To me it depends upon how one defines (I)dentity. I think Cooper's sense of self is there but Richard is a separate identity that is gradually replacing, no suppressing might be better word to use, Coop's (I). Can it ever completely suppress it fully? Not sure about that. Carrie seemed to have a Laura trigger and dreams could also be a space in which Coop's memories would likely surface if he loses his (I) and gains Richard's. That isn't to say that I think his (their) situation is akin to what used to be termed multiple personality disorder. This is more like many worlds-interpretation if one was able to shift from one possible world (universe) to another. Or, be sent there by a cosmically powerful being like Judy. That is to say Richard is different from Coop in that nurture and his identity forming environment, experiences, etc. were different than Coop's. Coop has awoken in Richard's life along with some of Richard's traits and perhaps memories, but it's not the same as showing up and replacing Dougie in his life. That is to say they are different yet the same.
Hi Caoimhín,
Thanks for chiming in, Caoimhín. 😉
So Dale (either on his own volition or kidnapped by Judy) has now done a BOB-in-the-doppelganger maneuver on Poor Richard? (Not that Dale would harass his host in any way like BOB did in creating Mr. C, of course. ;-))
But when it comes to the Richard vs Dale identity - which came first?
Did Zhuangzi dream the butterfly, or did the butterfly dream Zhuangzi?
😉
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Not exactly a possession more like an imbalanced fusion of (I)dentities. One could essential wake up in a different universe and have two opposing I's, or the memory of those I's, battle it out.
In all possible worlds in which Cooper exists, they came into existence at all times. Yet based upon nurture, environment, experience, decisions made, etc. they are all Cooper but different. Biological they are the same, but their characteristics, habits, mannerisms, etc. are not. The proverbial I isn't necessarily either. This is taking the idea of, "Am I the same I that went to bed after I woke up?" Or, "Am I the same I that I was twenty-five years ago?" much further since all those eyes, oops - I's, exist in different universes. ??
I agree - there’s a massive change in Coop's personality, and Richard is more like a weird amalgamation of the three 'versions' of Cooper we've seen before.
I feel like the change from one Coop to another occurred specifically as he and Diane crossed over the 430 mile mark, at the electricity pylons – did anyone else notice the way he was driving? When Coop had just woken up from his coma and was driving Janey E and Sonny Jim to the casino, Sonny Jim commented on his great driving and I laughed because the steering wheel was going all over the place. When Coop and Diane are driving in the daytime, the wheel is moving the same way, then as soon as they cross over at the pylons and it’s night, the wheel is noticeably completely still.
The 430 mile mark also looked to me like the place where Bad Coop crashed his car and managed to prevent himself getting pulled back into the lodge, meaning the real Dougie went in instead. This would imply it’s a magical place where people and doppelgangers can be swapped over or relocated, facilitated by the electricity.
Could it be that Good Coop actually went back to Janey E and 'Richard' is the newest Tulpa created from the hair of Good Coop and the seed from Mr C? It would help explain why he acts like he does, with aspects of all the Coops - looking to help Laura like Good Coop, emotionlessly shooting the cowboys like Mr C would, and the kind of blankness of the other tulpa, Dougie.
I love reading everyone's theories, even though none of us will ever really know!
YES! Nico Law, you are on the case and promoted.
This is good, Nico:
The 430 mile mark also looked to me like the place where Bad Coop crashed his car and managed to prevent himself getting pulled back into the lodge, meaning the real Dougie went in instead. This would imply it’s a magical place where people and doppelgangers can be swapped over or relocated, facilitated by the electricity.
New info (as far as I know), great catch!
A lot depends on your model for personality at this point (or Lynch's--it would be nice if he had a dominant model for him to share, but he's a real honest-to-God artist so he borrows from everywhere and makes his own).
If you believe in MPD, then it makes sense to say that Richard is the dominant "whole" personality of Cooper, and Cooper is a fantasy or a sub-personality that Richard created. Richard split somehow into Dale Cooper and Mr. C. Richard is the mature "whole" person. (I don't actually believe this; just positing a possibility.)
If you believe in the existence of the soul and reincarnation, then there is something going on with "past and future" lives of souls. There's the "Cooper soul" and we're seeing variations of it, good, bad and in-between. It doesn't matter much what you call it or it calls itself: Richard, Cooper, Mr. C.
Unless the whole of Twin Peaks is a dream and Laura is a fantasy, the soul theory seems better suited to Twin Peaks because she does seem to "waken" at the end (traumatically) and remember her life as Laura.
Going back to brothers (and names)...
All of the new sets of brothers in S3 are almost like matching sets. The Fuscos, the Mitchums, the Truman(s). Maybe this was foreshadowing for Dale and Richard. They are similar, even related, but not the same.
Now pondering the significance of the name, Richard. Because names are super important in the season and of course there's already an important Richard--Richard Horne. Who is (probably) bad Coop's son. So how does that play out?
Hi Marian,
How indeed does that play out. They are together now, presumably, in the Black Lodge. A family reunion I would not care to attend. (I know, I know, the ring didn't get put on Richard's finger. It's Lynch-time. Prove me wrong.) 🙂
Fire walk with