A Profile of Dr. Jacoby

What's up Doc?
Let's take a moment to talk about the very colorful Dr. Jacoby! The wonderfully talented Russ Tamblyn brought this character to life with a rare combination of controlled compassion and insightful bizarreness. Early in the series, he appears to be a potential suspect in the murder of Laura Palmer. However over time it's apparent that his interest in the case is all about his own private obsession with Laura! (Does anyone else hear Waldo saying, "Laura, Laura" in their head every time you hear her name?)

The good doctor is the first to tell Dale Cooper that he believes Laura "allowed" herself to be killed. Unable to fully reveal why he thinks this due to patient/doctor confidentiality, he indicates to Dale that he does know a few of Laura's secrets, but feels he'll spend the rest of his life trying to understand the complexities of her mystery. Dr. Jacoby also admits that he lost passion for his work and other patients, that is until Laura came into his life.


Donna, Maddy and James attempt to uncover the truth about what Dr. Jacoby knows about Laura. This ultimately leaves him vulnerable to Bob and Leland ends up attacking poor Dr. Jacoby in the park. After while he's recovering in the hospital, Dale and Harry hypnotize Dr. Jacoby and he is able to reveal who killed Jacques Renault. Watch here -- > Hawaiian Healing

In addition, Dr. Jacoby helps Bobby out in one of my favorite scenes of the series. In The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer, Laura writes about her first time sleeping with Bobby. While in therapy, Dr. Jacoby is able to break Bobby down and Bobby reveals that Laura laughed at him the first time they had sex. Then he says Laura made him sell drugs so she could have them. Dr. Jacoby replies with, "Laura wanted to corrupt people, because that's how she felt about herself." When Bobby agrees you can see that Dr. Jacoby, although somewhat compassionate toward Bobby, is mostly pleased at having confirmation regarding his assessment of Laura's character. Watch here ---> Briggs Family Therapy


Laura tells Dr. Jacoby about her mystery man! Watch here or above!

I believe that it's in the above scene where Laura tells Dr. Jacoby about Bob. He clearly doesn't understand the truth about Leland/Bob, but he's moved to tears by her troubles. I presume that she confided the sexual abuse she suffered at Bob's hand, but others may have a different interpretation. Whether she described Bob as himself or ultimately said it was her father is up for debate. Regardless, creepy as he came off at times, I do believe that Dr. Jacoby loved Laura in his own unique way.

Do you agree that Dr. Jacoby knew about Bob all along?




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