Act Three
23FFF) "Ma'am, I'm Detective Stein." WHAT'S IN A NAME?: "'Stein' is the German word for 'stone.' Detective Stein proves to be 'as hard as a rock' on Buffy while questioning her."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 16:08:24
CONTINUITY CHECK: Detective Stein will question Buffy again in Becoming II (see 24K) and Consequences.
23GGG) "I hit him." TAKING RESPONSIBILITY: Particuarly important "is the revelation that Joyce will cover up a killing for Buffy and that Buffy's conscience is too strong to acquiesce."--KdS, Fri, 02/21/03 at 09:52:16
23HHH) "I don't bruise easily." SLAYER POWER: "Slayer super-healing powers are creating a problem with Buffy's credibility."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 16:08:24 See 8FF, 32JJ, and 35LL.
23III) "...Ted never hit you before tonight?" HIGHLY SUSPECT: "Detective Stein is expressing a skepticism all too common among law enforcement professionals--doubt as to the seriousness of abuse. The attitude involves a Catch-22: if this is the first time you've been hit, you shouldn't complain of abuse, because there is no history of it, and if this isn't the first time you've been hit, you shouldn't complain of abuse, because you've put up with it before."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 16:08:24
23JJJ) "She says Mr. Buchanan struck her, and if that's the case..." BUFFY IN DANGER: Stein's tone of voice and phrasing again imply that he does not believe Buffy. "Buffy is, in fact, in danger of being charged with murder. According to California law, '[m]urder is the unlawful killing of a human being, or a fetus [except in a therapeutic abortion], with malice aforethought...Such malice may be express or implied. It is express when there is manifested a deliberate intention unlawfully to take away the life of a fellow creature. It is implied, when no considerable provocation appears, or when the circumstances attending the killing show an abandoned and malignant heart.' (http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=pen&group=00001-01000&file=187-199) While it's unlikely she would be charged with murder in the first degree, she could be charged as an adult and charged with murder in the second degree or manslaughter.
She can't claim self-defense, either. By California law, 'a person may use only as much force that he or she reasonably believes is necessary to prevent immediate unlawful harm to a person. Deadly force is only permissible when it reasonably appears necessary to avoid immediate death or serious bodily harm.' (www.glencoe.com/ps/cl/pdf/cl_ca_supplement.html) Though Ted was beating her, there is little if any physical evidence of this."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 16:08:24
WHAT'S IN A NAME?: Ted's last name, "Buchanan is a Scottish name, from the Gaelic words 'buth chanain,' which means 'house of the canon.' The first Buchanan may have been a clergyman or from one of the families who served the Church. [From Scottish Clan and Family Encyclopedia, edited by George Way of Plean and Romilly Squire, HarperCollins Publishers, Glasgow, Scotland, UK 1994, pp. 366-67.] In addition to being a clergyman, a 'canon' is also defined as a general law, principle, rule or criterion, or a church decree or law. This is singularly suitable for Ted, who definitely feels that his word should be canon--the true law--in his house."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 16:08:24
23LLL) Cut inside the car. FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: "Joyce and Buffy sit side by side. Silent. Buffy almost tries to say something to her mother, but either thinks better of it or can't think of anything to say. Joyce never looks at her."--"Ted" by David Greenwalt & Joss Whedon, available through Pocketbooks, Inc., as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Two, Volume 2
23MMM) "A giant bug?" CONTINUITY CHECK: Yet another reference to the fake Miss French/Bug Lady in Teacher's Pet (see 4II).
23NNN) "But I'm sure it wasn't your fault. He started it." FRIENDSHIP: It is important to once again note what great friends Buffy has. They instantly take her side even though they'd liked him before. Their faith in their friend is so strong that even when she believes that she has done a horrible act, they set out to disprove her.
23OOO) "He was a person, and I killed him." LAMENT: "Both statements are wrong, but it shows just how hard Buffy has been hit. She genuinely believes that she has killed an innocent human being, and that she is responsible--morally, if not legally."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 16:08:24
This is not the first time the Scooby Gang has confronted the possibility that the villain might be human (see 9O, 9P, and 9Q), but it is the first time Buffy has confronted the possiblity that she may have killed a non-supernatural human (see 6OO).
23PPP) "I'm the Slayer. I had no right to hit him like that." THE SLAYER'S RESPONSIBILITY: This is a very interesting sentence, because Buffy is stating that she has the responsibility, as Slayer, not only to use her powers when needed, but to restrain them when needed, as well. See 9R.
23QQQ) "I sometimes like things that are not good for me." TOO TRUE: "It's true. Xander has a tendency to be drawn to people and things that are dark, dangerous or demonic (see 16Nx4)." The implication is also that Cordy is not good for him, either.--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 16:08:24, with some additions by Rob
23RRR) "But she's like this superman. Shouldn't there be different rules for her?" FASCIST CORDY: Another example of Cordy's neo-fascism (see 20V). She has a very might-makes-right mentality. The rich are more powerful than the poor. Therefore, in her mind, the rich are entitled to better priveleges than the poor (like in George Orwell's Animal Farm, "All animals are equal, except some animals are more equal than others."). Buffy is more powerful than the average human. Therefore, Cordy thinks she should be entitled to transcend human laws. Strictly speaking, if Buffy wanted to, she could do whatever she wanted. If she were jailed, police, guards, bars and a jail cell couldn't hold a Slayer who didn't want to be held too long (which is what makes Faith's decision to turn herself in, in Sanctuary, all the more meaningful). The thing that keeps the Slayer in check is her sense of duty, and that she always keeps in mind the fact that she is there to uphold humanity and its laws. Faith, as she dances with the dark side in the third season, particularly in Bad Girls, suscribes to Cordy's statement here. She thinks that Slayers are better than humans and can use their superiority to enjoy themselves, even if it's at the expense of the rest of the human race.
23SSS) "Whatever the authorities have planned for her, it can't be much worse than what she's doing to herself." JUST THE FACTS, MA'AM: "If Buffy were to be tried as an adult and found guilty of manslaughter, she would spend two years in youth detention and then spend anywhere from thirteen years to life in prison. If she were to be tried as an adult and found guilty of murder in the second degree, she would spend two years in youth detention and then spend anywhere from twenty-three years to life in prison. I have to say that I think that fifteen to life and twenty-five to life sound a lot worse than feeling incredibly guilty."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 16:08:24
23TTT) "I guess you should know, since you helped raise that demon that killed that guy that time?" CONTINUITY CHECK: Cordy, blunt as usual, is referring to the story about Giles' past he told Buffy in The Dark Age (see 20JJJ).
23UUU) "Until Buffy regains her equilibrium, there *is* no Slayer." UM, GILES?: Technically speaking, there is a Slayer, with or without Buffy, whom we met just the two-part episode before, What's My Line (see 21Yx4), but we get Giles' point. He means that with Buffy in her current state, she is not the Slayer.
23VVV) "I can't, not yet." DISTRUSTFUL JOYCE: "While Joyce is willing to protect Buffy, she still has doubts about Buffy's guilt. It foreshadows the suspicions about Kendra's death, where Joyce did somewhat believe that Buffy was involved." Unfortunately, this episode does slightly damage the bond of trust Buffy had built up in School Hard (see 15Mx4), even though Buffy does turn out to be innocent by the end.--ponygirl, Fri, 02/21/03 at 11:52:26
THE JOYCE/JENNY CONNECTION: As previously mentioned, Giles and Jenny's relationship is compared and contrasted to Joyce and Ted's in this episode. Interestingly, here Joyce echoes Jenny again, but instead it involves her relationship to Buffy. Just as Jenny told Giles at the start of the episode that she needed time, that she wasn't yet ready to let him be a part of her life again, so Joyce does to Buffy here. Neither are ready for forgiveness.
23WWW) Willow is staring into a microscope. FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: "Willow is in full chemist mode, beakers abubblin'."--"Ted" by David Greenwalt & Joss Whedon, available through Pocketbooks, Inc., as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Two, Volume 2
23XXX) "...I think it's Dematorin. It's like a tranquilizer, keeps you all mellow and compliant. It also shares a few components with Ecstasy." WILLOW THE PHARMACIST: "Apparently, in Buffyverse science it is possible to carry out high-level chemical analysis with the naked eye and an optical microscope (grin). In real life, it is perfectly possible to detect drug substances in complex mixtures, but the most common technique that would be used would be mass spectrometry, which a high school would almost certainly not have the equipment for. It might be possible that Sunnydale High would have a relatively low-end infra-red spectrometer, but very careful purification of the extracts from the biscuit would be necessary, and it might be difficult to obtain a reference spectrum for the suspected substance(s) to compare with the test spectrum. All the references to Dematorin on Google.com are to this BtVS episode, suggesting that it does not exist in real life…MDMA (Ecstasy) is a stimulant rather than a tranquilizer. Strictly speaking, Ecstasy is a single chemical, so a chemist would talk about another drug having ‘a similar structure’ rather than ‘shares a few components’. I'm willing to accept that Willow was talking loosely in the presence of the uneducated, however."--KdS, Fri, 02/21/03 at 09:52:16
X MARKS THE SPOT: "Ecstasy, according to Partnership for a Drug-Free America, ‘is a psychoactive drug with amphetamine-like and hallucinogenic properties. It can be extremely dangerous, especially in high doses. The drug, which accelerates the release of serotonin in the brain, provides users with an intense high, characterized by extreme feelings of love and acceptance. Ecstasy can cause dramatic increases in body temperature and can lead to muscle breakdown, as well as kidney and cardiovascular system failure, which have been reported in some fatalities. Mixing Ecstasy with alcohol or other drugs [as Ted has done here, with Dematorin] increases the risk of adverse reaction. Research shows that Ecstasy, used in heavy doses, is neurotoxic. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, research findings link Ecstasy use to long-term damage to parts of the brain critical to thought and memory.'"--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 16:08:24
23YYY) "I adore you!" YEAH, RIGHT!: What the transcript does not manage to capture is the best part of this joke, that, with him under the influence of the drugs, even Willow doesn't fall for this line and believe he means it literally. She gives him more of an amused look than a "wide smile," the way the transcript describes it.
23ZZZ) "...get our Slayer back on her feet before somebody else gets hurt." YOU GOTTA HAVE FRIENDS: This episode is a great example of how important Buffy's friends are to her. Here, they literally band together, without Buffy's knowledge, to save her, when she is not capable of doing it or dealing with it herself.
23Ax4) "...this day can't get any worse." JINX!: Ouch, twice in one episode! See 23E.
Act Four
23Bx4) "That's right, little lady, you killed me. Do we have something to say about that? Are we sorry?" TEDDY KNOWS BEST: "Ted's speech is almost a parody of a parent from a 1950s sitcom scolding a child for violating a minor rule, such as curfew."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 16:08:24
23Cx4) Ted flinches, but doesn't back off. FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: "Ted comes at Buffy and she kicks him hard. He staggers back and she comes at him with a series of blows that would cripple a normal man. Which Ted is not, since he just smiles and grabs her by the throat."--"Ted" by David Greenwalt & Joss Whedon, available through Pocketbooks, Inc., as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Two, Volume 2
23Dx4) "That wasn't playing fair, missy!" THE RULES: "A rather odd thing to say, since Ted was tightening his grip on Buffy's throat prior to having his arm cut with a nail file. But it illustrates Ted's programmed pathology--Buffy is an obstacle to his marriage to Joyce, so Buffy should hurry up and be dead, so that she will be gone and he and Joyce can live happily ever after. The concept of a woman fighting back is plainly is alien to him...as is the notion that Joyce might not appreciate having her only child killed, much less marrying her daughter's murderer."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 16:08:24
23Ex4) Cut to Ted's small workshop. TED'S LITTLE SHOPPE: "The apartment is below a shop front, but I can't guess what business it might do. The machinery in the shop consists of two drill presses and a small band saw which has no blade when we see it. The large round thing on the drill press in the forground is a table top with slots for clamping down matieral to be drilled to keep it from spinning with the drill bit. The circular lines help center round workpieces on the table. This kind of equipment would be more useful for building sets for the show than for keeping Ted running."--Cactus Watcher, Fri, 02/21/03 at 07:44:26
23Fx4) "So either our boy was a Mormon, or..." POLYGAMY: "Contrary to popular tradition and the humorous portrayal here, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has an official and long-standing policy against plural marriage. In 1998, Church President Gordon B. Hinckley made the following statement about the Church's position on plural marriage: 'This Church has nothing whatever to do with those practicing polygamy. They are not members of this Church...If any of our members are found to be practicing plural marriage, they are excommunicated, the most serious penalty the Church can impose. Not only are those so involved in direct violation of the civil law, they are in violation of the law of this Church.'"--pr10n, Fri, 02/21/03 at 20:49:11
23Gx4) "Yeah, and this rug? It doesn't go with the rest of the decor." PERCEPTIVE CORDY: "For...[the first time], Cordelia's highly-attuned sense of taste has a use!" This kind of perception will be referenced once again in Angel's City of..., where Cordelia realizes that Russell Winters is a vampire, only because he lives alone in a mansion, has all his curtains drawn, and doesn't have any mirrors!--KdS, Fri, 02/21/03 at 09:52:16
23Hx4) "They said I must've been dead for six minutes. They said any longer and it would've caused brain damage." REAL MEDICINE: "Ted is wrong. According to CPR 2000 (http://www.cpr2000.qas.qld.gov.au/faq/faq_04.html), 'The brain is very sensitive to oxygen starvation. After 4 minutes, brain damage is possible. After 6-10 minutes brain damage is likely. If the brain is without oxygen for over 10 minutes this will almost certainly lead to brain damage.' By the way, Joyce isn't thinking here. Didn't it take a few minutes for Joyce to call 911 and a few more for the cops and the ambulance to arrive? If Ted had been clinically dead for six minutes, wouldn't that mean that the EMTs either managed to restart his heart or to find a thready pulse shortly after they arrived?" Obviously, her surprise at seeing him alive (and denial as to the supernatural goings-on of Sunnydale) kept her from examining his words too carefully, although, to her credit, she does seem to be suspicious throughout this scene, as it plays on film (although this is not completely apparent in the transcript).--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 16:08:24
23Ix4) "They took me to the morgue." HELL FREEZES OVER: "The typical temperature in a morgue refrigerator is -2 degrees Celsius to +4 degrees Celsius, so...[Ted's story] isn't probable."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 16:08:24
23Jx4) "Daddy's here." EEWW!: "With these three sentences, Ted reasserts his intention of taking over Joyce's life once more, as a parent would rule the life of a young child. Definitely a whiff of incest there, as 'Daddy' is planning on marrying 'Joycie.' Ted's referring to himself as 'Daddy' also echoes Spike's calling himself 'Daddy' and Dru's calling Angel 'Daddy.'"--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 16:08:24
23Kx4) The place is furnished as an apartment. FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: "What they find inside is a time capsule -- a perfect kitschy 50's home set up inside a concrete bunker. There are even windows that look out onto concrete wall. It's spotless. It's creepy."--"Ted" by David Greenwalt & Joss Whedon, available through Pocketbooks, Inc., as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Two, Volume 2
The idea of a perfectly preserved circa 1950s apartment underground later became the basis for a 1999 film starring Brendan Fraser and Alicia Silverstone, Blast from the Past, in which an eccentric inventor and his pregnant wife, believing nuclear war has started in the 1960s, go into an underground bomb shelter which has been furnished to look like their home. The lock on the door has a timer that will only open after 30 some odd years. When the door finally opens, their son, now in his early 30s and they must adjust to life in the late 90s after having lived in a virtual time bubble for the past 30 years.
23Lx4) "His first four wives." ONCE UPON A TIME: This is reminiscent of the classic fairy tale of "Bluebeard who keeps hunting the perfect wife and beheads the ones who don't fit until he gets it right, hiding their corpses in the attic or proverbial closet, sort like robot Ted hides the bodies of his disappointing wives."--Shadowkat, "Robot Metaphors in BtVS, Part 1: Creating Mr. and Ms. Perfect," from http://www.geocities.com/shadowkatbtvs
TRUE CRIME: "[T]his detail really reminds me of the infamous English serial murderer John Christie, who shortly after World War II moved out of his flat in West London leaving his wife under the bedroom floor, three women in a wallpapered-over kitchen cupboard, and two others buried in the garden. Unfortunately for him, the new renter decided to do some remodelling."--KdS, Fri, 02/21/03 at 09:52:16
LINKAGE: "The concept of the episode bears certain similarities to the 1987 psychological [film] thriller, The Stepfather, about a psychopathic perfectionist who travels around the US looking for the perfect wife and children and killing those who fail to measure up."--KdS, Fri, 02/21/03 at 09:52:16
23Mx4) "I couldn't go into that light." HEAVEN IS A PLACE ON EARTH: "A reference to the common detail of near-death-experiences of being drawn into a white light."--KdS, Fri, 02/21/03 at 09:52:16
23Nx4) "...can go away where no one will bother us again." UTOPIA?: "Ted's telling Joyce exactly what to do in all situations "to make things right" and his notion of going away to a perfect place where no one will bother them again shows, once again, his desire/need to control the women in his life and his concept of a ideal relationship--far away and isolated, so that nothing from outside could ever intrude on his perfectly ordered world."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 16:08:24
23Ox4) "I don't take orders from women! I'm not wired that way!" ROBOT BASTARD: "Ted is incapable of accepting even a suggestion from a woman, though Joyce is plainly worried and is recommending that Ted rest because she is concerned about him, not because she is trying to order him around."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 16:08:24
23Px4) "The...advantages of layers of tweed. Better than kevlar." TWEEDY GILES: "Giles shows real style here, joking about the tweed that he always wears while trying to reassure Jenny and make her feel better."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 16:08:24
23Qx4) "Yeah, you really know how to woo a girl back, don't cha?" COMPARE AND CONTRAST: "Giles' attempts to 'woo [Jenny] back' provide the counterpart to Joyce and Ted's deranged romance in Ted. Even though everything seems to go wrong for them, they are both completely human and truly care for one another, so that the dangers they face together ultimately do bring them closer. In contrast, Ted's insistence on controlling every woman he 'loves' only drives them away emotionally."--MaeveRigan, Fri, 02/21/03 at 13:47:21
23Rx4) "Um, to-to-to celebrate!" FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: "She is pretending nothing's wrong. She is not the great pretender."--"Ted" by David Greenwalt & Joss Whedon, available through Pocketbooks, Inc., as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Two, Volume 2
23Sx4) "They're your size, they're always your size. You left me once, but I keep bringing you back." CREEPY TEDDY: "It seems that Joyce became a target simply because she resembled Inventor Ted's first wife in face, size and (probably) personality."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 16:08:24
23Tx4) "I don't stand for this kind of malarkey in my house!" DEJA VU: "Here Ted repeats what he said to Buffy on the miniature golf course."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 16:08:24
23Ux4) He turns to face her, and she swings up into his face with the cast-iron skillet. FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT: "He turns and she homeruns his face. He flies back, lands hard."--"Ted" by David Greenwalt & Joss Whedon, available through Pocketbooks, Inc., as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Two, Volume 2
...AND INTO THE FIRE: "It's nicely ironic that Buffy beats Ted to death with a frying pan, the traditional comedy weapon (in the UK at least) of the outraged wife."--KdS, Fri, 02/21/03 at 09:52:16
PRODUCTION NOTES: "According to the Buffy Trivia Guide at http://www.restlessbtvs.com/episodes/season2/11ted/index.html, '[i]n the final fight scene between Sarah Michelle Gellar and John Ritter...both Sarah and John were sick. Sarah had the flu and John had food poisoning."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 16:08:24
23Vx4) "This house is mine!" OWNERSHIP: "I take kind of a mixed message from this. On the one hand Buffy is eliminating the interloper, proving that Ted's traditonal vision of a family is not necessary to create a home. The single parent household is valid on its own. On the other hand Buffy is re-asserting her primacy in her mother's life. Not until the very end of her life will Joyce show romantic interest in a man again."--ponygirl, Fri, 02/21/03 at 11:52:26
23Wx4) "How about a nice game of Parcheesi?" FUN N' GAMES: "The object of Parcheesi is to be the first person to move four pawns from START to HOME. In a grotesque way, that echoes what Ted did with four women--he treated them as pawns, unable to do anything without him, and then he 'moved' their corpses to his 'home.'"--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 16:08:24
23Xx4) ...and over to the porch. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: "When Buffy and Joyce are sitting on the front porch and talking near the end of the show, we can see into the house. We know from interviews this house is an actual residence not a shooting set on a lot. The room behind Buffy and Joyce appears to be a dining room just as the interior we see on the sound stage. Through the window on the real house we can see another window on the side of the house. This window is larger than the ones we see in that wall of the interior of dining room in the Body, for example. But, it is in the correct place. All in all, a pretty good match." In What's My Line, in fact, the interior of the Summers house was shot on location, not on the set, and, even inside, it is a very close match.--Cactus Watcher, Fri, 02/21/03 at 07:44:26
23Yx4) "Just nothing with horror in it. Or romance. Or men." POOR JOYCE: "Joyce's attraction and disappointment in Ted was actually quite touching. He seemed to be the perfect man. He seemed to care only about her. What the human Ted didn't understand - is it wasn't super-strength or longevity his wife needed. It was love, unconditional and simple. If he had loved her he would have been able to let her go."--Shadowkat, "Robot Metaphors in BtVS, Part 1: Creating Mr. and Ms. Perfect," from http://www.geocities.com/shadowkatbtvs
23Zx4) "I guess we're 'Thelma and Louise'ing it again." POP CULTURE TIME: Thelma and Louise is a controversial film from 1991, starring Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon, about two women on the run from the law. The Geena Davis character had been abused by her husband, and Susan Sarandon encourages her to go out with her for the night. While they are out, they end up killing a would-be rapist in the heat of the moment. From there, they go on a crime spree, robbing banks, and having a grand old time in a genre heretofore dominated by men. This film was extremely controversial, hailed by some as a feminist manifesto and others as a male-bashing travesty. Interestingly, the film's tragic ending, though, muddies the waters further when one questions whether the heroines are paying for their sins or just choosing their own destinies.
23Ax5) "He's on the scrap heap...Of life." CLARIFICATION: Some people have questioned why the cops, when they saw Ted's body at the end, (a) didn't notice the wires and (b) made it possible for Willow to take Ted back with her. The answer is that Ted's morgue story probably did mostly happen the way he said. After his computer shutdown and reboot was complete, he woke up in the morgue, to the surprise of the morgue attendants, assumably. So the cops by that point were no longer looking for Ted's murderer, because he was "alive"! By the end, Buffy probably hid the "corpse," revived Joyce and told her the police had taken the body. And then of course, the cops were given the location of Ted's secret apartment, knew about his past, and probably have an APB out on him to this day!
23Bx5) "I build a better Ted. He brings her back, holds her hostage in his bunker'o'love until she dies." SELF-IMPROVEMENT: "[Interestingly,] instead of creating...[the perfect] wife, Ted recreates himself - as Xander puts it - builds a better Ted. 'I'll create the perfect husband. I'm not good enough as I am, she left the current version, so I'll make a better model.'"--Shadowkat, "Robot Metaphors in BtVS, Part 1: Creating Mr. and Ms. Perfect," from http://www.geocities.com/shadowkatbtvs
BUFFYVERSE ROBOTICS: Robots appear in I, Robot...You, Jane (see 8OO) through Ted to I Was Made to Love You and Intervention. "In each case, without exception the replacement model or robot is proven to be defective next to the actual model. A robot can't replace a living thing. Also there's an interesting progression here - we move from killer robots slowly to robots who are misused by humans and the human responsibility for creating the robot and misusing it."--shadowkat, Fri, 02/21/03 at 21:08:09
23Cx5) "I just wanna learn stuff." FORESHADOWY GOODNESS: "This is the first sign of what will be set up as Willow's key psychological failing in S5-6, the dangerously rationalist and materialist approach to magic that assumes that magical forces have no more inherent morality than physical ones."--KdS, Fri, 02/21/03 at 09:52:16 See 42EEE.
Buffy's "you're supposed to use your powers for good" line eerily foreshadows Willow's descent into evil, due to KdS's aforementioned reasons.
"Willow oddly enough appreciates Ted's abilities and sympathizes with him. Stating the sad part is he was such a genius. [By the sixth season,] Willow would like to control love as well."--Shadowkat, "Robot Metaphors in BtVS, Part 1: Creating Mr. and Ms. Perfect," from http://www.geocities.com/shadowkatbtvs
"Later Willow using Warren's model [for the Aprilbot], repairs and uses the Buffybot."--shadowkat, Fri, 02/21/03 at 07:15:40
23Dx5) "I mean, what is it with grownups these days?" THE JENNY/TED CONNECTION: "The episode closes, as it opened, with two adults kissing and hugging. Giles and Jenny look very happy and very much in love--but, ominously, so did Ted and Joyce in the beginning. Things ended up going horribly wrong because of Ted's numerous secrets. As we will discover, Jenny Calendar is keeping secrets as well--and one of those secrets will result in her death."--Rhys, Fri, 02/21/03 at 16:08:24