This article “Who is Peter Quint in The Haunting of Bly Manor” contains minor spoilers. Major spoilers are at the end of the article — warning.
We recapped the whole Netflix series — check out the archive.
At the start of the Netflix series, a mysterious man keeps appearing which irks Dani and the rest of the staff members at Bly Manor — Peter Quint. This is a man that is significant and central to large parts of the story – so who is Peter Quint in The Haunting of Bly Manor?
Why is he at Bly Manor?
In the main story, he isn’t, however, he used to work for Henry Wingrave — he was kind of his right-hand man and he helped him hire people, including au pair Rebecca Jessel.
What is Peter Quint like?
Well, he’s not to be trusted — Jamie, Hannah Grose, and Owen have a strong dislike for the man because of the way he treated Rebecca. He’s accused of stealing and manipulating and being a bit of an abuser. But, most scenes suggest that he actually dreams big and is a bit of a hopeless romantic trying to achieve a better life.
Is he romantic with anyone? (minor spoiler)
Yes, we learn very early on that Peter had a soft spot for Rebecca Jessel and eventually the pair become lovers. They were intensely in love with each other from the start of their story and it blossomed very quickly.
The only issue is, with Rebecca gone, Peter is missing and no-one knows where he is.
— warning: major spoilers ahead —
Where is Peter? (major spoiler)
He is, in fact, dead, and the figure that Dani and the others see at Bly Manor is his ghost. For many scenes and episodes, the characters presume he was trying to find Hannah and was breaking in but he cannot leave the estate — he’s trapped.
What’s Peter’s plan? (major spoiler)
One of Peter’s main fears is being trapped at Bly Manor by the curse. He also does not want to lose Rebecca and become a faceless spirit. He’s afraid of forgetting so his efforts are to stop that from happening.
Ultimately, his actions lead to Rebecca’s death as he tries to share a consciousness with her that leads her to drown in the lake.
But then this forms a strange ghost-team whereby they try and get inside the children’s consciousness permanently so they do not fade.
Is this why Miles acts strangely? (major spoiler)
In some scenes, Miles acts exactly like Peter — it’s because they are going through “blips” where Peter momentarily takes over Miles’s consciousness.
