I found it very strange that Ben Horne chose to win on the Confederacy side rather than the Union side during the Civil War in Season 2 of Twin Peaks. Many have found these scenes cringeworthy and or perhaps useless, but I think it's some hint as to who Ben Horne really is inside. Or it could've been his way of winning to secede from the Union of Corruption. Whatever it meant, it meant something rather deep, even if it wasn't created by David Lynch himself.
So, my reasoning for it being Ben Horne's soul is that the Confederacy wasn't for the abolishment of slavery, which is an evil mindset to led the way to white supremacy and the KKK. So why would he go for that side of the war during his mental breakdown? Was this his nature in general (not white supremacy, but evil and corrupt deep down inside)? Or does it have something to do with his family's heritage that he keeps close to his heart? It's just so strange that through this victory, he's back to full health again as if he had mastered something that his forebears failed to succeed.
As for the Secession from Corruption theory... perhaps after being outsmarted by Catherine Martell, he knew he needed to outsmart her in some way of mental play even if it didn't involve her one bit. The Civil War was probably a metaphor for his war against Catherine, and also Jean Renault who took over One-Eyed Jacks. After winning this mental battle, he managed to make up for his loss in reality and began taking on the mission of ascending to a better man.
In a psychological aspect, this could be the internal battle of the self... the ego, the superego, and the ID. The ego is the organized and realistic agent that governs the superego and id. The superego is the agent of morals, knowing right from wrong. The ID is the agent of uncoordinated instinctual wants and desires. I don't know which of the three is the Confederacy, the one that won, but my guess could've been the ID. He wants and desires to win over his rivals, and through this battle of the mind, he manages to do so on his own terms and territory.
And it would make sense with himself, Catherine Martell, and Jean Renault being the three armies fighting each other with their own purposes for their corruptive doings, and three distinct interactive parts of the mental psyche to combat each other. As to who fits which agent of the psyche... it would seem Catherine is the ego, for herself always finding a way to be a step ahead due to her strong capability of organization and realistic expectations. Jean Renault is the superego, having morals as to how things will work and play. And lastly, Ben Horne is the ID due to his wants and desires and doing what he can to get them without the control of his own superego and ego.
Though Catherine isn't what controls the fate of either Ben Horne or Jean Renault, she still knows how to be supreme in her endeavors if they are against the two men who rival each other. She even outsmarts Thomas Eckhardt, who was supposedly her close rival just like the similar rivalry of that of Sherlock Holmes vs. James Moriarty. Her organized planning and brilliantly cunning mind make her the apex predator of the food chain of everyone else in Twin Peaks, while Jean Renault is the cat and Ben Horne is the mouse. With Ben being on the lowest side of the bar, it would seem he isn't as cunning and somewhat harmful as he portrays himself to be. Instead, he is the Joker in all that happens, where the joke is always on him whenever he is tricked and betrayed. And it's hard to even know whether we should pity him or not due to the reeking of his soul and the corruption of both his strengths and weaknesses. Though he does try to find ways to be a better man, this could only entail his journey to pursue a stronger ego and hopefully an even stronger superego. If he succeeds, he could be more cunning and organized as a businessman (probably even in corruption) at the same time as ascending to become a respectful human being.
It's hard to really know the exact meaning of Ben's mental breakdown. But it could mean something much more than just a filler story arc for Season 2. Though I can't say I wasn't pleased with most of the filler inside the season, I still try to find some value as to what they could possibly mean in some abstract or surreal way as if it were Lynch's creation. It is still fun to watch and wonder at some of the scenes in the season, and without Season 2, there would be no lore. But in a way, I wonder (and I bet others too)... did it really need the lore after all if they had stuck to keeping the killer anonymous? We'll never know, but for now, it's something to somewhat marvel at for some of the strangeness at work in that season.
Thank you for reading this article. Feel free to comment below to reveal your thoughts on this plot and the possible theories concerning Ben Horne's mental breakdown.
No comments:
Post a Comment