Amanda Seyfried Is The Earthly Manifestation Of Laura’s Spirit
Theory: This is an idea that digs into the Black Lodge/White Lodge mythology of the Twin Peaks story. Bob was a spirit that possessed humans and made them do terrible things, and could only be seen by “gifted and the damned.” Leland Palmer said Bob was a neighbour at his Grandfather’s lake house, and would ask to play with him – and that was the time he was possessed. This means that, in decades past, Leland’s Grandfather’s neighbour was possessed by Bob, and Leland could see his true face, because he was damned – which means he could recognize Bob in the artist’s impression of Laura’s killer, shown to him by Sheriff Truman (Michael Ontkean) and Agent Cooper.
Now, one of the biggest points of discussion around Twin Peaks is the way in which the Lodges and spirits work – which goes to our natural instinct to try to establish rules to govern the way things occur, thus enabling prediction. It’s clear that when people die, their spirit goes to the White Lodge – because we see Laura, Leland, and Maddy Ferguson there. It’s also clear that ‘Shadow Selves’ exist in the Black Lodge – because we see the ‘Shadow Self’ of Laura and Leland in there, too. Since that’s the case, this theory asks if that means that the ‘Shadow Self’ of Laura Palmer can possess humans, in the same way that Bob has?
Is it likely? The theory has some merit. The tagline for this new season is the iconic quote from season 2, “It is happening again.” That line comes from a scene in which Agent Cooper has a vision of The Giant (Carel Struycken), who gives him that warning, just as Bob – using the physical form of Leland Palmer – brutally murders Madeleine Ferguson elsewhere. That’s the scenario invoked in the minds of the existing fanbase when that phrase is used, so the tagline could be interpreted as an indication that the basic premise of the show will recur – somebody is murdered, because somebody’s possessed. Having Laura’s ‘Shadow Self’ from the Black Lodge be the possessing spirit helps the narrative idea of moving on to a new generation, as well as deftly solving the story issue of the previous villain – actor Frank Silva – being unavailable. This would also broaden the scope of the original premise in a way that the prequel movie, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, also sought to do.
We know from production details of season 3 that (unlike seasons 1 and 2) exterior locations other than Washington State have been used, and that some characters from Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me will appear – even though they did not appear in the first two seasons of the show (Harry Dean Stanton’s Carl Rodd, and Carlton Lee Russell’s Jumping Man, for example). Under these circumstances, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that the season 3 story will introduce the idea that there are countless possessing spirits – including Laura.
It’s also possible that Laura is a possessing spirit seeking to help rather than hinder. Media reports of scenes being filmed at the Palmer residence from the series, featuring Agent Cooper leading Laura Palmer into the house, could indicate a dream sequence, or a character hosting the spirit of Laura – and the footage will cut between the two as an indication of that duality.