Do we like them?

Do we like Laura Palmer?

A character from Twin Peaks (1990-2017)

Our score: 8 out of 10. Yes, we back her. She's a kind, troubled young woman who is let down by almost everyone around her, and she keeps trying to do right by others.

Twin Peaks opens with the discovery of Laura Palmer's body. Everyone in town thought she was the perfect high-school sweetheart: homecoming queen, volunteer and devoted daughter. FBI agent Dale Cooper arrives to investigate. As he does, the show gradually reveals that the person people thought they knew was only part of her.

The picture that emerges is of a girl who is generous and quick-witted but carries a heavy secret life. She sits between a sunny public image and darker private troubles. She is flawed and sometimes self-destructive, but she keeps showing real care for people who have less than she does. That mix of warmth and pain is why we score her high.

The prequel film Fire Walk with Me follows her final days. It shows her as the victim of terrible abuse who is fighting to hold on to her own goodness. The 2017 revival returns to her as a symbol of hope and loss, and the series ends up being about her. We root for her because she is a survivor who was failed by the adults around her, not a villain.