Time for another entry in the Black Lodge Encyclopedia, this time for a major character: the iconic "Man from Another Place", also known as the "Little Man from Another Place", the "Dancing Dwarf" or simply Mike.

The Man from Another Place / Mike

Gerard's phantom limb

The nature of the MFAP is stated (and demonstrated) quite literally in the movie FWWM: he represents the lost arm of Philip Gerard, who is in his demonic form better known as Mike. The arm is first mentioned by Gerard himself in episodes 1.02 and 2.06:

"We lived among the people. How do you say, convenience store? We lived above it. I mean it like it is, and it sounds. I too have been touched by the devilish one. A tattoo on the left shoulder. Ah, but when I saw the face of God, I was changed. I took the entire arm off."

Gerard claims he was once inhabited by a spirit called Mike. He and Bob killed together until Mike "saw the face of God" and repented. The experience purified him and he literally excised the evil from his body by removing his left arm. This arm allegedly contained a "Fire Walk with Me" tattoo. Gerard remained close to his former inhabiting spirit Mike, however, from time to time regressing to his possessed state. In addition to destroy the evil in his body was not entirely successful either. As the MFAP states in FWWM during Laura's dream:

"Do you know who I am? I am the arm. And I sound like this: [Indian whooping sound]"

The line clearly states that the MFAP represents the evil that is left from Mike. The fact that the MFAP is indeed Mike’s former arm is again demonstrated during the final scene in FWWM, where we see Gerard (Mike) and the MFAP side by side in the Red Room. When "Mike" reclaims the stolen Garmonbozia from Bob, the MFAP touches Gerard’s shoulder as they speak in unison

Patients who have had an arm or leg amputated often report still feeling sensations and pain in the location where the amputated limb used to be. This is referred to as "phantom pain". In Twin Peaks, David Lynch takes this concept one step further by turning Mike’s phantom limb into a character: the Man from Another Place. This is consistent with Lynch’s general approach to storytelling which often relies on the use of odd and surreal characters as the personification of emotions, motives and desires, as is the case in Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive and (arguably) Blue Velvet.

Lord of the Lodge

Judging from the MFAP’s appearances both on the show and FWMM it must be surmised that he is somehow the Lord of the (Black) Lodge. His style of dress corresponds to the interior design of the Red Room and he is usually the first character to be encountered when anyone ventures into the Lodge. This is the case in Cooper’s dream, Laura’s dream and Cooper’s final visit to the Lodge. During the final episode, the MFAP acts as a gatekeeper into the Black Lodge, which Cooper enters upon the MFAP’s invocation of the words "Fire Walk with Me".

The Lodge meeting described by Philip Jeffries hints at the hierarchy among the Lodge spirits. The MFAP and Bob clearly occupy the foreground, while the more "menial" characters (perhaps souls enslaved by Mike and Bob) watch on from the background. Both groups are divided by the Jumping Man. With the exception of brief visions, the MFAP is never seen outside the Lodge, indicating an entirely supernatural origin.

The green ring

The events in FWWM strongly suggest that the MFAP is the (original) owner and perhaps creator of the mysterious owl cave ring, otherwise known as the green ring. The ring is connected to several deaths and disappearances in the TP universe: Teresa Banks, Chester Desmond, Philip Jeffries, Laura Palmer, and to a lesser extent, Annie Blackburn. The function of the green ring has already received extensive treatment here on the site's Project Red Room. Nonetheless, I will repeat some of the most important facts and conclusions.

In short, my theory holds that the green ring is a mark of death, a contract between BOB and the MFAP to kill and reap Garmonbozia. This agreement is outlined during the Lodge meeting described by Philip Jeffries in FWWM. Presumably, after the old Mike ceased to exist, the MFAP was no longer capable of providing for his own Garmonbozia, operating at reduced strength and possibly being constricted in movement to just the Red Room. New rules therefore needed to be established. After Pierre Tremond tells BOB to "fell a victim", the MFAP states "with this ring, I thee wed". Thus, the ring binds not only BOB and the MFAP, but also its bearer to both Lodge spirits. Those who wear the ring must be killed by BOB and the resulting Garmonbozia handed over to the MFAP. The events of FWWM largely support this theory, as well as two other ideas:

* that the MFAP uses the Tremonds to move the green ring into the real world.
* that the wearer of the green ring briefly experiences a numbness of the left/right arm

The first owner of the ring is Teresa Banks. Presumably, she got it from the Tremonds about three days before her death. Not only did the Tremonds inhabit a trailer in Fat Trout trailer park (under the name of Chalfont), Pierre Tremond briefly appears outside the Blue Diamond Motel during a flashback late in the movie. According to Irene, Teresa's left arm went completely numb three days before her death. The photograph in her trailer confirms that she wore the ring on her left hand.

Shortly thereafter, Teresa is murdered by Leland/BOB. Agent Desmond and Agent Stanley are called in to investigate and quickly get onto the trail of the missing green ring. This unsolved element continues to trouble Desmond and prompts a final return to Fat Trout trailer park. Upon investigating, his attention is drawn to a nearby trailer (in the script, a hand waves at him from behind the window), beneath which he finds the green ring on a mound of dirt (like Laura's necklace). When Desmond touches the ring, he mysteriously disappears. Later, Cooper discovers that the trailer belonged to "an old woman and her grandson" called the Chalfonts.

Although BOB killed Teresa, he did not entirely respect the bond with the MFAP. Apparently he stole the Garmonbozia resulting from her death, as indicated by the traffic stop scene later in the movie. Mike (speaking as Philip Gerard) confronts Bob with his "crime" and reminds him of his oath by holding up the green ring (on his little finger).

The third owner of the ring (if Desmond is counted) is Laura Palmer. During Laura's dream sequence in FWWM, she is briefly transported to the Red Room by the Tremonds. Here, she meets the MFAP and Agent Cooper. Close by we see an ornate pedestal with the green ring resting on it. The MFAP offers the ring to Laura but Cooper warns her not to take it. For a brief moment, Laura appears to be waking up, but is in fact still dreaming. Her left arm goes numb and suddenly she finds the green ring resting in her left hand. When she finally does wake up, the ring is gone and her left arm back to normal.

Although she initially refused the ring, it does lead to her death later on. In the train car sequence, BOB attempts to transfer his spirit from Leland to Laura. Mike/Gerard intervenes and throws the green ring inside the train car. Rather than facing living hell with BOB, Laura chooses to commit suicide by taking the green ring. As mentioned, the green ring is a mark of death. BOB is now forced to kill Laura, as indicated by his words "don't make me do this". During the killing, the MFAP appears in brief flashes, hysterically laughing. After her death, BOB returns to the Red Room and hands over the Garmonbozia from Laura's killing, now rightfully belonging to Mike.

End of story? Not quite. There is a fourth owner of the green ring: Annie Blackburn. In the original script of FWWM, a coda elaborates on the fate of Agent Cooper and Annie at the end of the show. First, a conversation takes place between the MFAP and Cooper at the ornate pedestal, similar to the one in Laura's dream:

MFAP: "Is it future? Or is it past?"
Cooper: "Where is the green ring?"
MFAP: "Someone else has it now."
Cooper: "That would indicate that it is the future."

The next scene shows Annie being wheeled into a hospital after her Lodge visit. She is wearing the green ring. To this, we can add some interesting details from the Season 2 final episode. When Cooper finally confronts Windom Earle they find themselves standing in the room with the ornate pedestal (which can be glimpsed in the corner). Now, if we turn to the shot where Annie briefly appears in between Windom and Cooper, we can notice three important things:

* The green ring is nowhere to be found on the pedestal
* Annie is supporting her right arm with her left hand
* Her right hand is obscured from vision

Conclusion: during her brief Lodge visit, the MFAP transferred the green ring to Annie, hence the empty table, the numb arm, and the unfilmed/deleted scene from FWWM. As a final note, recall that the possessed Cooper keeps repeating "how's Annie?". According the green ring theory, this is because Annie is now marked for death by the green ring. This ending would have made the Season 2 finale even crueller than it already was. But wait... the hospital scene in the FWWM script ends on an ironic note: the green ring is stolen by a nurse, indicating that Annie may be saved from certain death after all (she may still be tormented by BOB on his own account of course). In any case, the scenes were cut from the final version.

The Magician

Some have suggested that the MFAP is in fact the "magician" referred to in the Lodge poem:

"Through the dark of future past
the magician longs to see
One chants out between two worlds
Fire walk with me"

Within the Lodge, the MFAP does indeed possess "magical" powers, most significantly the ability to "bend" time, which he apparently achieves by rubbing his hands together. He demonstrates his powers to Agent Cooper in the final episode, successively freezing, accelerating and slowing down Cooper’s coffee. In the original FWWM script, the MFAP asks Cooper "Is it future? Or is it past?", echoing the first line of the Lodge poem and again establishing the extra-dimensional nature of the Lodge.

In addition to his control over time, the MFAP can conjure up items and even persons (e.g. Jimmy Scott) at will inside the Red Room. His primary concern, however, is the consumption of pain and sorrow, or Garmonbozia, which he transmutes to creamed corn (possibly through aid of the formica table).

Mythological and planetary connections

Twin Peaks features some interesting planetary themes. Most importantly, the Black Lodge can be entered at the alignment of Saturn and Jupiter (which occurs about every 25 years). In mythology, these two deities are traditionally regarded as opposed to each other. One could perhaps be identified with Mike, the other with Bob.

Saturn is regarded is the god of agriculture, which fits with the harvesting of Garmonbozia from the "earthly world". In Greek mythology, Saturn is also identified with Kronos, the god of time. The connection to the MFAP here is explicit, as he can indeed control the flow of time, and resides in an extra-dimensional realm where time does not exist. Saturn is also regarded as the god of wisdom and order, as opposed to the more temperamental Jupiter (BOB?). Jupiter is identified with thunder and lightning, or fire, suggesting uncontrollable forces. These mythological connections are clearly referenced inside the Red Room. Not only is a statue of Venus present, but standing on the little table beside the chair is a lamp in the form of the planet Saturn.

Lastly, an amusing coincidence occurs with the appearance of the MFAP, in that he could be accurately described as a "Red Dwarf". Within the context of astronomy, a red dwarf is a weak sun, typically only 40% of the sun’s masss. This is consistent with the fact that the MFAP is a version of Mike at reduced strength.

MFAP good or evil? The left-hand path

FWWM and the show are quite clear that the MFAP represents the "evil" of Mike. Like Bob, his primary concern is the consumption of pain and sorrow. We might wonder, however, to what extent Mike (minus the arm) is indeed purified and acting "benevolently". While he does claim to act against Bob, this is by no means equal to being "good".

Perhaps coincidentally, Mike's lost arm is the "left" arm. Throughout history, many cultures have regarded left-handedness as evil. This superstition has for instance survived in the etymology of words such as "sinister", which in Latin means both "left" and "unlucky." Consequently, the left hand has often symbolized the rejection of traditional religion. Modern satanism has expanded upon the Hindu tradition associating the "left-hand path" with amorality. From Wikipedia:

"Left-Hand Path belief systems value the advancement and preservation of the self, glorification of more temporal and terrestrial goals, and personal power rather than spiritual attainments. Rather than valuing proximity to the divine, followers of Left-Hand Path belief systems seek to "become divinities" in their own right."

Not all people accept the MFAP as evil, however, with some preferring a more neutral or even variable alignment. Perhaps the Lodge spirits care little for the "natural world" and, like Greek gods, use humans merely as pawns to enact their own petty schemes. But if the MFAP has to be interpreted as good or evil one way or the other, I find that his actions largely support the latter position. As mentioned, he consumes pain and suffering, just as BOB does, and once killed people for it when he was still inhabiting Philip Gerard. Of Bob we can be sure he is evil. He actually lives inside the Black Lodge and feeds on fear. BOB represents a more basal, animalistic force however, while the MFAP represents a more calculated, controlled type of evil. Notice the expression on his face when Laura is murdered in FWWM. He appears in brief flashes and seems to be ecstatic about the killing. Or is it frustration...?

MFAP and Bob

An interesting question regarding the MFAP/Mike is to what extent he does or does not control BOB. As mentioned, the Lodge meeting described by Philip Jeffries hints at the power relations among the Lodge spirits. Although the MFAP and BOB are both up front, the MFAP is clearly in charge. He dictates the rules regarding the green ring, presides over the gateway into the Black Lodge and therefore, indirectly controls BOB.

The death of the old Mike was a major upheaval for the Lodge hierarchy. The green ring had to be introduced in order to maintain the bond between BOB and the other Lodge spirits, as well as supply a steady stream of new Garmonbozia. BOB appears to have cut loose, however, going rogue and stealing the Garmonbozia from Teresa’s death for himself. During the traffic stop scene he is called back to order by Philip Gerard, who warns him of the consequences when he pursues his plans with Laura ("the thread will be torn Mr. Palmer"). When Laura ultimately slips on the green ring, he is forced to kill her and deliver the Garmonbozia to the MFAP. Significantly, in this final scene, BOB submits to the old Mike, that is the MFAP and Philip Gerard together, indicating that the MFAP alone is no longer fully controlling Bob. It's interesting also that Bob, an entity who himself feeds on fear, only fears Mike.

MFAP and the Giant

Another ambiguous piece of information, as pointed out by user JFK, comes from the petroglyph in the "owl cave". In the upper left hand portion of the drawing, under the mountain but about the circle of trees, are drawn a large man and a short man in proportion to each other, resembling the Giant and the MFAP respectively. Although the Giant most likely does inhabit the Elderly Waiter, his comment in episode 29 "one and the same" could be perceived as a double entendre: he is explicitly referring to himself and the Waiter, but perhaps implicitly referring to himself and the MFAP. It has been suggested that they are both gatekeepers of the Lodge: the MFAP of the Black Lodge and the Giant of the White Lodge.

Deputy Cliff inhabited by Mike?

A theory that Mike once inhabited Deputy Cliff may seem far-fetched at first but FWWM does in fact, contain some interesting evidence that argues in support of this idea. The most obvious connection between Mike and Cliff occurs during the drug deal sequence involving Laura and Bobby. After Bobby has shot Cliff out of self-defense, Laura suddenly makes the bizarre statement that he "killed Mike". Bobby thinks she is referring to Mike from school, but it may be that she's actually talking about the spirit Mike. This would mean that Mike/MFAP was possessing Deputy Cliff at that point in time.

The Fat Trout trailer park in Deer Meadow offers additional clues. Three people of significance own a trailer on the site: Teresa Banks, the Chalfonts / Tremonds, and Deputy Cliff. The presence of Mike is suggested with a number of hints: the power line, the red trailer, the green ring, and the words "let's rock" on Agent Desmond's car. The power line is situated roughly in between the three aforementioned trailers in the Fat Trout trailer park. It bears the number six and is the site where Desmond picks up the strange Indian whooping sound. This is the same sound the MFAP makes during his conversation with Cooper in Laura's dream. In fact, the MFAP claims this is how he actually sounds. The presence of the green ring also implies the presence of Mike. It is Mike who holds the ring during the Lodge meeting and Mike who offers the ring to Laura during her dream. Significantly, after Agent Desmond disappears, Cooper finds the words "let's rock" scrawled on the windshield of Desmond's car. These are the same words spoken by the MFAP during Cooper's dream in episode 1.02.

Having established the Mike connection, we must wonder: how is he able to be physically present in Fat Trout trailer park (perhaps killing Agent Desmond), when we have previously established that he cannot move outside the bounds of the Red Room? A fairly logical conclusion would be that Mike was actually inhabiting Deputy Cliff prior to inhabiting Philip Gerard. This would make sense of 1) Laura's comment after Deputy Cliff's death, 2) the fact that the power line is situated near Cliff's trailer, and 3) the mysterious disappearance/death of Agent Desmond. Two other minor details of interest can be added. First, in the script Deputy Cliff lived in a red trailer (in the movie, he only owns a red truck), second, Cliff's jokes during his initial meeting with Agent Desmond allude to some of the MFAP's dialogue from episode 29 (more on that connection in my entry on Agent Desmond).

Arguments against Cliff being possessed by Mike are that, 1) for Laura's comment to make sense in this way, she would have to know who Mike is to begin with, and 2) perhaps more importantly, that Gerard must have been possessed only a few days prior to Laura's death (which is when Cliff dies). That means Gerard's arm should have been amputated somewhere in between... a slight implausibility.

The face of Mike

A theory suggested by user Rami Airola posits that the Jumping Man, like the MFAP, is another part of Mike. Both wear a bright red suit and both are seen laughing and dancing. If the MFAP is the "arm" of Mike, then perhaps the Jumping Man is his "face".

Note that, although the show suggests that Mike looks more or less exactly like Philip Gerard, it is really an open question whether he has a "true" face like BOB. Apparently only the gifted and the damned can see the true face of BOB (Cooper, Laura, Sarah, etc), but who can see the true face of Mike? The fact that Gerard still looks like himself when regressing to his "Mike" state (episode 2.06, Demons) is not necessarily evidence that this is how Mike actually looks. When Leland finally reveals himself as BOB inside his prison cell, he still looks like Leland too. Depending on who's watching, people may or may not see the true face of the spirit.

More theories will be added. In the mean time, post your own suggestions here!

Sourdust, haven't had time to read these yet, but they look incredible! 

I look forward to other lodge inhabitant character breakdowns - the Giant, BOB, Senor Droolcup, the Tremonds, the Woodsman, Jimmy Scott.  Maybe also ones on people trapped in or have visited lodges- Chet Desmond, Phillip Jeffries, Log Lady's husband, etc.

Keep up the awesome work!

"Harry, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it, don't wait for it, just let it happen. Could be a new shirt at the men's store, a catnap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot, black coffee. Like this."  -Dale Cooper

Thanks Sourdust. These are great but even with your knowledge of the TP mythology I don't see how you could write an entry for Jimmy Scott! (referring to post above)

 It's funny I can't explain it but I cannot view the MFAP as evil or bad in any way. I think I just originally saw him as good, and now cannot shake this view despite all the evidence to the contrary.

I agree, giospurs.  I have the same problem and tend to view the LMFAP as either neutral or just unpredictable.

I must be dense because I knew time was "off" in the Lodges, but never realized the LMFAP was bending time when he rubbed his hands together.  Maybe when his back was turned to Cooper in the dream sequence episode and his whole body was shaking, he was speeding up time really fast to get 25 years into the future.

"Harry, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it, don't wait for it, just let it happen. Could be a new shirt at the men's store, a catnap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot, black coffee. Like this."  -Dale Cooper

Copied from one of my previous posts on another thread, but it goes better on this thread.

I also get confused about the hierarchy of the Red Room because I always think of BOB as the Big Bad, yet Mike joined with his arm,the LMFAP, makes BOB submit to him in FWWM and give them his garmonbozia.  So in a continuation would Mike be the only one capable of defeating BOB, not any humans like Cooper?

It just seems odd my natural instinct is to believe BOB is the most powerful presence in the Lodge, but apparently not if Mike can control him, he is either more powerful or equal to BOB.  Just wandered what everyone's thoughts are on the Mike/BOB/LMFAP hierarchy.

I think Mike can only confront BOB properly on an equal or stronger level when he is attached to the LMFAP.

"Harry, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it, don't wait for it, just let it happen. Could be a new shirt at the men's store, a catnap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot, black coffee. Like this."  -Dale Cooper

I've got a whole other theory entirely: MFAP isn't anyone's arm, he is, simply, Mike.

When MFAP tells Cooper "I am the arm," I don't believe that he's telling him that he is, literally, the embodiment of a severed arm. Rather, I think the comment is mocking: He is informing Cooper that it is he who was possessing Gerard. At the end of FWWM, when the four parties converge in the Black Lodge, Bob seperates from Leland; I rather believe that we are seeing a seperation of Mike from Gerard, as well. For whatever reason, Mike seems to have a certain attachment to Gerard. Despite Gerard's drugging the hell out of himself to keep Mike at bay, Mike insists upon keeping coming back to take him over every time he misses a dose.

I think that, somehow, it's the voice of Gerard saying that he cut off his arm, and not necessarily Mike; Mike is the evil that Gerard tried to expunge, the tactic being, for whatever reason, to sever his arm.

And, FWIW, the script for FWWM indicates (Mike) next to Man from Another Place during the scene in the convenience store; why not "Mike's arm" or something similar?

 I thought he keeps repeating 'How's Annie' not 'Where's Annie' when he hits his head on the mirror, or are you referring to a deleted scene from FWWM ?

 i like this interpetation quite a bit. much more than the jumping man=cooper.
sourdust-you never responded to my post about LMFAP's hand rubbing and the viscocity change of cooper's coffee in the waiting room part of ep29. wouldnt LMFAP's line "WOW,BOW,WOW" denote that BOB was the force bending time and space? he says it right after the coffe has turned into the consistancy of OIL(as in scorched engine oil) and right before he says "fire walk with me" which takes cooper on his fire walk into the black lodge. if LMFAP is the one who affects the coffee, then what is he refering to when he says "WOW,BOB,WOW"?
sorry, this ambiguous point has been nagging me. you have been doing a wonderful job with this encyclopedia, one of the most interesting group of threads in quite a while on here. so i just wanted to thank you as well, and make sure this post in no way infers that i think youre slacking off. the case seems to be just the opposite. i know you would end up spending more time on here with the black lodge project than preparing for exams. ;)

It could be but generally, I think people overestimate BOB's importance/powers within the Lodge hierarchy (if indeed, there is such a thing). Like Mike says "BOB is BOB. He's eager for fun". He feeds on fear and that's pretty much the end of the story. He's an emotional force: fire, rage, evil,... To the MFAP he may not be much more than a dog on a leash. Which is perhaps with Mike is referring to when he confronts BOB in the traffic scene ("the thread will be torn"). Control of time is also much more consistent with the MFAP than with BOB.

As for the line "Wow BOB wow". I'm not sure what it refers to. Perhaps the line does reference the coffee's similarity to the oil, but it's also a palindrome, so perhaps it's just a bit of "Black Lodge wordplay".