Lynch said to notice the robe, the ashtray, the coffee cup. But which ashtray?
The reason I think the ashtray we are told to pay attention to is the PIANO ashtray is because when Diane's neighbor comes to take it back, this gives us a very clear indication of the sequential order of the following scenes. Hence, any scene following this scene which has the ashtray on the coffee table is obviously a flashback. Any scene where the ashtray is gone is obviously happening in the present. — woodlouse
Diane isn't seen smoking. So why is the ashtray filled with butts when Diane goes to pick up the phone by the red lamp? Who's cig butts could those have been?
- One of the butts is stained with red lipstick. Are we supposed to account Camilla for that? — close up. Camilla takes a pretty long drag on Adam's cigarette during the dinner party. She certainly does so naturally. Perhaps she's the one who smoked those cigs at Diane's. Diane keeps her cig butts around because she feels strangely connected (obsessive) to them and also Diane keeps the nice PIANO ASHTRAY so that Camilla can smoke comfortably by the couch. But then again, the drag could also suggest Camilla is a casual smoker who likes to bum smokes off other people and wouldn't buy a pack of her own.
- The butts in the ashtray having brown filters, and the only person we saw smoking cigs with brown filter tips being the hitman and Laney, the prostitute. If the prostitute represents Diane, it must be Diane who had this smoking habit when she was dealing with her activity in the call girl business.
- It is not Joe's (or pimp in some circles) as that means that they wouldn't have to rendezvous at Winkie's and bother with the whole "Don't show me that fucking thing here!" but directly at the privacy of her own home instead, since he should be a real comfortable guest that comes over A LOT, leaving the same usual brand of cigs and all. — TristanLove
- There is no prostitution going down in that place: Different kinds of men coming and going does not fit to just one kind of cig brand left in that occupied ashtray.
- Adam and Camilla are shown smoking white filter-tipped (or non-filtered) cigs at the dinner party.
- Betty does complete the gesture of a stellar smoker when receiving the compliments of Rita after their melodramatic rehearsal of the pages faxed to Coco.
- The neighbor's piano ashtray suggests she is smoking. Could the butts be hers?
