godfreysteel.

as with all my other hemlock grove opinions, this is solely based on season one, anything past that i don’t consider canon.

peter is probably my second favorite character after roman. and gets a lot of (in my opinion) undeserved hate. his motives and who he is were laid out from the beginning so i don’t understand the hate and surprise as if it were some grand revelation when he did what he had always done: run.

i think a lot of the hurt other characters experienced by his actions were because they did not understand who he is and tried to mold him into a person that would fit their romanticized idea of who peter is. i think both roman and letha would be content with staying in the town they grew up in for the rest of their lives but peter is not really the settle down kind of person and prefers a nomadic lifestyle. so again, the expectations vs reality and trying to change peter into someone he’s not. i think it’s also a lot to expect of a 17 year old to essentially give up on his dreams and aspirations, settle down and assume the role of a father figure to an unborn child. 

peter and roman’s relationship always felt a bit... one-sided. roman was definitely way more invested in this friendship than peter was. the book gives a bit more insight into peter’s mind. he is very mature and has a realistic view of the world, he can’t afford the luxury of being a dreamer. he also had a vastly different upbringing compared to roman and letha and would never understand what it’s like to be “peter”. they will never have to worry about their financial situation or the place in society. peter, who grew up as an outsider in his own community, probably learned from a young age to never let people get “too close”. that’s why he never had any friends or girlfriend, it was just him and his mom. 

peter is presented as the polar opposite to roman. where roman is impulsive, peter is level-headed. they balance each other out but at the same time, this stark difference in personalities and upbringing leads to conflict. i always viewed them as soulmates and that if one were to die, it would be by the hands of the other.