"And now comes Pete Martell in Twin Peaks and he's just a nice guy"
About this Quote
Nance's intent is performative modesty with a wink: he plays Pete as plainspoken, working-class, and emotionally available, then lets the audience realize how radical that is in a story built on rot beneath varnish. Subtextually, "nice" becomes a kind of moral negative space. It doesn't mean naive or boring; it means unencrypted. In Twin Peaks, where everyone performs, Pete doesn't. That makes him trustworthy, but also vulnerable - an open door in a town that feeds on closed rooms.
Context matters: Nance was already a Lynch emblem, forever marked by the unnerving tenderness of Eraserhead. So when he notes that Pete is "just a nice guy", he's also resetting the contract with the viewer: yes, it's still Lynch, but the weirdness isn't only cruelty and dread. Sometimes it's the shock of sincerity. The humor is dry, almost throwaway, yet it highlights a core Twin Peaks move: using everyday warmth to make the surrounding darkness feel even more personal.
Quote Details
| Topic | Movie |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Nance, Jack. (2026, January 16). And now comes Pete Martell in Twin Peaks and he's just a nice guy. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/and-now-comes-pete-martell-in-twin-peaks-and-hes-126244/
Chicago Style
Nance, Jack. "And now comes Pete Martell in Twin Peaks and he's just a nice guy." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/and-now-comes-pete-martell-in-twin-peaks-and-hes-126244/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"And now comes Pete Martell in Twin Peaks and he's just a nice guy." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/and-now-comes-pete-martell-in-twin-peaks-and-hes-126244/. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.

