u/rozefox07

I worry about us being able to survive a year from now. I was recently diagnosed with a sizeable brain tumor. Its either a meningioma or a schwannoma(both benign). We wont know until its removed and sent to pathology. If its a meningioma then there's a real chance I win a shit load of money in a class tort settlement against the creators of the birth control shot Depo provera. If i win money ranging from 300,000-2mil I think I'm going to move me and my family out of the US before we cant. I want to know if anyone sees any of this actually happening or If the control is going to survive. Either way I need to keep my kids safe and sound no matter what.

I need to talk about Ted Mullens because I feel like the show keeps trying to sell him as this harmless, sweet, good guy, but on rewatch he comes off way more pushy and emotionally weird than I remembered.

First, what is everyone talking about with the “engagementsss” plural? He only got down on one knee one time. But throughout the show, people keep saying “engagementsss” and “failed engagementsss” with this emphasis on the S, like Alexis repeatedly led him to the altar or something. Unless I’m missing a scene, that framing always felt exaggerated.

And the actual proposal situation is uncomfortable. Alexis clearly does not want to marry him. Her body language is screaming it. But Ted keeps pushing with the whole “you said you’d marry me if you weren’t leaving, and now you're not leaving" bullshit. as if a technicality means she owes him a yes. Off to such a bad start.

Even later, when he says he’s “trying to be there for her,” it often feels less like support and more like him making his feelings her responsibility. He has this “well actually…” energy where he acts polite, but there’s a pretentiousness underneath it. Like he’s the guy who corrects every sentence you say but somehow still thinks he’s being charming.

The first night Alexis sleeps over at his place is another example. She sits down, clearly trying to be nice, and his dogs immediately jump all over her, one of them in a diaper, tails in her face, chaos everywhere. She tries to say she’s not really around dogs much and is obviously uncomfortable, but Ted somehow interprets that as her worrying the dogs won’t like her. Then he says, “Oh, don’t worry. They love you, lets pretend they're our kids.” Sir. Read the room.

And then there’s the old ladies’ in that retirement home dancing thing. Ted has clearly been talking about Alexis to these women, because when he brings her there, they act like she’s the devil herself. None of them want to touch her. One of them flipped her the bird. That didn’t come out of nowhere. He’s been telling this sad little “two failed engagements” story around town, making himself look like the sweet wounded guy and making Alexis look like the villain. That is not nothing. And yes Alexis could have been more upfront but it takes two to communicate.

Ted has a little dinner party with Alexis, twyla, Mutt, Stevie and David. He asked the question "what do you criminals talk about all day?" like he didnt have that dinner planned just to ask that question. The conversation went in a different direction but Ted brings it back around all to find out they were talking about dreams. She does some messed up stuff, she also almost cheated on Ted in the happy anniversary episode. She was in her villain era and he was in his whatever that was era.

I don’t think Ted is evil or anything. I just think he gets way too much credit for being “the nice guy” when a lot of his behavior is actually pushy, awkward, and emotionally manipulative in that soft-spoken “but I’m such a good guy” kind of way. Alexis looks uncomfortable around him so many times, and once you notice it, it’s hard to unsee.