Diksha Sundriyal
Two crimes separated by three decades are at the center of Prime Video’s ‘Scarpetta.’ In 1998, a young Kay Scarpetta investigates a series of murders while getting the hang of her new position as the chief medical officer. In 2026, she returns to the same role, but things have changed drastically now. What, apparently, has remained the same is the nature of the killings, as a new murder makes her wonder if the serial killer from the case of 1998 is back. In both timelines, she has to rely on someone she can trust completely, since she has a lot of untrustworthy eagles circling her. She places her faith in Pete Marino, who was the detective in the 1998 case and is now a retired officer. What makes things more complicated is the personal relationship between the two, which raises many questions about the true nature of their loyalties. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Pete’s Devotion to Kay is His Form of Love
Over the course of eight episodes, there is no doubt about the fact that Pete Marino is in love with Kay Scarpetta. They start working together in the 1998 case, and while she is clearly attracted to the FBI profiler Benton Wesley, who also happens to be a married family man, Pete is head over heels in love with her. What sets his love apart is that it doesn’t come out in the form of any overly romantic gesture. Rather, it is embedded in his quiet devotion, where he is ready to do anything for her, including taking the blame for killing the serial killer they had been chasing. By the end of the case, he realises that something is going on between Kay and Benton, but while he is disappointed, it does nothing to dampen his love for her. This is evident from the fact that he still has a puppy-like devotion for her in the 2026 timeline, where he is ready to drop everything to help her with whatever she wants, especially in the investigation.
What makes things more complicated is that in 2026, Kay is married to Benton, while Pete is married to her sister, Dorothy. One can assume that this means that nothing ever came of Pete’s love for Kay and that, so far, everything between them has remained platonic. In truth, thirty years is a long time, and there is a good possibility that something, in fact, did transpire between them. The details of this are yet to be uncovered, but there is a moment in the finale that hints towards this. As things start to get out of hand and it seems that whatever they do will only make it worse, Pete is driven home by Kay. As they sit in the car outside her house, he tells her that they could just keep driving and leave everyone and everyone behind. Kay is not shocked or appalled by this proposal, which means that she is completely aware of Pete’s feelings for her, and more importantly, this is likely not the first time he has made this proposal.
Even as she turns him down, Kay is very polite about it, and one can almost sense a hint of regret and “what if” in her tone. All this points towards the possibility that Kay and Pete got romantically entangled with each other and, at some point, they even slept together. The circumstances of this possibility remain unclear for Kay, but for Pete, they would just be a manifestation of something he wanted for a very long time. Of course, things didn’t work out, and Kay eventually ends up marrying Benton, while Pete remains hopelessly single for years, almost as if waiting for Kay. She, on the other hand, has learned to keep him close without it turning into something romantic. Now, however, things are different because the revelations have rocked their boat and adversely impacted their other relationships.
Read More: Who Plays the Young Bobby Cannavale’s Pete Marino in Scarpetta?
You must be logged in to post a comment.