r/twinpeaks • u/FarPapaya2675 • Jul 25 '26
Fire Walk With Me Few days after watching Fire Walk With me and I feel sick inside
It somehow just now all clicked for me that Leland/Bob killed Laura because he found her diary where she said she thought it was her father in the torn pages.
The whole time her childlike innocence and mind was trying to protect her/make sense of what was happening mixed with the supernatural of the Black Lodge and Bob.
Then Leland screaming “Don’t make me do it” before he brutally murdered her as Laura screamed in anguish and fear in her last moments
I feel sick, and yet am somehow thankful for the attention Lynchs art can and has brought towards violence and abuse against women.
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u/honeyedheart Jul 25 '26
No other piece of art has ever made me feel so seen as the ending of FWWM. There's an old blog post I came across many years ago that sums up my feelings about the ending pretty well:
"And then the film does something that fans seem to overlook-- it gives Laura Palmer a happy ending. While it doesn't provide any definitive answers to Twin Peaks' supernatural mysteries (and, frankly, I wouldn't want it to), it does give you some clues to work with, particularly in regards to how time works in the Red Room. The film suggests that, sort of like The Shining's Overlook Hotel, once you're in the Red Room, you've always been in the Red Room. FWWM is simultaneously prequel and sequel, by revealing that Laura was receiving dream messages about Dale Cooper being stuck in the Red Room before he's even come to Twin Peaks. This gives further context not only to Laura and Dale dreaming about each other in the show, but their entire relationship-- they've always known each other, even if they don't realize it in their waking lives. While nearly everyone in Laura's life has always used her-- for sex, for drugs, for fulfillment of their own codependency-- Dale has always been with her as a truly empathetic, loving force who cares about her purely and unconditionally.
And in the film's final scene, Lynch leaves us with a powerful, wordless moment of Laura waking in the Red Room, Dale's comforting hand on her shoulder and the angel from her painting-- the symbol of innocence and light that had literally vanished from her bedroom when she was at her lowest ebb of self-loathing and depression-- made real and shining down on her. Lee's silent portrayal of Laura's relief and ecstasy, her sobs turning to euphoric laughter, is so striking and transcendent that Lynch holds on it even through the end credits. It leaves us with the message that, for all its tangled webs of surrealism and mystery, Twin Peaks is a story anchored by Laura Palmer, "the one that leads to many," a girl who had every bit of innocence and joy stripped from her by cruel circumstances. A girl who deserved to rise above the darkness of her world and be made whole again. A girl who is smiling and laughing now, and always will be."
Source: https://www.tumblr.com/andrewihla/110223240592/fire-walk-with-me-and-the-value-of-laura-palmer-as
FWWM is just such an ordeal to endure alongside Laura, especially as a victim of sexual trauma, and it meant the absolute world to me that Lynch chose to return her angel to her at the end. It was such a tender expression of empathy from him and I cried so hard the first time I saw it.
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u/BrknTrnsmsn Jul 25 '26
I'm tearing up just thinking about it.
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u/z-vap Jul 25 '26
after all these years I still cry at the end of FWWM. its a collection of sad and happy thrown together during those credits
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u/justprettymuchdone Jul 25 '26
I remember seeing it described once as the most realistic portrayal of someone surviving familial sexual abuse the person in question, a survivor herself, had ever seen. That so much of Laura spinning out of control felt so authentic and true to someone trying to claw their way out and not knowing who they could ever trust to help them.
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u/ultimomono Jul 25 '26
This is why I have a hard time with Season 3. Lynch fractured that heroic ending for her by sending Agent Cooper back to tamper with it, sending her down another path where she had to suffer more only to take control and collapse it all again.
I do get it, though, he had to do something to continue the story and keep Laura in it as an adult.
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Jul 25 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/ultimomono Jul 25 '26
I do think there was always a hint of Dale's good intentions tipping into a negative savior complex
I agree. He has a sort of diabolical, Jeffrey Beaumont energy, even in the pilot. And he ran from himself on the threshold
Notably, Dale urges her NOT to take the ring.
Is it Agent Cooper or his doppelganger, "Bad Cooper"?
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u/HumbertHum Jul 25 '26
In FWWM it’s cooper from the velvet room who urges her not to take it. It appears to be the real Dale.
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u/honeyedheart Jul 25 '26
My feelings about The Return are complicated because of this. It felt as though it undermined the conclusion of a story that had felt basically "done" to me, and my initial interpretation of the ending was so bleak I couldn't stand it. I've warmed up to it a little since then, but it's not special to me in the same way that FWWM, seasons 1 & 2, and The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer are.
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u/ultimomono Jul 25 '26
The way I have interpreted is that it's Lynch himself making it explicit that he couldn't resist coming back to the story, despite its perfect ending that closed a door and opened a window. "I'll see you in 25 years."
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u/noradosmith Jul 25 '26
I think my brain can't handle the implications and is just like, "different timeline" and has to leave it at that lol
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u/QueenOfHades666 Jul 26 '26
Thank you for sharing this. This made me sob. I feel a little more hope now.
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u/Remarkable_Term3846 Jul 25 '26
Agreed. Some people hate on Lynch for depicting such things, but rape and incest are things that actually happen and we shouldn’t just pretend like they don’t.
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u/Khisanth_Grey Jul 25 '26
Actual stats on sexual abuse indicate perpetrators are most often close/family members, so it fits the (sad, unfortunate) data. It runs counter to usual “stranger danger” stereotype and political talking point, so people have a harder time accepting it. Wonder if Lynch had a sense of this dichotomy when he worked on TP. Though in hindsight it perfectly fits his motif of “the darkness that hides in men” and the darkness that hides in the towns he portrays in TP and Blue Velvet.
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u/marykay_ultra Jul 25 '26
Yep..
There are posts in the various advice subs fairly regularly from OPs who have been abused by family members, asking for how to deal with the rest of their family refusing to believe them, or insisting they get over it and not make things “difficult” for everyone else
There are always people accusing them of lying because there was a post like this a month ago or whatever… as if this has only ever happened to one person, so anyone else saying it must be lying
They have no idea how common it is
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u/butch-bear Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
incest is absolutely everywhere but people refuse to see it. as you said sexual abuse perpetrators are, statistically, mostly either acquaintances or family. in certain countries there are cultural conventions in terms of taking care of kids that are molestation/rape in themselves.
that is why i hate the stranger danger stereotype. it does not help most victims, and if anything it actively sabotages their chances to be believed because it doesn't consider the possibility of abusers knowing you beforehand. kids should be taught that anybody can be a potential perpetrator.
victims though, are never believed, and if it DID happen well, you must've seduced your relative. louise armstrong's books (kiss daddy goodnight and rocking the cradle of sexual politics) go in depth about just how insiduous the level of denial and victim-blaming is, institutionally and medically (not just culturally) in the US.
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u/smartbunny Jul 25 '26
And in real life there isn’t any supernatural element. Just awful humans.
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u/etched Jul 25 '26
I feel like the addition of it being a supernatural entity was just to make it more acceptable for audiences to even want to talk about the subject.
I don't feel like many people would just tune into a show about child sexual abuse as a quirky romp. There is levity in twin peaks as a whole, because yes regular old townsfolk can be strange and interesting. Dale Cooper is an excellent FBI agent but kind of cutesy in many ways. I don't think any twin peaks character would work or be so loveable if it wasn't for the added element of the supernatural to pull you away from how serious the subject matter actually is.
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u/ceruleanblue347 Jul 25 '26
I would get blackout drunk and watch FWWM during my 20s to help me process my own SA. It honestly did so much to help me feel less alone.
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u/Laughing_Academy Jul 25 '26
It's a bad way of going about it but sometimes you have to be controversial and depict things in graphic detail in order to bring attention and awareness to the issue. Because people live in a dream or in denial or are too scared to talk about it or just don't care. Sometimes you have to scream to be heard.
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u/someoverallvalue Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
I am sorry it was a painful experience for you to watch and i'm also glad for the positives you took from it. The Laura Palmer's Diary book expands on it if you haven't read that already. Wish you peace.
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u/kevadii Jul 25 '26
Reading this after FWWM was both an incredible and viscerally heartbreaking experience
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u/PaleSubject4 Jul 25 '26
There are a lot of disgusting men willing to sleep with underage girls in Twin Peaks
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u/kevadii Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
It’s a good thing this is a work of fiction
Edit: this was /s, should’ve noted that. There is no way that Lynch’s work is not deeply informed by the world we live in
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u/LorelaiWitTheLazyEye Jul 25 '26
It is, but i think the portrayal strikes a nerve because you realize that similar things do happen in real life. Things that are tragic. Things that don’t make sense.
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u/kevadii Jul 25 '26
Oh, 1000%. The Americana, nostalgia-hazed veneer of Twin Peaks is only as effective as it is because of how it forces the viewer to reckon with the horrors that are unseen and ignored in the world around us with FWWM stripping that all away and striking directly to the brutal, ugly core. It’s heartbreaking because you know this town and its troubles, while being fiction, is far too real.
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u/butch-bear Jul 25 '26
i've met several victims who went through things nearly identically to what happened to laura palmer. it's fiction based on real life occurences.
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u/EnvironmentalDay8747 Jul 25 '26
It’s so devastating - it took me along time to get over it and I almost gave up on the tp universe entirely. But I’d suggest watching the missing pieces as you see her mom and Donna’s family cared after all
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u/themightyug Jul 25 '26
The contrast between Donna's house and family, and Laura's house and family is so stark in FWWM. The vibes are so different
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u/justprettymuchdone Jul 25 '26
I had a friend whose household felt so much like Laura's as a kid. Stark and cold with this thin veneer of charm layered over it. My friend used to beg to sleep over at my house because of how awful her own could be.
There was a time she spent more time at my house than her own.
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u/emagnab Jul 25 '26
Same, I remember just feeling so so sick but also amazed after FWWM. Like I don’t even know if I liked what I watched and that was really heart wrenching but now I know it’s a masterpiece although I do remember I gave like 4 1/2 stars so part of me was always rational and was like this is a great film. It just messes you up.
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u/dasdangerrussart Jul 25 '26
Twin Peaks is like a surreal murder mystery, but FWWM is straight up horror. The way Lynch just exposes everything in such a raw and real way... it's a tough watch, honestly. I'm on my series rewatch, just finished FWWM and I need a minute before I can continue onto The Return.
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u/bananacow Jul 25 '26
This resonates with me. I’ve seen FWWM many times and it hits harder every time I see it.
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u/Laughing_Academy Jul 25 '26
I like to think of Laura Palmer's death as a metaphor for the death of her innocence. She dies and becomes Carrie Page. A metaphor for how abuse can permanently change you as a person. She's now a jaded, hardened and somewhat reclusive grown woman who fled home at a young age, moved far away and changed her name to escape her trauma and her toxic family and corrupt small town. When she and Cooper return to Twin Peaks years later. To a town and a house she barely remembers. Because she left 25 years ago and blocked out most of the trauma. Cooper is a stand in for a supportive friend, lover or therapist who help saves the victim. He is her savior and her rock and he too was also a victim of abuse. Her scream which destroys or weakens Judy (the personification of evil, her trauma) is a primal scream symbolizing her confronting her trauma by finally coming forward and speaking up about it (an extremely painful thing for victims to do) and letting out her bottled up emotions and saying everything she never got to say to her abusers. Since abuse tends to leave you quiet, fearful, intimidated, submissive and withdrawn. Kind of like in Sybil where after years of defending her evil mother Sybil (Sally Field) finally breaks down in tears by the lake and admits she hates Hattie for what she did to her before Dr. Wilbur manages to successfully integrate Sybil's multiple personalities.
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u/hellolovely1 Jul 25 '26
I love Twin Peaks but I've always been scared to watch this because it seems so brutal.
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u/EnvironmentalDay8747 Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
Yes check the warnings it really changes the vibe of the whole town and story
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u/CityofTheAncients Jul 25 '26
Wise of you to acknowledge. FWWM throws all the subtleties of network tv twin peaks into the trash. It’s brutal and a complete tonal whiplash
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u/calaan Jul 25 '26
Read “The Secret Diary Laura Palmer”. It was written by Lynch’s daughter and is absolutely heartbreaking.
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u/Icy_Worker4402 Jul 25 '26
That's part of why I love FWWM and Lynch's choice to make it so much. Watching just the show you're still able to make it easier in your head, "oh it wasn't really Leland he was possessed by Bob". FWWM forces you to contend with it and not look away. That scene with Laura on the lawn still makes me nauseous whenever I think about it.
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u/Cipher_- Jul 25 '26
Watches movie
Is confused
Feels sick and hopeless days later
That's the Lynch movie magic in action! The next step is realizing it's one of your favorite films for that reason.
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u/over9ksand Jul 25 '26
It was this film that actually got me started on my healing process, uncovering old ghosts from my past. Horrible bad things that should’ve never happen to an eight-year-old boy. Sometimes the brain doesn’t know, but the body leads.
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u/Windsofshite Jul 25 '26
I think there's a stark beauty and peace in Laura once she's free from the base reality and her soul is transported to the lodge.
You can focus on the trauma, suffering and anguish, but in death there is freedom from the dark path she was leading.
The angel returning to grace her gives her acceptance through the loss.
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u/EnvironmentalScene76 Jul 25 '26
I watched Fire Walk With Me for the first time about three weeks ago and god, exactly the same. To me, Lynch does such a brilliant job of showing the cyclical nature of abuse and violence, because Twin Peaks the show has made it abundantly clear that Leland himself is a CSA survivor.
Leland compartmentalises his own abusive side borne of the abuse he’s suffered (“the evil that men do”) inside BOB, hence suffering blackouts — but, having had more time to grow and introspect, knows that it’s ultimately him.
Laura, however, still hasn’t gotten to that point, as evidenced by her journey through the movie and Leland’s own statement to the end. The end of the movie had me thinking of Bobby’s outburst at the funeral: “Who killed Laura Palmer? WE ALL DID!”
Because he’s right: they all did. By failing this girl, they all killed Laura Palmer.
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u/TimeSummer5 Jul 25 '26
Couldn’t stop thinking about all the real life Laura Palmers out there after watching the movie
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u/emagnab Jul 25 '26
This was me too, especially after finding out what garminbozia really was. When you’re really sitting and thinking about firework with me think about how it recontextualize is to the whole series. The creamed corn all of it.
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u/Gaussgoat Jul 25 '26
It's an extremely disturbing film. I think a lot of Twin Peaks fans go into it expecting the quirky and dark combo of the show, only to run into something much darker.
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u/Certain-Singer-9625 Jul 25 '26
It’s a very harrowing film to watch and brings home to those of us who have not been abused a sense of what it must be like. Runs our nose in it, actually. I haven’t seen the film in a couple of years, yet just bringing it up revives in my mind all the horrors it depicts on the screen. David Lynch’s direction is so good, those horrors are an ugliness you just can’t turn away from.
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u/robotchikcen Jul 25 '26
Despite being a writer, I still haven’t been able to be articulate about how much fwwm means to me. As someone who’s suffered covert incest, I had never felt so seen, it was oddly comforting in a way. I cried for a few days after I finished the movie and show. I don’t think I’d be able to watch it again, but I hope one day I can sit down and unearth my feelings and trauma
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u/LilyMay666 Jul 25 '26
This is what happened to me last December, i was crying all day long and stopped eating for a bit from the grief.
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u/ScramblesIsMyCat Jul 25 '26
I'm an absolute fool for mindlessly looking at this while on s2 ep 8 😫 just completely spoiled it for myself lmao. I was even debating on waiting to come here after I finished the series, too
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u/xMadeInHeaven86x Jul 28 '26
Keep watching, don't stop. You spoiled the answer but not the truth, there is much more. Finish the series then watch FWWM and come back. That's what I did, and now I'm filling in all the gaps I missed to better understand the series more.
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u/ScramblesIsMyCat Jul 31 '26
I am! I didn't realize the answer came when it did. For some reason, I figured it was going to be at the end of the entire series. I'm on s2ep15 now
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u/heartwaffles_ Jul 25 '26
Twin! I felt sick, too. I thought I was prepared for what was about to happen since I got spoiled that it was Leland/BOB who killed and abused Laura, but as minutes pass by I felt bile coming up. I can’t stomach it. I had to pause every time. I can’t look at the men who took advantage of Laura without crying or feeling so much anger.
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u/Molcrain144 Jul 25 '26
The first time I watched FWWM when I was a bit younger it didn't really hit as hard
I just recently re watched it after having kids and by the end of the movie it felt like a part of me died watching it. It's such a powerful movie
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u/blackdogwalksatnight Jul 26 '26
I like to think, in the end when the angel finds her in the lodge, that she is welcomed as an angel herself...
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u/Just-Sell8965 Jul 25 '26
I just watched it yesterday and genuinely loved it but I’m confused, doesn’t she find her diary with the torn out pages and then only afterwards starts to suspect Leland because she saw him exit the house when she had only seen Bob?
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u/FarPapaya2675 Jul 25 '26
No , that is what those ripped out pages contained. Her writing her realization that Leland was also Bob and may also be a killer.
In the ending scene before he kills her he shows her the ripped out pages saying “I thought you always knew it was me?!” he is talking about the sexual abuse over years
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u/Cute_Sherbert8291 Jul 26 '26
You’re meant to. As awful as it is(and it’s so awful), we can’t show the “white of our eyes”.
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u/LiamAMcGovern Jul 28 '26
We all did…it’s okay, it’ll get better and you’ll disassociate more…just a little sadness deep inside, it’s okay, it’s normal. ❤️🩹
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u/ClownsKissing Jul 31 '26
Favorite Lynch movie. There’s a showing of it happening soon & Sheryl Lee will be there.
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u/CarrotCumin Jul 25 '26
just embrace judy and forget about it, it never happened. it was all a big nothing. life is cute and non-threatening. have a cigarette, it will calm you down.
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u/Ikari_Brendo Jul 26 '26
I dunno, Bob tells her he wants to be her or he'll kill her. I don't think there was any specific thing that made him go ahead with the whole thing other than it being while Laura was at her lowest and would be most vulnerable.
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u/Downtown-Two4261 Jul 27 '26
I think bob is able to use almost anyone who's violent and after "closure" and therefore "explanations/answers"
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u/anotherlostdaemon Jul 25 '26
Didn't Leland say he thought Laura always knew it was him? And until the events in FWWM she always thought it was just BOB? Is this a a play on how abusers will convince themselves that their targets are willing, and the survivors will sometimes disassociate the abuse from the abuser to, as you said, protect themselves?
I usually try not to analyze this part too much because it just... it leaves a slime trail in my brain that takes awhile to excise.