Teaser

23A) "He didn't even know he was playing second fiddle." LINKAGE: "In the context of the final scene of What's My Line II, we might expect this exchange to be referring to Spike and Dru. There's the possibility that Drusilla might be the real Big Bad of the season (see 22Lx4). Of course this turns out to be a red herring."--ponygirl, Fri, 02/21/03 at 09:09:59

23B) "Who was the real power? The Captain, or Tennille?" POP CULTURE TIME: "Xander is talking about a husband-and-wife singing duo, keyboardist Daryl Dragon (the Captain, so called because he always wore a captain's hat) and singer Toni Tennille (pronounced 'teh-KNEEL'). The two were originally backup for the Beach Boys, but then had several soft rock hits on their own circa 1975-1976, including their theme song, Love Will Keep Us Together [which won a 1975 Grammy for Record of the Year]. Some of their other hits were: Muskrat Love [yes, it WAS about muskrats], Shop Around, The Way I Want To Touch You, You’ve Never Done It Like That, Do That To Me One More Time, and Come In From The Rain (a). From the official Captain and Tennille website: ‘They earned an impressive five gold albums, six gold singles, two platinum albums and one platinum single…Together, they've landed on the pop singles chart 14 times, half of them in the Top 10. Still today, the twosome remains one of the top five duos of the past 15 years' (b). ABC gave them a variety show which aired from September 20, 1976 to March 14, 1977 on Mondays from 8:00 to 9:00, probably hoping for another Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour. A lot of the comedy on The Captain and Tennille was built from the fact that Daryl hardly said a word--in fact, he could have given Oz a run for his money (a)."--(a) Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14; (b) ponygirl, Fri, 02/21/03 at 09:09:59

23C) "Boy, somebody was raised in a culture-free environment!" POP CULTURE TIME: "The Captain and Tennille show didn't go into syndication after cancellation, and the duo was gone from the soft rock music scene by the early '80s, so it's less surprising that Buffy HASN'T heard of the two than it is that Willow and Xander HAVE."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14

There's also a neat little joke here, in the fact that most people would refer to "culture" as classical music, Shakespeare, Chekhov, and the like. Xander here is raising up pop culture to a synonymous level, which, when you think about it, is what every episode of Buffy does, mixing what elitists refer to as "high" and "low" art. (Thanks to anom for the correct spelling of "Chekhov"!)

23D) "...with Spike and Drusilla out of the way..." WISHFUL THINKING: "As we learned at the end of What's My Line II [which the Scooby Gang does not yet know], Spike and Dru are not dead, though Spike was crippled when the roof of the abandoned church fell on him. Dru, though still insane, is in perfect physical health, restored by the ritual..."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14 See 22Lx4.

23E) "Yeah, but we'll let you off this time." JINX!: See 15G and 16Y.

23F) "So, we're pretty sure that there're not more Tarakan assassins coming our way?" CONTINUITY CHECK: This is a reference to the events of both parts of What's My Line, when Spike enrolled the Order of Taraka to knock off Buffy, in order to prevent her from ruining his revivification ritual for Dru. Buffy is lucky that the contract was called off, since the Order will not normally stop until their job is done (see 21Dx4). Presumably, either Dru called the contract off, when they proved so ineffective at knocking Buffy off, or perhaps the assassins themselves refused to continue after being so soundly thrashed. Sure, they don't stop until their target is offed, but they may have never come up against such a resilient foe, a Slayer with friends and family no less (see 15Px4). After two of them were already killed, they may have wanted to cut their losses and stay away.

ANOTHER THEORY: "I would have thought that (whether Dru had anything to do w/putting out the contract or not) when she & Spike were believed to be dead, the Order of Taraka figured there was no one to pay off the contract, making it void."--submitted by anom

23G) "How *is* Angel? Pretend I care." LOYAL XANDER: For the second time in as many episodes, Xander shows loyalty to Buffy by expressing concern for Angel, even if he doesn't share that concern himself (see 22AAA).

23H) "And you're loving playing nursemaid?" NURSE BUFFY: "Willow is referring to Angel having been injured in the ritual to heal Dru in What's My Line II." Buffy will nurse Angel again after he returns from the hell dimension at the start of the third season, and in Graduation Day, at the end of the third season.--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14

23I) "So, is it better than playing naughty stewardess?" XANDER HORNY: As usual, Xander can turn any innocent remark or action into sexual innuendo.

23J) There she catches her mother locked in an embrace and kissing a man. FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: "Buffy sees JOYCE, wrapped in a deep romantic kiss with TED BUCHANAN, handsome and athletic, a born salesman. On the counter near them, a wine bottle and one half full wine glass."--"Ted" by David Greenwalt & Joss Whedon, available through Pocketbooks, Inc. as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Two, Volume 2

23K) "Buffy, this is Ted." WHAT'S IN A NAME?: "We never learn what 'Ted' is short for, but the name is a common abbreviation for the name 'Theodore,' from the Greek Theodoros, or 'Gift of God.' Ted does seem to think of himself as God's gift to those muddle-headed women who can't figure out how to run their lives properly and efficiently. Another name that takes the abbreviation of 'Ted'--although not so often--is 'Edward,' from the Old English Ead-ward, meaning 'Prosperous guardian.' Ted is very prosperous, and he is 'guarding' two momentous secrets."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14

"'Ted' is also a normal-sounding, nonthreatening kinda name, maybe because it calls to mind the kind of man who gets called a teddy bear."--submitted by anom

PRODUCTION NOTES: "John Ritter played Ted. John Ritter was Jack [Tripper] on [the late 70s sitcom,] Three's Company and is known for his ability to do physical comedy. But more interesting - he now plays Daddy in 8 Simple Rules which airs opposite Buffy on Tues Nights at 8pm on ABC."--shadowkat, Fri, 02/21/03 at 07:15:40

"But, Ritter's first major TV role had more in common with the ever cheerful and persuasive Ted. Until the launch of Three's Company, he played the ever supportive, always ready with an appropriate and touching phrase, Reverend Matthew Fordwick on The Waltons."--Cactus Watcher, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:50:31

Act One

23L) Ted is cooking. (DON'T) KISS THE CHEF!: The fact that Ted is such a great cook might be an in-joke to the fact that John Ritter'sThree's Company character was "a young man training to be a chef."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14, partly paraphrased by Rob

23M) "So. All these late nights at the gallery recently I gather you were cataloging more than art." FREAKY FRIDAY: "Buffy's and Joyce's positions are reversed in this conversation, with Buffy adopting a somewhat parental tone and Joyce sounding like a nervous teenager who wants her mother to approve of the guy she is dating."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14

23N) "And smooch them in my kitchen." POSSESSION: Interestingly, this episode involves a battle between Buffy and Ted over whose house it is. From the start, Buffy refers to this as "my kitchen," and later Ted and she will each refer to this as "my house," even though, strictly speaking, it is neither's. It is Joyce's. Symbolically the child and the new quasi-stepparent are dueling over control of Joyce's life.--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14, paraphrased by Rob

23O) "I like my new nine-gig hard drive." TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN': "This would have been state-of-the-art in 1997." Now, not so much.--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14, with minor additions by Rob

23P) "...without the DMA upgrade your computer's only half a rocket ship." UPGRADES: "The DMA upgrade refers to an expansion of RAM--the computer's memory. Ironically, Ted's own memory, or at least his attitude, hasn't 'expanded' since roughly 1957."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14

23Q) "Can I just say, this is the finest pizza *ever* on God's green Earth." WINNING THEM OVER: Interesting how Ted is able to win over Xander and Willow, by appealing to their basic drives. He weasels his way into Willow's heart with computer software (appealing to the brain) and Xander with food (appealing to the heart and soul).

23R) "...a cast-iron skillet." FORESHADOWY GOODNESS: "David Greenwalt and Joss Whedon are clearly obeying the Chekhovian dictum that if a gun is hanging on the wall in the first act, someone must fire that gun by the third act. The cast-iron skillet will play a crucial role by the end of the episode. The fact that it is cast-iron also says something about Ted, whose attitudes toward women are as rigid and immovable as iron...and whose body is made of metal."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14

23S) "No room for compromise there." FORESHADOWY GOODNESS: "This piece of dialogue is the first straightforward clue we have of Ted's 'my way or no way' attitude toward almost everything."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14

23T) "Beg to differ: *we* really want you to be okay with this." IMPRINTING: This is the first nail in the coffin for Buffy hating Ted. Besides the instant dislike that arose due to her catching the man smooching her mom, the way Ted attempts to insert himself into Joyce's existence, by, in essence, becoming a single entity with her, the ubiquitous "we," so early in the relationship, is an instant red flag for Buffy. (Speaking from personal experience--my mom was a single parent--any boyfriend of hers who might dare to say "we" want to talk to you would instantly win my personal hatred.)

23U) "...although you don't usually beat them into quite such a bloody pulp beforehand." BUFFY VIOLENT: See 13L.

23V) "Well, they're...scattered, you know. Now their leaders are gone..." BUFFYVERSE VAMPS: We see that the Buffyverse vamps, at this point, are still very leader-oriented. Just as when the Master disappeared, they weaken when their leaders are gone (see 13E). Of course, here the leaders are not actually gone but temporarily weakened themselves. The "troops," as it were will get back in full force once Angelus comes to town!

23W) "...and then vampires come, and they run around and they kill people, and they take over your whole house..." COME AGAIN?: "Buffy is clearly equating vampires and Ted. In her mind, both are monsters who are destroying her life. Also, Ted is as much a killer as the vampires that Buffy kills daily, though she doesn't know it."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14

23X) "I-I believe the... subtext here is, is, rapidly becoming, uh...uh, text." METANARRATIVE HUMOR: "Not just a snazzy line but a meta-narration moment. The demons Buffy fights are usually metaphors for dilemmas she faces, here she is consciously seeking vampires to represent her frustrations with Ted."--ponygirl, Fri, 02/21/03 at 11:52:26

23Y) "I think maybe we're in Sigmund Freud territory." SOMETIMES A CIGAR...: See 6H. "One of Freud's theories that gets a partial workout in this episode is the Oedipus complex, in which someone suffers from a desire to kill the father figure and marry his mother figure. In this case, Buffy kills Ted. (Though technically a girl should be suffering from the Electra complex, in which she has a longing to kill and replace the mother figure and marry her father figure.)"--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14

The fact that Buffy enacts an Oedipal rather than an Electran scenario is interesting. "Buffy acts more like a son than daughter in this episode." Yet another case of gender role reversal in the Buffyverse. Her battle with Ted for her mother, a battle involving matching their physical strength and prowess against each other, is reminscent of the stereotypical son vs. father/stepfather figure scenario.--shadowkat, Fri, 02/21/03 at 07:15:40, partly paraphrased by Rob

ON THE OTHER HAND: "This may just mean that Buffyís discomfort w/Ted is based on her own psychology (the parental issues Xander teases her about) rather than any external evidence. Besides, is it still Oedipal if it's not aimed at her own father? Maybe it even does have to do w/the Electra complex, or at least half of it, since she's trying to preserve her real fatherís place in her family's life."--submitted by anom

23Z) "Seeing my mother frenching a guy is definitely a ticket to therapy land..." SOMETIMES A CIGAR...: "This appears to be a riff on another of Freud's concept's--that a small child witnessing the primal scene (the child's parents having sex) led to deep-seated trauma. Buffy is saying that at sixteen-going-on-seventeen, even seeing her mother French kiss a man who is not Hank Summers is traumatic. I think she's exaggerating a tad."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14

23AA) "I'm pretty good at sensing what's going on around me..." LINKAGE: "In many ways...Living Conditions is a rerun of this episode - Buffy initially is the only person to suspect that another person is evil, for much of the episode it seems that she is over-reacting [since that person appears to be, if anything, overly nice], and finally the other person turns out to be genuinely inhuman."--KdS, Fri, 02/21/03 at 09:52:16

CONTINUITY CHECK: Buffy will often notice or suspect sinister happenings-on before anyone else. Another good example is Superstar, where she is the only one to be suspicious of Jonathan's status as the biggest hero in the world.

ISN'T IT IRONIC?: This line also contains a very subtle joke, because moments after saying how good she is at sensing what's going on around her, Ted appears behind her, and she doesn't realize it!

23BB) "I'm updating the software in the guidance office." PEEPING TED: "Which means that he has at least had a chance to glance at Buffy's file, including her dismal disciplinary record, her poor grades, her expulsion from Hemery High, etc."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14

23CC) "Buffy, do you like miniature golf?" CONTINUITY CHECK: Apparently, this miniature golf course has opened very recently (see 13FFF). Either that, or this course is not in Sunnydale, which is very possible, since we never see a sign that indicates that it is. Ted could have driven the gang somewhere outside of the town limits.

EVIL WINDMILLS: Apparently also, miniature golf is a sign of evil in the Buffyverse. In the third season, "the mayor also liked miniature golf...[H]e proposed to...[take] Faith [in Enemies] and was shown practicing some in Lovers' Walk."--Etrangere, Fri, 02/21/03 at 14:05:39, with small additions by Rob

23DD) "Oh, of course. Um... you, you, you need time." CONTINUITY CHECK: Jenny is still traumatized by her possession in The Dark Age (see 20ZZ).

THE JENNY/TED CONNECTION: "The relationship between Giles and Jenny mirrors the one between Ted and Joyce. At first glance, the Giles-Jenny relationship looks far more iffy than the Ted-Joyce one; Giles is deeply worried about Jenny, while Jenny, who was frightened by the possession by Eyghon, just wants time to herself. Ted and Joyce seem absolutely blissful by comparison...but that's only because Ted is controlling Joyce. Giles is the one who truly loves the woman he wants to be with--he worries about her and is willing to give her time, even risking losing her. The true contrast comes at the end. Giles risks his life to save Jenny's; simultaneously, Ted knocks Joyce out, presumably [planning on taking her to the bunker o' love]."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14

23EE) "My dad?" BUFFY'S DADDY ISSUES: See 10D.

23FF) "I bet that means your grades will be picking up soon." PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE TED: "He…[passive aggressively] lets both girls know that he suspects Willow is lying, though he does it in such a way that his words might be taken for actual concern about Buffy's academic performance."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14

23GG) "He wants to know everything about you." PSYCHOANALYZING A ROBOT: "Seemingly, Ted is expressing an interest in the daughter of the woman whom he is dating. In reality, he's expressing a symptom of a mental illness probably programmed into his thought processes by his inventor: the classic symptoms of erotomania, which is classified by DSM-III-R (The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd ed., rev.) as one of five distinct delusional disorders.

Erotomania (which afflicts both men and women, and which may be heterosexual or homosexual in nature) is the delusional belief of being loved by another. It has very little to do with sex; it is the romantic union with a true love that an erotomaniac craves. The erotomaniac tends to be older, smarter, well-educated and a bit of a loner. Erotomaniacs tend to be as tenacious as remoras, and obsessive about every last detail of their victims' lives. They will pursue their targets through telephone calls, letters, e-mail, gifts, visits, even surveillance and stalking. Erotomaniacs tend to misinterpret the actions of their victims, seeing the smallest action, even a rejection, as a cryptic clue to their 'lovers'' true affection. Ted, for example, assumes that because Joyce has been dating him, she will be eager to marry him, and plans a wedding (apparently in considerable detail) without bothering to propose first. A particularly dangerous aspect of an erotomaniac is that he (or she) cannot distinguish between the victim's identity and his/her own. (Think of how many times Ted tells Buffy that he won't put up with a certain kind of behavior in HIS house--although the Summers house most emphatically is not his in any sense. He isn't even living there.)

Because of this, erotomaniacs also tend to want to control the lives of their victims. They have been known to kill the targets of their affection if they perceive their 'lovers' as trying to leave or being unfaithful. (This can encompass kissing or having sex with another actor on screen (as in the case of Rebecca Schaeffer, who was killed by erotomaniac Robert Bardo), talking to another person on the street or at work, going out of town on a business trip, etc.) The victims' families are also at considerable risk, particularly if the erotomaniac sees a family member as a threat to the 'couple's' future blissful happiness. Chet Young, an erotomaniac who believed that his wife was Peggy Lennon (of the singing group the Lennon Sisters, and a married woman with a family), killed Bill Lennon, Peggy's father, because he believed that Bill Lennon was 'keeping his true wife from him.' Buffy is clearly the threat to blissful happiness in the Ted-Joyce relationship, and if he cannot run her life as well as Joyce's, Ted will unquestionably try to kill her."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14

We will meet another erotomaniac in the form of Ronald Meltzer in the Angel episode, I Fall to Pieces.

23HH) Buffy swings a bit too hard, and the ball ricochets off of the castle and into the rough behind it. SLAYER POWER: "As in The Witch, we see that Buffy's strength can be a real handicap while trying to do normal things."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14

23II) "Bad luck, little lady!" CHAUVANISTIC TED: "'Little lady' is an old-fashioned and condescending term...It's the first verbal clue we have that Ted doesn't like Buffy any more than Buffy likes him." He is attempting to subjugate her, verbally.--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14, with small additions by Rob

23JJ)"It is, but the rules are the rules." FORESHADOWY GOODNESS: "Ted's insistence on clinging to an old-fashioned very rigid and definitely paternal moral code seems to foreshadow the Mayor, with his aw-shucks style of menace."--ponygirl, Fri, 02/21/03 at 09:09:59

23KK)"Right is right, wrong is wrong. Why don't people see that?" BLACK AND WHITE: "The dichotomy of all-good and all-evil takes another blow. In the Jossverse, things are rarely so simple, and Buffy knows it." Characters on Buffy who do believe in this black/white mentality are usually either deeply flawed or evil.--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14, with small additions by Rob

23*1) "...do your own thing..." HAVE A NICE DAY: "'Do your own thing' is a phrase from the '60s & isn't much used these days. Ted's attitude toward 'kids today' apparently dates back to that era."--submitted by anom

23LL) "...I'm not wired that way." TURN OF PHRASE: "This is the first hint we get that Ted is somewhat less than human."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14

23MM) "...and I don't stand for that kind of malarkey in my house!" OUR HOUSE: "Here, Ted identifies the Summers house as his. Buffy's completely correct observation--"It's a good thing I'm not IN your house"--drives him to rage and threats of violence. Buffy is threatening his perception of the world and his control of her in that one statement."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14

PALE IMITATION: "Buffy gets in trouble with Ted by cheating at miniature golf - which could be considered a copy of real Golf," much as Ted is a copy of a real human.--shadowkat, Fri, 02/21/03 at 07:15:40

Act Two

23NN) Buffy comes wandering in. FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: "Buffy enters in a bad mood from lack of sleep and Ted terror. Avid fans may note the absence of the framed photo of Buffy and Joyce."--"Ted" by David Greenwalt & Joss Whedon, available through Pocketbooks, Inc., as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Two, Volume 2

23OO) "He said no such thing!" NIGHTMARES: "Here we have the nightmare of the abused child--a parent or a parent's boyfriend/girlfriend threatens or harms the child, and when the child tells, she isn't believed." Joyce, obviously, is under the influence of the drugged food at the time, because clear-headed Joyce would never distrust Buffy in that way.--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14, with some additions by Rob

23PP) She eats part of a sticky bun. FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: "Joyce begins eating little pieces of the sticky bun. Just a little faster than a normal person would."--"Ted" by David Greenwalt & Joss Whedon, available through Pocketbooks, Inc., as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Two, Volume 2

23QQ) "In front of your friends! They're gonna know!" THAT'S OUR CORDY!: "This is a hugely inappropriate reaction--though a normal one for Cordy at this stage. She really seems to believe that others will extrapolate a relationship for one brief two-word comment and make fun of her. Note that she doesn't mind making out with Xander--she just doesn't want anyone to know about it. This will change over the course of the relationship, until finally she tells off Harmony Kendall and the Cordettes for making fun of Xander [in Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered--see 28MMM]."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14

23RR) "Like Stepford." POP CULTURE TIME: "Buffy is referring to Ira Levin's social horror novel, The Stepford Wives. In the book, a young couple moves to Stepford, Connecticut, a small town in which all the women are beautiful, have the bodies of Playboy bunnies, and seem to derive all joy in life from caring for their children, cleaning their houses, and making their husbands happy. Eventually, Joanna, the wife of the newcomer couple, learns that all the wives in Stepford are robot replacements for the human wives, who have been murdered by the Men's Club of Stepford. The book was made into a film in 1975...which was directed by Bryan Forbes and starred Katherine Ross and Paula Prentiss. Ted himself is a twist on the Stepford story--a human-seeming robot who seeks to turn human women into obedient, loving entities totally under his control and...[kidnaps them, and takes them to his bunker o' love, until they die]."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14, with corrections by anom

23SS) "Nobody beats 'The Machine'." WHAT'S IN A NAME?: "This speech is just filled with dramatic irony. It's highly appropriate that Ted the robot would have the nickname 'The Machine' and that he would know everything about computers. Willow will echo Neal's sentiments at the end of the episode, saying that the real Ted must have been a genius (see 23Cx5)."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14

23TT) ...she sees it's the picture of her and her mother from their refrigerator at home with her own face folded back. SCARY TED: "Ted's behavior is typical of an obsessed stalker: he's created a fantasy about his relationship with Joyce that goes far beyond what he and Joyce have actually discussed or done, and he's eliminated elements of Joyce's life that don't fit his fantasy: Buffy."--MaeveRigan, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:47:21

23UU) "...and help the people in it to be more productive, more considerate and more honest. Amen." LIKE A PRAYER: "Buffy is clearly being prayed at here."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14

23VV) "I think every home should have one of you. THAT'S PUNNY!: "With hindsight, a dark little pun about Ted's status as domestic appliance."--KdS, Fri, 02/21/03 at 09:52:16

MUSICAL FUN: "Every Home Should Have One is the name of a 1976 Patti Austin jazz album produced by Quincy Jones. Interestingly, the first two tracks on the record were Do You Love Me? and Love Me To Death."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14

23WW) "Well, you know, little lady, it's not just for looks, it's for building strong bodies." CONDESCENDING TED: "Again, Ted addresses Buffy with the condescending 'little lady' comment. His statement, which echoes 1950s' and 1960s' slogans about eating correctly for good health, is ironic--Buffy is already supernaturally strong, and Ted will soon have occasion to find out just how strong she really is."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14

The exact slogan is "...Wonder Bread, whose slogan said it 'builds strong bodies 12 ways!' I think this referred to 12 vitamins & minerals it was supplemented with, which it needed since the original nutrients (& fiber) in the wheat it was made from were refined out of it. Not quite as artificial as Ted, but..."--submitted by anom

23XX) "Now, Joycie, let me handle this." FATHERLY TED: "With this, Ted dismisses Joyce's statement that she is not...[yet planning on marrying Ted.] His nickname for her--'Joycie'--sounds childish, almost infantile, while his "let me handle this" implies that Joyce can't handle such a complicated subject as marriage without his aid and to let him talk and think about it. In one six-word sentence, he reduces a mature woman to the level of a child who needs someone to tell her what to do."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14, some corrections made by anom

Again, also, we see him trying to usurp the role of father in the house, which instantly angers Buffy. Also, he really does have no right to be the one to talk to Buffy about this. Most psychology books will tell you that the stepparent always must defer to the real parent, especially in a situation such as this, where he is the new element in the household.

23YY) "I'd feel like killing myself." WELL, YOU ASKED: "Joyce is horrified by this sentiment; Ted, while troubled by the depth of Buffy's opposition to the marriage, clearly isn't bothered by the thought of Buffy's suicide one bit."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14

23ZZ) "Sweetheart, you should try and get used to me, 'cause you know what? I'm not going anywhere." FATHER TED: "'Sweetheart' is a rather demeaning thing to call a young woman who would rather die than see her mother marry you. Buffy obviously is not his sweetheart. Also, his 'you should try to get used to me, because I'm not going anywhere' comment could also be spoken by a rejected adolescent boy telling the girl he likes that he is not going to give up. Ted seems incapable of dealing with women except as children and as sex objects."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14

23AAA) "...you don't get to be salesman of the year by giving up after a couple of rejections." FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: After this line, the original script had a small, foreshadowy exchange where Joyce asks, amazed, "Where did you come from?" and Ted answers, "Straight from the factory. And we pass those savings on to you."--"Ted" by David Greenwalt & Joss Whedon, available through Pocketbooks, Inc., as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Two, Volume 2

23BBB) "I don't see how it's any different from you snooping around my office, do you?" THE DIFFERENCE: "Actually...yes. Buffy went to his workplace, as Ted went to Buffy's school. Buffy didn't break into his house or go through his thing--though Buffy's friends will do so later in the episode. But Buffy's presence at his office is less of an issue than her discovery of and revelation of his already-made plans to marry Joyce. Ted, furious that Buffy has found out part of the truth, went searching through her things for some secret that would allow him to blackmail her into complicity."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14

23CCC) "... and you'll spend your best dating years behind the wall of a mental institution." CONTINUITY CHECK: "The revelations of Normal Again may give some explanation of just why Buffy reacts so violently to this speech."--KdS, Fri, 02/21/03 at 09:52:16 See 3NN, 24H, 28GGG, 30ZZ, 34JJ, 34YY, 34ZZ, 34BBB, and 35WW.

DEAR DIARY: See 7O.

23DDD) "I was *so* hoping you'd do that." SLAYER POWER: "Another clue that Ted is not a human; he is strong enough to knock a Slayer into a wall. Your average human male couldn't do that."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14

Buffy will later chastise herself for hitting a human that hard (see 23PPP), but note how she holds on to her own morality here. She refuses to strike until he does first.

23EEE) Buffy follows him into the hall and punches him in the face again. OOPS!: "When the first fight between Buffy and Ted starts, Ted drops Buffy's diary in the doorway. A few seconds later it has disappeared."--Cactus Watcher, Fri, 02/21/03 at 07:44:26

AGGRESSIVE BUFFY: "At this point Buffy has moved from self-defense to the pure rage she was in when she was fighting the hapless vamp earlier."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:09:14

Part Two