We've been set up to think Cooper's return to earth - via the wall outlet and Dougie - is simply how he gets out of the predicament we saw him enter at the end of Season 2. In other words, he was stuck in the Lodge for 25 years, and this is how he gets back.
I'm starting to think this is actually his return from the "Odessa Universe."
I got here by working backward from some other thoughts I've had (which seems very Lodge-appropriate). For a while I've been convinced that when Coop and Diane reunite at the Sheriff's Station, this is after they've experienced their "Richard and Linda" phase. That's why Coop says, "Do you remember everything?" - as in, "even the stuff we experienced when we were different people?" That's why he's so ecstatic to see her, when he's merely kind and cheery to his other old friends: They've been through something harrowing together and feel overjoyed to be greeting each other as themselves again.
But how did they get back from the "Odessa Universe?" As we know, they didn't stick together there. Linda left a "Dear John" letter for Richard, and they went their separate ways. It stands to reason that they had to get back in separate ways.
It seems the only way back is through the Lodge, as if that's the conduit between dimensions. But crossing dimensions isn't easy: you don't just stroll in and out. The transition will warp and damage you somehow.
We can see what it did to Diane. She became the eyeless, speechless Naido and hurtled back to earth that way. That was her journey back from Odessa.
But what was Coop's journey? Well, I think it's exactly what they showed us. He was reduced to electrical current and zapped into the life of Dougie Jones, seemingly leaving most of himself behind.
One more thought is that of course they do see each other, out in space (or something), just before they begin their journey back to their old dimension. It's like, "See you on the other side." (But way freakier.)
Then they both had to survive long enough, in their diminished forms, to be fully restored (with a little help from their Lodge spirit friends).
And the Sheriff's Station is their reunion. They live happily ever after. Well, no, they live happily for a few minutes until they seemingly have to do it all again. But that's a whole other can of worms. 😉
How do you explain Cooper encountering Naido/Diane when returning from the Odessa Universe via the electrical sockets and becoming Dougie?
Also, what happened to Carrie?
Yes, I think you're right, but I also think that it's before the Twin Peaks dimension. It's earlier in time. When you watch episode 8 synched with 18, it's like you see Judy give birth to Bob, the Giant watches it and feels that he needs to respond, so he births Laura and sends her into Carrie. I feel like it's in an alternate dimension and personalities move between the two in an infinite loop.
Very quickly - because I have to go out but may post more later - I don't have an explanation for why they would start their journeys back to earth at the same time. But for whatever reason they do, and when they have that encounter, they're essentially running into each other on the doorstep of the Lodge before departing.
And I don't know what happens to Carrie. I think the finale cuts off at what's basically an arbitrary point, and the Carrie story continues but whatever happens isn't shown to us. We pick up when Coop has somehow gotten out of the Odessa Universe and is struggling to return.
That all probably sounds a little slipshod, but actual responsibilities call... so hopefully some better thoughts later.
Fire walk with