Ted

I want to like this episode. I really do. I like John Ritter--and he's awesomely creepy in a Stepford way in this. But...Nope. I was hoping that as I rewatched it, I'd find some electric connection to it that I'd missed earlier, like I did with "The Pack."

Nope.

Here are the couple things I did notice. This is superficial, but....bib overalls? Buffy wandering around in shapeless, huge bib overalls? I know that clothing reflects aspects of the personality (look at Xander's costuming; it's clear which side of him will appear in almost every scene by the clothes), and yea, Buffy thinks she killed a human, which is for her the carnal sin. Does that mean she has to commit the carnal sin in clothing? The bibs haven't appeared before, and I'm watching to see if they appear again, but that's soooo odd. The plaid shirt in What's my Line and then these bibs--that's not accidental. They are too extreme as choices--and she's fashiony in other parts of the same episodes.

Note that even though she absolutely refuses to kill a human, she will let one die--the zookeeper in The Pack and her friend Billy Ford could have been rescued.

I've read that the subtext of this episode is the whole jealousy at sharing her mom, guilt of child of divorce, etc. Sure, that's in there, but I'm not convinced that's any more than inevitable given the plot line. Perhaps this is another episode priming us for Angel to turn, getting the audience to see that someone who seems good can have an side, pointing out the duality.

Ted says, "The rules are the rules." More than once, I think. In "What's My Line," the point is made repeatedly that Buffy doesn't follow the rules. Not the Watcher's rules, not the school rules. Is the emphasis on "the rules" foreshadowing that even though Buffy breaks the rules, not everyone has a get out of jail free card--that if Angel breaks the rules (by finding a moment of happiness, perhaps...) there will be consequences?

Also, everyone--even Willow and Giles--believes Buffy did kill a human...except Xander. He pushes to research, to investigate. Even though Ted comes back and his robot-ness is revealed, the extent of his crimes is known because of Xander. His faith in Buffy is absolute, beyond Willow and Giles, even. Maybe that's infatuation-driven, fighting to retain the rosy glow of perfectenss, but he has seen Buffy be less than perfect; he has told her she's wrong on occasion. This goes deeper than not wanting his dream girl to do something wrong, I think.

Little note: the language in BtVS is always G-rated. Innuendo, yes, but actual bad words, no. This episode has both Willow and Buffy using "damn" and "hell"--and in fairly innocuous places. That's interesting...not sure why, but I noted it.