Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Recap/S2/E11 Ted

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Ted: Buffy, your mother and I are taking it one step at a time. And if things go the way I hope, maybe someday soon I just might ask her to tie the knot. How would you feel about that?
Buffy: I'd feel like killing myself.

Joyce's new boyfriend (John Ritter) is discovered to be abusive. And a robot.

Tropes

So you going to talk about something else at some point?

Cordelia: "I don't get it. Buffy's the Slayer, shouldn't she have--"
Xander: "What, a license to kill?"
Cordelia: "Well, not for fun, but she's like this Superman. Shouldn't there be different rules for her?"
Willow: "Sure, in a fascist society."
Cordelia: "Right! Why can't we have one of those?"

Xander: You wanna go in the utility closet and make out?
Cordelia: God! Is that all you ever think about? [[[Beat]]] Okay.

  • Karma Houdini: A line at the beginning implies the Order Of Taraka (from the previous episode) simply backed off (three were killed over the previous two episodes, but most are presumably still out there).
    • Because Spike is (temporarily) out of the picture, presumably they're no longer getting paid. According to Angel the "contract is off".
  • Meaningful Name: Ted is clearly based off serial killer Ted Bundy. The office whiteboard with the sales count even says "Ted B.".
  • The Mirror Shows Your True Self: Ted's reflection in the window behind Buffy tells the audience he's not a vampire.
  • Metaphorgotten

Buffy: Vampires are creeps.
Giles: Yes, that's why one slays them.
Buffy: I mean, people are perfectly happy getting along, and then vampires come, and they run around and they kill people, and they take over your whole house, they start making these stupid little mini pizzas, and everyone's like, 'I like your mini pizzas,' but I'm telling you, I am...
Giles: Uh, uh, Buffy! I-I believe the... Subtext here is, is, rapidly becoming, uh, uh, text.

  • My God, What Have I Done?: Buffy is delighted when Ted gives her an excuse to beat him up, until she knocks him down the stairs and breaks his neck.
  • Not Even Human
  • Only Sane Man: No one except Buffy suspects Ted's motives, and while at first it just seems like she's upset about her mother getting a boyfriend, it turns out that Ted laces his cooking with drugs to prevent people from catching on to his scheme.
  • Parent with New Paramour: A very, very dark take on this trope.
  • Peek-a-Boo Corpse: Although we don't see them, the (literal) skeletons Xander finds in the closet.
  • Percussive Therapy: Buffy says she's OK about her mother taking up with a new man. Gilligan Cut to a shocked Giles watching Buffy beating the crap out of a vampire with a dustbin lid.

Giles: It, it's, it's staking time, really. Don't you think?

Giles: No, no, really, I, uh, I don't think it went in too deep. The... advantages of layers of tweed. Better than kevlar.

Buffy: I'm pretty good at sensing what's going on around me, and there is definitely something wrong with this... Ted.

Xander: Ted!

Buffy: Of course, Ted. Who'd you think I was talking about?

Xander: Hi, Ted! Ted, who's here.

Ted: Hello, kids!

Buffy: Okay! That's it! I give up! Do I have to sound an air horn every time I walk into a room? What is it with grown-ups these days?

Xander: Yeah, with Spike and Drusilla out of the way, we've really been ridin' the mellow, and I am really jinxing the hell out of us by saying that?
Buffy: Yeah, but we'll let you off this time.

  • Unexplained Recovery: Ted is deliberately nonchalant about his reappearance after leaving Buffy's home in a body bag.

Ted: I'm a salesman! That's what you should have remembered. No matter how you put him down, a good salesman always bounces back.

Buffy: Willow, tell me you didn't keep any parts.
Willow: Not any big ones.
Buffy: Oh, Will, you're supposed to use your powers for good!
 

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