Deputy Hawk Is The New Bob
Theory: After the death of Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), the hair of her father, Leland Palmer(Ray Wise), turned white overnight. He was then revealed to be possessed by Bob (Frank Silva), the killer – an evil spirit from the Black Lodge. Many took this to mean that the whiteness of Leland’s hair was some kind of physical indication of evil possession. In officially released set pictures, Deputy Tommy ‘Hawk’ Hill (Michael Horse) is seen to have long, white hair, and theories have surfaced in the fandom questioning whether this means that Deputy Hawk is the current living host for the evil ‘spirit’ of Bob.
Is this likely? I doubt it. The reason for this theory, presumably, is because fans are wondering how the story will deal with the fact that Frank Silva – the actor who played Bob and turned him into such a terrifying villain – died in 1995. But, the point of Bob was his ability to communicate the concept of duality – often appearing as the reflection of the person he’s possessed. It was explained by Leland in season 2 of Twin Peaks that he was originally possessed by Bob as a young boy – long before Laura was even born. His hair only turned white in the days after Laura’s murder, however.
It’s far more likely that Leland’s hair colour change was due to stress, grief, and trauma. While all that was indeed caused by Bob and his possession of Leland, that doesn’t mean that everyone possessed by Bob will suddenly experience an unfortunate hair-based side effect. Deputy Hawk’s hair has turned white because he’s 25 years older. According to official promotional stills, Bobby Briggs also has white hair in season 3, and it doesn’t mean he’s Bob.
