10 Things We Learned From Twin Peaks: The Return Part 8

5. Have We Seen The White Lodge?

Evil Coop Woodsmen
Showtime

After the Mother gives birth to BOB, Lynch leads us through another cosmological wormhole, in which he uses a red and black colour palette reminiscent of the Red Room.

This image bleeds into an expanse of ocean. On the horizon, rising from the depths, is a tall rock formation at the top of which lies what might be the second implied visual representation of the fabled White Lodge. In the original series, we saw Major Garland Briggs sat on a throne in what was the first. This - if either or both were/are meant to represent it - has been retconned. This Lodge is a far less obvious presence of otherworldly benevolence.

It literally exists on an island, far removed from its own evil doppelgänger(s). It is bathed in white light, into which there are three minuscule entrances - an indictment, maybe, of the evil manifest in the human realm and a symbol of the elusiveness of all things good. In it live The Giant - or ???????, as Carel Struycken is now credited - and "Seniorita Dido", played by Joy Nash.

This almost vintage Hollywood aesthetic (with which we know Lynch in enamoured) is removed from Windom Earle's description of it. There are no gamboling fawns - but Lynch loathed the Earle character and is not beholden to it.

Aesthetically dissonant from the original notion of the White Lodge, the behaviour of its two spirits nonetheless suggest a benevolence befitting of it.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!