Compelling essay, as usual. But, no. Peter's not a good guy. He's a murderer. Did he have his reasons? Sure, most do, after all. Rose is lovely, but would you bring her & Peter into your home, knowing the consequences of getting on his wrong side?

I suppose in some ways he's a sympathetic killer, like Sean Connery's Ramius. But I also saw Phil reaching out, responding to Peter's admitted manipulation. Were he truly consumed with self-loathing wouldn't he have reacted to Peter's girly-man sashay the way Claggart reacted to Billy Budd?

Incidentally, no love for The Wild Bunch as an exemplar of Wild West man-love?