hey everyone, just registered so sorry if maybe this has been discussed to death already.  In the red room Laura says about seeing Cooper in 25 years and then Cooper finds out later the door to the black lodge is open about every 25 years when the planets are aligned.  My question is if the lodge can ONLY be entered and exited during this timeframe?  I ask because I wonder if Mike and Bob were stuck in hosts for the 25 years until the door was opened and whether or not they or the other spirits could come and go from the lodge as they pleased.  I think knowing this would help solve whether Cooper was going to be able to escape the lodge before 25 years in season 3 as some people believe.  I feel maybe Laura told him exactly 25 years because she knew the window was closing and no matter what Dale was going to be stuck in there until the next one.

Any opinions or comments on this???       

That's a very interesting question indeed, I've been thinking about it a lot.

I think the answer to the first question is yes - the Black Lodge can be entered/exited only during a specific timeframe, when the planets (Jupiter and Saturn) are aligned, etc. The key to gain entrance to the Lodge is fear ; when all the above requirements are met, one is able to enter the Black Lodge through the Glastonbury Grove area, at the pool of "scorched engine oil" surrounded by sycamore trees. At least, that's the only way a human being can enter the Lodge.

But what about the spirits/inhabitants ? Do the same rules apply ?

Another question is - even if the "good Dale" trapped in the Lodge has to wait 25 years to escape... Will he be able to do it when the time comes ? Maybe he'll remain trapped forever, planets aligned or not. That's a rather depressing thought, I have to admit.

Thinking of the 25 years in this way also brought up some other theories for me. 

I think that Bob and Mike both went into their hosts (Leland and Gerard) during the previous window while their hosts were young.  They both killed probably several people over the years while working together before Mike saw the face of God and cut off his arm.  I think they both stored the garmonbozia they collected over the years above the convenience store, for themselves and some for the other spirits in the lodge who they wouldnt see again until the next window during twin peaks.  This would also mean that Bob and Mike had been inhabiting their hosts for 25 years when the series ended. 

Also in FWWM Mike was furious with Bob for stealing his corn.  Maybe he meant that Bob stole all or some of his portion that they had accumulated together over the years above the convenience store, and was not just referring to one person's garmonbozia such as Theresa's or Laura's as most people believe.

There had to have been other victims for Leland/Bob before the 3 shown during the series right???

Anybody agree or disagree with any of this? 

Sure there were other victims before Theresa, after all BOB and MIKE were killing together - and they didn't kill together any of the girls shown in Twin Peaks, right?

As for the 25 years, it's a difficult subject, don't really know what to think. What happens every 25 years? I'll start with saying it is a time when great cosmic forces are released and things get out of control (something Major Briggs sensed after coming back from the White Lodge). It is most probably the only time when Cooper or other human being (led by love/ fear) could enter the Lodge.

But the spirits? We do see the gang in the Lodge at the end of FWWM, after the killing of Laura. Even Leland is there but can we treat him as a regular human being there? Probably not, he's just a puppet. I don't think for the Lodge spirits there any limits of going in or out of the Lodge. I don't agree, either, that after BOB inhabited Leland, he "never went out"  - we know that when he was inside, I didn't know, when he was gone, I didn't remember... BOB was in my opinion jumping in and out of Leland's body every now and then.

Still all this 25 years business is indeed confusing for me. I wish someone posted some new idea that would help me clear up my thoughts on the matter.

Bobi 1 Kenobi

B. Beware
O. Of
B. BOB 

My thoughts were that the 25 year date was for corporeal entities like humans. At those points, they could physically enter or leave. I've always thought of the Lodge denziens as more energy-based life forms. Hence, they feed off energy (garmonbozia, negative energy), and I got the impression that they could move via electricity. I felt this was strongly implied by FWWM.

However, Major Briggs was brought to the White Lodge prior to the Jupiter/Saturn conjunction that opens the Black Lodge. The rules could apply only to the Black, or the White could have another time frame for opening, or it was close enough to the conjunction for it to open for Major Briggs.