There has been much ado (possibly about nothing) surrounding the two young kids introduced in Part 8. Fans have gone as far as to suggest that the boy is Leland, Hawk, Albert or Cole, and the girl is Sarah, Nadine, Log Lady or Cooper’s mother.
Some of the theories have zero legs to even start crawling from a hatched egg, while a few may get us a bit further. I’ll share some of the theories and explain why and why these can or cannot work. In There’s only one or two individuals that this young couple could be — and even that is a stretch.
Instead of regurgitating (pun intended) Part 8, check out our Episode Guide if you need to review it. Suffice it to say that the MOAB vomited up a bunch of egg-looking things and BOB. The Giant (???????) and Senorita Dido delivered a golden orb from the their castle atop of the purple sea onto Earth. Fast forward 11 years, and we are introduced to a hatching egg and two kids – a boy and girl. Later that evening while listening to the radio, the girl hears “Abe” the woodsman repeating a phrase over and over. She falls asleep and the bug-thing from the egg crawls into her mouth.
My own personal feeling is that both kids are around the age of 11-14. If that’s the case, if they are 11, then they were born about the same time the first atom bomb exploded (that alone has some interesting implications). Even if before 1945, they were toddlers when the atom bomb went off.It’s safe to say they were born somewhere around 1941 to 1945. In 1989, this would make them between the ages of 44 to 48.
If this boy and girl are characters we saw in the original series run, then we are looking for characters in the their mid-40s. This immediately removes a lot of people from the list but let’s go through several options:
The Boy is Leland
This is an easy one. Not possible unless you change existing facts. Leland tells us in Season 2 after he sees the picture of BOB that he knew someone next door at Pearl Lakes who looked like the man on the poster. While dying, Leland tells us that he opened himself up as a “young child” to BOB. In 1956 Leland is in Washington, not New Mexico, potentially dealing with BOB. The only way this really works is if you believe that Leland was lying about how old he was when BOB was tormenting him. Also interesting note – there is no proof of where Leland grew up. There is a reference in the Secret History that indicates his family lived in Seattle. We do know that the Palmer family was living in Twin Peaks in the mid-1970s.
The Boy is Gordon Cole
We don’t have an age for Gordon so let’s go with David Lynch’s age. Lynch was born in 1946 so this puts him on the edge of possibilities. We don’t know where Cole grew up so that doesn’t help. Frankly the boy in the show doesn’t look anything like Gordon Cole so I think it’s a huge stretch to suggest this — even though some have suggested the boy is dressed similar to Lynch.
The Boy is Albert Rosenfeld
Again, we don’t have a birth date for Albert. Miguel Ferrer was born 1955 which puts us way past the dates we are looking for. Even though I don’t think we should use the trading cards as canon, they have Albert’s birth year as 1956 — again outside what we are looking for (he would be a baby). So if we use Miguel’s birthdate as our reference, he can’t be the boy.
The Boy is Hawk
Again, no exact birth date for Hawk. Michael Horse was born 1949 which puts us outside our date range. We know Hawk played football with Truman and Hank Jennings in 1968. This was likely their senior year which means Hawk was probably born 1950. The show tells us that he went to Twin Peaks High School and was classmates with others in the town. Hawk talks a lot about the woods around Twin Peaks and the Bookhouse Boys. All the circumstantial evidence suggests Hawk cannot be the boy. He would only be around 6 in 1956.
The Boy is Big Ed
That 1968 football lineup causes our problem again. He was on the same football team. That means he was born in 1950. In the show he has several conversations that always makes me feel he has lived in Twin Peaks much of his life. So once again, it is highly unlikely.
While we are at it – this would also remove Hank and Truman from the list.
The Boy is Cooper
I actually haven’t seen anyone suggest this but just in case….Cooper was born in 1954 and lived in Philadelphia. He is too young and nowhere near New Mexico. (Side note – Kyle MacLachlan was born in 1959 so he is 5 years younger than the character he portrays even further proving the boy can’t be Cooper.)
The Boy is Ben Horne
Again, I’ve not seen anyone suggest it. Just putting it here for clarity sake. Ben was probably born early 1940 (I’ve seen 1950 specifically online which I think is wrong). That would put him at 16 but I think that’s older than the boy in Part 8. We know he grew up in Twin Peaks – we see old footage of him with his dad at an event in the 1950s. As a result I believe we can conclude Ben is not the boy.
The Boy is Major Briggs
The Return suggests Garland was in his late 40s/early 50s in 1989. That means he was born in 1940 or so. That makes him 16 in 1956. It doesn’t look like Briggs lived in Twin Peaks. In fact Secret History says he was transferred to Twin Peaks in 1982. We don’t have enough information to say one way or the other if Briggs is the boy BUT I would say the age makes it not possible.
The Boy is Carl Rodd
Since Carl was abducted with the Log Lady according to Secret History, then he may have been born before 1940. Carl makes a comment that he has been smoking for 75 years. I think this was more of a joke and his age in The Return is 75. This puts him around 1940 (depending on the exact year of The Return). So if the boy is 16 then he fits the age. Now if Carl was being literal then Carl may be much older taking him out of the race completely
The problem is that according to Secret History, it appears Carl has lived in the Washington area much (if not all) of his life since he was abducted in 1947.
The Girl is Log Lady
The Secret History of Twin Peaks says Log Lady was born in 1940. So she would be 16 — I believe a few years older than the girl in The Return. The biggest problem is that she disappeared in the woods in 1947 with Carl Rodd and Alan Traherne. They lived in the Twin Peaks area. Margaret graduated in 1958 from Twin Peaks High school (also Secret History). So assuming Secret History is right, the girl is not the Log Lady.
It has been noted online that the Girl in Part 8 has some weird “things” on her knees. People are suggesting that these are the raised skin that is referenced in a 1947 medical report of Margaret. The problem is that this looks nothing like the mark that Margaret has in the series. The drawing in the Secret History is closer to the mark that Garland Briggs has. Possible continuity error or on purpose – we don’t know.
Because of this, many suggest the girl is Margaret. The problem we have here is that Margaret was 2 years from graduating high school in 1956 — Twin Peaks High School. Granted, Margaret could have left Twin Peaks and come back over 2 or 3 year period but there is no indication for this at this time.
Finally, it has been noted that the Girl in Part 8 seems to know things about the Boy. She knows where he lives (in town by the school) and also seems to know that he is no longer “going with” Mary. Some have suggested she knows things about the boy. This could also mean that she has had an interest in the Boy and has learned things without any “magical” powers. We really don’t know. BUT, this does help give credence to the fact that she could be the Log Lady but I think it’s a stretch.
The Girl is Nadine
We just have to revisit Big Ed to see that’s not the case either. Norma, Ed and Nadine are all about the same age and were in high school together. That means they were all born around 1950 — outside of our date range.
The Girl is Norma
See Nadine above for the same reason.
The Girl is Catherine Martel
Catherine is the same age as Ben. We know for a fact that the Packards lived in Twin Peaks. So no. There’s also no reason to believe Catherine is the girl at this point.
The Girl is Cooper’s Mother
I’ve seen this one floating out there too. It’s also not possible. Cooper was born in 1954 so it’s not at all possible.
The Girl is Betty Briggs
I’ve not seen this floated. We don’t have a birth date for Betty. Charlotte Stewart was born 1941 and I think it’s safe to assume she would be roughly the same age as Garland Briggs. This again takes us outside of our date range. There’s also no reason to believe that the girl is Betty at this point.
The Girl is Vivian Niles (Norma’s Mom)
We have no age for Vivian. But let’s say she’s 20 when Norma is born. Norma would have been born around 1950. So again not possible.
The Girl is Sarah Palmer
We don’t have a lot of information on Sarah. According to Secret History, she was college sweethearts with Leland Palmer. They married in 1968. They both attended University of Washington and this is where they met (Leland graduated in 1966). So Sarah was probably 20/21 around 1966. That means she was born around 1944/45 making her 11 to 12 in 1956 which fits the range I have established above (but on the very young side of it).
Sarah’s maiden name is Novack – a name we haven’t heard around town in Twin Peaks. A big name like Packard, Horne, Martell, etc would indicate that her family is from Twin Peaks. There is no indication she actually grew up in Twin Peaks.
The one thing we do know is that her niece, Maddy, is from Missoula, Montana. We know that Maddy came to visit Laura on a regular basis in the summer (mentioned in the series and in the diary). The trading cards indicate Sarah graduated from Missoula High School and then graduated from University of Montana. Secret History refutes the latter putting both “facts” into question. Since Secret History is written by Frost and is more recent, we should take Frost’s word for it at this point. (Note – The trading cards have multiple error whereas Secret history may have intentional errors.)
None of this indicates exactly where Sarah Palmer grew up. Yes, it’s possible she grew up in Missoula since her sister lives there. But unlike the rest, we don’t have hard evidence. But Sarah does fit the age, albeit the early age.
Like the Log Lady, Sarah does seem to have “special” abilities to know things – this is mentioned both in the series and in the diary. The Girl’s ability to know about the boy (if they are unnatural) does also give credence to supporting the Girl is Sarah.
Conclusion
Only two known characters fit the description of the boy – Ben and Carl. Ben lived in Twin Peaks his entire life – this is a known fact from the series and media. Carl would be the only possible option and I think it’s highly unlikely. Both boys would have been around 16 in 1956 which I believe is too old for the boy in Part 8.
Only two known characters fit the description of the girl – Log Lady and Sarah. Like Carl, the Log Lady was abducted in 1947. We know that Log Lady lived in Twin Peaks most (if not all of her life) making it very difficult to accept the girl as Margaret. Sarah fits the younger side of the age range and is the only character possible whose background is mostly unknown leaving the option open for Sarah.
In the end, I don’t believe we have seen the “boy” before. And there is a very, very, very small chance that the girl is Sarah. We have probably not seen either one of these characters before.
Final Thoughts
The girl could be “Linda” that The Giant (???????) mentions in Part 1.
The girl could be “Judy” but we are going to leave her out of this for now.
The girl and boy could simply be a girl and boy and Lynch/Frost are never going to tell us who they are. If they do not return to them, then I think it’s likely they are not important to the rest of the story suggesting they are just “Boy” and “Girl” as credited.
Everything mentioned above could be completely wrong or could change based on the upcoming parts. As has been mentioned in the past, we could also be watching alternative timelines which means the Girl or the Boy, if they are someone, could literally be anyone.
Personal Note
Initially, I was thinking that the Girl was Sarah. But the more I looked at the facts as we know them – I am more and more sure that she is not Sarah — nor any character we have seen at this point.
If that’s the case, then it leaves us with another important question — what is the bug? I hope to have an article this week that explores that question.
