Since its 1984 premiere, Ghostbusters has been hailed as arguably cinema’s greatest horror comedy, featuring such timeless gags as Slimer’s H๏τel rampage and “the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.” However, for every Egon Spengler and Peter Venkman, there must likewise be a worthy antagonist, whether that be Columbia’s Dean of Students, Gozer, or the EPA’s main man in Manhattan, Walter Peck.

Moreover, a popular theory that’s reemerged in recent years claims that Peck was right to shut down the Ghostbusters’ operations, given that they’d been handling highly dangerous equipment in the heart of NYC without permits or government oversight. While this inquiry might initially seem justified, its consequences lie more with Peck’s bruised ego than any true irresponsibility from the ghost-wranglers.

Far from embodying the righteousness of the EPA, Walter Peck is an arrogant, egotistical, and narrow-minded bureaucrat more interested in self-serving headlines than actually protecting the citizens of the New York Metropolitan area from the unᴅᴇᴀᴅ threat his hubris unleashes. Furthermore, judging off impact versus intent, Peck’s motivations become far clearer and more despicable.

The Ghostbusters “Walter Peck Was Right” Theory Explained

The crux of the “Walter Peck Was Right” argument lies in the inherent danger of the containment unit, whose laser-confinement grid restrains the captured phantoms. These risks are highlighted in the scene where Winston (Ernie Hudson) learns the basics of the storage facility, with Egon (Harold Ramis) openly worrying it might be getting too crowded amid NYC’s “twinkie-like” P.K.E. levels.

These worries are then multiplied after Peck (Wiliam Atherton)—whose initial plea to survey the storage facility was rejected with extreme prejudice by Peter Venkman (Bill Murray)—comes back with a court order to shut down the containment unit over concerns from the Environmental Protection Agency that the team’s headquarters might be releasing hazardous waste chemicals into downtown New York.

However, rather than listen to the warnings from the Ghostbusters over the consequences of turning off the containment grid, Peck presses ahead with its shutdown, releasing the team’s entire roster of vapors and enтιтies onto the streets of Manhattan in a ham-fisted blunder that both very-nearly triggers the apocalypse and ends with Peck covered in 75 pounds of liquid marshmallow.

Walter Peck Was Acting Out Of Ego, Not Duty

Throughout Ghostbusters, Peck is shown to be an arrogant, and spiteful G-man whose position as an EPA inspector is used as a front for his true vindictive intentions. Even in his first interaction with Venkman, he is unable (or unwilling) to hide his contempt for the Ghostbusters, even labeling them “con men” in the face of NYC’s proven paranormal activity.

This feud runs so deep, in fact, that Peck continues to point fingers at the Ghostbusters after unleashing their spirits from the containment unit, having the team arrested and then protesting their release by the mayor even when they are unequivocally the best qualified individuals to deal with the crisis that’s befallen New York at Peck’s own doing.

This all isn’t to say that Peck wasn’t partially justified in his inquiries into the Ghostbusters’ storage facility, however; the laissez-faire atтιтude that Venkman and Stantz embody throughout their work should—and did—rightfully raise some eyebrows, and in better hands, an investigation into their practices could’ve safely dealt with the containment unit’s risks while preventing the release of any unwanted spirits.

The Ghostbusters Were Never Given The Chance To Prove The Containment Unit’s Safety

Peck’s greatest crime toward the Ghostbusters, however, has to be his refusal to allow them the chance to prove the safety of their containment unit. Jumping back to the scene where Winston learns the ropes of trap-disposal, Stanz’ methodical approach to transferring the ghosts into the grid illustrates the painstaking care the former Columbia academics take in housing rogue spirits.

Touching on this last point, let us not forget that these academics—who together hold multiple degrees in psychology, parapsychology, and microbiology—custom engineered the containment unit with such specificity that the electrician that accompanies Peck exclaims that he’s never seen anything like it; based on this reaction, it’s evident that the grid’s design can hardly be labeled “amateur hour.”

Again, this doesn’t nullify the EPA’s desire to oversee and regulate the Ghostbusters‘ operation; after all, with Venkman at the wheel, there was a nonzero chance that something similar to Peck’s blunder could’ve hit NYC. However, absent Walter Peck’s arrogance, this inquiry would’ve likely gone over far smoother and with the far less likelihood of a giant marshmallow attacking Manhattan.