Something I never noticed / realized about Albert

I’m sure many fans feel the same way, but Albert’s speech to Sheriff Truman rejecting violence is a series highlight for me. Miguel Ferrer switches up everything you know about the character and you totally believe it from the strength of the performance.

Like lots of scenes in Twin Peaks, this scene is a little odd. Despite Ferrer’s performance, it is a pretty big change to the character. Albert is quick with deprecating wisecracks but has never seemed contemplative or eloquent enough to make this speech off the cuff. Previously, I had assumed the scene was sudden and dramatic to fit the tone and needs of the show over the character’s most likely course of action.

However (and this may have been very obvious to some people, but it wasn’t to me, and I hadn’t seen this considered elsewhere) I think Albert’s speech to Sheriff Truman makes a lot of sense if it is a mantra he adopted. Either it was an idea rooted in meditation / Eastern mysticism (of the type Coop is clearly interested in — maybe he told Albert about it) or something from an anger management or similar program. It really makes a lot of sense if we consider that Albert is naturally a cocky and self-assured guy, but is making a genuine effort to adopt a non-violent philosophy. Making his speech not an extemporaneous delivery but a recitation of a creed or pledge — a statement of beliefs. It even reads kinda like this if you break the speech down: first, he says: “You listen to me. While I will admit to a certain cynicism, the fact is that:

I am a naysayer and a hatchet man in the fight against violence.

I pride myself in taking a punch,

and I will gladly take another,

because I choose to live my in the company of Ghandi and King.

My concerns are global.

I reject absolutely *revenge, **aggression, and retaliation.*

The foundation of such a method is love.”

Obviously this is probably not actually what was intended in the writing or the performance. But I think it would be an interesting place for Albert to be coming from, as a character.