Understanding Characters - Agent Dale Cooper from Twin Peaks

Agent Cooper is the rather quirky FBI agent from David Lynch's TV series, whose most famous trait is his love for the town's coffee and cherry pie, his most famous line, regarding how he likes his coffee, being "black as midnight in a moonless night". He stands out to me as a character, because he is very unlike any interpretation of FBI agents. Usually they are rather samey; a gritty, edgy, grumpy, tough guy, that don't take nothing from nobody, nohow. Dale Cooper is a much deeper character than that. He is dedicated to his work but uses unconventional means, using evidence gathered from his dreams to solve the Laura Palmer case. The dreams are, of course, there for the audience too to figure out who the killer was, and Dale solving the puzzle from his dreams creates an interesting relationship with the audience. Originally they were never going to reveal the killer of Laura Palmer, and you were left to figure it out and solve the puzzle using the clues the show gave you. Then it would be open to interpretation, like pretty much most of David Lynch's work. I think this would have also maintained the audience and Cooper relationship, but it works fine after Laura Palmer's killer is revealed, because Dale Cooper is still an interesting character.

As a character, he is very quirky and well-written. Among the darkness he comes across in Twin Peaks, he still sees the lighter side of it all in the town's more warm and welcoming atmosphere. He uses quirky but effective methods to solve the case, trusting the puzzling nature of his dreams to help his instincts. He is lovable for being a friendly character, creating an uplifting vibe simply from his joy at doing his job, his love for little things like the food at the Twin Peaks diner, the service at the Great Northern Hotel, and the town's Douglas Firs. Even at the beginning of season 2 when (spoilers) he was shot and incapacitated, he still wasn't mad. Kyle MacLachlan's performance helps a lot too, because he really has an infectious smile and chipper attitude, which makes both the comedic moments and the serious moments more engaging. I think he is one of the main reasons why I love Twin Peaks so much. It's no exaggeration that the show takes a very serious dip in quality around the beginning of the second half of season 2, and Dale Cooper was basically what kept it going until the show picked up again. A more conventional FBI agent would have taken away from surreal tone of the narrative.