As of August 26, 2025, Starz’s gripping thriller “The Hunting Wives” continues to dominate streaming charts, amassing over 90 million viewing hours since its May 2025 debut and sparking widespread discussions on predatory power dynamics in suburban America. Adapted from May Cobb’s novel by showrunner Rebecca Cutter, the eight-episode series features a stellar cast, including Brittany Snow as Sophie O’Neil and Malin Åkerman as Margo Banks. Amid the show’s web of affairs, murders, and elite hunting club intrigue, one character’s arc stands out for its sheer darkness: Pastor Pete Lightfoot, played hauntingly by the late Paul Teal. Initially a seemingly benign youth pastor, Pete emerges as a sexual predator whose crimes—drugging, kidnapping, and manipulating teenage girls—serve as a chilling red herring in the murder of Abby Rivers (Sara O’Connor). His storyline, culminating in a dramatic suicide, not only exposes the rot beneath small-town piety but also ties into the series’ themes of deception and vulnerability, making it one of the most unsettling threads in this soapy saga.

Pastor Pete’s introduction is deceptively innocuous, positioning him as a pillar of Maple Brook’s Sacred Life Church—a charismatic youth leader with a Louisiana drawl that masks his predatory instincts. From early episodes, subtle hints build unease: his overly familiar interactions with high schoolers, lingering glances at church events, and cryptic phone calls. Teal’s performance, infused with a disarming charm that turns sinister, draws viewers in before the horror unfolds. Pete’s background, revealed through Deputy Salazar’s (Jaime Ray Newman) investigation, paints a troubled picture: Hailing from small-town Louisiana, he struggled to adapt to Texas’ affluent community, leading to his suspension from duties amid whispers of misconduct. A former employer’s chilling reaction—”Jesus, I hoped I’d never hear that name again”—foreshadows his history of exploiting vulnerable teens, setting the stage for his crimes to intersect with the main plot.

The core of Pete’s darkness lies in his targeting of young girls, blending religious authority with manipulation. His connection to Abby, the murdered teen at the heart of the mystery, starts innocently enough—she’s a churchgoer, and hours before her death, she places a frantic call to him. Sophie, desperate to clear her name after being framed, confronts Pete at his isolated home in Episode 6, “The Shepherd’s Flock.” Here, he drops a bombshell: Brad (George Ferrier), Abby’s boyfriend and son of Reverend Clint’s wife Jill (Amy Sheehan), confided in him about “his girlfriend’s” pregnancy and secret abortion. Pete sneers, “Abby wasn’t an angel,” implying her involvement in scandalous behavior. But this is the first twist—viewers later learn the abortion was actually Margo’s, from her illicit affair with underage Brad. Pete, acting as a shady facilitator, helped arrange the procedure under the guise of pastoral counseling, using his position to cover elite sins while pursuing his own depraved agenda.

Escalating the horror, Pete’s crimes peak with the drugging and kidnapping of Abby’s best friend Nina (uncredited in minor role) and another teen, Kaycee Krummel (Emilia Torello). In a pulse-pounding sequence at a local fun fair in Episode 7, “Prey in the Night,” Pete lures Nina with feigned empathy over Abby’s death. He offers her a spiked vodka drink masked with cinnamon gum—a signature tactic linking him to past abductions. As Nina slurs, realizing “That wasn’t vodka. You put something in my drink,” Pete restrains her in his car, where she spots Abby’s missing sweater—a damning clue that fuels suspicions of his involvement in the murder. The scene is visceral, with Teal’s shift from kindly pastor to menacing abductor amplifying the terror. Salazar’s probe uncovers Pete loading a body-sized duffle bag (containing Kaycee) into a U-Haul, triggering a high-stakes chase. This subplot not only heightens the series’ tension but also critiques institutional blind spots, as the church initially shields him.

The ultimate plot twist arrives in the finale, “The Reckoning,” flipping Pete from prime suspect to tragic red herring. Surrounded by police after the chase, he exits his vehicle, gun in hand, muttering “I’m sorry” before turning it on himself— a self-inflicted gunshot that ends his reign of terror. In the U-Haul, authorities discover Nina and Kaycee alive but traumatized, rescued in the nick of time. This suicide not only resolves the kidnapping arc but exposes Pete’s isolation; guilty of predation and enabling abortions, yet cleared of Abby’s murder via an ironclad alibi—he was in the drunk tank that night, too inebriated to commit the crime. The revelation shifts focus back to Margo as the true killer, but Pete’s death leaves lingering scars: The community grapples with betrayed trust, while Sophie reflects on how close she came to unraveling the wrong thread.

Pete’s arc masterfully weaves into the broader narrative, amplifying themes of hidden depravity in privileged circles. His ties to Abby and Brad connect him to the hunting wives’ secrets—Margo’s affair, Jill’s unraveling family—while his predation mirrors the show’s exploration of power imbalances. Salazar’s dogged pursuit adds procedural grit, contrasting the glossy lives of Sophie and Margo. Poignantly, the series dedicates Pete’s final episode to Teal, who died in November 2024 at 35, with a credit tribute: “In loving memory of Paul Teal.” Teal shares his last scene with partner Torello (Kaycee), adding real-life emotional weight.

In a post-#MeToo landscape, Pete’s storyline isn’t gratuitous; it’s a stark warning about unchecked authority. As Sophie narrates in the finale, “Evil hides in the places we trust most.” With Season 2 confirmed, expect echoes of Pete’s legacy—perhaps in church scandals or survivor testimonies. “The Hunting Wives” uses his fall to elevate its thriller credentials, blending shock with substance. Stream it on Starz for a binge that lingers long after the credits.