As a show, Twin Peaks offers more questions than answers, and has done so since its first episode aired all the way back in 1990. If anyone is familiar with the work of Mark Frost and (especially) of David Lynch, the chaos, confusion, and apparent disjointedness of Twin Peaks is old hat by now.
However, David Lynch did finally come back and create a supposed “final” season of Twin Peaks. Presumably, he made this final season decades later so that he could wrap up the story properly. After watching the new season, though, it becomes apparent that David Lynch can never do anything but make everyone ask, “Why?” In lieu of this ongoing confusion, here are 10 questions about Twin Peaks that we still have.
What Year Is This?
The final question of the series is the first question any viewer has to ask when Twin Peaks ends. Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) asks what year it is and everyone can’t provide an answer, mainly because nobody has one to give.
As far as Dale is concerned, time has always been more of a concept than a constant. He has spent who-knows-how-many years… or decades… or seconds in this Lynchian trap of considerable disorientation. For Dale, the question “What year is this?” is, presumably, the first of many, many questions he has after the events of the series.
Who Is Billy?
Many Twin Peaks viewers developed a schoolgirl crush on Audrey Horne, only to be distressed by her changes. This Audrey is married and apparently has a lover as well. While her husband’s name is Charles, she repeatedly brings up a man named “Billy” whom audiences never see.
Now, Audrey is a screaming mess of a woman, leading some to theorize she’s not really Audrey while others to speculate about Billy’s identity. Some say Billy is the man with his face smashed in while others think he doesn’t even exist. At this point, only Audrey knows for sure.
Is The Coffee On?
When the fake Dale (aka Evil Dale) is offered a cup of coffee, he refuses. For anyone who knows Dale, this is absurdly out of character. When we see the real Dale Cooper near Twin Peaks’ city limits, he asks about the coffee. This is the coffee-dependent Dale we know and love.
In a deeper sense, this asks us if we’re still here on Dale’s journey. The story starts with Dale, two mugs of coffee, and a slice of cherry pie. As soon as Dale retruns, he asks if the audience is still with him: “Is the coffee on?”
Where Is Harry S. Truman?
Sheriff Harry S. Truman (Michael Ontkean) was nowhere to be seen in the return to Twin Peaks. Canonically, Harry was diagnosed with cancer and pretended to retire so he could undergo treatment in Seattle. This leads his brother, Frank (Robert Foster), to become the new Sheriff Truman.
In real life, a source close to Ontkean, said, “Michael is fully retired now from show business, and has been for many years.” Apparently, returning home to Twin Peaks was not enough to lure Michael out of retirement, and for this, the audience asks: Where Is Harry S. Truman?
Is Laura Okay?
This question almost seems like it has the obvious answer of no, based on the fact that the entire series’ main question is Who killed Laura Palmer?, but it’s a valid question nonetheless. In the newest season, Dale travels back in time to save Laura only to see a twisted alternate reality where Laura is technically alive, but not okay by any stretch of the imagination.
Some theorize that Laura will never be fine while others say she can never truly die. Worse, she could’ve been dead from the start. The fundamental question remains: Is Laura Okay?
Is It Really You?
The audience often asks the same questions that Diane Evans (Laura Dern) asks Dale, and the newest season is no exception. When Diane sees Dale again, this is the first question out of her mouth. He’s not Dougie Jones or Evil Dale; he’s finally the real Dale again and Diane can’t help but ask “Is it you? Is it really you?”
Audiences asked the same question when Dale finally returned. After so long without him and watching MacLachlan stretch his acting muscles with different characters, it almost seemed too good to be true.
What Do We Do Now?
MacLachlan isn’t just playing Dougie Jones, Evil Dale, and Dale; he’s also Richard, while Laura Dern portrays Linda. While they’re calling themselves Richard and Linda in a hotel, Diane asks Dale, “What do we do now?”
This is what audiences have been asking since Dale returned, and his response raises more questions than answers: “You come over here to me.” Is Dale asking the audience to trust him? Does he know what he’s doing? Or is Dale telling us that the world is chaos and entropy, and we should cling to those we love before we randomly die? Who knows?
Is This What David Lynch Wanted?
Watching Sarah Palmer destroy that same smiling photo of Laura that audiences have been looking at for decades begs the question: What does David Lynch want out of Twin Peaks? He and Mark Frost created one of the greatest seasons of television ever with the first season of Twin Peaks, but the show’s style changed when Lynch slowly overshadowed Frost.
As Sarah smashes her daughter’s portrait, the audience has an almost violent reaction. Sarah destroys the one thing that unifies all fans of Twin Peaks: the mystery of Laura and the smile that haunted the town of Twin Peaks.
What Did Laura Whisper To Dale Cooper?
Laura whispers something to Dale, and the audience is not allowed to know what she says, forever vexing audiences and the Internet. Dale’s obviously shocked reaction only adds to the mystery, launching a thousand fan theories as a result.
Did Sarah Palmer kill Laura? Is Laura an entity like BOB? Are Laura and Carrie Page the same person? Are Laura and Dale caught in a time loop? What did Laura whisper to Dale? These will probably remain unanswered until the heat death of the universe.
Will There Be More Twin Peaks?
The answer is, tragically, unknown. David Lynch is one of the slipperiest creators in all of Hollywood, and everyone knows they can’t make him do anything he doesn’t want to do. Like everything else, Twin Peaks will either happen by David Lynch’s timeline, or it won’t happen at all.
Luckily for fans, David Lynch said “I don’t know. It’s too early to say that right now,” but that he’s learned to “learned never say never,” which is more than audiences had before. It looks like the door into Twin Peaks is still open — for now.
