To figure out the insane puzzle, that Lynch/Frost has created, we as viewers have to stick to facts. Anything else is an assumption and will quickly have us spiraling down the rabbit hole.
Everyone continues to refer to the one armed man as Mike. However, in every episode Al Strobel has been credited as Philip Gerard, not Mike. As you may remember Philip Gerard was the host for Mike, just like Leland was the host for Bob. This leaves me to think that in the last 25 years Gerard died and, like all other spirits, has entered the Black Lodge. This also explains why the one arm man, in previous seasons and the movie, was not helping Cooper and why he seems to be now. To our knowledge, as the viewer, we have never seen Mike in season 3, nor has Mike been referenced or credited in the credits. IMO Mike has found a new host and may have been the person who contacted Cooper in the motel after he killed Darya.
Good points but I think most people just use Mike when talking about him because it's easier. I can certainly see where Philip Gerard might have gone into the Red Room to help Cooper.
Yes, I agree that it may be easier to refer to him as Mike. I'm afraid that someone might discount their theory because they say, "Well, Mike did this in season 2 and this in season 3. That blows my whole theory out of the water." Maybe not, since their not the same people, those theories may be true. In fact, one of those theories may be the final piece of the puzzle that we have all been looking for.
I felt that Philip Gerard was who we were seeing throughout the series, but when Cooper enters the Great Northern it's Mike.
No idea if that's the case, but that's how I took it.
Fire walk with