I just noticed the pointed spike projecting from its mouth similar to The Jumping Man/Frog-moth nose and whatever it is residing behind Sarah Palmer's face.
Yeah, I think this is part of why Mike and I both felt we were being shown this entity inside of Sarah's face and concluded that with some confidence immediately after the episode aired. But, then, the later scene with her face on the Jumping Man complicates things. Nice grab.
I've always assumed The Glass Box Entity was more akin to The Experiment that we saw in Part 8 and what is inside Sarah Palmer is the evolution of the frog-mouth, which came from The Experiment & seems to be tied to The Jumping Man (as you point out - same pointed nose + we saw Sarah's face superimposed over The Jumping Man in Part 15). Is it more likely that Sarah, Jumping Man, BOB, MIKE, Naido?, Tremonds are the Children of The Experiment/Glass Box Entity? Like hosts a la Leland/BOB, Phillip Gerard/MIKE.
I've always assumed The Glass Box Entity was more akin to The Experiment that we saw in Part 8 and what is inside Sarah Palmer is the evolution of the frog-mouth, which came from The Experiment & seems to be tied to The Jumping Man (as you point out - same pointed nose + we saw Sarah's face superimposed over The Jumping Man in Part 15). Is it more likely that Sarah, Jumping Man, BOB, MIKE, Naido?, Tremonds are the Children of The Experiment/Glass Box Entity? Like hosts a la Leland/BOB, Phillip Gerard/MIKE.
Yeah, I resisted the idea that Sarah was the frogmoth girl right up until I read the Final Dossier. Have to eat my crow on that one.
I had also been thinking that it was the same being in Part 8 as in the glass box, and that the Experiment was Judy, and possessing Sarah.
Now, I think that all of that needs some revision, but my thoughts are still in process. As a starting point, I am thinking about how time and time again it turned out that things were as straightforward as they appeared. So, if the Experiment in Part 8 spewed out a bunch of eggs, then why not the thought that the frogmoths grow into precisely this? Then, there would be a bunch of these. And, presumably other eggs hatched and other frogmoths entered others who were knocked out by the radio broadcast, so others would be inhabited as Sarah is - the gifted and the damned. But the presence would seem to not really be physical, if Sarah was checked out at hospital and they didn't find anything wrong with her.
I have always thought of the Jumping Man as more of a symbol, or conduit, than an entity for some reason, in which case my suggestion would be that we see Sarah's face because he represents the connections between the dimensions of the Lodge and ordinary reality - the conduit of the possession, if you like, or something like that.
But, then, who is Judy!? Maybe this is the name of just one of the Experiments (Sarah's middle name is Judith), or maybe it refers to all of this put together? Or, I know you have played with the idea that Naido is Judy...
I could definitely see Jumping Man being Mother's/Experiment's child, and the screen grab would certainly suggest it. Has Jumping Man been around as long as the frogmoth? Were they in the same batch of eggs? I think, looking at the back pages of the dossier, its fair to say Sarah and Jumping man are linked, if not Sarah and Judy.
On the topic of Sarah and Judy, I read this article recently, it might be of interest:
https://25yearslatersite.com/2018/01/19/hiding-in-plain-sight-judy-revealed/
I don't neccesarily agree with every point made, but I think its a well thought out point of view and well worth a read!
I could definitely see Jumping Man being Mother's/Experiment's child, and the screen grab would certainly suggest it. Has Jumping Man been around as long as the frogmoth? Were they in the same batch of eggs? I think, looking at the back pages of the dossier, its fair to say Sarah and Jumping man are linked, if not Sarah and Judy.
On the topic of Sarah and Judy, I read this article recently, it might be of interest:
https://25yearslatersite.com/2018/01/19/hiding-in-plain-sight-judy-revealed/
I don't neccesarily agree with every point made, but I think its a well thought out point of view and well worth a read!
I like this a lot. It is a show about trauma. It is a show about haunting pasts and goddamn bad stories. It's a show about a lot of things, and every time I think I have it figured out what the theme is I am persuaded to think that there are other themes too.
For a show with no answers it sure is densely packed with things to think about.
Yeah, it is a good article. If the idea, though is that Sarah is Judy in a straightforward way, what to make of the way Judy, or Joudy is referred to as ancient, and the Jeffries connection?
It seems to me it has to be the name for this negative force that could then be embodied in Sarah and others, or something like that.
And whose experiment is Experiment?
I do wonder if naming the 'creature' the experiment was a little bit of misdirection; like we were supposed to believe the creature was created in the glass box but as the plot unravels we come to realise it's something much more esoteric and ancient.
I could definitely see Jumping Man being Mother's/Experiment's child, and the screen grab would certainly suggest it. Has Jumping Man been around as long as the frogmoth? Were they in the same batch of eggs? I think, looking at the back pages of the dossier, its fair to say Sarah and Jumping man are linked, if not Sarah and Judy.
On the topic of Sarah and Judy, I read this article recently, it might be of interest:
https://25yearslatersite.com/2018/01/19/hiding-in-plain-sight-judy-revealed/
I don't neccesarily agree with every point made, but I think its a well thought out point of view and well worth a read!
I like this a lot. It is a show about trauma. It is a show about haunting pasts and goddamn bad stories. It's a show about a lot of things, and every time I think I have it figured out what the theme is I am persuaded to think that there are other themes too.
For a show with no answers it sure is densely packed with things to think about.
I've seen allusions to James Joyce's Ulysses elsewhere online, and Blue Rose magazine pointed out the T.S. Eliot Four Quartets sat on Charlie's bookcase, but it does strike me that The Return could very much be viewed in terms of a Modernist novel or poem. A work where there may or may not be an ultimate point behind it, but the wealth of references and allusions it holds to other cultural moments or works, the way it reimagines or recontextualises them, and the many layers to the work which lead to equally valid and equally different readings of the text (spiritual, occult, feminist, political, tragic, quantum physics-based etc.) place it firmly in a Modernist tradition. A comparison to a rorschach test is a bit glib, but I do believe you can see what you want to see in The Return, even if others can't. Its a very rich piece of art.
I've seen allusions to James Joyce's Ulysses elsewhere online, and Blue Rose magazine pointed out the T.S. Eliot Four Quartets sat on Charlie's bookcase, but it does strike me that The Return could very much be viewed in terms of a Modernist novel or poem. A work where there may or may not be an ultimate point behind it, but the wealth of references and allusions it holds to other cultural moments or works, the way it reimagines or recontextualises them, and the many layers to the work which lead to equally valid and equally different readings of the text (spiritual, occult, feminist, political, tragic, quantum physics-based etc.) place it firmly in a Modernist tradition. A comparison to a rorschach test is a bit glib, but I do believe you can see what you want to see in The Return, even if others can't. Its a very rich piece of art.
This is a brilliant description of exactly what I picture the show to be. Well said, sir.
Expounding further, I even picture the tapestry to be subtle and compelling enough that it isn't just that different people will see different truths, but one individual may see different facets depending on the day's mood, or what element of the self that person is more closely listening to at the time. It can be a lot of things to a lot of people, but it can be a lot of things to any one person too.
(Where you wrote, "...but the wealth of references and allusions it holds...", I misread it like 'wreath', and that metaphor totally worked for me)
Fire walk with