Summary
- The Ted prequel show wraps up storylines and ends on a heartwarming note about the power of friendship and brotherhood.
- The season finale explores John's adolescent insecurities and his romantic interest in Betheny, leading to trouble with the police.
- The show leaves the door open for a potential season 2 if it becomes a hit, suggesting more stories to tell about John and Ted's lives.
Warning: This article contains spoilers for the Ted prequel show.
The ending of Seth MacFarlane’s Ted prequel show wraps up all the ongoing storylines and ends the series on a heartwarming note that reiterates the message of the entire franchise. Set in 1993, the Ted prequel series revolves around Ted’s childhood with John Bennett, the boy who brought him to life with a Christmas wish. Ted and John live with John’s parents, Matty and Susan – as well as his cousin, Blaire – in a Massachusetts suburb, where they buy pot from college students, rent pornographic tapes from the video store with fake I.D.s, and use Jerky Boys prank call routines to get back at their school bully.
Leading up to the season 1 finale – episode 7, “He’s Gotta Have It” – Ted illustrated all of John’s adolescent insecurities. He feels insecure about having no friends other than a talking teddy bear, he feels insecure about having less experience with drugs than his peers, and in the finale, he feels insecure about being one of the last virgins in his class. The earlier episodes also set up John’s romantic interest in Betheny Borgwort, the younger sister of Ted’s pot dealer. All those threads came to a head in a finale episode full of twists and turns (and a surprisingly touching message).
Why Ted 3 Isn't Happening (But A Prequel Is)
It's been almost a decade since Ted 2, and while Ted 3 isn't happening, Seth MacFarlane has been hard at work filming a Ted prequel series.
The Song At The End Of The Ted Show Finale Explained
"F*** you, thunder! You can suck my d***!"
In the final scene of the Ted finale, as Ted and John are sitting on the lawn and reflecting on their time at junior high, thunder strikes above them. In unison, they both yell up at the sky, and they have a lightbulb moment as they realize they’ve just unwittingly written some lyrics. John asks, “You thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?” and Ted says, “Get the guitar!” before they run inside to flesh out those lyrics to a full song. This scene shows the origin of the first movie’s “Thunder Buddies” song. Ted and John are both terrified of thunder, and singing that song makes them feel safe whenever thunder strikes.
Why Ted & John Got In Trouble With The Police
When John brags about made-up sexual experiences in an attempt to impress Betheny, the plan backfires and she dumps him. As soon as John decides to go to Betheny’s house for a big romantic gesture, the episode cuts to Ted and John being dropped off back at home by a police car. The episode doesn’t show what happened at Betheny’s house, but it sounds so awkward that it’s probably for the best. It’s implied that John brought a boombox onto Betheny’s lawn to declare his love for her, à la Say Anything, and her dad reacted furiously and called the cops on them.
Why Betheny Changes Her Mind About John
After John lies about his sexual experiences, Betheny wants nothing to do with him. And when he catches up with her at the prom to tell her the truth – that he’s never had sex – she doesn’t believe him. So, he goes up to the DJ’s podium and asks to use his microphone. The DJ says it’s against the rules unless it’s for true love. When John tells him it is for true love, the DJ proudly hands over the mic and says, “Go get her!” This continues the episode’s playful, self-aware relationship with romcom clichés. When John gets the mic, he declares to the entire school that he’s a virgin.
While John expects other virgins to him in solidarity, no one raises their hand and it ends up being one of the most humiliating experiences of his life. But there is one upside: Betheny is charmed by John’s honesty. She finds him in the hallway, confides that she’s also a virgin, and invites him back to her house. However, when they get there, the TV is on, and just as they’re about to have sex, they’re interrupted by a breaking news report about O.J. Simpson’s infamous white Bronco chase. Betheny gets so swept up in the police chase that the sex never happens.
Ted Finale's Final Caption Explained
At the end of the Ted finale, an on-screen disclaimer tells the audience that O.J. Simpson was ultimately acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. The following caption reads, “The real killer is still at large.” This is a reference to the controversial verdict, suggesting that if Simpson really is innocent, then the real killer is still on the loose. There were no other suspects in the case, and all the evidence pointed to Simpson, so this is a tongue-in-cheek joke about the verdict. It’s a hilariously morbid note on which to end a family sitcom, especially after Ted and John’s heart-to-heart in the final scene.
Will There Be A Ted Season 2?
The Ted prequel show is being billed as a limited event series in all of Peacock’s marketing, so there are no immediate plans to follow it up with a second season. However, the finale leaves the door open for season 2. Ted and John wonder what their next year of school will be like, suggesting there are more stories to tell with these characters. There’s plenty more ground to cover between the junior-high antics of 16-year-old John and the grown-up antics of 35-year-old John played by Mark Wahlberg in the movies. If the Ted prequel show is a hit for Peacock, they’ll surely order a season 2.
The Real Meaning Of Ted's Ending
The true meaning of Ted’s ending – and the meaning of the series as a whole – is summed up in a heartfelt conversation between Ted and John in the final scene. After the prom, Ted and John sit on the lawn outside the house and reflect on the past year of their lives. They both agree that attending junior high was a mostly horrible experience, but they also acknowledge that it would’ve been a lot worse if they didn’t have each other’s company to get them through it. The ending of the Ted series carries the same message as both movies: it’s all about the power of friendship and brotherhood.
In the first Ted movie, John was forced to choose between his fiancée Lori and his best friend Ted, but the ending – in which John fights to save Ted from a kidnapper and almost loses him – makes him realize that he can’t live without his teddy bear. In Ted 2, a similar sacrifice in the climactic sequence reiterates the same message. The Ted TV show tells its audience essentially the same thing: even something as nightmarish as going to high school can be bearable (no pun intended) with the right best friend.
