Re: Episode 29
Posted: Wed May 06, 2020 9:05 am
Lots of last-time series character appearances in this one in terms of the linear timeline, even if we see several of them again in prequel form in FWWM/TMP: Donna, Leo, Earle, Briggs (other than his ethereal appearances in TR), and Harry and Annie (although we do technically get a teeny bit more of those two courtesy of TMP). Particularly tragic is the loss of Pete, played by the great Jack Nance. In tribute to the character/actor, I rewatched all his series scenes and put together an obituary for him, inspired by the style of LostInTheMovies’s character series. I mostly stuck to the filmed material, but inserted a little material from the books.
R.I.P. Peter “Pete” Martell
6/28/1934-3/27/1989
A third-generation Twin Peaks native, descendant of a lumber baron grandfather, Pete was born on June 28, 1934, to Ersel Nealith Martell and Bessie Martell (née Spoon). Pete graduated high school in 1959. A hopeless romantic, Pete carried a torch for classmate Midge Jones right up to the end of his days. However, it was another relationship that would come to define his life (and his death). Pete found employment as a lumberjack for the Packard Mill, former rival of his grandfather, gaining a reputation for his feline-like agility when climbing trees. He caught the eye of Mill owner and town patriarch Andrew Packard’s sister Catherine, and after “a summer’s indiscretion,” the two were wed. While the marriage soured, and Catherine’s long-term affair with local mogul Benjamin Horne was common knowledge, Pete remained faithful to his wife (whom he lovingly referred to as “Poodle”), even as they slept in separate rooms and spent most of their time trading barbs. Through his passion for wood and his ability to relate to the blue-collar workers despite his heightened status, Pete rose through the ranks at the Mill to become foreman. Pete and brother-in-law Andrew formed an unlikely bond, sharing a similar juvenile sense of humor. Andrew considered Pete a “prince of a man”; Catherine, exasperated, said that they brought out the worst in each other.
An accomplished fisherman in his spare time, Pete was defending champion at the local Fishing Association. In fact, he was heading out for an early morning of fishing when he came upon the body of murdered homecoming queen Laura Palmer, wrapped in plastic and washed up on the shore in front of Blue Pine Lodge. Pete believed that, “There are many cures for a broken heart, but nothing quite like a trout’s leap in the moonlight.” Pete was also an extremely skilled chess player. An acolyte of José Raúl Capablanca’s strategy, Pete was able to best anyone in town, and was enlisted by FBI Agent Dale Cooper to help counter the deadly game being played by insane former agent Windom Earle.
A homebody by nature, Pete spent most of his spare time at Blue Pine Lodge, the Packard family home. However, as a community leader, he happily attended town events, such as Ben Horne’s reception for Icelandic investors, Leland Palmer’s funeral, and Dougie Milford’s many weddings. He also occasionally ventured out to the Great Northern’s Timber Room bar to socialize and enjoy his beverage of choice, a nice cold glass of milk.
Pete was typically far removed from the drama and turmoil beneath the surface of the town and the surrounding woods. However, he did find himself in the crosshairs of the rivalry between his scheming wife and Jocelyn “Josie” Packard, the widow of his supposedly deceased brother-in-law. Pete was in love with Josie, although he never made any advances, possibly out of respect for his own marital bonds, or because he sensed that Josie did not reciprocate, or in deference to his good friend Sheriff Harry S. Truman, who was secretly seeing Josie (Pete was one of the few privy to the secret, and he would good-naturedly serve the two pan-fried rainbow trout then withdraw while they held their rendezvous). Pete, like most men, was oblivious to Josie’s duplicitous nature but highly receptive to her charms. He became close friends with her after Andrew’s “demise,” and often allied with her against Catherine, even as the three awkwardly all resided in the same dwelling and shared control of the Mill. Over Catherine’s objection, he supported Josie’s humanitarian gesture to close the Mill for a day due to the death of Laura Palmer and the disappearance of Mill employee Janek Pulaski’s daughter. He also stole the key to Catherine’s safe, allowing Josie access to the false ledger Catherine was keeping to bankrupt the Mill as part of her scheming with Ben Horne (it’s not clear how aware Pete was of the contents of the safe or Catherine’s plans). However, when a double-crossed Catherine made a heartfelt plea for Pete’s help, Pete remained loyal to the wife he still loved (despite her being “hell to live with”), helping her to search for the missing ledger that spelled her demise, and ultimately risking his life by heroically rushing into a burning drying shed to try to save his unfaithful wife.
Pete did not find Catherine in the fire, and mourned her passing while suffering smoke inhalation. However, once Catherine revealed that she had faked her death, Pete doubled down on his loyalty to her, and rejoiced in assisting her in wresting control of the Mill and Ghostwood Estates from Catherine’s double-crosser (and Pete’s cuckolder) Ben Horne. Pete even reluctantly went along with Catherine in forcing the traitorous Josie into servitude, even though he initially refused to believe that Josie was capable of murder. The easygoing Pete was remarkably forgiving when he learned that Catherine and Andrew had deceived him about Andrew’s death, and seemed to finally be convinced of Josie’s treacherous nature once Andrew revealed how Josie had tried to kill him. Even then, Pete still remained affectionate toward Josie, and secretly picked up her laundry while Josie was busy doing chores for Catherine. After Josie’s sudden and unexplained death, Pete could sometimes be heard reciting poems to her in the Great Northern lobby, apparently speaking to the woodwork.
Pete’s demise was a direct result of Catherine bringing him to the “house on the hill” and entangling him in the Packards’ web of schemes and rivalries. Andrew’s late archenemy Thomas Eckhardt left the posthumous gift of a puzzle box, and Pete joined Catherine and Andrew in their obsession with solving it, ultimately leading Pete and Andrew to a fatal encounter with a safety deposit box rigged with explosives. Although it is impossible to say for certain, forensic analysis strongly indicates that Pete’s last act was to use his body to shield young Audrey Horne, the daughter of his rival Ben Horne, thereby saving her life. This heroic act would be consistent with Pete’s lifetime of selfless behavior.
A man of simple pleasures, Pete’s culinary preferences included turkey sandwiches with mayo, ginger beer, and hot dogs (all beef, with the skin on). He was also a collector of taxidermied animals, not only fish that he himself had caught (mounted courtesy of Tim & Tom’s Taxi-dermy), but also more exotic pieces, such as a cobra wrestling a mongoose. Pete drove a 1968 powder blue Dodge pickup truck, which was almost always loaded with fishing gear. Pete was also a fan of musical theater, particularly Fiddler on the Roof, which made him weep like a baby. A generous host, Pete always offered Blue Pine guests a fresh cup of coffee, although this was a hazardous proposition as occasionally one of his recently-caught rainbow trout would improbably take a liking to his percolator. Not a frequent drinker, when occasionally indulging in champagne, Pete only knew two toasts: “A Drinking Song” by W. B. Yeats, and a limerick which greatly annoyed Catherine.
In addition to Sheriff Truman, Pete was socially friendly with Dr. Will Hayward and Mayor Dwayne Milford, and the three of them served as the Miss Twin Peaks judging and rules committee. Among his other friends were the Doolittle twins, with whom he once traveled to Guam. Although he got along well with almost everyone, Pete seemed to have a rather antagonistic reaction to Margaret Lanterman, known locally as the Log Lady. Pete’s greatest strengths were his loyalty and his patience (the latter demonstrated by his devotion to fishing, chess, and being married to Catherine).
R.I.P. Peter “Pete” Martell
6/28/1934-3/27/1989
A third-generation Twin Peaks native, descendant of a lumber baron grandfather, Pete was born on June 28, 1934, to Ersel Nealith Martell and Bessie Martell (née Spoon). Pete graduated high school in 1959. A hopeless romantic, Pete carried a torch for classmate Midge Jones right up to the end of his days. However, it was another relationship that would come to define his life (and his death). Pete found employment as a lumberjack for the Packard Mill, former rival of his grandfather, gaining a reputation for his feline-like agility when climbing trees. He caught the eye of Mill owner and town patriarch Andrew Packard’s sister Catherine, and after “a summer’s indiscretion,” the two were wed. While the marriage soured, and Catherine’s long-term affair with local mogul Benjamin Horne was common knowledge, Pete remained faithful to his wife (whom he lovingly referred to as “Poodle”), even as they slept in separate rooms and spent most of their time trading barbs. Through his passion for wood and his ability to relate to the blue-collar workers despite his heightened status, Pete rose through the ranks at the Mill to become foreman. Pete and brother-in-law Andrew formed an unlikely bond, sharing a similar juvenile sense of humor. Andrew considered Pete a “prince of a man”; Catherine, exasperated, said that they brought out the worst in each other.
An accomplished fisherman in his spare time, Pete was defending champion at the local Fishing Association. In fact, he was heading out for an early morning of fishing when he came upon the body of murdered homecoming queen Laura Palmer, wrapped in plastic and washed up on the shore in front of Blue Pine Lodge. Pete believed that, “There are many cures for a broken heart, but nothing quite like a trout’s leap in the moonlight.” Pete was also an extremely skilled chess player. An acolyte of José Raúl Capablanca’s strategy, Pete was able to best anyone in town, and was enlisted by FBI Agent Dale Cooper to help counter the deadly game being played by insane former agent Windom Earle.
A homebody by nature, Pete spent most of his spare time at Blue Pine Lodge, the Packard family home. However, as a community leader, he happily attended town events, such as Ben Horne’s reception for Icelandic investors, Leland Palmer’s funeral, and Dougie Milford’s many weddings. He also occasionally ventured out to the Great Northern’s Timber Room bar to socialize and enjoy his beverage of choice, a nice cold glass of milk.
Pete was typically far removed from the drama and turmoil beneath the surface of the town and the surrounding woods. However, he did find himself in the crosshairs of the rivalry between his scheming wife and Jocelyn “Josie” Packard, the widow of his supposedly deceased brother-in-law. Pete was in love with Josie, although he never made any advances, possibly out of respect for his own marital bonds, or because he sensed that Josie did not reciprocate, or in deference to his good friend Sheriff Harry S. Truman, who was secretly seeing Josie (Pete was one of the few privy to the secret, and he would good-naturedly serve the two pan-fried rainbow trout then withdraw while they held their rendezvous). Pete, like most men, was oblivious to Josie’s duplicitous nature but highly receptive to her charms. He became close friends with her after Andrew’s “demise,” and often allied with her against Catherine, even as the three awkwardly all resided in the same dwelling and shared control of the Mill. Over Catherine’s objection, he supported Josie’s humanitarian gesture to close the Mill for a day due to the death of Laura Palmer and the disappearance of Mill employee Janek Pulaski’s daughter. He also stole the key to Catherine’s safe, allowing Josie access to the false ledger Catherine was keeping to bankrupt the Mill as part of her scheming with Ben Horne (it’s not clear how aware Pete was of the contents of the safe or Catherine’s plans). However, when a double-crossed Catherine made a heartfelt plea for Pete’s help, Pete remained loyal to the wife he still loved (despite her being “hell to live with”), helping her to search for the missing ledger that spelled her demise, and ultimately risking his life by heroically rushing into a burning drying shed to try to save his unfaithful wife.
Pete did not find Catherine in the fire, and mourned her passing while suffering smoke inhalation. However, once Catherine revealed that she had faked her death, Pete doubled down on his loyalty to her, and rejoiced in assisting her in wresting control of the Mill and Ghostwood Estates from Catherine’s double-crosser (and Pete’s cuckolder) Ben Horne. Pete even reluctantly went along with Catherine in forcing the traitorous Josie into servitude, even though he initially refused to believe that Josie was capable of murder. The easygoing Pete was remarkably forgiving when he learned that Catherine and Andrew had deceived him about Andrew’s death, and seemed to finally be convinced of Josie’s treacherous nature once Andrew revealed how Josie had tried to kill him. Even then, Pete still remained affectionate toward Josie, and secretly picked up her laundry while Josie was busy doing chores for Catherine. After Josie’s sudden and unexplained death, Pete could sometimes be heard reciting poems to her in the Great Northern lobby, apparently speaking to the woodwork.
Pete’s demise was a direct result of Catherine bringing him to the “house on the hill” and entangling him in the Packards’ web of schemes and rivalries. Andrew’s late archenemy Thomas Eckhardt left the posthumous gift of a puzzle box, and Pete joined Catherine and Andrew in their obsession with solving it, ultimately leading Pete and Andrew to a fatal encounter with a safety deposit box rigged with explosives. Although it is impossible to say for certain, forensic analysis strongly indicates that Pete’s last act was to use his body to shield young Audrey Horne, the daughter of his rival Ben Horne, thereby saving her life. This heroic act would be consistent with Pete’s lifetime of selfless behavior.
A man of simple pleasures, Pete’s culinary preferences included turkey sandwiches with mayo, ginger beer, and hot dogs (all beef, with the skin on). He was also a collector of taxidermied animals, not only fish that he himself had caught (mounted courtesy of Tim & Tom’s Taxi-dermy), but also more exotic pieces, such as a cobra wrestling a mongoose. Pete drove a 1968 powder blue Dodge pickup truck, which was almost always loaded with fishing gear. Pete was also a fan of musical theater, particularly Fiddler on the Roof, which made him weep like a baby. A generous host, Pete always offered Blue Pine guests a fresh cup of coffee, although this was a hazardous proposition as occasionally one of his recently-caught rainbow trout would improbably take a liking to his percolator. Not a frequent drinker, when occasionally indulging in champagne, Pete only knew two toasts: “A Drinking Song” by W. B. Yeats, and a limerick which greatly annoyed Catherine.
In addition to Sheriff Truman, Pete was socially friendly with Dr. Will Hayward and Mayor Dwayne Milford, and the three of them served as the Miss Twin Peaks judging and rules committee. Among his other friends were the Doolittle twins, with whom he once traveled to Guam. Although he got along well with almost everyone, Pete seemed to have a rather antagonistic reaction to Margaret Lanterman, known locally as the Log Lady. Pete’s greatest strengths were his loyalty and his patience (the latter demonstrated by his devotion to fishing, chess, and being married to Catherine).