Thanks to the help of some online theorists and about 10 days of rumination, I've tried to construct as inclusive a theory about the central point (outside of simple enjoyment, of course) of The Return as possible.
Here goes:
Cooper is told by The Fireman that Jao Dei (aka "Judy", the Mother of all Evil) is "in our house now."
He relates a plan to Cooper involving the number 243 and "Richard and Linda - Two Birds, one stone."
Laura whispers further instructions to Cooper, and is ejected from the Black Lodge with a scream.
Leland asks Cooper to "Find Laura."
Jao Dei seems to be activated into a volatile, destructive state by the sexual act (i.e NYC, the couple, the billionaire's portal box).
Sarah Palmer appears to be possessed by Jao Dei.
After some 12 episodes in the savant Dougie state Cooper awakens and returns to Twin Peaks.
Cooper's double is sent back to The Black Lodge; BOB is obliterated by the green glove; Naido is changed back into the real Diane.
Cooper goes through the hotel room door to visit Agent Jeffries, who transports Cooper back to 2/23/89, the night of Laura Palmer's murder.
Cooper intercepts Laura, preventing her murder. Sarah Palmer, possessed by Jao Dei, is furious and tries to destroy Laura's picture in a rage. Cooper tries to lead Laura to safety until she disappears, transported to an alternate world, again with a scream.
This event, obviously anticipated by the Fireman, leads Cooper and Diane to continue enacting the plan laid out in Episode 1.
Cooper and Diane drive to the 243 mile (from Twin Peaks) marker, where an electrical tower in the shape of the owl cave symbol is observed.
Cooper and Diane cross over into the alternate world, drive for awhile, and check into a motel, where they have sex to lure Jao Dei into this world.
The morning after, it's clear that Cooper and Diane are Richard and Linda in this alt-world - the second birds (alternate existences) of the one stone (themselves).
Cooper/Richard finds Laura Palmer, known in this world as Carrie Page, and drives her to her family home in Twin Peaks.
Though neither Laura/Carrie nor the inhabitants of the Palmer home in this alternate world seem to know anything about what's going on, the voice of Sarah Palmer from the morning after the murder calls to Laura/Carrie.
Laura/Carrie lets out a blood-curdling scream, which short-circuits the electricity in the Palmer home, extinguishing Jao Dei.
Laura is shown in a flashback whispering to Cooper, reinforcing that there was a plan that she and Cooper (and Leland and The Fireman) were in on all along...
I agree we most of that except the 2 birds with one stone. I think the best explanation I can come up with is that the 2 birds are saving Laura and defeating Judy and the stone is Carrie Page/Laura orb that the Fireman sent down in episode 8.
Good one.
This is better explained here: https://www.waggish.org/2017/twin-peaks-finale/
Thanks to the help of some online theorists and about 10 days of rumination, I've tried to construct as inclusive a theory about the central point (outside of simple enjoyment, of course) of The Return as possible.
Here goes:
Cooper is told by The Fireman that Jao Dei (aka "Judy", the Mother of all Evil) is "in our house now."
He relates a plan to Cooper involving the number 243 and "Richard and Linda - Two Birds, one stone."
Laura whispers further instructions to Cooper, and is ejected from the Black Lodge with a scream.
Leland asks Cooper to "Find Laura."
Jao Dei seems to be activated into a volatile, destructive state by the sexual act (i.e NYC, the couple, the billionaire's portal box).
Sarah Palmer appears to be possessed by Jao Dei.
After some 12 episodes in the savant Dougie state Cooper awakens and returns to Twin Peaks.
Cooper's double is sent back to The Black Lodge; BOB is obliterated by the green glove; Naido is changed back into the real Diane.
Cooper goes through the hotel room door to visit Agent Jeffries, who transports Cooper back to 2/23/89, the night of Laura Palmer's murder.
Cooper intercepts Laura, preventing her murder. Sarah Palmer, possessed by Jao Dei, is furious and tries to destroy Laura's picture in a rage. Cooper tries to lead Laura to safety until she disappears, transported to an alternate world, again with a scream.
This event, obviously anticipated by the Fireman, leads Cooper and Diane to continue enacting the plan laid out in Episode 1.
Cooper and Diane drive to the 243 mile (from Twin Peaks) marker, where an electrical tower in the shape of the owl cave symbol is observed.
Cooper and Diane cross over into the alternate world, drive for awhile, and check into a motel, where they have sex to lure Jao Dei into this world.
The morning after, it's clear that Cooper and Diane are Richard and Linda in this alt-world - the second birds (alternate existences) of the one stone (themselves).
Cooper/Richard finds Laura Palmer, known in this world as Carrie Page, and drives her to her family home in Twin Peaks.
Though neither Laura/Carrie nor the inhabitants of the Palmer home in this alternate world seem to know anything about what's going on, the voice of Sarah Palmer from the morning after the murder calls to Laura/Carrie.
Laura/Carrie lets out a blood-curdling scream, which short-circuits the electricity in the Palmer home, extinguishing Jao Dei.
Laura is shown in a flashback whispering to Cooper, reinforcing that there was a plan that she and Cooper (and Leland and The Fireman) were in on all along...
Great small synopsis, thank you for sharing!
Sometimes a bite sized summary is all you need 🙂
Posted by: FA100
Laura/Carrie lets out a blood-curdling scream, which short-circuits the electricity in the Palmer home, extinguishing Jao Dei.
Why does the "fireman" have that name? Because his goal was to extinguish the fire/electricity symbolic of the evil forces? A fireman's job is to extinguish fire.
Ricco2000, Thanks for posting that article – one of the best assessments I’ve read, if not the best.
It causes me to revise my synopsis to the following:
Cooper is told by The Fireman that Jao Dei (aka "Judy", the Mother of All Evil) is "in our house now."
He relates a plan to Cooper involving the number 243 and "Richard and Linda - two birds with one stone."
Laura whispers further instructions to Cooper, and is ejected from the Black Lodge with a scream.
Leland asks Cooper to "Find Laura."
Jao Dei seems to be activated into a volatile, destructive state by the sexual act (i.e . NYC, the couple, the billionaire's portal box).
Sarah Palmer appears to be possessed by Jao Dei.
After some 12 episodes in the infantile Dougie state, Cooper awakens and returns to Twin Peaks.
The evil Cooper double is led with his third set of coordinates to a dimension inhabited by The Fireman and Major Briggs’ head. A self-contained “cage” world is there as well, and a screen which shows a picture of the Palmer home, Evil Coop’s apparent intended destination. The Fireman instead deposits Evil Cooper at the Twin Peaks Sheriff’s station.
At the Sheriff’s station, Cooper's double is sent back to The Black Lodge; BOB is obliterated by the green glove; Naido is changed back into the real Diane.
Cooper goes through the hotel room door to visit Agent Jeffries, who transports Cooper back to 2/23/89, the night of Laura Palmer's murder.
Cooper intercepts Laura, preventing her murder. Sarah Palmer, possessed by Jao Dei, is furious and tries to destroy Laura's picture in a rage. Cooper tries to lead Laura to safety until she disappears, transported to an alternate world, again with a scream. This alternate world is very likely of the Fireman’s design - the cage depicted at the 3rd set of coordinates dimension.
Cooper visits the Black lodge briefly, where several themes from the first couple of episodes are reiterated and/or clarified. Cooper leaves the lodge, and he and Diane to continue enacting the Fireman’s plan laid out in Episode 1.
Cooper and Diane drive to the 243 mile (from Twin Peaks) marker, where an electrical tower in the shape of the owl cave symbol stands.
Cooper and Diane cross over into the alternate world, again very likely the cage, drive for a while, and check into a motel, where they have sex in order to lure Jao Dei into this world.
The morning after, it's clear that Cooper and Diane are Richard and Linda in this cage world, as mentioned at the beginning by The Fireman. Diane leaves a letter explaining this, and has disappeared.
Cooper/Richard finds Laura Palmer, known in this world as Carrie Page, in Odessa, TX, and drives her to her family home in Twin Peaks.
Though neither Laura/Carrie nor the inhabitants of the Palmer home in this alternate world seem to know anything about what's going on, the voice of Sarah Palmer from the morning after the murder calls out faintly to Laura/Carrie.
Laura/Carrie recognizes the voice and what it means, lets out a blood-curdling scream, which short-circuits the electricity in the Palmer home, extinguishing Jao Dei. Laura’s scream suggests that The Fireman chose her to put out the Jao Dei “fire” in the controlled space of the Cage because the enormous amount of pain and suffering she’s endured has built that scream to a “nuclear”-like level – strong enough to take a force of evil like Jao Dei out.
The screen then goes entirely black, suggesting that perhaps Carrie/Laura’s scream destroyed everything - the entire Cage and all in it.
Laura is then shown as in the beginning episode whispering to Cooper in the Black Lodge, reinforcing that there was a plan that she and Cooper (and Leland and The Fireman) were in on all along...or is it rather a briefing of their next evil-fighting mission?
Fire walk with