Troubling Abstractions
Episode 8 - S3e8
Version 1.0

“Troubling Abstractions”
Episode 8

Due to the complexity of this episode, I have written and posted this entry in two parts. It is currently incomplete.

INSIDE A CAR, SD | 0

We concluded the previous episode with Mr. C blackmailing his way out of prison and riding away with Ray – and this scene may have been a re-staging of Laura Palmer discovering Leland on top of her and spiraling further into delusion. 2 reflections of bright street lights passed between them before Mr. C took out his phone, and it’s a strange one. Let’s take a closer look:

• Blue background, all buttons black.
• Mr. C claims that there are 3 tracking devices on the car.
• A button with “C” in green. He taps this and it vanishes.
• A button with “FIRE” in red, with a blue arrow on each side as if there were multiple options to scroll through. He taps it and it vanishes.
• A button that says D ( . ) X in green, with the shape in the middle resembling a target, a bullseye, or The Thing That You Don’t Ever Want To Know About. He taps it and it vanishes.
• A white bar, like a search bar, with a black arrow on the right side only. This is what he uses to record the semi-truck’s license plate: DEGWW 8

Ray knows time-space coordinates that Mr. C wants, to find Philip Jeffries and/or Judy, but Ray won’t give them away for free.

• Ray knows how to find Jeffries/Judy → Ray knows where the find The Secret Knowledge and has some awareness of it, as we’ll see in his call to Jeffries
• Ray demands money → Ray is a double agent working for the healing/positive forces → Ray knows that only money/jackpot winnings can free the truth in a way that Laura Palmer’s mind won’t reject and disappear someone

Mr. C was displeased by this request, but he didn’t respond or acquiesce. On the road, 2 lanes became 1 as the brainwave imagery appeared in its curves, and in the ripple of streetlights on it. Between the chevrons (Red Room Chevrons?) on the caution signs, 2 red lights glowed menacingly.
When Ray shot Mr. C, he did it 2 times, and there was an odd stuttering effect when he did it. He aimed for a 3rd shot, but was prevented by the appearance of the Woodsmen. 2 did not become 3 – Carrie Page/Odessa Laura has not been created yet.

By the end of “The Return,” we will see Mr. C die one more time and BOB twice – but now is not the time. The stars are not aligned and the co-ordinates are wrong. Laura Palmer is not ready to “kill BOB” and understand what truly happened to her, so flashing lights appear as he reeling mind twists itself around, rationalizing and justifying her delusions, summoning the Woodsmen and “resurrecting” her belief in BOB.
The Woodsmen danced as if in ritual, smearing blood from the gunshot wound all over Mr. C’s face until he could barely be recognized – is it a re-enactment of the end of Seasons 1 and 2 at the same time? Cooper lying out on the floor and his face covered in blood after smashing the mirror, respectively. The Woodsmen slid the BOB Orb back into his body like a grotesque un-birthing, and all Ray could do was bellow like a terrified animal. The Split happened again here:

• A traumatic event occurs → Ray kills Mr. C / the Woodsmen arrive
• One character is unconscious and ignorant, as the Dead Scapegoat → Mr. C is dead/unconscious
• One character flees, and they alone know what happened, as the Living Scapegoat → Ray is the only one who saw them/it
• HOWEVER, unlike most other examples of Fleeing Scapegoats, Ray is working directly with Philip Jeffries. Remember: Jeffries is an abstraction of the last moment in Laura Palmer’s life where she knew exactly what was happening to her and almost spoke up about it. Jeffries knows The Secret, so Ray is able to partially comprehend what he saw and communicate with him about it.

The moon being half-lit could be a reference to one half of Laura being “enlightened” while the other half is still in the dark – is Janey-E the only version of Blue Laura that knows the truth? It could be a symbol of Ray’s half-understanding of what he just saw; he saw “something” in “Cooper” and he knows that it’s important, but he doesn’t fully comprehend it. The clouds that sweep in and cover the moon could easily be the Log Lady’s “what will be in the darkness that remains?”

THE ROADHOUSE | 13

This is my favorite performance scene in the series.
This is Nine Inch Nails’ “She’s Gone Away,” a song that was written specifically for this show. These are the lyrics, courtesy of The Unofficial Twin Peaks Wiki.

You dig in places, till your fingers bleed
Spread the infection, where you spill your seed
I can't remember what she came here for
I can't remember much of anything anymore

She's gone, she's gone, she's gone away
She's gone, she's gone, she's gone away
Away
Away

A little mouth opened up inside
Yeah, I was watching on the day she died
We keep licking while the skin turns black
Cut along the length, but you can't get the feeling back

She's gone, she's gone, she's gone away
She's gone, she's gone, she's gone away
She's gone, she's gone, she's gone away
She's gone, she's gone, she's gone away

Away
Away
Away
Away

(Are you still here?)