Oh, and Carrie Page was also missing for 3 days (like Dougie) before Richard/Dale knocked on her door. And she dealt with her would-be assassin head on. There's no trade involved here. I'm telling you ... it's White Lodge insurance plans ...
I think Mr. C made Dougie (and made sure he had the ring) so that Dougie would be the one pulled back to the lodge when the time came, which is what happened.
Mr. C timed the hits on Dougie to take place after Dale materialized. The plan was to kill Dale. According to Gerrard, one of them had to die and Mr. C wanted it to be Dale.
But like almost every interpretation of the Return this one probably has some holes in it!
ps. credit where credit is due, this interpretation pretty much comes from this site. There's a lot of interesting stuff on it.
The holes I see in this are:
1) The only reason that Dale does not leave at 2:53 is he is dissuaded by the static and turns around. When he eventually returns to the exit, he encounters the Doppel-Arm. This encounter results in a chain of events that culminates with the Dale/Dougie exchange.
2) Mr. C does not control the Doppel-Arm. This can be deduced from his conversation with Daria. In that conversation, he tells Daria he has a plan to avoid being pulled into the Black Lodge. But he also says (of the Doppel-Arm): "This is what I want." Therefore Mr. C's plan and the action of the Doppel-Arm are two separate things.
Unless Mr. C gained control of the Doppel-Arm at some point and sent it back in time to 2:53, he is not in control of the chain of events that leads to the Dougie/Dale exchange. It's certainly possible that Mr. C gains control of the Doppel-Arm at some point, but as far as I can tell, this is not depicted in the series.
I think it's much more likely that Mr. C learned of the Dougie tulpa and set up a contingency plan (assassins etc.) Also, I think it must be conceded that the Black Lodge can take anti-Dale action without Mr. C orchestrating said action. Dougie's gradual corruption by Tony (for example) could be Black Lodge action, not Mr. C action.
I'm really considering the possibility that Mr. C made Dougie, but I'm not yet convinced.
I didn't see it as Dale being dissuaded by the static. It looked like the curtain was locked. I think it wasn't just the doppel arm visiting the red room, it looked as if Cooper was transported to a doppelganger of the entire red room (a minute or so before we see the doppel arm, we see Dale watching the room get blurry, the floor kind of separating into two, etc. Maybe the usual exits are blocked in the doppel room?
I agree it doesn't seem that Mr. C has control of the chain of events that led to the Dougie/Dale exchange. But I do think he planned for Dougie to take his place in the lodge. To me it best explains why Dougie's wedding ring was in Briggs' stomach and the Owl Cave Ring was on Dougie's finger. It seems likely the murder(s) in the Zone were committed by Mr. C or someone working for him and they put the wedding ring in the stomach and got the owl cave ring on Dougie somehow.
Mr. C might not have orchestrated the exchange but he seemed aware of it almost as soon as it happened. He saw Dougie take his place in the red room. He knew Dougie was gone, but he kept trying to have Dale killed. 3 separate hits, 3 separate hit men/women as time went on so somehow he knew Dale took Dougie's place.
But yeah, it's also plausible that a lot of this was White Lodge/ Fireman / Briggs action. Briggs deliberately swallowed the ring to provide a clue to the task force, while the Fireman made the other ring appear on Dougie's finger. I just don't see a good reason for Dougie to exist the way he did as far as the White Lodge is concerned.
But lots and lots of holes. Supposedly the two Coopers couldn't exist in the "real" world at the same time, yet they did. If there was a two week grace period or something, it was never mentioned!
One thing that takes care of every possible hole in the Return is that idea that Cooper is experiencing Tibetan Buddhist Bardo visions as he attempts to reach completion. If it's all dreams, there doesn't need to be strict causality.
I didn't see it as Dale being dissuaded by the static. It looked like the curtain was locked. I think it wasn't just the doppel arm visiting the red room, it looked as if Cooper was transported to a doppelganger of the entire red room (a minute or so before we see the doppel arm, we see Dale watching the room get blurry, the floor kind of separating into two, etc. Maybe the usual exits are blocked in the doppel room?
I agree it doesn't seem that Mr. C has control of the chain of events that led to the Dougie/Dale exchange. But I do think he planned for Dougie to take his place in the lodge. To me it best explains why Dougie's wedding ring was in Briggs' stomach and the Owl Cave Ring was on Dougie's finger. It seems likely the murder(s) in the Zone were committed by Mr. C or someone working for him and they put the wedding ring in the stomach and got the owl cave ring on Dougie somehow.
Mr. C might not have orchestrated the exchange but he seemed aware of it almost as soon as it happened. He saw Dougie take his place in the red room. He knew Dougie was gone, but he kept trying to have Dale killed. 3 separate hits, 3 separate hit men/women as time went on so somehow he knew Dale took Dougie's place.
But yeah, it's also plausible that a lot of this was White Lodge/ Fireman / Briggs action. Briggs deliberately swallowed the ring to provide a clue to the task force, while the Fireman made the other ring appear on Dougie's finger. I just don't see a good reason for Dougie to exist the way he did as far as the White Lodge is concerned.
But lots and lots of holes. Supposedly the two Coopers couldn't exist in the "real" world at the same time, yet they did. If there was a two week grace period or something, it was never mentioned!
One thing that takes care of every possible hole in the Return is that idea that Cooper is experiencing Tibetan Buddhist Bardo visions as he attempts to reach completion. If it's all dreams, there doesn't need to be strict causality.
I didn't see it as Dale being dissuaded by the static. It looked like the curtain was locked. I think it wasn't just the doppel arm visiting the red room, it looked as if Cooper was transported to a doppelganger of the entire red room (a minute or so before we see the doppel arm, we see Dale watching the room get blurry, the floor kind of separating into two, etc. Maybe the usual exits are blocked in the doppel room?
I agree it doesn't seem that Mr. C has control of the chain of events that led to the Dougie/Dale exchange. But I do think he planned for Dougie to take his place in the lodge. To me it best explains why Dougie's wedding ring was in Briggs' stomach and the Owl Cave Ring was on Dougie's finger. It seems likely the murder(s) in the Zone were committed by Mr. C or someone working for him and they put the wedding ring in the stomach and got the owl cave ring on Dougie somehow.
Mr. C might not have orchestrated the exchange but he seemed aware of it almost as soon as it happened. He saw Dougie take his place in the red room. He knew Dougie was gone, but he kept trying to have Dale killed. 3 separate hits, 3 separate hit men/women as time went on so somehow he knew Dale took Dougie's place.
But yeah, it's also plausible that a lot of this was White Lodge/ Fireman / Briggs action. Briggs deliberately swallowed the ring to provide a clue to the task force, while the Fireman made the other ring appear on Dougie's finger. I just don't see a good reason for Dougie to exist the way he did as far as the White Lodge is concerned.
But lots and lots of holes. Supposedly the two Coopers couldn't exist in the "real" world at the same time, yet they did. If there was a two week grace period or something, it was never mentioned!
One thing that takes care of every possible hole in the Return is that idea that Cooper is experiencing Tibetan Buddhist Bardo visions as he attempts to reach completion. If it's all dreams, there doesn't need to be strict causality.
There are some excellent points being made here. The more I think about it, Mr. C as the manufacturer of Dougie makes the most sense. I have to admit that I always assumed the Dougie tulpa was a White Lodge insurance plan, and I'm a little embarrassed that I overlooked the obvious alternative. Just because something's obvious, that doesn't mean it's true...
I hope I won't seem pedantic by putting forth the following argument.
1) I do think the entire series (but especially The Return) is a set of bardo chambers. This doesn't act as a "Get Out of Jail Free" card re: causality, however, since everyday life is itself a bardo. Realizing that everyday life is a bardo is Cooper's real mission. By repeatedly looking for Laura, Cooper loses sight of his real mission.
2) I think the possibility of a Red Room "ringer" is a very fruitful thing to consider. I'd suggest that the swapping-in process begins even earlier, however. Reconstitution of the Red Room is first depicted immediately following the scene where the curtains give way to reveal the White Horse. Following this reconstitution, Mike probes Cooper's understanding again ("Is it future or is it past?"), just as he had earlier. To my mind, this is the first Red Room "ringer," and it is a direct consequence of Cooper's balking. The quick cut to Mike parting the curtains is yet another "ringer": the guide is trying to lead Cooper to the exit in a way he'll understand.
Laura tells Cooper he can go out now. He attempts to do so, going beyond the curtains and beyond the White Horse. Since "there is some pain in letting go," however, he balks and turns around. This same mistake (hesitating and turning around) is repeated again and again, throughout the series. Hence the series of bardo chambers. The White Lodge keeps sending guides and messengers to a) lead Cooper "out" b) remind him his task is to "go out now." Cooper's failure is two-fold. He a) can't overcome the fear of letting go and b) can't get it into his head that he's in a bardo.
One quick example: after the curtain call at the sheriff's station, Cooper cries out to Gordon (fear in letting go). The White Lodge obligingly allows a manifestation of Gordon to accompany Cooper to the threshold. Cooper then wills himself to see Gordon and Diane again, even though he knows that after crossing over "it could all be different." He even turns around after unlocking the door and crossing the threshold. Then he returns to Laura Palmer as if she needs saving, when the finale of FWWM (and the white face of endless luminosity revealed in E1) suggest that Laura is just fine. This is Cooper failing to recognize that he's the one in trouble. He then makes the same mistake when he manifests as Richard.
This is a long-winded way of saying that in my view, the exit in E1 is not actually locked, even if the static appears insurmountable. It's quite possible that if Cooper had pressed on, the duration of his passing through the static would have been perfectly timed to allow Mr C back in.
3) I do think it was Briggs who willed a physical manifestation of himself to act as a clue. The ring in the stomach is a subversion of Bob's letters in the fingernail, and Mr C has no interest in leading the Blue Rose Task Force to Las Vegas. The reason I think this is significant is it's a window into just how much energy expenditure Cooper's hard-headedness is costing the White Lodge. If Cooper had maintained wakefulness during the 25 year hiatus, Laura's appearance in E1 would have been sufficient to get him back on track. Since he allows himself to be pulled deeper and deeper into karma, the White Lodge needs to scramble and do some truly out-there stuff(e.g. the appearance of Laura Palmer at Gordon's front door)to get him where he needs to go. Since the White Lodge has been dealing with Cooper's hard-headedness for at least 25 years, it makes sense that they'd come up with a contingency plan ("insurance") in the form of a suitable tulpa.
4) I concede that Mr-C-as-Dougie-manufacturer is the theory that makes the most sense. I still have misgivings, some of which I've outlined above. a) I think the Black Lodge can subvert gold seeds but not create them. b) I think the "insurance" angle is not insignificant. c) Carrie Page's manifestation follows the same template of 3-day disappearance followed by attack from the Black Lodge - and this in the absence of a pre-ordained exchange.
Here's how I see it: Cooper's mission is to overcome karma completely ("go out now"). He repeatedly fails to do so, because of forgetfulness/ignorance and fear of letting go. Whereas Cooper ought to see through such things and "ascend" to become a clue-giver like Garland and Laura, his forgetfulness and hard-headedness trap him in the role of clue-receiver. The bardo therefore reconstitutes itself in ever-more-familiar guises. The Black Lodge, whose quintessential agent is the Arm, wants to keep him trapped. Laura et al want him to go out NOW. Both assume multiple guises. As the bardo becomes ever more coarse, the "types" become less pure: therefore Janey-E (for example) is a mixed manifestation of Laura and Arm, imbedding him in karma (by e.g. shortchanging his debtors) but she also reminding Cooper of the liberating power of love.
I see Dougie as a White Lodge insurance plan and Jade as a manifestation of Laura Palmer. She's a sex worker, she actively transports Dale out of trouble, and she tells him "You can go out now." To my mind, this raises the possibility that the Dougie/Dale exchange is a type of sacred activity that the Black Lodge is powerless to touch. (Otherwise, why not simply have the assassins enter the house to dispatch Dale?). Mr C did what he could to ensnare/subvert Dougie, but Dougie's existence was not a part of his master plan. I realize this makes less real-world sense than the alternative, but I just can't discount it.
As an aside: I see the Carrie Page manifestation as a similar White Lodge insurance plan. She's there to remind Richard he can "go out now," but he flubs it up by telling her she's Laura Palmer, thereby feeding the dark seeds of karma that linger within her. That's why, of her 2 jackets, she chooses the one that looks like Bob's. (Note also that it's a pink jacket and that she wears a necklace like Janey-E's: echoes of the Arm.) Even here, the White Horse serves as a reminder of Dale's true mission, but he remains obstinately addicted to "the darkness of future past." As an aside to an aside: if the scary bumping noise in E3 is indeed the Laura/Arm's mother, reuniting this version of the Laura/Arm is a very bad idea.
5) One last word on the White Horse. It is seen by the gifted and the damned. To my mind, it is a symbol of total capitulation: the White Lodge offering one last image before everything changes. That's why Cooper must go beyond the White Horse in order to truly "go out now." It's understandable that he fails to do so - that's scary! - but balking is still a failure. After all, all images are merely reflections.
"Anyone who saw the horse knew that from that day on he had a new king ... [T]hus does the Buddha appear to his companions - and risks not being recognized. The horse too reappears from thick forest, to find himself once again in the place of sacrifice from whence he set out, as if he had come back by chance, but behind him, imperceptibly, his escort has been guiding his wanderings. "
(from Ka: Stories of the Mind and Gods of India)
Holy shit, people, I think it was Annie Blackburn who manufactured the Dougie tulpa.
Fire walk with