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[Chris Knipp]

Ending of Twin Peaks: The Return explained.


Photo: Suzanne Tenner/Showtime [Vulture] Sheryl Lee and Kyle MacLaughlan in TPR, E.18

Even somebody like me who doesn't look for "meanings" of things might need help following "The Return," and that's why I looked up "tulpa," which seems like a key concept in the plot concerning multiple characters, most notably Dale Cooper and and his new avatars all played by Kyle MacLaughlan. But, it turns out, there are multiple other "tulpas," which are defined on that website as "conjured duplicates of individuals." They appear in Dale's case to be more like messed up or garbled clones.

You will find a Vulture piece by Devon Ivie based on a book by Mark Frost called Twin Peaks: The Final Dossier, itself a sequel to the Times bestselling Secret History of Twin Peaks. I think she (Ms. Ivie) notes that the newly reborn Cooper, when he picks up who he thinks is the 25-years-older Laura in Odyssa (Texas, though it's left vague), goes over some kind of space-time-spirit zone at a certain mileage point, which may be where things go wrong with finding Laura's mother in Twin Peaks.

Cinemabon and others seeking the "meaning" of all or parts of Twin Peaks: The Return might be helped by consulting a fan or reference website called Twin Peaks wiki.