"Maybe one day the timing will be right." - Blake Wyzecki
Ted Schmidt and Blake Wyzecki are from the tv show Queer As Folk. The show had a lot of romantic relationships between all of the characters, but arguably none of the other couples were given the build-up, care, and pay off that Ted and Blake had in their story together. A relationship forged through not one, but two drug addict storylines should not have been so sweet, but Ted and Blake's love for one another, and fate's insistence on pulling them back together again and again, created an incredibly memorable and satisfying love story of overcoming the odds. Theirs was not an easy road, either individually or as a couple, but seeing all of the hardships they went through makes the ending of the show that much sweeter.
Throughout the series, Ted and Blake always had really bad timing, where there were outside issues preventing them from working as a couple each time they came together again. However, the love and bond that they shared always remained and only grew stronger until they were both finally in a place in their lives when they could embark on a healthy relationship together. Ted helped to ground Blake and made him want to get clean and become a better person, and Blake helped Ted work through some of his deep rooted insecurities and learn to take risks. It was never a question of whether or not they were good for one another or if they loved each other, but rather if they had enough hold on their own lives in order to pursue a relationship in earnest. I'm sure Ted would have stayed by Blake's side throughout his treatment and recovery - and vice versa - but until they were both on an equal footing, their relationship would have been imbalanced and might not have survived.
By all accounts, Ted and Blake should not have had a happy ending together. They had their resolution and accepted that they couldn't be together due to various circumstances in their own lives, and no amount of hoping on our parts was going to get them together. Blake had not been on the show since the middle of season 4, and as the show came to a close, Ted seemed to have moved on. Having Blake show up again in the series finale was such a pleasant surprise, and one that felt so completely right and earned, though looking back there was quite a lot of heavy handed foreshadowing that should have left no doubt that they would end up together. Ted so deserved to be happy at the end of the series, more so than any other character due to how much crap he had to go through, and that he got his happily ever after with Blake was the best thing we could have hoped for. Ted and Blake had worked through their problems alone, and at the end of the show, we were left with the promise of a shared future together, full of visits to the opera and a bond that proved it could withstand anything that got in its way.
Quotes
Episode 1x18
Blake: "Oh that's nice. What is it?"
Ted: "La Traviata. Do you know it?"
Blake: "Not really."
Ted: "It's an opera."
Blake: "I figured that much."
Ted: "It's about this woman, Violetta, she's a courtesan."
Blake: "A what?"
Ted: "A slut, basically, and she likes to go to parties a lot."
Blake: "I know the type. What's she singing about?"
Ted: "Well, she's just met this really sweet guy named Alfredo, and uh, he kind of has a thing for her. She's wondering whether she can give up her life in the fast lane to be with him."
Blake: "Does she?"
Ted: "She gives it a shot."
Episode 1x19
Blake: "That opera, La Traviata? You never told me how it ends. Does what's his name marry the slut?"
Ted: "Of course, despite the wishes of his cruel father, and they live to sing many glorious duets." [they kiss]
Episode 1x22
Ted: "I want you to know how happy - no, happy's not the right word...not happy, but uh, grateful and relieved I am that you're doing this."
Blake: "Well, it's for us, right?"
Ted: "Right." [They kiss and hug]
Ted: "So, I'll see you tonight?"
Blake: "Tonight."
Ted: "Oh, one thing before I forget. I thought you might like to listen to that."
Blake: "La Traviata."
Ted: "Your favorite opera."
Blake: "Yeah, it's the only opera that I know. Except, you said at the end they get back together and sing many glorious duets."
Ted: "I guess that's the sequel: Traviata 2."
Episode 4x01
Ted: "I cared about you, I- I more than cared about you."
Blake: "I know, I know, that's why I had to leave."
Ted: "To spare me the pain?"
Blake: "And myself. From you seeing me that way."
Ted: "Well, now it's my turn. I'm the one down on my hands and knees, scrubbing the floor. The one they all come to gawk at, so they can feel superior, like Emmett."
Blake: "I'm sure he felt just as uncomfortable as you did."
Ted: "It takes something like this for a person to reveal their true colors, huh? At least I have you. You're the only one who knows how it feels, what it's like."
Blake: "I have to go."
Ted: "Hot date?"
Blake: "Actually, yeah. We're going to see Lucia."
Ted: "Oh, that's nice. I didn't know, I mean, uh, you know, that you like opera."
Blake: "Thanks to you, I'm hooked."
Episode 4x02
Ted: "I make my friends nervous. They don't know what to say, they see me, they flee. They don't trust me. Think I'm still using."
Blake: "The same thing happened to me. Eventually they came around and even forgave me. Except one."
Ted: "Your mother? Your father?"
Blake: "The first guy who ever believed in me. I never really made amends to him."
Ted: "Did you try?"
Blake: "We lost touch, but recently, we've reconnected. Maybe now I'll get my chance."
Episode 4x06
Ted: "So, you, uh, just come from a meeting?"
Blake: "I did."
Ted: "And who'd you rescue tonight?"
Blake: "Actually, um, me. It was my turn to speak and, uh, basically what I said was even though I've been clean for over two years and followed the programs, and tried to be a good counselor-"
Ted: "Better than good. The best."
Blake: "I still feel as though I failed."
Ted: "That's not true."
Blake: "It is true, I...I failed to make proper amends to the one person that I should have made them to a long time ago."
Ted: "Well if you'd like to write a letter I have plenty of stationary."
Blake: "I don't want to write a letter. What I want to do, is this." [Blake kisses Ted]
Episode 4x07
Ted: "Ok, fuck the program! This is my life, I'm allowed to make my own decisions."
Blake: "Yes, and as your counselor it's my responsibility to help you make the right ones!"
Ted: "You have! You've helped me more than you know. It's like the woman at that meeting said, I don't know what I would have done, how I could have survived without you."
Blake: "That doesn't include sleeping with you."
Ted: "Then why did you? To make amends?"
Blake: "The same reason you did. Because I wanted to...but it's hurting you."
Ted: "Hurting me? How can it be hurting me?"
Blake: "Because you need to focus on yourself right now. Nothing else is important and that includes me."
Ted: "When we first met I fell in love because you needed me to take care of you. This time I fell in love because I needed you to take care of me, and you have. In fact, I wouldn't even be standing here right now if it wasn't for you. I am so sorry if I was too selfish and too horny to see it."
Blake: "Thank you. Ted..."
Ted: "So where does that leave us? Besides being left with lousy timing once again."
Blake: "Yeah, we do seem to have that, don't we? Maybe one day the timing will be right."
Ted: "You think?"
Blake: "One can hope."
Episode 5x13
Ted: "You know, every year I always wish for the same thing. A boyfriend. Someone to love, who'll love me. This year I think I'm going to wish for something else. The wisdom and the maturity to realize that...I won't find what I want by looking for it. Not expect someone else to give me what I never gave myself. That I'm not a half waiting to be made a whole. And even if that special person never comes along...I'll be just fine."
[Ted blows out the candles]
Blake: "Ted?"
Ted: "Blake?"
Photos
