Illusion and transformation; sometimes confusion which leads to transformation. Often, we must seek answers beneath the darkness; under the protection moon’s shadowy veil and conduct business wearing a dark cloak of secrecy. What is revealed when the bright light of the sun is gone can often scry into dark and deep parts of who we are; secret recesses of the soul that can only be opened when illuminated with moonlight, seen only by creatures of the night, the beast within, the owl, the jackal, the fish. Episode four of Twin Peaks, the fifth episode in season 1, is called “The One-Armed Man” and was directed by Tim Hunter and Written by Robert Engels. It aired on May 3, 1990. Confusion and Illusion run rampant in this episode as all of the characters run into befuddling and mystifying situations. Cooper’s usual infallible investigative techniques turn out to completely miss the mark. Deputy Andy seems confused and unable to perform his duties. Sarah sketches a long-haired entity she saw in a dream-vision and a befuddled Leland tells everyone she had ‘two visions’ while a bewildered Donna hears this with great confusion. Jacoby and Cooper sit in a conference room; Jacoby performs a magic trick; more illusions. The One-Armed man from Cooper’s dream turns out, for now, to be an ordinary shoe-salesman that leads the detectives to Bob Lydecker’s Veterinarian services that provides ‘aid to the beast incarnate’. James encounters Madeline Ferguson, Laura’s almost identical twin cousin, and is bewildered and confused. Bobby plants evidence at Jacque Renault’s apartment; further adding to the obfuscation. Nightfalls. Moonlight shines on the running river. Donna and James seek out the necklace and are spied on by an owl. Norma’s husband Hank is paroled and harasses Josie like a stalking bear; a beast in the night. Relationships unravel, confusion abounds and with the falling curtains of night, the eighteenth card of the Major Arcana takes shape as the investigation into Laura Palmer’s death continues and the mystery of Twin Peaks deeps once more, like a dark cup of coffee, black as midnight on a moonless night.

The Joseph Campbell Foundation

Joseph Campbell — Jung and the Shadow System