The ending of the original Twin Peaks was so powerful because the character we had grown to love met a terrible, unexpected fate - probably the worst fate imaginable for that character. The original Twin Peaks also had some legitimately scary scenes - many of these scares were because characters we cared about were being threatened.
Personally, I haven't developed a similar connection with any of the characters this season. This isn't necessarily a criticism. I like the more cosmic focus this season and appreciate the underlying exploration of aging, family, duality, the experience of reality, etc. From a sociological perspective, I have always struggled to grasp Lynch's intent with regard to the presentation of physical and emotional differences - and there is much to consider in this regard with The Return.
However, from a narrative standpoint, focusing on the events over a week or so (however long this series takes place) may limit the ability to connect on an emotional level with any characters. I'm unsure how powerful the end of The Return can be without more of an emotional connection. This is somewhat related to my earlier post about the Lovecraftian feel of The Return - you never really care about any Lovecraft protagonists, but are fascinated and mystified by the action around them.
I'm hoping The Return will have a powerful emotional ending to accompany the grander concepts and mystery. At this point, I'm concerned the ending may bring a "well that was really interesting" feeling rather than a powerful one.
Anyway, I'm curious how others have experienced this. Who are you really, truly rooting for? Who would you be truly sorry to see meet an awful end? Do you care about these characters because of the original run or what you've seen in The Return?
I think you're on to something. The reaction to Andy being chosen by the Fireman as his liaison to Twin Peaks in this episode partially answers the question of this thread, I believe. We've had plenty of "bad guys" to root against but have been waiting for a hero for nearly three months, many of us hoping that hero would be the returning Dale Cooper, others waiting for Hawk to step it up and become featured, or even for Bobby to take the torch from his dad and become "that guy." I've seen discussions prior to Audrey's appearance where there was hope expressed that her character might be "the one" who is instrumental in defeating evil. We've wanted an emotional connection and many of us were ecstatic to see Andy as potentially that guy.
Wanting Mr. C to get his comeuppance is one thing. Having a hero be heroic brings a viewer's emotion to another level.
I'd like to think it may yet be Andy but at the same time I expect this battle to be an "it takes a village" sort of thing, where almost all of the "good guys" have their moment with not one of them becoming the primary protagonist. It will be a different sort of satisfying from what most American television/film viewers are used to.
Fire walk with