The Lodge entities for me, especially after watching FWWM, have always been fascinating. I think they are David Lynch created entities, and that Mark Frost only added to their mythologies (such as TSHOTP). But they are important because they have always been an integral part to the plot of Twin Peaks. Laura's death is what brought Cooper to Twin Peaks in the first place.
So about MIKE. We know he cut his own arm off, and that the Arm had a tattoo on it saying "Fire Walk With Me".
We also know that whoever puts on the ring made of the formica table top, that their left arm will go completely numb to the point that they can't use it.
- Teresa Banks - we know she wore the ring and that her left arm went numb. the ring disappeared off of her finger when she died.
- Dougie - we saw that his left arm was numb.
- Annie - she was wearing the ring, but was unconscious, so we can only assume that her left arm would have been numb. Of course, her fate is unknown.
- Annie's nurse - she stole Annie's ring in the Missing Pieces, but her fate is unknown.
- Laura - she wore the ring when MIKE threw it to her just before BOB killed her.
- Cooper's Doppelganger - Ray told him that Philip Jeffries wanted him to put the ring on his finger.
So.....just so I think all Twin Peaks fans can agree that this has been established as truth:
(A) The ring belongs to MIKE. And that the wearer of the ring becomes a host for MIKE.
("With this ring, I thee wed.") - meaning that whoever wears the ring, becomes in a union with MIKE.
(B) MIKE always gets his ring back, as when the person who is wearing it, upon their death, their body enters the Red Room. We saw this with our own eyes with Dougie and with Ray. We can only assume that it happened to Teresa. When MIKE gets his ring back, he puts it on the black and gold table, where it always sits when it is not worn.
(C) MIKE wanted Laura to wear the ring in the train car before Laura's death, to prevent Laura from being possessed by BOB. We know from Laura telling Harold, and from reading her diary, that BOB was trying to posess her, but she wouldn't let him. So MIKE saved Laura from being possessed by BOB, although it resulted in her death.
So if we all agree that the above is all true, my question is, why in FWWM, did the Arm show Laura the ring in her dream, as if enticing her to wear it, but Cooper warned Laura: "Don't take the ring Laura."? (which impossibly skews time).
Lynch could have shown MIKE offering the ring to Laura in that dream but instead, it was the ARM that Lynch chose to show offering it to her.
Yet, MIKE (while inside Phillip Gerard) directly told Laura in person that BOB was inside Leland, while showing her the ring on his own hand. That caused Laura to remember the 2 other times she saw that ring: on Teresa's finger and in her dream of The Arm and Cooper.
So I conclude that MIKE created Dougie for the purpose of helping get Cooper out of the Black Lodge and back onto Earth. Knowing that Cooper's doppelganger was not going to follow the rules of coming back into the Black Lodge, and that that meant that Cooper couldn't leave the Black Lodge, he decided to create the artificial Dougie, and to guide him into having his own life in Las Vegas, only so that Cooper would take his place. MIKE could then guide Cooper safely through life until the time comes on October 1st (2:53 time and time again) for Cooper and his doppelganger to confront each other, where one has to return to the Black Lodge. MIKE has worked hard to keep Cooper safe, and the life of Dougie was a safe out of the way place to keep him until the doppelganger would return to Twin Peaks.
But that leaves us with the 4 most important questions that we don't have answers to yet (and hopefully we will get them!):
(1) What will bring Cooper's personality back? His doppelganger's death? His shoes?
(2) What are Cooper's doppelganger's motives for doing what he is doing, what does he WANT? That question involves the playing card he showed to Darya, which looks a lot like "The Experiment" from Episode 8 (not "The Experiment Model" from Episode 1 and 2)
(3) Since we know that BOB and Cooper's doppelganger are 2 different entities, do they have separate agendas and motives, are they symbiotically helping each other, or is BOB manipulating the Doppelganger for his own purposes?
(4) How does the town of Twin Peaks figure into all of this? We know that Glastonbury Grove is the accessible location of one of the openings into the Black Lodge. But why do the residents of Twin Peaks become affected by Lodge activity from time to time?
These in my mind are the 4 questions that no one has answers to yet, and that in the last 5 episodes, we may or may not get these 4 questions answered. I can't wait!
Great sum up of lingering questions!
I suspect Bob and Jeffries (both doppelgangers, probably), are vying for a soul or some entity status. That's my guess.
It hadn't occurred to me that the ring belongs to Mike. I have no idea what the ring does or what it is for other than transporting people to the waiting room when they die. There's s part of me that thinks we may never have a full answer on it.
I can't answer the questions, I just wanted to say that's a great synopsis.
I guess we're never going to find out how Annie is....
So I conclude that MIKE created Dougie for the purpose of helping get Cooper out of the Black Lodge and back onto Earth. Knowing that Cooper's doppelganger was not going to follow the rules of coming back into the Black Lodge, and that that meant that Cooper couldn't leave the Black Lodge, he decided to create the artificial Dougie, and to guide him into having his own life in Las Vegas, only so that Cooper would take his place.
Not quite sure about this...(just a friendly objection)
Way back (Part 3?) MIKE reacted surprised when he saw Dougie in the Red Room and acknowledge that something has gone wrong. I believe Dougie was manufactured by Bad Coop in 1997 after learning how to do this. Bad Coop was ready to stay on Earth the day of the return because he knew of Dougies' existence/replacement.
So I conclude that MIKE created Dougie for the purpose of helping get Cooper out of the Black Lodge and back onto Earth. Knowing that Cooper's doppelganger was not going to follow the rules of coming back into the Black Lodge, and that that meant that Cooper couldn't leave the Black Lodge, he decided to create the artificial Dougie, and to guide him into having his own life in Las Vegas, only so that Cooper would take his place.
Not quite sure about this...(just a friendly objection)
Way back (Part 3?) MIKE reacted surprised when he saw Dougie in the Red Room and acknowledge that something has gone wrong. I believe Dougie was manufactured by Bad Coop in 1997 after learning how to do this. Bad Coop was ready to stay on Earth the day of the return because he knew of Dougies' existence/replacement.
When MIKE says "Something's wrong.", The Arm replies "My doppelganger." And then the Arm's doppelganger caused Cooper to appear in the New York box.
When MIKE saw Dougie in the Red Room, he told Dougie that "Someone manufactured you for a purpose, but I think that purpose has been fulfilled." And then Dougie disappeared (with some grotesque face vomiting, that caused MIKE to turn away before it happened).
As to who manufactured Dougie, it could have been Cooper's doppelganger, but I still believe it was MIKE.
So I conclude that MIKE created Dougie for the purpose of helping get Cooper out of the Black Lodge and back onto Earth. Knowing that Cooper's doppelganger was not going to follow the rules of coming back into the Black Lodge, and that that meant that Cooper couldn't leave the Black Lodge, he decided to create the artificial Dougie, and to guide him into having his own life in Las Vegas, only so that Cooper would take his place.
Not quite sure about this...(just a friendly objection)
Way back (Part 3?) MIKE reacted surprised when he saw Dougie in the Red Room and acknowledge that something has gone wrong. I believe Dougie was manufactured by Bad Coop in 1997 after learning how to do this. Bad Coop was ready to stay on Earth the day of the return because he knew of Dougies' existence/replacement.
When MIKE says "Something's wrong.", The Arm replies "My doppelganger." And then the Arm's doppelganger caused Cooper to appear in the New York box.
When MIKE saw Dougie in the Red Room, he told Dougie that "Someone manufactured you for a purpose, but I think that purpose has been fulfilled." And then Dougie disappeared (with some grotesque face vomiting, that caused MIKE to turn away before it happened).
As to who manufactured Dougie, it could have been Cooper's doppelganger, but I still believe it was MIKE.
I have always thought that Mr C's reaction to seeing Dougie in the Red Room was one of surprise. Not surprise in that "it worked" but in "who is that?" It makes sense within the context of your reasoning.
Btw, Happy our previous discussion inspired your wonderful OP in this thread!
Thanks Caoimhin!
It's been fun reading and discussing Twin Peaks related posts on this website.
It takes me back to the time I was in university, watching the original Twin Peaks with other university students over cherry pie and donuts and coffee, and then endlessly discussing what we just watched.
I was so convinced that Ben Horne was Laura's killer, I had detailed notes and evidence from the first 14 episodes to prove it....and then.....I was proven wrong lol.
But it's fun reading everyone's theories and opinions!
When did Mr. C witness Dougie in the Red Room?
I don't remember that.
When did Mr. C witness Dougie in the Red Room?
I don't remember that.
After he crashed his car and was about finished puking, he looked up and there was Dougie in the Red Room sitting in a chair (was ghost-like transposed on the environment) and they stared at each then Dougie vanished.
It's possible someone else entirely created Dougie. Briggs (who had foresight maybe about certain things), or maybe Jeffries (who is working against Mr C).
The questions on my mind is: Who killed Ruth Davenport, and why? Why was her body naked? What the hell happened there? I sure hope, by the end of this season, that atleast these mysteries will be solved.
WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO CHESTER DESMOND????!!!!!
I'd love to see Windom Earle turn up in his horse disguise (white of the eye)
Fire walk with