Despite being a comedy podcast, there are a few genuinely sad or disturbing moments in Pretending To Be People
Unmarked spoilers may exist below. Proceed with caution.
- Keith's childhood is, unlike most of the rest of his character traits, Played Straight. He leads a friendless existence as The Unfavorite, with Abusive Parents who not only dote on his brother Ferguson while ignoring him, but actively use Ferguson to emotionally abuse Keith in some twisted form of training. Suddenly Keith makes a lot more sense.
- The death of Jeremy Pettimore at the hands of his uncle, John Lee Pettimore III. He had the crappy luck to be in the Contention Woods on the wrong night, had his friends die, and made the mistake of trusting a man he thought would help him. John, in turn, is driven to kill his nephew because of the things that he saw that night.
- The end of John Lee Pettimore IV's racing career, when Large Eddie runs him off the track, leading his cheap safety harness to give way, breaking his bones, destroying a bystander's eye, and ruining his car.
- For that matter, the Pettimore clan is somewhat tragic in and of itself. While they're criminal, vaguely-inbred good ol' boys with a fondness for liquor and gunfire, they're also collectively traumatized by their familial poverty and history of drug abuse. Hog-tying drunk family members may be such a common occurrence that "Mow the Lawn and Tie Up Don" is a common saying to refer to chores which children are given.
- During the Calm, Comfy Campground arc, most of the characters choose to escape via a cave instead of another route to freedom...
- At the end of season one, one version of Keith Vigna has a conversation with his deceased brother, ending with a tearful embrace.
