The Two Sided Mirror: Who really killed Laura Palmer?

In the series Twin Peaks, David Lynch brings forth intricate characters, characters that have something about them that everyone can find something in them they relate to. In the case of Laura’s murder Lynch created a character that is so complex, I don’t think anyone can find to which side they relate to the most. Leland is portrayed as this wealthy, powerful, professional man; a man that doesn’t look like can do anything wrong because he is there to help people that are trouble, hence his profession being a lawyer. Instead of just creating this one surfaced man, Lynch went above and beyond to create a twist, a supernatural form to Leland’s character, BOB. Now the question of who really murdered Laura crosses my mind. Who did it, Leland or BOB? Aren’t they the same person? Well I argue that they are the same person and that both are at fault for the murder of Laura. In her article “Family Romance, Family Violence, and the Fantastic,” Diane Stevenson contends that “BOB the criminal drifter [residing] in Leland is [telling] us that Leland harbors the criminal inside him, that the incestuous and the murderous are to be understood as part of his psychological make up; that BOB the demon [possessing] Leland is [telling] us that anyone could be so possessed that the incestuous and murderous do not arise from inside but are constructed from [the] outside” (75). Thus, meaning that BOB and Leland are one person and not two, also that what Leland did was not done because of revenge or anger. The side of anger, murder, jealousy, revenge and hatred are all portrayed by BOB’s character. Leland, in my opinion, really did want to commit this murder. Even though he was possessed, as Stevenson argues, BOB needs to be accepted as Leland’s psychological make up. Therefore, they are both at fault for the murder of Laura.


~Artmarie B.