?" and leading us again to question: is it future, or is it past?
DISCLAIMER: I am very aware that I am quite possibly overreaching with making these numbers that appear fit a pattern: Why start at 10? Why end at 6? Why are some 3 digits which must be added, yet some are digits with significance of their own? Well, if people are interested in the numerology I will maintain a master list of all the numbers below and we can put our heads together to find a cleaner solution, or else just have all the information to come to our own decision.
MASTER LIST
2:53 – adds up to 10, the number of completion. The time that Doppelcoop was supposed to return to the Lodge. The time that the Dougie switch occurred. The time that Andy and co went to Jack Rabbit's Palace. The time that the clock stopped on after defeating BOB.
315 – the number of Cooper's room key.
430 – Richard and Linda. In the Fireman/Giant's message to Cooper at the start of the season.
8 – or infinity, appears in the steam from Jeffries. "8" is also on the outside of Jeffries' hotel room,
6 – appears on telephone poles in Andy's WL visions and outside Carrie Page's house.
119 – Repeated by the drug addict in Rancho Rosa.
3 – Appears on the first electrical outlet in the Purple Room. Naido warns Coop about this with cutting noises.
15 – Appears on the second electrical outlet in the Purple Room, which Cooper travels through to switch places with Dougie.
1 – Appears on a number of Sonny Jim's clothing.