The Giant (Twin Peaks)

The Giant is a character from the television series "Twin Peaks", created by David Lynch and Mark Frost.

The Giant (played by Carel Struycken) appears to FBI agent Dale Cooper in visions, first right after Cooper has been shot in his bedroom. The Giant gives Cooper clues about the murder of Laura Palmer and actually confirms the identity of the murderer during a vision in the Roadhouse. Later on, he also warns Cooper that his love-interest Annie Blackburn should not enter the "Miss Twin Peaks" pageant (her winning the contest is a key element leading to Cooper's entering the Black Lodge and subsequently his downfall).

The giant apparently inhabits an elderly Room Service Waiter of the Great Northern Hotel (played by Hank Worden, who is almost always seen just before the Giant appears. Also the Giant wears a similar outfit to the Waiter. In the final episode, when Cooper has entered the Black Lodge, both the Waiter and the Giant appear and the Giant confirms their identity, stating: "one and the same"

Though the Giant's actions are benevolent throughout, he seems to be part of the evil Black Lodge, as he appears alongside of the Man from Another Place in the Lodge's waiting room. However, some have opined that the waiting room actually is a neutral location between the Black and the White LodgeFact|date=January 2008. In his first appearance, the Giant refused Cooper's question of his whereabouts.

Cultural references

*The Finnish Doom metal band Swallow the Sun's song "The Giant" refers to this character. Their album Ghosts of Loss also mentions Laura Palmer in another song.
*The track "What Does Your Soul Look Like, Pt. 1: Blue Sky Revisit" on the album Endtroducing..... by DJ Shadow samples the voice of the Giant.
*The Giant's words to Cooper in the hotel bedroom are sampled on the classic ambient album Substrata by Biosphere. The phrase "Sorry to wake you... I forgot to tell you something... The things I tell you will not be wrong..." appears in the song 'The Things I Tell You'.
*In the Simpson's episode, Lisa's Sax, Homer is seen watching Twin Peaks in which The Giant is dancing with a white horse. Homer's response to this is "I have no idea what's going on.".