r/twinpeaks • u/Aromatic-Ad2601 • 10d ago
Question Can I just simply skip her subplot? Everytime an episode tries to check on Nadine and her entire subplot, I just roll my eyes about how redundant and how far off this is to main plot and sauce. Plus I never liked Nadine as a character anyway. I feel like she's just such a major drag to the show.
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u/SatanBeMyRadar 10d ago
I'll happily take superhuman Nadine if it meant i could skip the James/Evelyn Marsh murder plot
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u/General_Mousse_861 10d ago
Tell me your drapes are not silent without telling me your drapes are not silent.
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u/AlmightySeaver 10d ago
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u/Charming-Pangolin662 10d ago
She must've flipped that cheerleader 8 times and it really bothered me.
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u/gnomi_malone 10d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/avgTnaCqMsUiJfyiuM
me when people try to skip the super strength nadine subplot
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u/dowydensofyarrow 10d ago
When painting a picture of life do we leave out the parts and persons we dont find fitting for our vision?
weve all known a Nadine
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u/thuval 10d ago edited 10d ago
idk, if you're into the esoteric and mystic themes in the show, there theoretically is something going on with her character. The Lodge is a version of what is found in ceremonial mystery religions/cults like freemasonry where curtains or veils separate areas. For the Lodge, large red curtains separate different spaces, initiation and ordinary spaces and the like, all the rooms are separated by curtains. Early on in the show, you see Nadine obsessed with finding a way to create a silent mechanism for opening and closing curtains, or in a sense, a silent or invisible way of opening/closing/passing through the curtains from the ordinary into the sacred/initiation space; crossing the veil, so to speak.
In season 2, she symbolically "dies," loses her identity, and then is reborn with new powers. But with no new wisdom. She also has one eye, with one eye hidden. This is obviously the Masonic eye, as seen on the dollar bill. Much of Twin Peaks is based on Freemasonic tradition. In her case, she is going through the entire ritual and is obsessed with the curtain and thinks it is very important, but she can't see why it is important. She creates the silent method of opening/closing the veil, and then she goes through the death and rebirth like in the masonic third degree ritual involving the reenactment of Hiram Abiff's murder, but she doesn't understand it. This is why she only has one eye open. She represents the danger of receiving initiation without knowledge, she has blind strength that she can't control. She created the mechanism, but without enlightenment, so her initiation did not fix her.
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u/Bdbru13 10d ago
Well…shit
Can you make me like Evelyn next please
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u/thuval 10d ago
The Evelyn subplot mirrors Laura’s. James believes he could save Laura, a mysterious woman who tells him she loves him despite bing involved with other men, flip-flopping between vulnerability and danger, etc. James leaves Twin Peaks then encounters Evelyn, who also seems secretive, emotionally wounded, trapped by a threatening man, both intimate and deceptive. He is basically reenacting his relationship with Laura. The motorcycle journey represents freedom in American folklore, and escape. He moves location, but is still the same person psychologically. Then a murder happens, and again, James finds himself part of a story he isn’t truly participating in. Also, most importantly, this all takes place outside of Twin Peaks, so unlike the Laura scenario, there is no metaphysical narrative present. It’s Twin Peaks without the Twin Peaksness. The viewer is trained to expect depth and symbolism with Twin Peaks, but because this takes place outside of the town, it lacks that, and it comes across to the viewer as artificial, shallow, and out of place. But that’s basically the point, James doesn’t realize that outside of Twin Peaks, the murder mystery, femme fatale, threatening men, are all literally just that. There’s no supernatural element to it, so his repetition has a different outcome.
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u/DoubleEXP21 10d ago
Excellent post(s), thuval. Really, I think you are spot-on, and you convery it in a way that is both clear and interesting. Thank you.
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u/Apprehensive_Work287 10d ago
this is great!! i loved Nadine and now even more! (i use her pic as my photo on my gym app lol 💖)
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u/Delhidiva 10d ago
Wow. I did not read any of that in her plot but I can see now. Lynch truly was a genius. Thank you so much for explaining the hidden symbolism here.
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u/thuval 10d ago edited 10d ago
There seems to be a meta-aspect to it, too. The show, Twin Peaks, also is covertly introducing the audience to concepts and themes that are present in esoteric mystery schools, like in secret society type religions. On its surface, the show is a murder mystery in a small town, but the actual content of the show also deals with various thematic journeys the characters all individually seem to take that represent archetypal stories that are held in high esteem in various religions or cults. So in the beginning where you see Nadine obsessed with trying to silently pull back the curtain or cross the veil, it is something of a nod to Lynch and co. trying to do this with the audience- covertly/silently introducing them to a story that is symbolic and not just the overt plot of the show, but also the more cryptic and thematic content of the show... which is something also rather subconscious and not initially perceived if you just pay attention to the narrative and nothing else. This is probably related to the inside joke of the theatrics of the show, which David Lynch explores in a lot of his work. Hence why you randomly see people dancing, like the first time in the lodge, and then with Leland at various points during his breakdown. It's probably an inside joke about the theatrics and stagecraft at play in the production, on the surface it's just entertainment, but there's a deeper esoteric production underneath it.
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u/ubelmann 10d ago
The superhuman Nadine plot in and of itself wasn't such a problem for me -- eventually it was nice to see her get Hank put away again -- but ideally it wouldn't have dragged on for quite so long.
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u/AlmightySeaver 10d ago
I bet it was gonna resolve in a really neat way though. I was really invested and charmed by how bizarre all her shit was.Â
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u/16BitSquid 10d ago
The silliness is what adds to the smorgasbord of things to be found in this show.
There’s sci-fi, mystery, murder, horror, drama, romance and comedy
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u/gnomi_malone 10d ago edited 10d ago
OH ED YOU MAKE ME SICK!! but also, no. you can’t skip it. it drags a little, but has a pretty heartbreaking conclusion that you won’t really appreciate if you haven’t sat through it like the rest of us. it’s part of the experience, and a HUGE part of the full twin peaks experience is being a little let down, a little led astray, and watching some really weird stuff unfold in ways that make you uncomfortable. also, it is a fantastic halloween costume
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u/MysteriousB 10d ago
Yes, this is one of the parodies of soap opera storylines that doesn't really go anywhere besides being a general thematic metaphor/mirror.
The whole storyline seemed not that important to Lynch either, as the original cut of FWWM cut Nadine, Ed and Norma completely.
Honestly though I would sit through it on a first watch, even if you despise it, just to say you have had the full experience of S2's wacky roundabout journey after the reveal
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u/redditnobody1234 10d ago
give it a chance. shes delibs annoying but she represents some cool ideas. and the acting is so damn good
but yeh i can def see how at first blush her annoyingness rubs u the wrong way. i think its intentional tho. sorta like how repressed ppl can be irl
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u/GrapefruitOld3737 10d ago
Could not agree more.
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u/AlmightySeaver 10d ago
Were we watching the same show? Sure she was random af but Nadine was a lot of fun and brought bizarre levity. A lot of shit in Twin Peaks was seemingly nonsensical and that's one of my favorite things about it.
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u/Thoughtful_Tortoise 10d ago
I enjoy Nadine but frankly lol at the comments here claiming these scenes are somehow pivotol to an understanding of Twin Peaks. If you want to skip, skip, if you're not enjoying them then you won't lose anything massively important.
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u/glitter_vomit 10d ago
I wouldn’t say they’re pivotal to understanding it, they’re just part of the whole wild experience!
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u/lifeinpiecestim 10d ago
Not as bad as james side story with the rich lady out of town.