
This Buffy The Vampire Slayer Episode Betrayed The Show’s Original Premise And Still Feels Weird 27 Years Later
Buffy the Vampire Slayer gained its following with its wide variety of supernatural storylines that didn’t limit themselves to the show’s titular monsters, but one episode from December 1997 is a strong example of a notable misstep. Sarah Michelle Gellar led the Buffy the Vampire Slayer cast throughout the show’s run, taking the audience on a thrill ride of horror hallmarks and unexpected plot twists. However, not every sharp left turn was particularly well executed, nor were they always faithful to the show’s vibe.
Buffy and its Angel spinoff went on to combine to create a sprawling saga, telling countless stories that allowed crossovers and Easter Eggs to feature in each show. Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘s best episodes tended to revisit the original threat to Gellar’s character and her allies – supernatural forces. That being said, the franchise quite often took artful diversions from its relative predictability to subvert expectations. There are several examples of this being a triumph, but other times when the episode felt like it was from another show entirely.
John Ritter’s Buffy The Vampire Slayer Character Being A Killer Robot Was One Twist Too Far
Ted turned out to be mechanical rather than supernatural

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season 2, episode 11, “Ted,” is filled with plot twists. Unfortunately, it goes a step too far when trying to catch the audience off-guard. The first shocker is John Ritter’s Ted Buchannan turning out to be, to put it lightly, a thoroughly unpleasant person. Ritter is known for playing nice guys, so having Ted initially seem like he belongs to this category only for him to turn out to be horrible is a brilliant way to surprise viewers. Then, the episode has Buffy accidentally “kill” her mother’s new love interest, resulting in a bizarre comeback.
“Given how mysterious and twist-ridden “Ted” already was, the reveal of the villain’s mechanical nature saturated the plot a little too much and made the installment feel like a parody.“
“Ted” throws another twist into the mix when Ritter’s character is revealed to be a robotic reproduction built by the original Ted, and not a supernatural monster as the episode is clearly trying to imply. Instead, he was programmed to kidnap women who looked just like his wife who had abandoned him decades before and leave them to die in his bunker just like his late spouse. Given how mysterious and twist-ridden “Ted” already was, the reveal of the villain’s mechanical nature saturated the plot a little too much and made the installment feel like a parody.
Ted Turning Out To Be Human Would Have Been A More Interesting Scenario For Buffy’s Character
It would have been a far darker and surprising turn for Buffy
“Ted” tries to plant another form of misdirection after the villain’s apparent demise by falsely declaring Ritter’s character as just an ordinary human with no ties to the supernatural. This does come as a shock. Given the show’s history, it only seemed like a matter of time before Ted’s sinister demeanor was revealed to be an act of foreshadowing. However, rather than using her superior physical strength as the Slayer to defeat a demon or another form of beast, Buffy is devastated when she thinks she is responsible for the death of a character who was essentially defenceless against her.
Sadly, “Ted” robs Buffy of her regret when Ritter’s character is revealed to be a machine. If Ted was human, and Buffy had killed him, it would’ve been a huge moment in her development. She is still very young in season 2, and although she does have a lot of combat experience, Buffy’s decision to take on Ted without confirming his nature shows a lack of situational awareness. Moving forward with the guilt of taking a human life after misinterpreting certain signs would have been a much more artful twist than the lack of subtlety demonstrated by the robot reveal.
The Sci-Fi Twist in “Ted” Completely Ignored Buffy’s Horror Genre
John Ritter’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode pretty much stayed away from supernatural themes

“ted” doesn’t have a bad storyline by any means. It’s shockingly dark in a way that Buffy was rarely able to pull off, which is a good thing, but it was very short on the supernatural charm the show almost always championed. In short, it was a sci-fi thriller rather than a supernatural story. Of course, “Ted” wasn’t the only episode that toyed with the show’s genre, but it was one of the first big attempts to subvert expectations, and the growing pains really shone through in the form of trying too hard.
“Both Buffy and Giles (Anthony Head) can be seen performing their regular patrol duties at various points in the installment.“
The episode did feature a few glimmers of its usual self, although they were relegated to very short sequences that didn’t have any major impact on the plot. For instance, David Boreanaz’s Angel has a brief scene with Buffy. Plus, both Buffy and Giles (Anthony Head) can be seen performing their regular vampire patrol duties at various points in the installment. That being said, none of this is enough to make it feel much like a passable episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Original article at Screen Rant
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