10 Things We Learned From Twin Peaks: The Return Part 16
7. And It Is Beautiful
"Bushnell, pass me some of those sandwiches. I'm starving."
Those words, read on the page in isolation sans the context in which they were uttered, are cold. This is not a request, not even a polite one; it is an instruction - a demand based on immense greed. You could even situate them in another context - that of a passive aggressive domestic abuser demanding something from their victim - verbatim.
From the mouth of Special Agent Dale Cooper, they are beautiful. The core of the character is so good that the economy is more necessary than brutal. Something pure glows from within him, framing his sharp verbiage with an earnestness and irresistible power. If that sounds melodramatic, that is the exact emotion Lynch and Frost mined with expertly-calibrated precision here. Cooper's awakening also made the later Diane scene that bit more congruous; where Mr. C is able to influence people with fear, Cooper, in contrast, inspires all of those around him to reach his level of insight and morality. Nobody - neither Lynch, Frost, nor MacLachlan, has missed a beat. The dialogue is pure Cooper - "A-OK," "I will not soon forget your kindness and decency," - as is the commanding, authoritative performance.
We've been waiting for this moment of 25 years. Hell God baby damn yes, it was worth it.