Overall, a pretty standard and boring episode, the highlight being the introduction of Denise Bryson, Coop's old colleague who has transitioned into a woman. At first I cringed, expecting a stereotypical 20th century negative mocking depiction of a transwoman, and while there are problems here and there ("...it suits him", "transvestite", Denise being played by a cisgender man) the overall positivity of Denise's character is astounding, being shown as a smart, hard-working woman who cares about Dale, whom is confused at first but almost immediately accepts her identity as soon as she says "I prefer Denise". It's heartwarming to see the main character in a show from the 1990s accept a trans character so easily. It's truly one of, if not the first portrayal of a transwoman in TV that wasn't used as a joke, in fact the wonderful David Lynch does not turn Denise's identity into a joke at all. Truly heartwarming, although the rest of the episode often felt quite lackluster overall.
Review of Masked Ball
