The Owls Are Not What They Seem

What Are They?

Here's What We Know:

Usually if it looks like an owl, you'd think it's an owl, but in the case of Twin Peaks there was clearly more to the story. In fact, throughout the series there were so many references to the owls that I think it's fair to say this would have been delved into further had the series lived on. So perhaps in 2017 we'll get more confirmation on what the owls actually represent. Either way all we really know is that they always seem to appear when something is about to happen in Twin Peaks. Is it interesting to note that owls typically represent death in Native American mythology. See here for more information: Owl Myths

My Theory:

Personally I have always felt that the owls served as a vehicle for the spirits from the white and black lodges to use as a means of travel to go to and from the lodges and the real world. It always seemed that Bob needed a host to cause his particular brand of trouble and couldn't survive outside the lodge without one. One armed Mike tells Cooper that Bob was possessing Leland for nearly forty years. Leland told Cooper when he was dying that Bob would come and go. When Bob possessed him he didn't know and when he left Leland couldn't remember what he did. Is it possible that when Bob would leave Leland he'd peruse the woods as an owl?

One in the same?

It's reasonable to assume that the Giant, the arm, Mike and any other inhabiting spirits could be using the owls as a means of keeping an eye on the woods. When Cooper, Truman, Hawk and Andy make their way to owl cave, the owl that Andy tries to smash with a pick ax ultimately reveals the hidden petroglyph behind the cave wall. Almost as if the owl wanted Cooper to see it or needed him to. Could Bob have been planning to trap Cooper in the black lodge all along? In The Autobiography of Dale Cooper: My Life, My Tapes there are several suggestions that Dale dreamed of Bob in his adolescence, as did Dale's mother. Dale dreams of a man who wants to get into his room who roars like an animal. When he tells his mother about this, she warns him to never let that man in. Later in the book, it even suggests that Bob may have harmed Dale's mother resulting in her death.

In the series, after Laura's killer is revealed, Cooper asks, "Where is Bob now?" This could have been an excellent way to launch Twin Peaks' other mysteries, such as what is Bob and what are the Black and White Lodges? Unfortunately instead there were a lot of missteps in Season 2. Nonetheless after Cooper asks where Bob is, we see the viewpoint of an owl flying through the woods. It appeared to be a very clear indication that the owl was Bob or least being controlled by him. Before (spoiler alert) Maddy is killed. the Log Lady warns Cooper that there are, "Owls in the Roadhouse!" Could that just be a warning of death like the Native American lore suggests or could the inhabiting spirits of the lodges (using the owls) simply be closing in to ensure their portion of Garmonbozia (pain and sorrow)?


Check out this YouTube Clip below!

What do you think the owls are?