Even though he knew Pete's family hadn't seen him in 20 years and he was passable for what Pete probably looks like today, he didn't act like Pete at all. I would have thought he would have taken on some of the goofball, doofus characteristics the real Pete had so as to have a better cover and make himself more believable.
" Tell me mom...when your little girl's on the slab...where will it tickle you?"
He's been gone for 20 years, was raised by an alcoholic, single mom(that's the way they made her seem) so I think it's safe to assume he had a rough childhood and would lose the 'goofball & doofus characteristics' over time.
Of course, he didn't but they(Pete's family) don't know that.
Even though they haven't seen Pete in 20 years wouldn't they still realize it's not him? I have relatives I haven't seen in years and we still recognize each other.
Exactly.
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Every person that served can be called a veteran, but not every veteran can be called a Marine.
Yeah? Then there would be no show. No point. No reason. Jesus, just detach from reality a little bit.
shareI always have trouble with shows that use that assumed identity plot construct (i.e. return after the war as someone else, return after x number of years as someone else, etc.). And I understand the OPs point about the personality differences. We're privy to those because we see the real Pete acting goofy in prison. What made it work for me is that the family members were sufficiently suspicious, rather than just welcoming him with open arms, especially Audrey. But the more I got into the series the easier it was to suspend disbelief on that point.
The one thing that I haven't worked through yet is Marius leaving the family with the impression that he was Pete, rather than coming clean. That was the only thing that bugged me about the finale.
"Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier 'n puttin' it back in." -- Will Rogers
I think the problem here is that the actor is much older than Pete is supposed to be. According to the story time line he left with his mother shortly after his 11th birthday which would make him about 31 in the series. the difference between a pre-teen boy and a grown man is enough to explain why they accepted him. It also makes Marjorie pretending to be his mother hard but not impossible as the actress is 41. However Giovanni Ribisi is 43 and in this series looks it, so twenty years ago makes him in his twenties and not that much different and letting an actress two years younger than him play his pretend mother a bit absurd.
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