The Belated Tragedy of Ted
I think a lot about how the introduction of Pete as a fully-formed character changes how the fandom perceives Ted's role in the wider Hatchetfield story.
Like, at first it was just Ted--office sleazeball, horny bastard, selfish coward, and ultimate loser. Sure, he’s hilarious, imminently watchable, and imbued with surprising moments of depth and pathos, but at the end of the day Ted was still that gross guy who’s penchant for dying became of one Hatchetfield’s most beloved recurring gags. The story goes: Ted’s a douche, someone kills him for some silly reason, Tinky jiggles his toy box, and we all roll our eyes and laugh--“Oh Ted, dying again. What a pathetic drowned rat of a man, lmao.”
But then we got to truly meet Pete, unironically the coolest kid in Hatchetfield, who chooses to sacrifice himself to save the world in direct contrast to Ted’s choice to run and abandon Paul to the Apotheosis. Pete, who is good and kind and gentle and brave and everything his disastrous brother is not. Pete, who, despite it all, really loves Ted.
And suddenly Ted’s deaths, routine as clockwork (tick tock, Teddy Bear), stop being just a reliably good joke about a horny bastard and instead also become about the heartbreak of a good, heroic kid who deserves far better than burying his beloved older brother.
I dunno, I just think it’s a really interesting example of how world-building can manipulate how the audience thinks about certain characters or moments only tangentially related to the piece of story being developed.
Also, I just the love the Spankoffskis, different as they are. There's that, too.
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