Could anyone explain this gesture of Laura Palmer during Cooper's Black Lodge trip in episode 29? She makes it once, as the "normal" Laura, in the waiting room, and again just before her doppelganger starts screaming at Cooper. What does it mean?

It's one of those Price is Right poses, but the prize is just a metaphor or something like that. A total gyp.

It's a Hindu mudra that means "fear not"

It kind of looks like she's forming the letter L (for Laura?) with her hands -- but it's a backwards L.

to me, it always looked like she was holding an imaginary(or just black lodgian) vase. like she was displaying it to others or something similar. i have no idea why i thought that, but that was my first instinct, and its stuck for 18 years now, so thats that for me. i just thought it was a cool way for lynch to connect the first red room scene in ep.2 to ep.29, but if someones got a better theory, id gladly give it thought.

I read a good letter in an issue of WIP where a reader believes her gesture is forming a picture frame and then after she says meanwhile lets out her inner rage. Think of the sweet Laura in the picture frame and the dark life that lurks behind it, the whole good Laura, bad Laura and even the Doppelgangers actions in the Lodges.

All very good thoughts on this.  I have seen this in hindu texts as has been mentioned.  I have also seen it in a few freemason books.  I wonder what they meant by it?  Ever get the feeling they were just throwing in weird stuff just to make people like us wonder what it means?

just a crazy thought, maybe from an Eartha Kitt tune?  watch the video - Eartha Kitt  - C'est Si Bon (live Kaskad 1962). yes, call me crazy. guess we'll never know. but just a thought.

I am rewatching the whole series. Right now I'm at episode 19. It won't take so long before I take again a look at the scene you're mentioning. Anyway, for the moment, I guess she looks like she's holding something invisibile. Of course, my instinct tells me that it's just  a mocking thing, like when Leland pops up and smiles and laughs, or when Bob and Bad Cooper laugh looking into the camera and finally, when Bad Dale walks into the world and mocks Good Dale with that "How's Annie? How's Annie?"

dont forget that earle is inhabiting the same space and time as the doppelganger. we see this in a brief flash of earle's face looking over-exposed while the rest of the frame is black. right after that cooper books back through the curtains he entered from. ive never been certain if he is running because of the screaming laura doppelganger(damn i love that word) or because of the brief flash of earle. im thinking the later. anyway, other that being the connection to ep.2 where laura does the same pose(except it is the waiting room laura, not the black lodge laura), it would also have to have connotations that maybe point to earle and his ability to manipulate the lodge world(altho he wasnt strong enough, as BOB points out).

This picture stayed in my mind all day yesterday and before I was going to sleep last night, I couldn't stop thinking about it. It freaked me out, I just had visions of Laura's doppelganger climbing over the chair and screaming in my face! aaahhh!!

mr. silencio , or whoever is interested, look at Kitt's hands on utube when she's singing in french. no, big deal but, she's AMazing! JUST very HOT Moving her hands ;) while she sings, I thought mabe there was a maybe some Laura, Hand dopple ganger thar. so I guess it was the ONLY Kitty Kat Kitt that caught me to where it was just such beautiful hands ;) she had the moves too, just caught my eye thar ;)