One explanation for why Special Agent Dale Cooper allows his Doppelganger to escape from the Black Lodge is punishment for his weakness. He'd already fallen for Wyndham Earle's wife pre-Twin Peaks, and suffered the consequences, and again falls for Annie, just when he should be focusing his efforts on stopping Earle's deadly chess game. Coop is warned several times by a friendly giant not to be so distracted, but despite his various talents, he's pretty slow on the uptake in the last season. Cooper willingly gives up part of his self to Bob in the finale, and is given a chance to race his doppelganger out of the Black Lodge, but by then it's too late. "How's Annie? How's Annie?" Well, not too well once Bob gets his hands on her.

Clues to what might have happened if Twin Peaks wasn't cancelled can be found in Fire Walk With Me. FBI agents played by David Bowie and Chris Isaak are caught up in the Black Lodge. Bowie's character attempts to warn Coop of the Black Lodge, but fails. It's conjectured (and much of this can be found on the Web in various fanfics) that if TP wasn't cancelled, the next season would have very quickly begun with a rescue of the true Coop by Deputy Hawk. Other members of the Black Lodge would have been made guardians of the entrance to the Black and White Lodges sporadically located in the forest near Twin Peaks.

Twin Peaks was such a great series, although the whole Bob scenario was just a great excuse to show rape and murder on prime time television. The only season finale to have the same amount of mindfuck factor was the end of the second season on Millenium, in which Frank Black's hair turns white after fears that a great plague has killed his wife and most of the world's population.