Entertainment

An Iconic Character Returned To 'Twin Peaks'

by Allie Gemmill
Suzanne Tenner/Showtime

It certainly wouldn't be a Twin Peaks revival without Laura Palmer's return to The Black Lodge. I'll tell you one thing: homegirl comes through on her prophecies. Back in 1991, during the Season 2 finale (and ultimately the series finale) of Twin Peaks, the last thing Laura Palmer said to Dale Cooper was that he would see her in 25 years. Now it's 25 years later, and fans are left with a sense of fulfillment at Laura's return.

She may be a sight for sore eyes, but Laura isn't holding back in the creepy department. The Black Lodge has changed her. It's only natural, considering she's been stuck in there for years and years, but don't you think she could have shaken the predilection for speaking backwards?

Laura appears to Dale Cooper (the good one) while he's attempting to figure out how to get out of The Black Lodge. He isn't outwardly restless, but you can tell just by looking at him that he needs some fresh air. So, it's a bit of a blessing in disguise that Laura comes to visit him. Maybe she'll have some answers.

Alas, Laura's visit is a repeat of the first time Dale met her in The Black Lodge, during the third episode of Season 1. "Are you Laura Palmer?" he asked. Laura, speaking in her odd backwards-forwards dialect, told him, "I feel like I know her but sometimes my arms bend back."

This chilling recall to the first season should tip you off that something is strange. That statement was helpful in Season 1 when Dale was trying to connect the dots of Laura's murder, but the show is way past that point now. Why would Laura be repeating herself? Dale tries to find out her identity a second time, to which she replies, "I am Laura Palmer. I am dead, yet I live." Alright, now we're getting somewhere.

After this strange, roundabout confirmation that she is Laura Palmer, Laura proceeds to — stay with me on this, guys — open up her face. Inside what would be her skull, there appears to be a bright, white light emitting from within. Dale stares into the light until she closes her face. Trust me, it's weirder for me to type that than it is for you to read it. Was she transmitting a secret message to Dale? Was she trying to hypnotize him so he would never leave The Black Lodge?

Laura's encounter with Dale ends on a strange note. After asking her if he could leave The Black Lodge, she gets up and walks over to him. She moves in to him like she's going to kiss him, but instead whispers something in his ear that he apparently doesn't like. Then, she's suddenly sucked up into the sky or the ceiling of The Black Lodge.

It's definitely good to have Laura back, but let's hope the rest of her Twin Peaks revival appearances aren't so foreboding.