"It all cannot be said aloud now."―The Fireman[src]
The Fireman was an enigmatic tall man who bore a striking resemblance to the Giant, and resided in a fortress on a rocky island in a vast purple sea. He created an orb containing the likeness of Laura Palmer in response to the test of the atom bomb on Earth, and aided Dale Cooper and the Twin Peaks Sheriff's Department in their mission to destroy Cooper's doppelganger and the homicidal spirit BOB.
Biography[]
Early existence[]
The Fireman was a supernatural being who resided in a large metal fortress with Senorita Dido in the middle of a vast purple sea.[2] He appeared as a very tall, gaunt, formally dressed man, and spoke in a distorted manner.[2]
The "giant", who may be the Fireman in his youth[3]
A similar, younger "giant" with more casual garments appeared in visions to FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper in 1989, though it was not clear if the giant and the Fireman were one and the same.[4]
Creating Laura Palmer[]
The Fireman creates Laura Palmer[2]
In 1945, the first successful nuclear bomb test was performed on Earth in the United States, and a white figure identified only as "the experiment" regurgitated a stream of matter that included the malevolent spirit BOB. Witnessing this, the Fireman created a golden orb containing the face of a young woman who would one day become Laura Palmer, and Senorita Dido sent it to Earth.[2]
Laura's orb[2]
Laura was born in 1971 in the town of Twin Peaks, Washington and ended up coming into conflict with BOB, who possessed her father and attempted to possess her before killing her in 1989.[5] It was unclear if this was part of the Fireman's plans.
Plot to destroy BOB[]
Years later, as part of much larger machinations to destroy BOB, the Fireman appeared to Freddie Sykes in the twenty-first century and directed him to buy a green gardening glove that would give him superhuman strength in his right hand, and to move to Twin Peaks. At another unspecified point, Major Briggs arrived in the Zone, and the two seemingly began working on a plan together.[6][1]
In 2016, the Fireman approached Dale Cooper, who was at that time trapped in the Black Lodge while his doppelganger was sharing his body with BOB and running amok on Earth. He directed Cooper's attention to the sounds of a phonograph and told him "It is in our house now." He then told Cooper to remember "430" and "Richard and Linda. Two birds with one stone." Cooper acknowledged he understood before he disappeared. He later returned to Earth, but remained in a near catatonic state for weeks before he could act on any plans.[1][7]
Informing Andy of the plan[6]
On October 1, Deputy Andy Brennan of the Twin Peaks Sheriff's Department was brought before the Fireman, who showed him a series of images through a portal to inform him about the two Coopers, and the importance of an eyeless woman named Naido,[6] who was connected to Cooper's secretary, Diane Evans.[8] Andy was sent back to Earth with Naido and protected her in the department building.[6]
Caging Cooper's doppelganger with Major Briggs[8]
The following day, Cooper's doppelganger, who had been searching for a set of coordinates, arrived in Twin Peaks, and was transported to the Fireman's fortress' projection room, where the Fireman and Major Briggs floated before a projection of Sarah Palmer's house. The doppelganger was trapped in a cage in midair. The Fireman waved his hand and the screen shifted to show the road leading to the sheriff's department, before he transported the doppelganger to said road.[8]
The doppelganger went into the department in an attempt to kill Naido, but the real Cooper arrived soon after. Following a confrontation with the doppelganger, BOB flew out of him in the form of an orb with his face in it, and Freddie Sykes, who was being held in custody there at the same time, shattered BOB by punching the orb with the gloved hand.[8]
Grander plans[]
After Cooper sent his doppelganger back to the Black Lodge to be destroyed and rescued Diane, he traveled back in time with the help of Phillip Jeffries to 1989 in an effort to save Laura Palmer from her death. In the new timeline, she disappeared instead of dying, and when Cooper returned to the present, he and Diane "crossed" into an uncertain year. There, Cooper traveled to Odessa, Texas and found a woman identical to an older Laura Palmer named Carrie Page, and brought her to Twin Peaks to try and reawaken her memories.[9]
It was unclear whether this was a part of the Fireman's plans, but many of the clues he gave to Cooper did reoccur: the sounds on the phonograph were also heard when Laura disappeared,[8] Cooper and Diane had to travel exactly 430 miles to "cross over", there was a note in their motel room addressed to Richard from Linda, and there was indeed something in what was supposed to be Laura Palmer's house. Cooper also expressed a desire to find the powerful negative force Judy, but it was not known if this was the Fireman's plan, or just Cooper's.[9]
Behind the scenes[]
The Fireman is played by Carel Struycken, who previously appeared in the original series as The Giant. It is currently unknown if they are intended to be the same character. The Fireman was named "???????" in the credits until "Part 14". In an interview with Rue Morgue,[10] Struycken interprets The Giant and The Fireman to be one and the same:
RM: How did you feel about the new name The Fireman? I mean, was it a bit jarring considering you were seen as The Giant for over twenty-five years?
CS: Well, I didn’t see it as a change. Remember, The Giant never called himself that, nor did anyone else. In this case, I do identify myself as The Fireman. So I see The Fireman as his true identity. That sounds about right, doesn’t it? (Laughs)
In addition, Showtime's official Tumblr site for the 2017 series has a character web page for The Fireman, which includes fan art and quotes of Struycken as both The Giant and The Fireman on the same page, which corroberates Struycken's statement. The page's web address (URL) also refers to the "Giant," indicating the web page's title had been renamed from "The Giant" to "The Fireman" at some point during the air run of the 2017 series.[11]
source from the Making of Twin Peaks Season #3 by BUF
When asked if the Fireman sided with humans, Twin Peaks co-creator Mark Frost answered that the character has his own reasons, which are beyond human understanding.[12] Struycken revealed that he was given the direction that the Fireman and Dido were "performing some kind of ritual intervention to counteract the evil in the world" when shooting Part 8.[13] This scene was based on a drawing by David Lynch,[14] which is also similar to Mr Jim's Vision, The Antman and Floating Figure (chalk on paper, 1985)
Appearances[]
- Twin Peaks – 2017
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Twin Peaks – "Part 1"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Twin Peaks – "Part 8"
- ↑ Twin Peaks – "Episode 16"
- ↑ Twin Peaks – "Episode 8"
- ↑ Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Twin Peaks – "Part 14"
- ↑ Twin Peaks – "Part 16"
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Twin Peaks – "Part 17"
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Twin Peaks – "Part 18"
- ↑ https://rue-morgue.com/entering-the-white-lodge-with-the-moonlight-man-an-interview-with-carel-struycken-of-twin-peaks-and-geralds-game/
- ↑ http://twinpeaksonshowtime.tumblr.com/characters#giant
- ↑ Mark Forst's AMA
- ↑ Struycken interview for 25yearslatersite.com
- ↑ Making of Twin Peaks Season #3 by BUF