10 Things We Learned From Twin Peaks: The Return Part 14

5. Andy Is The One (!)

14 Sarah Palmer II
Showtime

Lynch uses confusion to submerge his audience into a sort of dream logic. His best work operates on the subconscious level. You can grasp a Lynch film when watching a Lynch film - but when the credits roll, and you wake up from the dream, it is virtually impossible to make sense of it using a conscious mode of thought. He practises Transcendental Meditation to rid himself of what he referred to on his album 'Crazy Clown Time' as 'Strange And Unproductive Thinking' - so it's beautifully, simplistically appropriate that Andy is the man chosen by the White Lodge to receive ???????'s (revealing himself as 'The Fireman') message.

It was a redemptive moment for the Andy Brennan character, initially portrayed as a Flanderised clod. He held Naido's hand with a warm and brave tenderness before disappearing from the woods and into the White Lodge. The sheer incongruity of the sight was perhaps The Return's, itself a WTF masterpiece, most WTF moment. It was as if Lynch was sending a message to both Andy and the viewer alike, on playing a short film comprised of the Experiment birthing BOB, the convenience store, the woodsmen, Laura Palmer, the two Coopers, and a flash forward (?) of Lucy apprehensively looking at...something.

The elusive innocence constantly undermined by evil in Lynch's work is under threat once more - but the key to saving it is with both perfect courage and a zen state of mind.

"Just cheese," is Andy's sandwich of choice. It's on-the-nose, but so unabashedly hopeful that you cannot begrudge Andy, nor Lynch and Frost, of it.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!