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It’s All About the Bunnies in Twin Peaks

It's All About the Bunnies in Twin Peaks

Bunny rabbits have been a part of Twin Peaks since debuting on April 8, 1990. From boxes of chocolate bunnies in the Pilot Episode to Jack Rabbit’s Palace from Season 3, here’s a round up of bunnies found in this place both wonderful and strange. This time it really is all about the bunny.

BOX O’ BUNNIES

Cooper and Truman at the Twin Peaks Sheriff's Department
Pilot Episode
Cooper and Truman at the Twin Peaks Sheriff's Department
Pilot Episode

The Pilot Episode contains the box of bunnies that started it all. Special Agent Dale Cooper and Sheriff Harry Truman examine evidence collected from Laura Palmer’s bedroom. One of the items Cooper notes to Diane is a “small box of chocolate bunnies.”

Laura Palmer's Bedroom in the Pilot
Pilot Episode

You can actually see something that looks like that box o’ bunnies while Deputy Hawk examines Laura’s room with Leland. Read more about the box of bunnies in this article that attempts to identify the prop.

BUNNY SPOTTING

Cooper and Truman at the Town Hall Meeting
Pilot Episode

Just before the Town Hall Meeting begins, Cooper mentions to Truman that he thinks he saw a rabbit.

COOPER:
“I think I saw a cottontail rabbit.”

TRUMAN:
“It must have been a snowshoe rabbit.”

COOPER:
“Snowshoe.”

TRUMAN:
“Right.”

COOPER:
“Snowshoe [smiling]. Snowshoe rabbit.”

Snowshoe and Cottontail Rabbits
Top Image by Henry Henkleman / Botton Image: MPGNorth.com

The top image of a Cottontail Rabbit is what Cooper believes he saw, while the bottom image is what Truman think that Cooper actually saw.

DOUBLE R DINER SPECIALS

Norma and Hank Jennings at the Double R Diner
Episode 2004
Norma and Hank Jennings at the Double R Diner
Episode 2004
Shelly Johnson at the Double R Diner
Episode 2016

Throughout Twin Peaks, the Double R Diner offers a variety of specials (as highlighted in this article on Twin Peaks Blog). Norma serves Rabbit Chili in Episode 2004, while in Episode 2016, the special is Rabbit Bisque. Delish!

BUNNY PLUSH

Lucy and Gwen in Episode 2008
Episode 2008

Fellow Twin Peaks fan 1400 River Road pointed out that Lucy Moran is carrying a plush bunny when her sister Gwen pays a visit in Episode 2008.

THE HAYWARD HOUSE

The Hayward House in Twin Peaks - Fire Walk With Me
Fire Walk With Me
The Hayward House in Twin Peaks - Fire Walk With Me
Fire Walk With Me

Look carefully by the fireplace in the Hayward House in Twin Peaks – Fire Walk With Me and you’ll spot a large rabbit figurine sitting by the fireplace.

Fireplace at the The Hayward House
Episode 1002
Fireplace at the The Hayward House
Episode 2022

This bunny doesn’t appear in Seasons 1 or 2 of the show (as noticed in this Vacant Peaks article about the Hayward House).

IT’S NOT ABOUT THE BUNNY

Part 3 - Lucy Brennan at the Twin Peaks Sheriff's Department
Part 3

In Twin Peaks Part 3 on Showtime, Hawk, Andy and Lucy discuss things that are missing from the Laura Palmer case. After seeing the box of chocolate bunnies, Lucy thinks she’s figured out what is missing as seen in this exchange.

LUCY:
“I know what’s missing.”

HAWK:
“What’s missing?”

Part 3 - Box of Chocolate Bunnies
Part 3

LUCY:
[Looking at the box of chocolate bunnies]
“The bunny. The bunny. I ate that bunny.”

Part 3 - Deputy Andy Brennan
Part 3

ANDY:
“That’s missing. That’s missing.
[To Hawk]
Do chocolate bunnies have anything to do with your heritage?”

HAWK:
“No. It’s not about the bunny.
[To Lucy]
You ate the evidence, Lucy?”

LUCY:
“I know. I never did it again. And I only ate one. And I never did it again. But I had a problem at that time with, and I don’t like to say this in front of Andy, but I had a bubble of gas. And I read that sometimes chocolate, which I love, can be used as a remedy, maybe by indigenous people.

[To Hawk]
Is that true, Hawk? Do you use chocolate as a remedy for gas?”

ANDY:
“Do you want another bunny, punky? I can get you more bunnies.”

Part 3 - Deputy Hawk
Part 3

HAWK:
[Firmly]
“It’s not about the bunny! … Is it about the bunny?
No. It’s not about the bunny.”

JACK RABBIT’S PALACE

Part 9 - Message from Major Briggs
Part 9

In Part 9 on Showtime, Bobby Briggs opens a cylinder containing a coded message from his father. Sheriff Frank Truman reads the note from Major Briggs but is confused as to the location of Jack Rabbit’s Palace. Astonished, Bobby explains that he knows the location of this magical spot.

BOBBY:
“I know exactly where Jack Rabbit’s Palace is. My dad, when I was a little kid, he took me to this place, near where his station used to be. It was our make-believe world, you know, where we made up stories. [Laughs] I was the one who named it ‘Jack Rabbit’s Palace.’

Part 14 - Jack Rabbit's Palace
Part 14

You can visit a vacant Jack Rabbit’s palace, which was shot in Olallie State Park outside North Bend, Washington. See also this Vacant Peaks article.

ODESSA, TEXAS

Part 18 - Odessa, Texas City Limit Sign
Part 18

In Twin Peaks Part 18 on Showtime, there is a brief establishing shot of the city limit sign for Odessa, Texas. This is shown just after Richard/Cooper leaves the hotel where he and Linda/Diane stayed. While the scene doesn’t contain a rabbit, the town of Odessa does contain the world’s largest Jackrabbit statue.

Google Maps - Jack Rabbit Statue
Google Maps

Located at 315 West 8th Street in Odessa, Jack Ben Rabbit, was constructed in 1962. Standing at 8 feet tall, Mr. Rabbit was named after former Odessa Chamber of Commerce President John Ben Sheppard.

According to Roadside America, the rabbit was “displayed for years at the old Prairie Pete Park, then moved into storage in a maintenance yard — until the public raised a fuss and forced it to be returned to a new location, in front of the downtown Ector County Independent School District Administration Building. Someone tried to steal the jackrabbit in 1997, so it’s been bolted to the sidewalk ever since.”

Is there a bunny I missed? Leave a note in the comments.

“Hoppy” Easter from Twin Peaks Blog!

Author

  • Steven Miller at Twede's Cafe enjoying cherry pie and coffee

    A "Twin Peaks" fan since October 1993, Steven Miller launched Twin Peaks Blog in February 2018 to document his decades-long fascination with David Lynch and Mark Frost's wonderful and strange show. With his Canon camera in hand, he's visited numerous film locations, attended Twin Peaks events and conducted extensive historical research about this groundbreaking series. Along with fellow Bookhouse Boys, he dreams of creating a complete Twin Peaks Archive of the series and feature film. Steven currently resides in Central Florida.

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