10 Things We Learned From Twin Peaks: The Return Part 9
1. More Evidence Gathers Re: Alternative Timeline Theory
At the close of Part 7, Sleep Walk by Santo & Johnny played over a cosy Double R diner nighttime sequence.
Bubbling low in the mix was an ominous Angelo Badalamenti composition, as if acting as harbinger for the unreality. A sudden shift occurred halfway through the scene, in which what appeared to be simple B-roll footage switched to a similar scene, albeit with the customers in switched seats and positions. Immediately, questions were posed: did we see an alternate timeline? And what are the implications of that? Was it simply lazy editing from a team understandably burdened by what was treated as a feature of unprecedented length? The evidence was conflicting. The music cues and the flash forward (backward?) suggested the former; then again, the footage of Norma was recycled from Part 5.
The aforementioned Search For The Zone site also alludes to this phenomenon ("There might be forces at work from deep dimensional space, or from the future…or are these one in the same? Think of the events that could have splintered time?").
It could be nothing - another Dr. Amp dead end - but as Part 9 climaxed, the transition from Hudson Mohawke's DJ set to a second Au Revoir Simone Roadhouse performance was very, noticeably sudden. Clunky, even. The band and their equipment materialised from out of nowhere.
Did time proceed linearly?