There are SPOILERS in this article. If you haven't watched or finished Twin Peaks Season 2, do not read this until you do. If you have, then keep on scrolling. :)
Annie Blackburn...
A woman of love?
A tulpa by the Black Lodge?
Or just a character tossed in due to conflict on set?
Certainly great questions concerning the woman whom Cooper falls so madly in love. But then another question arises. Was it love at all?
Annie Blackburn, as we all know, is the young half-sister of Norma Jennings and the luring flame of Agent Dale Cooper. She was taken hostage by Windom Earle into the Black Lodge, which led to the successful luring of Cooper into the 25-year trap.
Firstly, why are she, Audrey Horne, and Shelly Johnson so important to Windom Earle to choose the 'right one' for the opening of the Black Lodge? To enter the Black Lodge, he needs fear as the key, so he interrupts the Miss Twin Peaks pageant and kidnaps its winner, who happens to be Annie. But before that, there is a scene with him and Leo Johnson as he decides who to kidnap: Annie, Audrey, and Shelly. Annie was already chosen for the plot, and whether he'd kidnap her just the same if she didn't win the pageant, we'd never truly know.
But the fact she was already chosen prior to the occurring events still bothers me... There is something more to her than what meets the eye of some game being played.
This is indeed controversial since many believe Annie was entirely human and that she had no connection to the Black Lodge. There was even a fan-made Twin Peaks film called Queen of Hearts directed by Cameron Cloutier - a film about Annie after Cooper saved her from the Lodge and her journey after (it's free to watch on YouTube under the channel, Annie Blackburn if interested). Others, however, do believe she could've been a tulpa sent by the Black Lodge to lure Cooper into its red curtains, sealing him there for 25 years. And then, some believe she was just a random character tossed into the series as a way to steer away from on-set drama and from the Cooper-Audrey relationship in general.
The reason I don't believe Annie is entirely human is because of the prophecy that was made before her kidnapping into the Black Lodge. She must've been something real special to the Lodge, despite the fact of 'love' between her and Cooper (which I also believe wasn't more than lust). And for Cooper to become so quickly infatuated with her is another thing. Annie was like the perfect cherry on top of the Lodge's ploy as they used Windom Earle as a pawn to Cooper's destiny. They crafted her as God made Eve, and sent her on her way to deceive the man she was meant to lure, Cooper (who in this story would be the Adam who ate the apple).
As a tulpa, she may have no idea of her intentional making nor what was in store for her purpose. This could be proven by the tulpa of Diane Evans in Twin Peaks: The Return, who was sent to kill Gordon Cole, but was shot before she could do so. This Diane nearly passed as normal. The only thing that's off about this is that she is a replica of someone already living... Annie, however, was just manufactured and implemented into the world of Twin Peaks. But there are claims that Diane could've been manufactured as well to assist Cooper on his missions. Especially when we never see Cooper giving Diane his audio tapes after he reports some big discoveries or requests something he needs. If that is true, then Annie and she could be highly relatable in this theory.
The thought of the 'right woman' for a big part of Windom Earle's plot does remind me of what The Cowboy told Adam Kesher in Mulholland Drive that he'll see him again once if he did well and again twice if he did badly in picking the right girl of the main part of a movie he was to direct. Another piece of evidence is the use of "I'll see you again" in both Mulholland Drive and Twin Peaks, with the Cowboy to Adam as I've already mentioned, and Laura Palmer to Cooper when she tells him she'll see him again in 25 years.
Could the two different plots be possibly connected to the Little Man?
Did the Little Man always want the 'right girl' to succeed in his plans?
Why, we'll never know, unfortunately, but it is obvious that women play an important part in all the Black Lodge's plans.
The reason why I think Cooper didn't really love Annie as perceived, is because he fell too quickly without knowing any common interests, except for loving nature more than people. The fact that they were so 'connected' right away doesn't seem like the 'right' setting for a romantic setting. It even passes on to me as fishy. And the common theme in most of David Lynch's films always has sex involved at some point. As we all know, he was very intrigued with the occult, and it seems every time his characters have sex, something strange occurs afterward. After Annie and Cooper had sex, it could've led to a stage of opening the Black Lodge before or on the date of the astronomical alignment, letting everything flow forward as planned.
Now, for the theory (though could also pass as a fact), about Annie being tossed into the mix of characters in the show due to conflict on set. Since Kyle MacLachlan (who played Agent Dale Cooper) was dating Lara Flynn Boyle (who played Donna Hayward) at the time, the relationship storyline of Audrey (Sherilyn Fenn) and Cooper sparked jealousy and tension on set. Lara feared the romantic storyline would start a romantic relationship between Kyle and Sherilyn. Technically, she didn't like that Cooper wasn't romantically involved with her character instead of Audrey. Kyle came forward to hush claims of on-set drama, saying that Audrey was too young for Cooper and the romance between them would be wrong. I know a lie when I read one, because if that was the case, why make another character that's about the same age as Audrey and make them the new romantic flame of Cooper? Though I do appreciate Kyle's attempt to keep the drama out of the tabloids, he could've made a better false explanation... or the execs could've done better with their character-building. (By the way, this isn't an attack toward Kyle MacLachlan, since he's a really wonderful man and actor and I'll always love, admire, and respect him).
Annie could be a real human or a manufactured pawn. We'll never know for certain. It's up to you to decide. Feel free to debate and/or share your theories in the comments below. Thank you for reading this article.
See you in the trees.
*Correction: It wasn't Annie, Audrey and Shelly Earl was choosing from originally. It was Donna, Audrey and Shelly. Annie wasn't initially on his radar and he never made a playing card of her nor did he send her part of the poem.
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