Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 2, Episode 11 Review: Ted

Ted
Original Airdate: December 8, 1997
Writers: David Greenwalt and Joss Whedon
Director: Bruce Seth Green

Unlike many modern serialized shows like “Lost” or even “Heroes” that are so dedicated to its arc, “Buffy” tends to follow the mold “The X-Files” used to great success: a few stand alone episodes in between episodes dedicated to the overall story. The “What’s My Line” two-parter was a big turning point in the season, with some twists that will define the series and its direction. Within a few episodes, that bar would be raised higher. The episodes in between, where Spike and Drusilla keep a low profile and are presumed by the gag as deceased, are transitional and lighter in subject matter while the writers prepare to turn everything upside down.

Buffy’s home life has been mentioned in passing before, but this episode gives us a better idea of what it is really like. The recent divorce of her parents hasn’t sunk in yet, and she finds it hard that her mother’s dating other men. This is another connection to her desire for normalcy. Buffy would rather have her parents reconcile and return to the way they were. Of course Buffy’s going to see the worst in the new guy because Ted isn’t her real father and Ted is moving awfully quick in starting a father/daughter relationship with her. It doesn’t make it easier when her friends eat his cookies (the episode’s version of drinking the Kool-Aid) and become devoted to him.

While there are hints of his identity through the episode (“…wired that way”, his nickname at work, Stepford, etc.), Ted’s attitude is more troubling. He is a psychotic control freak who ultimately wants Buffy out of the picture, as seen literally in his office, and Joyce to himself in his 50s style bomb shelter. He also has a deep rooted misogyny, put in by the original Ted to capture and to hold hostage any woman resembling his ex-wife until she’s dead. The late John Ritter, best known for his comedic roles, plays that demeanor for creeps, and it works well.

This episode explores a compelling and deeply disturbing idea: Buffy killing a human. Even though Ted wasn’t likeable, Buffy still believed he was human. Her job is to fight the evil creatures of the night and leave the human baddies to the law. While she may have been able to claim self defense at first, when Joyce saw them fighting Buffy was on the offense. Only in the past episode did she say her anger was a major asset in a fight. Now we see it’s also a liability.

Then there are the legal problems that come with this event. In the interrogation room, some of her answers could’ve been construed as long term abuse without the context of her being the slayer. Regardless, the police let her go unusually quick. They are investigating a death, after all and she’s released within an hour.

However, the reveal that Ted is a robot negates the drama, along with some fine acting between Gellar and Sutherland, which followed his “death” scene. All’s well since he was evil in the end. It could’ve been interesting to see the guilt following Buffy with the growing unease between her and her mother, but they had other plans for where to take the season (and killing a human being wouldn’t be forgotten for other characters).

Since that appears to be the case, they should’ve focused more on the second half’s story. With so much emphasis going on Buffy believing she killed someone, the explanation for Ted is rushed. The actual story could’ve been great had Xander’s quickie account been developed into the A-plot.

Three weeks (and episodes) since “The Dark Age”, and things are still uncomfortable between Giles and Jenny. While it hasn’t been mentioned much in the following episodes (much due to Spike and Drusilla’s hijinks along with Kendra’s arrival), it was clearly on Giles’ mind, as seen in previous episodes with him burying himself in his work. So the subplot in this episode seeks to wrap up the uneasiness and get them back together before the next phase of the season. In contrast to their estrangement in “The Dark Age”, their reconciliation is the comic relief of the episode.

The technology mentioned in this episode is funny in its datedness. With the ubiquity of digital music, photos and movies, could anyone operate a computer with only nine gigabytes of hard drive space? Another instance occurs when Ted hands Willow the upgrades he promised: a few floppy disks! This is trivial as I’m sure someone in 2017 will laugh at how big we thought a 320 gig hard drive was, but enough technobabble.

This episode is transitional, giving some time to develop Joyce’s character while delving into Buffy’s home life. Ted’s robotic identity is the piece that hurts this episode, as it is an easy out for what could’ve been a compelling storyline. However, they would have their chance with similar issues later.

Overall Score: 6/10