One of the best monologues in TV history. The Major recounts a dream he had about his son Bobby. Directed by David Lynch. RIP Don Davis. From Twin Peaks episode "May The Giant Be With You".
Major Briggs is truly one of the most resonating characters. He initially seems to be your typical military type -- austere, no-nonsense, practical, unemotional, overbearing in fatherhood. But boy are those notions turned on their head and you get this beautiful man -- full of poetry, open to the mysterious, tender, just unexpectedly complex. A truly marvelous portrayal for a character who doesn't get a lot of screen time
Yes! He reminds me of a true stoic. Firm in his mission but not without tenderness and access to the common man. This is one of my favorite films in all cinema
I love that too. He goes from rolling his eyes over his dad going off again to having this transformative spiritual experience. The only reason this scene even works is because Major Briggs talks in such a strangely archaic way and only a man like this could possibly transmit such a profound and ineffable message when you least expect it
I think it's my favourite scene in the entire show. The problem with Cooper was that he never fully trusted his visions, he was so good at piecing events together that his ego was too big so he always had to try to figure things out himself. That's the point of Dougie Jones I think, it's Cooper essentially with his will removed so he has no choice but to go with the visions. Yet Major Briggs, despite his vision seeming so unlikely, simply decided to trust in it and believe in his son. It's a really well written speech too.
I'm sure an actor as experienced as Don Davis knew that he was looking at pure gold when he got the script for this episode. He really knocked it out of the park here. RIP Major Briggs.
@@yt8co Do you realize the intuition from Cooper IS our intuition as viewers of the show, and Major Briggs represents Mark Frost, right? So Cooper isn't always right because we don't know everything about Twin Peaks, and Briggs is right and knows about everything because he actually wrote the show himself.
The deep satisfaction in experiencing acceptance from one’s own father, a feeling many of us, myself included, surely will never know, is I think one of the reasons we all are so profoundly moved by this scene. To have a father that would so clearly and deliberately offer his love to his child as depicted so beautifully in this scene is likely a dream to many of us. I strive to be that kind of father to my kids.
There's so many degrees of separation between my life, and any experience that could relate to this moment. No father, no acceptance, no love, no life, feelings silenced and dulled by depression and trauma. And yet, Dana Ashbrook's powerful, nearly silent acting is able to convey just a fraction of that emotion, even to me. He damn well better have gotten an award for that role.
Yup, couldn't agree more. This is exactly what every son wants to hear his father say. Notice how things like strength, career, or even romance come up in Major Brigg's dialogue. He isn't saying "you will be a great man," he's saying "you will be a happy and content man." Garland's vision doesn't put any expectations on Bobby, it just tells him his life will be fulfilling and happy, which is something so many fathers neglect to assure their sons about. I am lucky to have a supportive father, but so many of his supportive talks have placed expectations on me, assuring me that I will be successful in life. Sometimes I just want him to say that I will find a life worth living.
I know exactly how you feel. Every year my father takes me out to eat for my birthday, he tells me that I only have a few years left before it's "too late" to make something of myself. He says I have until I'm 40, and then it's over. I can't imagine ANY FATHER saying that to his son, so it doesn't only hurt, it confuses me. They tell you they love you, but you don't feel it. Now he's trying to reach out to me, begged me to come see him on Christmas...but I'm always afraid of how he'll make me feel so I just didn't go. And I STILL feel guilt over it.
@@thedrewdog I know it probably wouldn’t make a difference, but maybe tell him why you avoid him. Maybe it would change his behavior. I’m sure you’re probably doing just fine, and even if you’re not, your worth isn’t what you do or how productive you are. Your worth is simply a result of that you exist.
I love how the first episode of the show makes it seem like Major Briggs is your stereotypical hardass military father... and it turns out he's one of the most pivotal characters to the plot on top of also being one of the most complex and nuanced.
This scene is just an absolute masterpiece. Each time I watch it, Bobby's "Really" is what breaks me. Bobby's shock that he's worthy of both forgiveness and a chance to redeem himself gets me every time. There's also something beautiful about the Major shaking Bobby's hand after. A subtle way of saying that while Bobby isn't the son from his vision yet, he knows Bobby will be. They aren't ready to embrace and become one, but they finally have a connection. Excellent work from Davis and Ashbrook both.
When I first saw this scene all those years ago I thought Bobby was goi g to laugh and walk away like he had done previous times when talking with the major
Don Davis fucking killed this. God-tier writing delivered fucking perfectly. It almost feels like all pretence of it being a show is dropping away and this is a letter a father wrote to his son.
There's something about Don Davis that just feels special. Same as General Hammond in SG-1. Such a great character and he played it so so so well. RIP.
Ooooh cool. There's a scene in _TNG_ where Picard flashes back to (actually, relives) a time when he is stabbed in a bar fight as a young man, which the episode ("Tapestry") had established turned out to be pivotal to how he lived his life from then on. I eventually noticed that in that moment, camera following him as he sinks to the floor, all the other characters in the bar are now still, even the other combatants, just watching, not stunned or horrified, just watching, as the music swells. It's magical.
@@theepicduck6922 I think that the symbolism of the vision is that he doesn't need to have lived to see it, he feels a certainty (sealed with a handshake) that it WILL happen, and it does. Perhaps the dream is a metaphor for the afterlife, finally embracing his son when Bobby himself passes someday.
@@theepicduck6922oh he saw it. He’s seen it all. Hence this speech, and the items left for Bobby in season 3. If the major is out there outside of time with Philip Jefferies, the Fireman etc, then he’s seen it all. I’ve wondered, taking the context of FWWM and The Return into account, if the Major’s speech to Bobby in this scene is a vision of a time that will one day come when he and Bobby are reunited once more, perhaps in some sort of afterlife, or even the White Lodge. It’s an unformed thought in my head, like a lot of my ideas about what Twin Peaks means.
Understatement of the century. Arguably the best scene in television history. 19.1 million people watched this episode. That's quite a large audience who tuned in, and heard this amazing speech
I think what gets me is the handshake. Major Briggs knows Bobby is distanced from him and ignores him a lot and can't stand his talks so he shakes his hand to show him affection that he does care and has faith in him. You can see Bobby holding his dads hand tightly, not wanting to let go. Their relationship isn't in the best spot, but Bobby does love his dad and you can see it in the handshake. Not wanting to let go
I agree! One of my favorite Lynch-directed episodes. I heard a Q&A with Dana where he said David told him something very special that made him tear up that got him ready to act in this scene.
@@kdiamond when I first saw this scene I expected Bob to yell at his dad as he had been known to do on the show. But to see Bobby tear up (absolutely terrific acting from Dana), told me that up until that point I had understood nothing of Bobby's character. And I love this scene for that.
The contrast between the character you think Major Briggs would be when he was introduced with the character he turned out to be is one of the most characteristically amazing aspects of this show.
I don't know if Lynch did this intentionally but I love how season 3 ties in with this scene. Major Briggs almost has a moment of foresight as to how Bobby's future is going to turn out (his dream arguably containing imagery from the White Lodge) - sure, Bobby has "issues" in season 3, but he works a good job and seems to be relatively happy, not unlike the dream the major had. Either way I'm glad they gave Bobby a relatively happy ending; he got to escape the whole situation involving Laura with his sanity intact and, most importantly, his life.
Interesting. Major Briggs is so clever and his knowledge and workings are classified. He deals with other worldly intelligence. As a matter of military intelligence and defence he has to calculate and anticipate how non humans think. The dream may have been real. I want it to be real. But Major Briggs could have calculated precisely what type of speech might inspire and motivate his son as an eminent and detached psychologist might. A moody teenager is apt to reject anything from a parent when the teenager is hostile and emotional and suspected of major criminality-- especially when the parent personifies the authority of the state. The writing enables Major Briggs to get the son's interest before it becomes clear it is a story about them. Major Briggs never mentions anything negative about his son or that an improvement is needed. Instead, he plants a seed about his son's already successful future life which implies the son had dealt with those issues Major Briggs didn't have to mention. Like Dr Jacoby, Major Briggs can reach Bobby quickly if the right words are employed strategically. It's a real stand out scene in a series which genuinely is full of great insightful writing upon revisiting 30 years later by someone the same age as Bobby.
Confession: I was on the edge of tears when Bobby first appeared on the screen in Season 3 because you could immediately tell that he'd grown into a man that the Major would be proud of.
This is one of the few episodes Lynch directed in the original series, so probably. S1E1 ,S1E3, S2E1, S2E14, and the season 2 finale are all jam packed with ideas Lynch would further expand upon in the return. I wish he couldve had more control over the original series tbh
Every young man harbors doubts and insecurities about their self-worth. Bobby especially after all the horrific things he had gone through with Laura Palmer. That's why it's so critical for any young man to have a father that loves and encourages them. This is the moment where you can tell Bobby gets set on the right path.
I like to think this was the moment that set Bobby down the path that leads him to where he is in S3: from the bad boy to a good man trying to do the right thing.
The extras in the background are eerily and unusually still and silent. Makes it feel like we’re in a timeless, elevated place - a place of insight which the Major glimpsed in his dream…
Yuppppp. I would have loved to have seen the Log Lady tell Hank just that. For example: Log Lady: "Hank?" Hank: "Yes, Margaret?" Log Lady: "Could ya shut up? You sound like a horse's ass" Hank: *rolls his eyes and walks away deflated* 😂
I remember this, saw it the night it aired on ABC. the instant I played this clip, today, tonight I was right back there.. I wished then that my father had the courage to speak to me, to speak to me like this.. I wish he knew, how much I wanted to here heartfelt honestly like this. The actor playing the son, Bobby.. you can see in his eyes what these words words say to any man that has been a son. Thank you if you reead this. I'm 55 and I still miss my Dad.
Not just one of the finest moments in Twin Peaks, this is one of the greatest scenes I've ever seen. I routinely come back to this, and it has taken such a stronger resonance after the passing of my mom last year, who was my sole parent as I never knew my father. Her last words to me were "don't be afraid to live your life".
This is one of the most powerful scenes in the show for me, in television really. I kept expecting it to be undercut by some dumb joke or for Bobby to interrupt, but for it to actually play out 100% seriously, in a beautifully constructed speech, oh man I love show.
Absolutely gorgeously immaculate writing; it is also awesome that Bobby's usually frustrated character had the maturity to sincerely listen to & appreciate his father's story.
This, for me, is the finest scene in the whole of Twin Peaks. A Father tells his Son that he is a good person, in spite of his prior actions and Bobby’s evident torment - even though of course we didn’t fully know the reasons behind it at that point. Just magnificent.
I continue to be amazed and so pleased that this scene, that has so resonated with me, has clearly resonated with many many others. I didn't realize when I uploaded this ten years ago (!) how many people had a similar connection.
Unbelievable. Such a kindness. And the son very much needed to hear this from his father, as he was tremendously lost with no knowledge of what it even feels like to have a direction. And, he grew up to be a wonderful man. Always feels so good to go back and watch this.
When watching this, I’m reminded of a line from my favorite movie, the 1984 film Amadeus. When Salieri recalls experiencing Mozarts music for the first time, he states that the music was “filled with such longing, such unfulfillable longing.” That specific line has been driven deep into my brain, because I relate. I lost my father at nine years old to a brain aneurysm. My last words to him were something along the lines of “please don’t go. I don’t want you to die” He and my mother were leaving for an anniversary vacation to Cancun and I was so scared of them leaving. They’d never been away from my brother and I longer than a day. And my worst fears were realized after I heard what had happened from my mother. A scene like this will forever resonate with me. It’s extremely powerful, and just like Mozarts music, I too am filled with such longing. Just to hear my father speak my name one last time. To hear him utter even a single syllable, would give me the greatest comfort and peace I’ve ever known. What a beautiful scene between father and son.
In my opinion, this is one of the top 10 scenes of the whole series. Still makes me cry to this day. It's so wholesome and beautiful. I've never had a son, and I never really got a chance to know my father, but I loved him and wish we could've had a moment like this. I had the privilege to raise one of my nieces. And I am proud I have something like this with her
Watch this scene, but this time pay close attention to the people in the background whenever the Major is talking. No one is eating. No one is talking. Barely anyone is even moving. As if they're frozen in time. Only one guy moves a bit every once in a while. It's eerie
I remember watching this scene when I first saw Twin Peaks on Netflix, I think I was 16. Being so young, I found this scene really particular but I couldn't really put my finger on why I felt that was the case. It stuck with me. I think the idea of the Major having a "vision" and communicating it with such candor to his son, who listens intently for the whole scene, and then the scene just ending, struck me as exceptional, given the exposure I'd had up until that point with popular media like other tv shows and movies. It was surprising and particular. It also felt almost cheesy to me, but also mysterious, such a strange mix of emotions. Now, I am still kind of young and not much older, but my sense of what life may entail has certainly deepened. I feel such a great sentiment of love coming from this scene. It really is beautiful. David Lynch says Eraserhead is his most spiritual film but I find this scene so spiritual and ironically, kind of an affirmation of fatherhood and the relationships we may have with other people, how integral that is in the realization of some sort of paradise or return to some higher state. Like a piece of music feels such a relief from coming to the tonal center. I am getting kind of schmaltzy but I still find this scene exceptional because it appeals to some universal subconscious place that is hopeful and joyous.
Well said. This scene has always stuck out to me for the same reasons. It doesn't feel like anything else on TV or even in the series itself. The way the Major, who has the roughest of exteriors, has no problem being so vulnerable as to communicate maybe the most personal thing we have - a dream - and share that meaning with his son, who is always on guard, and having those walls shatter, is just so heavy. I think we all wish we could have that kind of relationship with our parents or loved ones. Total acceptance and love and honesty. Those are real tears in Dana's eyes, which makes it even more special.
Briggs is talking about the White Lodge. He was "born and raised there" but hadn't been there in a long time, meaning he had done the things the world asked of him, like soldiering in war. When the events surrounding Laura's murder behan to unfold, he was called back to the White Lodge, to use his abilities in the service of keeping the world safe from the Black Lodge. And his son was there. He saw that Bobby had a role to play in that mission as well. 20 years later, we see Bobby as a Sheriff's Deputy, knowing what lurked in the Black Lodge and ready to confront it. Brilliant foreshadowing.
What makes Hank the scariest human character in all Twin Peaks to me is that with everything he gets up to in this moment he genuinely seems to care what Major Briggs thinks of the pie. I don't know if I find it more disturbing for this murderer to be that effortless at portraying cheerful humanity or if it'd be worse if he really means it.
I remember 6 year old me watching my mother reacting to this scene. She cried, but looked almost mad about it afterwards. "That scene was good. But it's like...it's what you'd WANT to hear from your parents. It's like, wish fulfilment."
Sadly....I know her anger. I wish I'd heard that from my Dad, in any form. It's all I ever wanted. But I turned out to be the complete opposite of him, and I think it hurt him. I didn't mean to, I was just a kid.
I hope no one minds me saying this but I wish men could talk this way to eachother in actual real life. I wish my dad had spoken to me about his deepest hopes and dreams, his thoughts. He tried in his own way but it wasn’t a flow of emotional words like this from the Major. It was always cryptic kind of. It’s been that way with every man I’ve spoken to in my life. Even I have this same mannerism. I keep my emotions and my thoughts to myself. I try to show gratitude, pride, love and faith to my friends, family and colleagues but it’s always in a measured, tactical way. Sometimes I wish I could see my dad again and just let the words come out like a waterfall. I’ve a reputation of being a bit effeminate due to how I talk, write or interact with others. I can see it too. There’s a strange feeling inside like a raw instinct, to keep it locked down. Don’t be a drag on people. Don’t be over emotional. Don’t embarrass yourself or anyone else. Be quiet. Maybe one day men will learn to be more openly affectionate to eachother or even just honest about how they feel inside. I know a lot of us feel lonely, solitary and a bit down about it especially around people. It would help so much to be able to talk. I keep meaning to try and be the one to change and hopefully inspire it in others but you know how it goes. You just keep it inside and be just ‘nice’. Sorry for rambling. Hah
The way they set up Hank as someone you really dislike immediately after (at the end of this clip) is pretty masterful too. Briggs has the most heartfelt, wise, profound conversation with his son that you could imagine - then Hank patronizingly salutes him, before sneering at him after he turns his back to leave.
The break in the Major’s voice when he says his son’s name speaks volumes. The Major Brigg’s isn’t an emotionless man. He’s incredibly strong having first hand experience with the horrors of reality, while maintaining his ethics and decency. He’s not breaking down to his son or looking for sympathy, nor is he lecturing Bobby. He’s sharing with him a powerful dream of hope and love that couldn’t have possibly been easy for him to share without shedding tears. He hopes that one day Bobby can surpass him in his strength and maturity and grow into his full potential. Bobby is a good kid, he just needed to hear it at the right time.
Although the music starts at 0:39, the way the orchestra crescendo slowly comes in louder when he says, "a reunion with the deepest wellspring of my being," really drives home the emotion of this scene 🥲
Major briggs might be my favorite tv character in any show ever. The absolutely absurd way he talks, his profound but indescribable knowledge, the acting, all of it.
At that moment I really felt for Bobby. When he said, “thank you Dad”, I was gonna say the same. That was something that I think we’d all like to hear at least once in our lives from a parent
Audio from this scene was used in Terrence Malick's film Knight Of Cups, game recognizes game. For me this scene is one of the best in the entire series.
Deep down the darkness, horror and violence that surrounds Twin Peaks there's a warm heart, and it shows itself in the most difficult moments. Finally Bobby and his father can be in peace with each other. The passion, warmth and tenderness atmosphere this scene was made with by Lynch is something fascinating. One of the best moments of the show and just superb performances of Dana Ashbrook and Don Davis (this was his personal favorite).
I know he was just acting but I like to think given how often he played characters like this that Don Davis really was just like this as a person. This scene was incredible and I'm so glad The Return showed us how this simple little chat changed Bobby's life forever.
My favorite scene from the entire show with my favorite character of the show - Bobby. I love SO MUCH what this character represents and the development surrounding him (when it was being taken care by Lynch).
I saw this scene today for the first time, after hearing it many times as a sample without context in Biosphere's song, Hyperborea. when I recognized the major's voice just as he was about to tell his vision, I was completely taken aback. I had liked him as a character from the very first scene in which he appeared, his highly articulate way of speaking. in the arms of my boyfriend, I started crying. as a young parent with a bad relationship to my own parents, this scene was one of the most touching things I have ever witnessed. I'm glad my boyfriend suggested for us to watch this series together.
I had listened to that song dozens of times before watching this scene. When he began talking it evoked a unique feeling in me. having heard it so many times before.
In my head the scene where Bobby goes to Jack Rabbit's Palace and disappears is when he was reunited with Major Briggs in the White Lodge. Also, immediately after this conversation Bobby realizes that Hank shot Leo which connects this vision both to an act of fate that saved Bobby's life and also to his future career in law enforcement (which is probably a big part of what turned his life around, or at least a symbol of it), implying Bobby was saved by God in that moment in order to set him on a path to becoming a police officer.
As a father to a son who was alienated from me and is now estranged from me, this hits me at a deep level. I wish I could reconnect with him, but he's been brainwashed and manipulated to hate me. He's struggled with low self-esteem, drug abuse, and a string of bad choices. I hope he finds the strength to come back to the light and that he will reconnect with me some day.
I really wish my Dad would say that to me. I recently cut him loose, but only because he was a Military Man who would always insult me or emotionally abuse me without realizing it, and it hurt me. I wish you the best in reconnecting with your son. I don't even think my Dad was hurt when I "let him have it".
