10 Things We Learned From Twin Peaks: The Return Part 10
5. Richard Horne's Parentage Has Been Deduced
With one word, Richard Horne's parentage was, if not confirmed through the actions of his character to its thematic links with its supernatural father, deduced with one word, delivered to Sylvia Horne: "I came to see ya, Grandma!" This narrows the list of options down to 4.
1) Richard is the spawn of a sickening tryst between a malevolent supernatural being and an unwilling, unresponsive partner.
2) Richard was sired by Johnny.
3) Richard is the son of Donna Hayward, revealed to be Ben Horne's daughter in the original season finale.
4) Richard is the son of a Horne unseen in the original series.
Option 2 isn't impossible, given that the circumstances of the conception would mirror that of Option 1. Option 3 seems as unlikely; the events of season two, understandably, haven't been mined much as source material. Option 4 is so dramatically unsatisfying as to be completely pointless. The mental gymnastics being calculated speak to the power of this unsettling, ingenious dramatic choice. Few want to face the reality of it. But Horne was foreshadowed as Mr. C's offspring seconds after he appeared. The intense strobe lighting in the Roadhouse strongly echoed the Black Lodge.
This unthinkable subversion of the original series is what many proclaimed it to be. This indeed is not a 'Twin Peaks Christmas,' as promised by Mark Frost. It's almost the opposite of fan fiction.