| “ | Whenever you mom sets her mind to something, trying to change her mind is an exercise of futility. | ” |
| — Ted describing his wife's personality to Ben | ||
Theodore "Ted" Pownall is a recurring character in Freeform's series, Siren.
Ted is the father of Ben and Doug Pownall, and the husband of Elaine Pownall. He discovers merfolk's existence after digging up information about his wife's accident many years ago.
Physical Appearance[]
He is quite tall and slim, with a short beard.
Personality[]
Appearing as a soft-hearted man, he is quite taken with the benefits of money and power, despite the fact that they leave harmful even lethal effects on the ecosystem. However it should be noted that his alliance with Klesco Oil was due to the fact that he needed money to help his ailing wife and not because he disregards the environment.
When he learns that he actually saw merpeople on the night his wife got injured that coupled with more recent events caused him to become prejudice towards merfolk deeming them a threat to his family and friends along with the rest of humanity.
Throughout The Series[]
Season 1[]
In "Pilot", Ted attends Bristol Cove's Mermaid Days Festival and unveils the statue of his great-great-grandfather Charles Pownall.
In "Showdown", his wife Elaine hosts a fundraising gala at their residence, he talks to Ben about how Pownell Seafood is choosing a more eco-friendly approach to catching game, saying that it will increase profits to 6%. This would solve the over-fishing problems that the Merfolk are dealing with.
He attends Sean McClure's funeral and reception at the Anchor Bar, he gives a speech to how he was a hard-working fisherman. However, Sean's widow Patti tells him off saying that it was his company's greed and profit, claiming him to be inadvertently responsible for his death.
Season 2[]
Ted has been working with Klesco Oil and Gas. In "Distress Call", Ben finds out about their partnership with them. Ted explains that Pownall Seafood are leasing a strip of land to Klesco to build an oil pipeline, he also adds that it will create new job opportunities to the residents of Bristol Cove. It is clear that Ben's own father cares less about the fifty beached whales and the subsequent damage to the ecosystem that would be irreparable.
In "Leverage", he and Elaine prepare for Klesco's gala event, he sees that his wife was experiencing some problems with movement. At the gala, he witnesses the well of the Klesco drillship collapse on the live feed, He suspects something. In the following episode "No North Star", he figures that Ben was somewhat involved with it given their late arrival at the gala and concern about the impact of the ecosystem, he goes to his houseboat to confront him. He is distraught with his son, he says that he has indulged him about his unrealistic points of view. Ted is disappointed in Ben, and he tells him is no longer going to be supportive to him in any way before leaving.
Two weeks later, Ted informs Ben that the CEO of Klesco recorded footage from the drillship. Despite their argument, he wants to give Ben money to stay safe; away from the possible investigation. Ben says he will not leave her mother, not in the condition she is in. Later he is approached by Ian Sutton at his fishery hoping to get a comment about the drillship's sabotage and the surveillance video footage, he suggests to him taking it up with the local police. Ted later views the footage he recieved and sees a glimpse of a mermaid for the first time, at first feeling perplexed.
In "Mixed Signals", he meets Ryn for the first time (completely unaware that she is a mermaid). At dinner, he learns from Maddie that his son is in a polyamorous relationship with her and Ryn. He talks with Helen in private, Ted tells him that the cottage that once stood next to the well in the backyard got burned down.
In "New World Order", he helps the army track down Ben, Ryn, and Maddie at the border of Canada. He attempts to persuade Ben to surrender, but his son resists. Ben uses his own father as a human shield as he exits the cabin. Fortunately, this was all envisioned by Ben who chose to let Ian Sutton to drown in his car.
Season 3[]
In "Borders", Ted continues to ponder about what it was he saw in the water on the night his wife became paraplegic, he starts skipping work at Pownall Seafood and investing his time in learning more about what he seeks. He first acquires a copy of the Coast Guard report from the boating accident 10 years ago. In the following episode "Revelations" he goes to Bristol Cove Library where he sees Helen, she and Ted pinpoint the coordinates from the Coast Guard report and they lead to Carson Sound, he goes back with Helen to her shop who shows him a book titled History Of Bristol Cove where he learns that it is where his great-great-grandfather Charles Pownell's ship went down in 1864. Ted believes it to be a coincidence; he has more questions than answers. Ted decides to take a sailboat out to Carson Sound despite being warned about the maritime advisory, while out at sea, the strong wind causes the boom of the sail to hit him falling overboard. He sees a mermaid approach him in the water (Tia) only to find that it tries to kill him, fortunately his son Ben dives in and rescues him. He talks with his son, telling him that what he saw in the water is what he saw on the night of the boat accident 10 years ago, Ben tells him that they are real, Ted figures out that Ryn is a mermaid. Since then, he has continued his path to learning the truth.
In "Mommy and Me", he goes to Helen with an inquiry about how she is a mermaid/human hybrid, she refuses to answer his follow-up questions. Later, he reads news articles about the many deaths and events that occurred in previous episodes.
In "The Island", Ted digs deeper into his investigation and goes to Bristol Cove City Hall to obtain records on Rick Marzdan, whom he inquires at his place of work. By the end of the episode, he now knows about Caspian Ranch and how there are more hybrids like Helen that have been living in Bristol Cove.
"A Voice in the Dark" is when he meets Ryn again in the midst of Tia's attack on Bristol Cove. Rather than choosing to help, he berates Ben for putting his trust in her, as he perceives all mermaids to be dangerous and believes that Ryn is polluting his son's mind. He sees his son's webbed hand very much to his surprise. Ted subsequently blames Ryn for it, thinking that his son's transformation was her doing.
He runs into Ben at the hospital in "The Toll of the Sea". He allows his business' warehouse space to house several patients affected by the Siren Song. In a moment of revelation, he finally understands that he was wrong to perceive all mermaids as a threat. He looks for Ben at his houseboat, but Ben is gone.
Relationships[]
Elaine Pownall[]
As Ted's wife, they do have a steady marriage. After their boating accident, he vowed to find whatever possible treatment. In the subsequent years she learned to live with the paralysis. Ted's fears for Elaine's declining health put him in a precarious position, until he learns about the stem cell injections and is amazed by how Elaine could feel her legs again.
Ben Pownall[]
In the beginning of the series, Ted was a bit annoyed with Ben's absence at family events. Throughout the Season 1, he and Ted would be seen focusing on the family business Pownell Seafood with Doug (Ted's oldest son). In Season 2, Ted's partnership with Klesco Oil sparks hostility between him and his family who do not seem to care about the beached whales or the subsequent damage to the ecosystem. After the Klesco drillship's well is caught on a live feed, Ted expresses his disappointment over how he enjoyed the pleasure of Ben believing in unrealistic points of view.
Ryn Fisher[]
Initially, Ted didn't have much of an opinion about Ryn. But after nearing death under the hands of Tia coupled with more recent events however, Ted develops an animosity towards Ryn deeming her a threat as well. This causes Ted to think poorly of Ryn's relationship with his youngest son as he had concluded that Ryn is taking advantage of Ben and doesn't want to lose his son especially since Ted was attacked by a mermaid while trying to save his wife. When Ted witnesses Ben's hand form webbing into a merman's, he concludes that Ryn was responsible and blames her for it.
Tia[]
Tia became Ted's primary enemy when she tried to kill him. Tia's actions caused Ted to extend his animosity towards all merfolk, deeming them a threat as well. Ted's hatred for Tia grows after he learns that she's responsible for the terrorist attack in Bristol Cove and the surrounding communities. Ted sees her television broadcast from his bedroom while calling his wife about the stem cell treatment.
Appearances[]
Season 1[] |
Season 2[] |
Season 3[] |
Quotes[]
| “ | I am done trying to help you. I'm not coming to bail you out anymore. Don't expect any more support with your little research projects. | ” |
| — Ted to Ben[src] | ||
| “ | Just because they look like us doesn't mean they're like us. It's a mistake to trust them. You know that more than anyone. | ” |
| — Ted to Xander | ||
| “ | Oh, my God. What the hell have you done to him? | ” |
| — Ted to Ryn[src] | ||
| “ | Everything's changed, Helen. He's not the boy Elaine and I raised. He's something else. | ” |
| — Ted to Helen | ||
Trivia[]
- He and his older son Doug were funding the Klesco Oil project in taking natural oil from the depths of the oceans. He claimed to be doing so in order to help Bristol Cove create new jobs, help the education system, as well as helping his wife from the extensive pain she recently received from the treatment via the late Donna's mermaid DNA.
- He makes more appearances than his wife and oldest son do.
- In "No North Star", he glimpses a mermaid in blurred footage of the collapsing oil rig, which startles him and continues to look at it from time to time; perplexed.
- In "Revelations", he takes a sailboat out to Carson Sound (where his ancestor's ship went down), in the eye of the storm, he falls overboard. In the water he sees a mermaid (Tia) and it tries to attack him. Since that experience, he is fully convinced of their maleficence.
- In the penultimate episode of Season 2, it is revealed that had, in truth, indirectly encountered a mermaid when diving in to save his wife, but dismissed as mere delusion
- Ted later learns in Revelations that he wasn't being delusional when he encountered that mermaid that night.
- In "Mommy and Me" he goes to Helen and learns she is a descendant of the mermaids, she refuses to answer any more of his questions. "The Island" is when he starts digging deeper into his family lineage discovering the population of merfolk/human hybrids at Caspian Ranch.
Gallery[]
