Thank you!  I thought it looked familiar, and assumed it was from somewhere else in TP - but I'd re-watched Mulholland Drive recently...

Yeah, I had a feeling they were related immediately.

Here the giant was silenced, then?, suspended and paralyzed at the sight of BOB, much like the people of the desert town who collapsed when hearing the woodsmen's chant over the radio which silenced the love song.  A lot of people are saying he created Laura to counteract BOB, but that is a funny way of creating, quite passive; in fact, this looks more like he was paralyzed by BOB and the atomic explosion, the atom-reality is all a mirage(like the music in Mull Dr.), then was trapped in a nightmare and dreamt up the image of a guaranteed Laura in order to shield himself from harsh reality.  The Giant was then drained of golden brown surplus for the fatwoman who takes over the active role of the lawgiver, something like violating the giants dreams and law, splitting the atom (nuclear explosion, etc.)  for purposes of making enjoyment-profit guaranteed property to be sought, never endingly chasing it, as Laura and Mr. C., and the world in generall are obsessed with?

I would argue that the unsplit laura atom is not a saviour, but the perfect compliment to the rule of BOB and the Woodsmen, who have paralyzed the helpless giant and empowered the fatwoman dressed in flashy clothes who is seeking affections....much like Deinse, the head of the FBI only cared about petty flattery, even though she is in a high power position.  The law is something like never ending profit-enjoyment, repeated over and over with no progression so that BOB et al can be constantly fed money-enjoyment; the world is to be made property by elite power people, it is something that has to exist and be their property to service their petty affections, profit interests, wild rages, vanity, luxury, etc. which they then impose on the world through terror, take over the radio, change the tune for the young couple, etc. 

   Laura as a golden atom is a defensive reaction to BOB and the blast, something which allows people to accept the Woodsmen's rules and chants while having a safety shield of some kind of mythical 'unsplit' Laura out there somewhere(but never here incidentally), that everything is OK, even though no one is making it OK, taking care of the problems and solving the mystery of Laura Palmer.  No one has yet even recognized Laura had problems in the first place, aside from Bobby at her funeral, even though thats what she was constantly demanding of people, that they provide her a better world to realize her dreams, etc., instead of tearing her limb from limb in a sadomasochistic sacrifice in which she began to enjoy and became guilty herself, very guilty.  James here is also guilty, along with the entire community of twin peaks(inclusive of the old dead Cooper) who got their enjoyment with the wholesome prom queen, all they wanted to see, didnt care about her problems or really solving them, just making her play the role of prom queen for some, whore for others, so they could shield behind the atom, some kind of guaranteed salvation in profiting at her expense or using her to hide.....everyone is scared to do the real work.....and the world is slowly degrading into a boring and obscene mess.....'white' became evil....is on the side of evil now....