‘Good’ Agent Cooper Will Return To Hunt His ‘Shadow Self,’ Or ‘Evil’ Agent Cooper
Theory: ‘Good’ Agent Cooper went into Glastonbury Grove at the end of season 2 of Twin Peaks, met his ‘Shadow Self,’ and was overpowered by him. The version of Agent Cooper that exited the Black Lodge that night was the ‘Evil’ Agent Cooper, associated with Bob – as depicted by the infamous cliffhanger ending to the show. This theory suggests that the ‘good’ Agent Cooper will finally escape the Lodge, and will then face the task of hunting down his ‘evil’ self.’
Is it likely? This is the theory that makes the most sense. It’s borne out by the prequel movie, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, in which Laura dreams that Annie Blackburn appears to her, and tells her to write in her diary that the ‘good’ Dale Cooper is trapped in the Lodge. It’s also supported by the scene in which Phillip Jeffries questions the identity of Agent Cooper. Phillip Jeffries has been inside the Lodges – which exist outside the realm of time – and has clearly seen the ‘good’ Dale Cooper in there, making him suspicious of any Dale Cooper he sees outside the Lodge.
During the series, we saw the ‘good’ spirit version of Laura Palmer tell Agent Cooper that she would see him again, “in 25 years.” We also saw him in the Lodge as an older man. In addition, we know that the investigation into the Lodge uncovered details of a special planetary alignment that allowed easier access to the Lodge via Glastonbury Grove in the woods around Twin Peaks. Since we know that “it is happening again,” it follows that this point in time might allow the ‘good’ Agent Cooper to finally escape the Lodge, and thus create a dramatic narrative to enable the story to be picked up in real time.
Supporting this theory is the fact that Twin Peaks has always centred on the concept of duality. Each character leads some kind of double life – whether that is due to possession by an ‘evil’ spirit, moral or corporate corruption, or hidden victimization. Agent Cooper himself has darkness in his past – as seen by the arrival of Windom Earle. Agent Cooper – perhaps the most conventionally ‘upstanding’ of all the Twin Peaks characters, with the exception of Margaret The Log Lady – suddenly having to face his own dark self is a classic Lynch-Frost theme of epic proportions. Added to this is the notion that, while the ‘evil’ Agent Cooper has had 25 years to roam through reality, the ‘good’ Agent Cooper should appear having no real concept of the length of time he has been missing – which would, above all else, make for brilliant television.