Windom Earle

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Windom Earle is a fictional character in the American TV series Twin Peaks, played by Kenneth Welsh.

He is a former FBI agent, and the former partner of Agent Dale Cooper. He mainly features in the second season. He is an evil genius and a master of disguise, well-versed in esoterica from all parts of the world, including the “dugpas” who are said to be ancient sorcerers from Tibet, who were dedicated to pure evil. Cooper says of Windom Earle “his mind is like a diamond: cold, hard and brilliant.”

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Earle claims to have killed his wife Caroline, the love of Cooper’s life. He also has a fascination with the Black Lodge, whose secrets he is trying to unlock, as well as black magic. A homicidal psychopath, he kills a number of people throughout the series. Major Garland Briggs states that Earle was involved in Project Blue Book, as was Briggs; however, their investigation in which Earle was involved was directly related to Twin Peaks and not the usual UFO investigations.

He is obsessed with chess and this also plays a role in some of the episodes, when he decides to use real people as the pieces. When he had worked with Cooper, they played a game every day. Cooper enlists the help of Pete Martell, a genius chess player, to stalemate the game with as few pieces lost as possible.

At one point, Earle leaves a plaster mask of Caroline on Cooper’s bed, with a tape recorder underneath. At another, he shuts down the town’s power station causing chaos. He also hides a bug within a bonsai in Twin Peaks’ Sheriff’s Department, which Sheriff Truman thinks is from Josie Packard.

Towards the end of the second season, Leo Johnson becomes Windom Earle’s slave, and is controlled by an electric dog collar. They capture Major Garland Briggs, and Earle interrogates him fairly unsuccessfully using Haloperidol. Major Briggs does, however, end up revealing that fear opens the gate to the Black Lodge.

Earle chooses, “three Queens” (Audrey, Donna and Shelly) for a “gathering of the Angels,” by giving them each a third of a poem (If thou kiss not me by Percy Shelley) and arranging for them to meet in the Roadhouse. However, in the end he uses Annie Blackburn for “queen” after she wins Miss Twin Peaks, and takes her into the Black Lodge.

Earle appears to be killed by BOB in the Black Lodge, when he attempts to take Cooper’s soul. BOB says that Earle cannot ask for souls, but he will take Earle’s.

Dramatically, Earle represents an alternate Cooper - an FBI agent, once pure and following a code representing good, but ultimately being corrupted and pursuing evil; the implication being that even a pure soul like Cooper can wind up like Earle.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Quotes

(To Leo) “We’re all love’s fools, but you will learn, as I have, the value of hate.”
“I haven’t felt this excited since I punctured Caroline’s aorta.”
“It’s your move!”
“The only thing Columbus discovered was that he was lost.”
“You would have appreciated the dugpas, Leo. Ancient sorcerers bent on evil.”
(About dugpas) “They express themselves in darkness for darkness without leveling motive.”
“This place I speak of is known as the Black Lodge. And I intend to find it.”
“Where will my spirit wake? What life am I given after my life? This grave question has plagued man’s sorry conscience for eons. And you, lucky boy, have the answer...now.”