Around the dinner table, the conversation was lively. Thank you but for now, the forum has been archived.
Right before putting the fork in the electricity socket, Dougie/Cooper turned on 'Sunset Boulevard' and heard something like 'forget the car, you can get that old thing anywhere, get Gordon Cole'. On the contrary, when Agent Cooper proper returned, he did the opposite: Agent Cooper circumvented the FBI, did not 'get Gordon Cole' or forget the car, but happily got into his shiny new car paid for by the Mitchums, a mafia group, while leaving a note behind for Cole. If Cooper had waited for the FBI, the Blue Rose Task Force would have been notified(as per Cole's orders to Agent Headley) immediately and Cooper would have been able to communicate his situation with his newfound assertiveness and tell Cole that he was Agent Cooper proper and that they needed to get to Twin Peaks right away. Cole, who already knew from Truman that there were two Coopers out there, was just one phone call away from meeting Cooper in Twin Peaks via FBI private transportation from Vegas/Buckhorn to Twin Peaks. Nevertheless, Agent Cooper left Cole stranded in Buckhorn, staring at the machines like a zombie, very disturbed at what is probably the fluctuations of lodge/red room manifestations on all those machines, showing where reality and people are breaking down and changing; and now Cole can only say a couple words at a time, disturbed by what happened to Diane and trying to figure out what 'sheriffs station' means, probably Twin Peaks sheriffs station where Naido is held.
We now know that Agent Cooper remembers everything from his time as Dougie, since he is still very close and familiar with Dougie's family and the Mitchums, so Cooper was conscious and acted himself when he saw that old movie and went for the electricity socket. When Dougie/Cooper saw the old movie and something 'clicked' inside of him when he heard 'forget the car, get Gordon Cole', etc., when Cooper heard this, I think many were suspecting that he then shocked himself in order to 'wake up', meet with Gordon Cole, etc. Disturbingly, this was not Agent Cooper's immediate intention: Cooper he did not join with Cole and the FBI and did not forget 'the car' bought by the Mitchums, but happily drove his car to meet with the Mitchums instead at the sight of jackpot's 'seven heaven', deciding to patronize mobsters and insurance fraudsters, while only leaving a note for Cole, which may or may not tip off Cole to meet him in Twin Peaks.
Furthermore, Cooper said 'I am the FBI', which is a declaration that is equivalent to sidelining Cole and asserting his authority over the entire situation. This declaration of 'being the FBI', identifying the institution with your personal character, is something that a King or authoritarian might say in asserting their privilege of power to control the institution, above and beyond the rule of law, freedom, and rationality. This also resonates with the 'Denise scene' where Cole, who is 'old fashioned', was sidelined institutionally and under the order of a trivial boss who cared only about flattery(signaled by the flowers someone before him had brought in for Denise), caring about personal comforts/favors, how 'federal bureau of investigation sound, etc., thus forcing Cole to engage in flattery in order to get permission to take Tammy along. Flattery has no place in the proper functioning of an institution meant to produce universal conditions of law, freedom, justice, etc. for the entire society, and with this role the institution must necessarily have nothing to do with flattery or personal interest, 'justice is blind', etc.
What is even more disturbing here is that Agent Cooper told the Mitchums, who are not 'traditionally welcomed by law enforcement types', that their relation with the law is about to change. Cooper is planning to 'be the FBI' and is he now telling mobsters that they are going to be friendly with power, with the law, namely Cooper as the personal embodiment of the FBI? What kind of law would this be, one of flattery and authoritarianism where a 'social club' of friends who help each other get very wealthy ignore the law and impose their rule over the land, even engaging in criminal activities(hits, racketeering, murder) like the Mitchums, whose relationship to the law is about to improve? Agent Cooper, like Denise, seems to be way too caught up here in people who have flattered him, made him 'feel good' with parties, girls, and gifts; so in other words, Agent Cooper forgot Cole, declared himself as the embodiment of the FBI, and then got in his brand new 'car'. Cooper was conscious the entire time and has learned from his time as Dougie, and liked it immensely, maybe now he is so tied to it that he will assert his private luxury group as rulers to continue his enjoyment. Cooper was even so impressed with the incompetent Fuscoes and the corruption at the Las Vegas police department, that it evoked in him the patriotic song of the US flag, as if his antics and dealing with mafia were a principle to rule the state. The same upbeat 'jazz' music plays for the Fuscoes that was playing for Dougie/Cooper at the breakfast table. Then when Cooper engaged the Fuscoes he began to get patriotic while looking at the flag, almost like he was relishing all his great 'jackpot' times as Dougie, then Cooper's desire was activated by the attractive woman in the red shoes, and he began to look at the electricity socket, the very thing that triggers him to wake up. So when Cooper saw the movie and heard 'forget the car, get Gordon Cole', did he actually remember everything he had done as Dougie, the mafia connections, parties, jackpots, girls, etc., and think to himself that if Gordon Cole comes by, all this will end, my 'seven heaven', money, etc., I had better wake up quick and make a power play before it is too late, get in the 'car' and forget Cole?
Finally, we also had Ruby 'waiting for someone', like Dougie/Cooper was supposed to be waiting for Cole, but instead opted to crawl out into whatever crowd she found and take the 'shock'; and this scene was followed by the 'convenience motel' and the 'bosom woman' who opens the door there, the likely destination of Ruby after abandoning her dreams, what she was waiting for in favor of a random crowd. Cooper/Dougie scene where he went for the electricity was the same process, so will Agent Cooper be looking to go to the convenience store/motel? Just as Ruby gave up on dreams and went with whoever in the crowd was at hand, Agent Cooper is giving up on Cole and the Blue Rose Task Force, his old dreams of justice and community, and just going with whoever happens to be on hand thanks to his accidental embodiment in Dougie and 'viva las vegas'? Agent Cooper's future will be visiting the convenience store, turning the world into a buffet for himself and his personal convenience, taking whatever is convenient, at hand, without regard to dreams, love, justice, law, etc.?
Cooper even disregarded Mike/Gerard and his instructions to take the ring, since he left it under the pillow, and was more concerned about Mike/Gerard making a new doppelganger 'seed' for him, the same way Dougie was manufactured in the first place. Mike/Gerard looked very disturbed at Agent Cooper's orders as if surprised and not fully understanding what Cooper was up to. Whatever Agent Cooper is doing, he is doing it himself, sidelining both Cole and Mike/Gerard, while siding with the Mitchums, and doing this with a goal we are not certain of yet.
The role of the ring here is important, Mike/Gerard handles the ring, which is used to institute order in the world, some kind of rule/law over the world, how the vortex/void will be managed by people with their dreams of love/justice, etc. which assert themselves from out of the depths of the void, regardless of it, since nature cannot sustain itself, it is split at a quantum level and needs dreams/dreamer, etc.. For example, Mr. C/BOB used the ring to submit Ray to his rule, end his story. Now there are problems with Mike, why he turns evil, etc., which I will not get into here, but he still trying to be good and defeat his problems as best he can, but is still reliant on Agent Cooper to institute 'good' here because of his limitations, so that if Agent Cooper were to trap BOB in the red room with the ring, then Mikes arm would secretly meet with not BOB, but a new law/world which is the source of garmanbozia and enjoyment. Nevertheless, if Agent Cooper is going to institute a new 'good order', law, justice, freedom, etc., then how is he going to trap Mr. C/BOB in the red room without the ring which asserts authority over those who bear it? Cooper left the ring under the pillow, could he be planning just to kill his doppelganger Mr. C and take BOB for himself, thus not needing the ring to trap BOB in the red room? Was it Agent Cooper all along who called Mr. C back in 'Darya's motel' and threatened him that he would 'be with BOB again'? After all, Agent Cooper originally engaged BOB himself due to his own failures, and he does not seemed to have addressed them, but rather seems to have intensified his old ways with a new assurance, one that even dumps Cole, the ring, and claims the FBI for himself?
This new Agent Cooper would be far more dangerous than anyone BOB has ever been with, due to his overriding pie/coffee/Dougie-Jackpot charm, ability to lead groups of people like the Mitchums who would otherwise be weary of law enforcement, plus his FBI connections, his influence could spread to the interior halls of the state, he could have Denise's job in no time......Maybe it is Cooper himself who is in the 'congressmen's dilemma', but instead of shooting the wife, will send a new doppelganger to Janey E, while he has BOB to himself, Cooper moving up to be Mr. C and putting a new Dougie in suburban zombie land to shore up his pie.....and where does this leave the role of people like Diane, Richard, and Mr. C, who have 'been to the convenience store and back' and may come to realize that nothing is worth anything there, could they play a role in eliminating this monster?
It's interesting, but I interpreted it a bit differently. I also thought it was weird that he ditched the FBI and didn't bother calling Cole, but I understood it as "time is of the essence" and the urgent nature of what we are about to see could not be interrupted. He was out of there in a hurry. Who knows, maybe they would arrest him for questioning. They probably don't fully know what's going on and they already know there is a "fake" Cooper walking around so they would have to take precautions and that would slow him down. He wasted enough time sleepwalking. I also noticed the ring under the pillow part, but I think he just hides it there temporarily because that's when Janey-E and Sonny-Jim walked back into the room. He didn't have any pockets, he had a hospital gown on so there was nowhere else to put it. He didn't want them to ask questions about it and not to mention, it is potentially dangerous. The next scene we see him dressed and we are left to assume that he grabbed the ring and put it in his pocket (off camera). But as far as the not alerting Cole thing, I was wondering about that too. I'm presuming we will see an early scene in the next part where Coop is briefing Cole via phone on a plane en route to Twin Peaks 🙂
Its all possible as well, especially what you are saying about the ring, he could have easily picked it up after Janey E and Sonny Jim left, although this was not shown, but we do know he got rid of it at some point.
I am not sure that he would brief Cole right away, since then he would not have left the note, but would have just waited for the briefing. He wanted Agent Headly to get the note and tell Cole what is on it, maybe a taunt or misdirection, or maybe telling him to meet in Twin Peaks, either to help stop Mr. C/BOB or to lure them there to eliminate the Blue Rose Task Force.
Also, the 'time is of the essence thing' does not necessarily explain why he went with the Mitchums instead of Cole. What is harder, convincing mafia criminals to join with and help an FBI agent, or explain the situation to Cole with his new assertive capabilities get Headly to let him talk to Cole, explain to Cole, who is already informed of the two Coopers, one good, one bad, etc. and has an intimate knowledge of Blue Rose, Tulpas, etc. and would be able to verify the story right away and order Headly to get him to Twin Peaks immediately. Headly was under orders to contact Cole right away anyway... And if he was planning to work with Cole, his superior and deputy director of FBI, he would not have said "I am the FBI'..., but then there is also the chance that Headly would not have listened to Cooper, because he is so 'strongheaded' when dealing with Wilson, but would then probably have to report to Cole that Dougie was claiming to be Cooper and was asking to talk with him...at which point Cole would probably contact Cooper, who could explain the situation and confirm to Cole that he is the real Agent Cooper by his greetings and intimate knowledge and friendship he had with Cole, Cole would know that it is the real Agent Cooper and not Mr. C who they saw before in the South Dakota Federal Prison...
This is a marvelously curmudgeonly post!
I don't disagree with any of your points, but do give Coop a bit more benefit of the doubt. Let's see how 25 years in the Black Lodge has prepared him for this moment.
He absolutely had to exit with all haste in order to avoid the Keystone Kops chapter of the FBI (Vegas bureau agents). I support that notion by contending that with all his involvement in the celestial part of his life in the lodge he has gained even more intuition beyond his normal superior detective's prowess as a Special Agent. Those Vegas agents wouldn't be able to find a cadaver in their own morgue.
There may be another agenda as to why Cole was not his first contact, but it's speculation, of course, at this point. It may be that the urgency to intercept Mr. C is the priority for which he can't sacrifice so much as a single distraction, hence, even if he regretted having to do it, leaving a note with Bushnell for Cole might have been the least bad of few good options. I got a strong sense that at this stage of Cooper's experience, he's now functioning on a higher plane than ever before. More Tibetan, less Bureau. Maybe even more Lodge, less Tibetan.
Lets see how the lodge/red room has prepared him indeed, its not as if the black lodge and the red room is a place of training and education, the guy was in hell there wasting away for 25 years against his will......there was also the scene with the fireman at the beginning though....where he seemed to know about 'Richard and Linda'
I dont think its being unfair or vicious to accuse Cooper here, there are plenty of signs to indicate that all is not right with Agent Cooper, also some other signs that show that he may be the hero here....but I wanted to explore the possibility that he is the greatest criminal, rather than suspend judgment and get lost in the impact of Cooper's return, the mystery continues, even if old Agent Cooper is back......
Another thing, I gave the benefit of the doubt by saying that it is possible that Cooper may have left right away in order to avoid Agent Headly and his 'communication problems', but its just guessing to assume that Agent Cooper would have known about Agent Headly's demeanor, Cooper has never met the guy and knows nothing about him, all he has gotten from the lodges and his intuition has been from his experience as Agent Cooper, then Dougie, and the messages from Mike, which warn him of Mr. C, but say nothing about Headly......We know Cooper was told some things by the fireman, and knows somethings from the white lodge, but that does not necessarily make him know every little thing, about what will happen in the future, etc...
We can still ask here, did Cooper abandon the FBI and Cole on purpose in favor of the Mitchums, did 'Cooper fly the coop' again?
Lets see indeed, its not as if the black lodge and the red room is a place of training and education, the guy was in hell there......
I dont think its being unfair, there are plenty of signs to indicate that all is not right with Agent Cooper, also some other signs that show that he may be the hero here....but I wanted to explore the possibility that he is the greatest criminal, rather than suspend judgment and get lost in the impact of Cooper's return, the mystery continues, even if old Agent Cooper is back......
It's a subjective take, to say the very least. There are various schools of thought on what went on there; I don't see it as hell. The image shown below can arguably be construed as a learning environment. Some are taking it a lot farther. I am only reflecting on Cooper's actions immediately following the hospital stay. His earnest and confident demeanor were the unquestionable trademarks of a man with a plan--(what went on inside that mind during a two day coma)--and it seems clear to me he has support, but not from the FBI this time.
He was told some things in the white lodge, but most of these were vague clues and hints like 'listen to the sounds'/roadhouse songs, etc.. Cooper did understand 'Richard and Linda', etc., but this does not necessarily make him omniscient, all knowing, etc...even the fireman does not seem to be this...it is purely assumption without clues(subjectivity too far away from the 'facts'/world, etc.) to think that the giant is helping him now, since the only help he has gotten from red room/lodges since waking up was from Mike/Gerard, who seemed very disturbed at Agent Cooper's presence and responses/orders....Furthermore, Cooper even likely disobeyed Mike/Gerard and abandoned the ring....hes got his own plans for sure, he even claimed the full authority of the FBI to his person; but these plans are not guaranteed to be a white lodge paradise, the guy is in league with Vegas mobsters, thats his current situation.....he is basically accepting Dougie's life, just now with the full assertion of old Agent Cooper....
And sitting in that red room for 25 years, with only dispersed fragments of thought and existence, etc., repeating the same failures and nightmare over and over, Laura Palmer, etc, unable to do anything....cannot be anything but hell.....
Cooper knows about tulpas and the need for a seed and subject DNA. That suggests he may have learned a great deal more about the lodge entities and forces.
Cooper also learned some very nasty information from "Laura". Hopefully he was paying attention this time.
Murat, (may I call you that) I think you and another prolific poster have diametric opposite viewpoints on this question. I don't know where my predictions lie, I'm just interpreting his actions as contrasted with all prior footage we have of the Agent to date. Right now, at this moment in the series, some see his future as more celestial bound, and some as more terrestrial. How he has gestated during the 25 years, and what has become of him is what interests me, and provides the explanation to what his moves are now.
Btw, it's a hell of a question you post. Not helping me get to sleep, thank you very much. 🙂
Cooper knows about tulpas and the need for a seed and subject DNA. That suggests he may have learned a great deal more about the lodge entities and forces.
Cooper also learned some very nasty information from "Laura". Hopefully he was paying attention this time.
This is true as well, but it is also possible that he picked up this knowledge of the seed/tulpas during his transition into Dougie, when he acquired his existence....how far Agent Cooper's knowledge stretches is anyone's guess....but if he is omniscient, knows about Headly, everything that will happen, there is no need for the haste or worry on his part, to 'get to Twin Peaks as quickly as possible' since the outcome would already be decided and he would know about it and know he can do nothing to change it, he would be acting more like a mechanical robot with no engagement....things in Twin Peaks are not decided in advance, I would argue, since nature itself is split by the void/vortex's and people's dreams which seek to deal with this lack in nature by engagement, dreaming, making things not decided or not there before, and this is what would both make Cooper want to go in 'haste' to engage because things are not decided, and would make Cooper's knowledge limited at the same time, so that he does not know everything, including knowing about Agent Headly
Headslap! I cut and paste here my own text:
hence, even if he regretted having to do it, leaving a note with Bushnell for Cole might have been the least bad of few good options.
I talked about superior intuition. This bothered me during the screening.
How the hell? What the? ...
Cooper's jumping out of a hospital bed, dressing himself, and telling Bushnell "A man named Gordon Cole might be calling you; read him this note when he does" or words to that effect. How on God's earth does Cooper know this? He's been droopy-Dougie for weeks on end, and most recently disabled by a coma. Sure, he got a shock from a chance cable screening of Sunset Blvd. where he heard Gordon's name, but nobody said Gordon would be calling Bushnell.
Lodge, or Tibetan?
Perhaps I'm just thinking too often about the old days when Cooper dreamed so much and revealed the contents of his dreams, which then had a tendency to become reality. Perhaps I need to close this laptop and meditate and nod off myself. That's definitely it.
Murat, (may I call you that) I think you and another prolific poster have diametric opposite viewpoints on this question. I don't know where my predictions lie, I'm just interpreting his actions as contrasted with all prior footage we have of the Agent to date. Right now, at this moment in the series, some see his future as more celestial bound, and some as more terrestrial. How he has gestated during the 25 years, and what has become of him is what interests me, and provides the explanation to what his moves are now.
Btw, it's a hell of a question you post. Not helping me get to sleep, thank you very much. 🙂
I was also very interested to see how he would come back after the 25 years, and to be honest, it horrified me....it was like a zombie from the past coming back, acting exactly the same etc., as if some undead life is there that cares nothing about those 25 years, his failures that led him to be taken over by BOB, etc., and just keeps going on the same path that led him to disaster before(even claiming, 'I am the FBI'), and now he is even loving the Dougie and 'viva las vegas' lifestyle, in with mobsters, etc...that limo scene was for me the most disturbing thing I have seen from Lynch, especially witnessing the overriding unquestioning joy at his return, despite all the signs of potential disaster...that is evil...just going on without dreams forever, content to find the convenience of the Dougie lifestyle and abandoning his search for justice, community, etc......
And I would add that the celestial and the terrestrial are one and the same, dreams intertiwine with reality in Twin Peaks. Nature itself, deep in the vortex, is even split at a subatomic level, opening up void/vortex which connects with dreams which alter reality...so much of this in Twin Peaks(Big Eds reflection flickering when his dreams of Norma seemed broken, Freddie dreaming about not wasting his life and helping people and then getting taken into the white lodge), the terrestrial and the celestial are not separated here I think...reality/nature itself is a fiction....which is why the ring and the rule/measure of garmanbozia and dreams depends on intervention, so Mike's arm will not have to deal with BOB anymore, but someone better dream, state/rule/law, etc....maybe when Cooper said 'I am the FBI', he meant this, that he would get rid of BOB, start a new law, etc....but needs the ring for this it seems, and why claim the 'FBI' as an institution, sounds like a power play here........
I dont think all is right with Agent Cooper, he just came back and still has to confront BOB, its not said and done right when he comes back. Not sure how he would have known Cole was looking for him, maybe he assumed that Cole would still be tracking for the lost Cooper, just like they were for Jeffries before that, and might somehow become alerted to his presence in Vegas.... He definitely knows a lot for someone who just came back, but its hard to say how much he knows, If his knowledge is based on his dreams and intuition, this would also be limited to what he saw in red room/lodges(where usually there are vague fragments and clues that they have to puzzle back together) and the dreams spinning off of his existence, the dreams based on what is lacking in the world, dreams for something better, etc...maybe he did not even know that the FBI was coming to look for him at the hospital right then, but just missed them by accident....Either way, he is opting to go with the Mitchums rather than the FBI and the Blue Rose Task Force here.....
Dougie knew everything. He couldn't communicate or respond, but he was Coop the entire time.
Also, the FBI was at Lucky 7. They were looking for Dougie and Janey -E... for murder. Of course they would contact Mullins. He's Dougie's boss.
Of course Coop left a note. He didn't want to be caught by the Vegas FBI when he needs to address the situation in Twin Peaks. He can't afford to waste time in jail for things he didn't do. He has a directive.
There will be a meeting between Cole and Coop. It won't be a negative meeting.
There's not a minute to waste.. and the Mitchum brothers have a perfect jet for the situation.
Also, the FBI was at Lucky 7. They were looking for Dougie and Janey -E... for murder. Of course they would contact Mullins. He's Dougie's boss.
Yes, but would Agent Cooper himself know this, was he in the coma when this happened? I cant remember if someone told him that the FBI had been to Lucky 7....Maybe he was dreaming in that coma as Subalpine Fir was saying?
Fire walk with 
