 Theodore Wong
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| Real Name | Theodore Wong |
| Gamertag | Gr8fulTed |
| Gender | Male |
| Grade | Sophomore |
| Occupation | Student at VGHS Drift racer |
| Portrayed by | Jimmy Wong |
Theodore Wong, usually called Ted, is the deuteragonist in the Video Game High School series. He is the best friend and roommate of Brian Doheny, boyfriend of Ki Swan, and son of Freddie Wong, a three-time Guitar Hero world champion who teaches Rhythm Gaming at VGHS.
Unlike his father, Ted is a terrible Rhythm Gamer, though instead turns out to be an exceptional drift racer, but refuses to pursue it as a career, wanting rather to follow in his father's footsteps. Though he struggles for much of Season 1 choosing between the two, Ted ultimately becomes a drift racer.
Overview[]
History[]
It is learned in Season 3, Episode 4 that Ted was given a house by his father, Freddie, because he was seen as a nuisance (although Ted was unaware of that). Ted had been living there since age 10 until he moved to VGHS. According to Ted, a maid came by once every month to check up on him as well his name was called Poo!
Season 1[]
Meeting Brian[]
Ted is introduced in Episode 2, first seen being physically abused by Annihilist and Jumpin' Jax, presumably for his poor guitar skills. Brian D (with Ki, whom Ted attempts to flirt with) intervenes on Ted's behalf, standing up to the two and calling into question their manners, an act that instantly earns him Ted's friendship—declaring Brian to be his "new best friend". When Annihilist interprets their self-defense as a challenge, Ted prevents a physical confrontation from breaking out by arranging a 1v1 duel between Brian and Annihilist in the "Rumpus Room". Brian ends up defeating Annihilist, which results in the latter's expulsion after his points drop too low. After revealing to Brian that Annihilist was supposed to be Brian's roommate, Ted allows Brian to room with him, declaring themselves "best roommate friends forever".
The next day, Ted plans to throw a party in Brian's honor, which he advertises on posters all over the school called "Brianpalooza"—contrary to Brian's desires of keeping a low profile, as everyone in the school wants a chance to play against and defeat Brian for taking out The Law in Episode 1 . Ted also tries to bolster Brian's confidence after witnessing his fear of Law, unaware of the Law's hatred for Brian. Ted's good intentions ultimately backfire when Brian is brought into Calhoun's office and blamed for the Brianpalooza posters, 9 of which Ted posted on Calhoun's window. Because of this detour, Brian is late for his first class, FPS 101, taught by Ace, where he sits next to Ted and Ki. During class, Ted flirts with Ki, inquiring about her favorite Romance languages.
After meeting Brian D
After Brian humiliates himself in FPS 101 by ruining his near-record run, accidentally killing himself with his rebounded tomahawk, Ted attempts to console him, telling him that: "At least nobody wants to fight you anymore." He is also there when Jenny invites Brian to her party, telling her that Brian (in addition to himself and Ki) will be there. Though Jenny didn't invite Ted and Ki, she sarcastically expresses her approval to allow them to come before leaving. Ki then tells Ted that Jenny's party could be their "first date", which Ted is enthused about, and the three all engage in a three-way high five, though Brian, with his face covered in mashed potatoes, accidentally punches Ted in the face.
Jenny Matrix's Party[]
- "Boyfriend? Score!"
- — Ted in Episode 4 after realizing that Ki acknowledges Ted as her boyfriend.
Ted, Brian, and Ki arrive at Jenny's party, where Ted expresses doubt over Brian's plan to impress Jenny with is coconut cake. Afterwords, Ted struggles to remember something important, though Brian is called away by Jenny and Ted and Ki are left to themselves. Ted then uses the opportunity to attempt to woo Ki by demonstrating his "skill" (or lack thereof) in Axe Legends (a game in which, ironically, the lowest level is named after Ted) by playing at the highest difficulty level: Megaultraextreme. Ted ends up failing miserably, unable to complete the first 3% of the song, though Ki offers to show him a children's game she is working on, which she claims is impossible to lose. After Ted's pitiful and humiliating performance, he enthusiastically accepts. Ki shows him her game, which he appears impressed by, and after suggesting a creative name for one of the mini-bosses, the two stare at each other romantically. This moment however is ruined by the appearance of Drift King (DK) and his Drifters, gamers who specialize in racing games, who confiscate Ki's game. Ted confronts DK, who reveals his intentions of wishing to race Ted only once in exchange for returning Ki's game, claiming that he has never felt challenged by anyone else other than Ted in Drift racing. Ki chimes in, telling Ted that she forgot to save her changes to the game, and Ted accepts DK's challenge.
Ted (left red car) takes on DK in order to retrieve Ki's stolen game.
The two engage in an epic race, one that DK leads Ted for the most part. However, half-way through the race, after Ki tells Ted that she can't afford to lose her game progress, Ted finds the drive he needs to pass DK—something that DK appears impressed by and glad to see. Sometime during Ted's leads, he feels a burst of exhilaration and envisions the course as it straightens out as a guitar neck. Despite this however, DK ends up taking the lead over Ted towards the end and wins the race. Honoring his word, DK retrieves Ki's game from his Drifters and gives it back to her and congratulates Ted on a race well raced. When Ki tells Ted the good news that her progress was auto-saved, she witnesses Ted induced into a hypnotic trance from the exhileration. After mentally noting that "[Ted] (whom she refers to as her "boyfriend") experiences extreme confusion after exposure to drift racing". Ted snaps back into reality after realizing that she referred to him as her boyfriend and happily exclaims "Score!" The two eventually reunite with Brian, and Ted remembers that he had originally wanted to remind Brian that Jenny and The Law are boyfriend and girlfriend, though realizes that Brian figured out too late, exclaiming a prolonged "Oh damn...".
Drift Fever[]
- "Look at me in the eye! Tell me how 'hammer ons' and 'pull offs' could possibly compare to the G-force pull of an A+ J turn! The thrum of a rumble chair as you careen your way past the checkered flag... the churning in your chest, as you hear those three magical words: New. Lap. Record!"
- — DK to Ted in Episode 6.
The first of Ted's hallucinations occur tragically in his father's class.
Over the next several days, Ted experiences more and more mysterious symptoms. The day after Jenny's party, Ted, Brian, and Ki attend a Rhythm Method class, hosted by Ted's father, Freddie Wong. After opening for his father, and mid-way between the latter's bicycle showboating, Ted begins to experience hallucinations of several drift racing lanes with miniature race cars swerving around his head as he hears DK's voice telling him to "grip the steering wheel of destiny!". The hallucinations startle dead, causing him to trip over himself and crash into his father, knocking them both down and breaking his guitar, to which Ted screams in agony over. Despite this, after class Ted acts as if nothing strange had occurred in the first place.
"The visions, what are they?"
The next day, after Brian's humiliating defeat in the JV/Varsity scrimmage, Ted tries to console Brian, yet experiences yet another hallucination in their Fighting Class, this time of a tiny race car drifting along his squiggly straw. He then passes out during lunch for, as described by Ki, "like 27 minutes", though Ted didn't realize it. He is then approached by DK, who rhetorically asks "You've seen them, haven't you Theodore?". Ted asks him about his hallucinations, which he refers to as visions, to which DK claims they are "merely a side effect" of Drift Fever. DK further tries to persuade Ted to give up on rhythm gaming and take up drift racing, telling him that he's "got the blood". Ted resists, telling DK that as a member of the Wong family, he is born to "shred" (play guitar). Frustrated, DK asks why Ted is choosing to throw away his promising future as a drifter (using the now derogatory term "Brian D"—i.e. "Why must you 'Brian D' your future away on this dying sport?") before going off on a very descriptive and apparently (judging by Ted's reaction) physically stimulating rant about the exhilaration of drifting. Ted, almost unable to resist giving in to his desire to drift, flees with Ki, prompting DK to loudly proclaim from a distance that Ted couldn't run away from his destiny forever.
On the day of the VGHS clan sign-ups, Ted plans to confront his father, Freddie Wong, about giving up rhythm gaming and becoming a drift racer—however he is unable to summon the courage to confront his father alone. With the help of Ki, the two deliver a presentation to Freddie—complete with a graph illustrating how bad Ted sucks at the guitar. Ki tells Freddie that they all know that Ted has no future in rhythm gaming, but that Ted needs to hear him (Freddie) tell him that. Initially Freddie seems to reluctantly agree, telling Ted in a somber tone "You'll never be a great rhythm gamer...", though before Ki can wrap up the presentation Freddie finishes his sentence by saying "you know how many losers told me that on my way to the top?" and instead delivers a grand speech about how Ted—being a member of the Wong family—is born to be a professional rhythm gamer (ironically contradicting his statement that "pro-shredders" aren't born—but rather they are "made") . This excites Ted, who gleefully tells his father that he won't let him down this year before leaving the room filled with hope.
Clan Sign-Ups & Break Up[]
- "You'll never be a great rhythm gamer... you know how many losers told me that on my way to the top? Pro-shredders aren't born Ted—they're forged, through the fire and the flames. You see, your a Wong, you're born to be a pro-shredder—the reason I bust your chops is because I know you got what it takes!"
- — Freddie Wong giving Ted false consolation so he won't quit rhythm gaming for drift racing in Episode 7.
Later, Ted meets up with Ki in the courtyard where the clan sign-ups are taking place. Ted apologizes for ditching Ki after the presentation and asks if she and his father got a chance to talk—though Ki doesn't reveal their confrontation to Ted. When Ki tries to leave for fighting sign-ups, Ted is confronted by two random rhythm gamers who knock down his stuff and mock Ted for his graph which shows how poor he is at the guitar, though an oblivious and excited Ted tells them that he's going to sign-up and join them on the team. When Ted overhears people talking about The Law confronting Brian D over by the FPS sign-up area, Ted leaves abruptly, rushing to Brian's aid and ditching Ki once more. Ted reaches Brian just as he is physically shoved by The Law, though when Law turns his back and insults Brian a final time after refusing Brian a chance to sign-up, Brian charges Law and knocks him to ground, proceeding to repeatedly punch him until Ted intervenes by pulling Brian away. When Ted sees Brian's sign-up card hanging on the flagpole, he tells Brian that he's got his back and charges Law so Brian can make an effort to retrieve it, though accidentally launches himself towards and hits innocent bystanders in the crowd. A riot is then ignited between supporters of Brian D and The Law as Brian makes his way to the flagpole and Ted fights off several of Law's supporters before Ki and the drift racers come to his aid. As Ted is knocked to the ground, DK offers him a hand up—which Ted reluctantly accepts. He, Ki, and the drift racers then gain the upper hand and witness Brian retrieving his sign-up card Mario-style, and he and Ki congratulate Brian and cheer for him as he proceeds to sign himself up.
Afterwards, a battle-worn Ted limps toward his disinterested father to sign-up for rhythm gaming, though both are taken aback after witnessing that Ted unknowingly and accidentally signs up Ki instead. Freddie, enraged, tells Ted to leave and to get out of his face forever—essentially disowning Ted. Distraught, Ted rushes towards Ki who has just signed up Ted for drift racing, where he realizes too late that it was she who swapped their cards. Ki tries to explain to Ted that in addition to him just plain sucking at rhythm gaming, his father hated Ted—even before he accidentally signed up Ki for rhythm gaming. Frustrated and hurt, Ted breaks up with Ki, telling her that she ruined his life and that he never wants to see her again. As Ki walks away heart-broken, and DK looked as if he wanted to say something in the background, but then walked away, Ted is left alone to stare at his picture in the drift-racing sign-up machine—which he is smiling in.
Reunion & Acceptance[]
In the penultimate episode of Season 1, Ted visits Brian, who was expelled from VGHS for inciting the school-wide brawl in Episode 8, in an arcade he inexplicably owns. Ted is still resentful of Ki and what she did, and even though she arrives at the arcade and gives Ted his guitar—which she had fixed for him—he does not forgive her. Ted leaves her and Brian's presence and comes upon an Axe Legends guitar game. However he attempts and fails miserably as an avatar of his father within the game berates him. Frustrated and enraged, Ted raises his guitar to smash the game, but stops when sees Ki's letter on the back, apologizing for what she did. Ted now realizes and accepts that although he may never win his father's love and acceptance, Ki still loves him; and that he loves her. Ted frantically searches the arcade to find Ki, and when he does, Ted apologizes the two mend and rekindle their relationship.
Finale[]
On the day of the VGHS clan tryouts, Ted and Ki, in addition to preparing for their own tryouts, approach Brian and surprise him with his newly repaired and "upgraded" mouse and keyboard destroyed by The Law in Episode 2, which he is extremely grateful for. Later, Ted and Ki are shown to have been successful at their respective tryouts; with Ted accepting and happy with his new path as a drift racer, and Ki having earned the respect and approval of Ted's father, who tells Ted that he could learn "a thing or two" from her. Though Ted's father is convinced that Ted cannot forever give up rhythm gaming, it is suggested that their relationship will mend itself and improve in the future. Ted and Ki congratulate Brian on his triumph and the final shot of the season shows the three walking off the VGHS campus to celebrate their successes by getting "victory pizzas".
Season 2[]
To be updated.
Personality[]
Ted Wong is a fun-loving, goofy-acting person, which is probably what got Annihilist and Jumpin' Jax to bully him in Episode 2. Nonetheless, Ted is a loyal friend who's always there for Brian D. and Ki Swan.
One of Ted's most prized possessions; his guitar.
Ted Wong, although he is persistent in trying, wants to be a pro gamer at Axe Legends. However, it's not his best suit, as seen in the series, and he is better suited for Drift Racing, since Drift King said (in Episode 4) that he hasn't had a good challenge ever since he and Ted raced.
Towards the end of Season 1, Ted faces the challenge of tryouts for Drift Racing and finds that its his biggest strength. In Episode 9, he is seen with his Drift Racing Jacket, noting that he was successful in joining Drift Racing, and he is now on good terms with DK.
In Episode 5 of Season 2, Ted's personality begins to change as Brian suddenly releases his frustration during their Leetmas meal with Ki Swan and Jenny Matrix, eventually chastising Ted for being selfish when he asks about a potato salad that he expected Brian to bring. Later, when Ted stumbles upon Brian's maintenance closet and discovers Brian's glowing "Best Friend" badge on the floor, he abandons his friendship with Brian, believing that he no longer cares for Ted. This was a major turning point in his personality as it caused him to be openly hostile with Brian - a trait that he had never shown before.
Season 3 was a major source of character development for Ted as it highlights the stress in his life that was less visible earlier; however, he refuses to confide in his friends his problems, establishing that Ted does not place his trust in many people. Season 3 also removed the mask of his pain from growing up without loving parents. When Freddie Wong dies, Ted cannot seem to decide how to react. As Ted, Brian, Ki, and Jenny were watching Freddie's horrifically informal video will, his father's little involvement in his life began to dawn on him not as a consequence of being a mere shadow of his father but rather a sign that Freddie did not care much for Ted; instead, he could only rely on his friends, who cared about him genuinely in a way that his father never did. Realizing that what he had been seeking throughout his life was approval from people such as his friends and father, Ted heads over to a nearby laundromat to play Axe Legends so that he could listen to his father congratulate him. Ki, along with Brian and Jenny, find him, and Ted decides to finally show his true feelings about his broken relationship with his father.
Following Episode 4 of Season 3, Ted begins to revert to his normal self - he and Ki are back together again, he no longer harbors hatred for Brian, and his sunny disposition returns. This euphoria was cut short by his detention as a result of the marginally successful plot by the Drifters to get revenge on the Duchess of Kart, during which Calhoun requires Ted to write the sentence "I will grow the hell up." many times. Enlightened by both his father's true nature and Calhoun's most recent lecture, Ted decides to confront Drift King about his pretentious use of the Drifters to accomplish his own goals, telling him that he, too, needs to "grow the hell up".
Relationships[]
Ki Swan[]
Ever since their first meeting in Episode 2, Ted has enthusiastically attempted to impress and woo Ki Swan. By Episode 4, while attending Jenny Matrix's party together, a connection between the two is sparked and by the end of the episode, Ki refers to Ted as her boyfriend.
Throughout the series, Ki attempts to help Ted confess to his father, Freddie Wong, his repressed love and talent for drift racing, which results in a mutual hostility between Ki and Freddie. At clan try-outs, Ki switches their ID's, resulting in her being signed up for Rhythm Gaming and Ted for Drift Racing. Freddie, believing that Ted's unknowingly signing up Ki was really an insult to him, lashes out at his son. When Ted confronts Ki about her actions, he breaks up with her and tells her that he never wants to see her again.
In Episode 8, the relationship between Ted and Ki is rekindled when Ted apologizes to Ki after realizing that he may never earn his father's acceptance and that he loves her. However, by the end of the Season 1 finale, Ted's father approves both of Ki and Ted's relationship with her.
Brian D[]
Ted Wong is the best friend of Brian D, appointing himself as such when Brian stands up for him against two bullies in Episode 2. After Brian defeats Annihilist, Ted becomes Brian's roommate, and remains so throughout the rest of the series. Both Brian and Ted greatly care for the other's well-being, with Brian showing concern over Ted's drift fever-induced hallucinations and his well-being after he breaks up with Ki, and Ted attempting to console Brian after his humiliating JV/Varsity skirmish performance. Ted and Brian have been shown to be unfailingly loyal to one another and show concern for each other's well being. This is best demonstrated in Episode 7, when Ted rushes to Brian's aid after hearing he is being confronted by The Law, and intervenes and drags him away when Brian begins ferally assaulting the latter. Ted's loyalty to Brian can appear to border on the obsessive at times, case and point: during the Season 1 finale, Ted reveals that he retrieved Brian's broken keyboard so Ki could fix it, which had been lost in a dumpster after The Law snapped it in half. Ted also announces a party in Brian's honor (which never happens) called "Brian-palooza", which explicitly went against Brian's wishes to keep a low profile. None of this however seems to disturb Brian, as he still proclaims Ted (and Ki) to be the best friends one could have, which Ted seemed quite surprised by. At the end of Season 2, Ted moves out of Brain's room ending their friendship as he feels Brian is not always there for him.
Freddie Wong[]
Ted has a strained relationship with his father. His father is a world-famous rhythm gamer and Ted is expected to follow in his footsteps despite his utter lack of rhythm gaming skill. In the earlier parts of Season 1, Ted refuses to accept this, but after dueling against DK in a race, he begins to experience Drift Fever and realizes his true passion. When he attempts to tell his father this, he is encouraged by his father to continue striving to be a rhythm gamer, and Ted is determined once again to make his father proud. However, at clan try-out's Ki switches Ted's card with her own, resulting in Ki being signed up for Rhythm Gaming try-outs instead. Freddie immediately reveals his true feelings for Ted. In the penultimate episode of Season 1, Ted eventually realizes that his father's path is simply not the one he is meant to take, and decides not to remain in his shadow.
In Season 3, Episode 4, Ted sees that although he loved his father, Freddie did not return those feelings and saw Ted as a nuisance. Ted does not believe it, defending Freddie because he bought Ted a house and gave Ted his old phones.
Drift King[]
Before coming to terms as a drift racer, Ted refers to DK as an antagonist, who desperately desired that he should pursue his career in drifting. In episode 4, DK and his drifters steal Ki's 'Gumbug' game and challenge Ted in a solo race against Drift King in order to reclaim it. Ted leads the race for the majority, however, hallucinations of his rhythm gaming appear, assuring DK's final victory. During the rest of season one, their competence does not reappear until episode 7, during Brian's fight with The Law. He assists Ted in battle by helping him to his feet and fighting his opponent; however, Ted remarks that it did not change his views on drifting.
In series 2, DK develops a sincere respect for Ted as a drifter, even as his skills are slowly sinking. However, in a desperate attempt to win his place in the Drift Team, Ted steals sodas from the teachers lounge, narrowly missing Freddie Wong as he comes in for a late night snack. Oblivious, the Duchess tells Freddie that his car is being towed, and saves Ted from detention.
Later in series 2, upon Teds wish, he sends him to the forbidden game of Drift Purgatorio, where Ted can only exit the game via winning, and since most cars are glitched, his winning takes hours. Despite this, DK watches him until it becomes too late to watch no longer, claiming that nobody was ever ready for the monstrosity of a game.
In general, DK opposes Ted as a challenging opponent, yet he will not let his superior mannerisms slip.
Jenny Matrix[]
The two are mutual friends through Brian and Ki, but generally are not shown interacting with each other much throughout the series.
It is learned in Season 3, Episode 4 that Ted and Jenny were in a relationship during their first week at VGHS and that they kissed three times, also causing Ki to be surprised and Brian to be dismayed.
Gaming Skills[]
Ted possesses great skill in specific areas of gaming.
Drift Racing[]
Ted is talented in Drift Racing, although he was reluctant to accept it at first. His skills were noticed by Drift King, who almost lost to Ted in a race during Season 1. Eventually in Season 3, Ted surpassed Drift King and the rest of Drifters in the game genre after besting them in a final, winner takes all race.
Cart Racing[]
Ted shows decent skill in Cart Racing, he can drive and drift just as well in Banana Kart. In Season 2 Episode 2, his drifting was so great it causes the homing missile to turn on one of the carters. He is also a good strategist in the game, using the wall to ricochet a bomb onto one of the carters. And also using Brian to distract the carters and lead them to him, then blasting them with missiles.
Rhythm Gaming[]
During Season 1, Ted displayed a poor skill of rhythm gaming missing many notes when playing on a high difficulty level. However, during Season 3, Ted is seen playing his father's guitar rhythm game with master skill on the easy difficulty, excelling every part of the song.
Trivia[]
- The guitar Ted uses is a signature guitar of his actor, Jimmy Wong, who is a famous Youtube musician.
- Ted's guitar never technically broke in Episode 4, as only the neck and body were disconnected, along with some unattached strings on the headstock.
- Ted appears in all of BrianD's FPS games as a member of the audience.
- His favorite meal is pizza and his favorite language is Italian.
- His favorite pizza is the Double Wasabinero.
- Ted's gamertag, Gr8fulTed, is a reference to the band, Grateful Dead, which references the fact that his lineage is of rhythm gaming, or music in other words.
- The easiest difficulty on Axe Legends is called Ted.
Appearances[]
Season 1[]
- Season 1, Episode 2
- Season 1, Episode 3
- Season 1, Episode 4
- Season 1, Episode 5
- Season 1, Episode 6
- Season 1, Episode 7
- Season 1, Episode 8
- Season 1, Episode 9
Season 2[]
- Season 2, Episode 1
- Season 2, Episode 2
- Season 2, Episode 3
- Season 2, Episode 4
- Season 2, Episode 5
- Season 2, Episode 6