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* ArcWords: The TitleDrop of the words "Forever and always" happens almost immediately, being the final words of Paul and Emma's vows at their wedding and a reminder of their commitment to each other in the face of any and all challenges (including the rather large challenge of both of them turning out to be murderous impostors).
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* PostProcessingVisualEffects: Mariah's character gets a bunch laid on her in the SurrealMusicVideo TitleSequence -- first BishieSparkle, then PetalPower, followed by a final layer of {{Pixellation}} and {{Ominous Visual Glitch}}ing in the last verse, as though to indicate she's not really there and being viewed on a screen. The vague implication -- along with her wiping away a SingleTear before Robert sings the last line, "us", alone -- is that their relationship ended tragically and she's only a LivingMemory of his LostLenore.
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* PostProcessingVisualEffects: PostProcessingVideoEffects: Mariah's character gets a bunch laid on her in the SurrealMusicVideo TitleSequence -- first BishieSparkle, then PetalPower, followed by a final layer of {{Pixellation}} and {{Ominous Visual Glitch}}ing in the last verse, as though to indicate she's not really there and being viewed on a screen. The vague implication -- along with her wiping away a SingleTear before Robert sings the last line, "us", alone -- is that their relationship ended tragically and she's only a LivingMemory of his LostLenore.
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* DeliberatelyMonochrome: The SurrealMusicVideo for "Forever & Always".
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* FairytaleWeddingDress: Emma is described as wearing one, but it's a matter of TakeOurWordForIt (fans who want to see Creator/LaurenLopez in a wedding gown will have to wait for Joey and Lauren's actual wedding). To make up for this, Mariah Rose Faith's character in the TitleSequence ''is'' wearing a very impressive one, albeit with no veil or train. (This is actually her high school prom dress, last seen by Starkid fans when she wore it to play Allison in Starkid's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrzZR3YiXRg&t=386s livestream]] of ''Film/HocusPocus''.)
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* MsFanservice: Mariah's gown in the TitleSequence is fairly low-cut.
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* PostProcessingVisualEffects: Mariah's character gets a bunch laid on her in the SurrealMusicVideo TitleSequence -- first BishieSparkle, then PetalPower, followed by a final layer of {{Pixellation}} and {{Ominous Visual Glitch}}ing in the last verse, as though to indicate she's not really there and being viewed on a screen. The vague implication -- along with her wiping away a SingleTear before Robert sings the last line, "us", alone -- is that their relationship ended tragically and she's only a LivingMemory of his LostLenore.
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* SurrealMusicVideo: The TitleThemeTune has one, which is very clearly [[MusicalWorldHypotheses non-diegetic]] to the main story and involves two StarCrossedLovers played by Robert Manion and Mariah Rose Faith singing to each other in a BigFancyCastle of some kind. Its connection to Paul and Emma is unclear, although to some degree it's just giving us characters [[ThatMakesMeFeelAngry directly and explicitly singing out their feelings]] in a way neither Paul nor Emma would (if they weren't infected by a musical zombie virus). The implied story of the music video where Mariah's character becomes a LostLenore for Robert's character ''[[EpilepticTrees might]]'' reflect Paul 23's regret over the death of Real Emma.
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* SpotTheImpostor: Averted in-universe -- the two Emmas are, for obvious reasons, wearing different clothes, and one of them even has a wedding ring as an identifier -- but out-of-universe we have to guess which Emma is speaking just from Creator/LaurenLopez's facial expression and tone of voice. [[HeReallyCanAct She does a very good job of making it clear.]]
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* SpotTheImpostor: Averted in-universe -- the two Emmas are, for obvious reasons, wearing different clothes, and one of them even has a wedding ring as an identifier -- but out-of-universe we have to guess which Emma is speaking just from Creator/LaurenLopez's facial expression and tone of voice. [[HeReallyCanAct [[SugarWiki/SheReallyCanAct She does a very good job of making it clear.]]
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* SpotTheImpostor: Averted in-universe -- the two Emmas are, for obvious reasons, wearing different clothes, and one of them even has a wedding ring as an identifier -- but out-of-universe we have to guess which Emma is speaking just from Creator/LaurenLopez's facial expression and tone of voice. [[SheReallyCanAct She does a very good job of making it clear.]]
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* SpotTheImpostor: Averted in-universe -- the two Emmas are, for obvious reasons, wearing different clothes, and one of them even has a wedding ring as an identifier -- but out-of-universe we have to guess which Emma is speaking just from Creator/LaurenLopez's facial expression and tone of voice. [[SheReallyCanAct [[HeReallyCanAct She does a very good job of making it clear.]]
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* {{Leitmotif}}: Once more, Matt Dahan does amazing {{improv}}isation for the underscoring, using multiple recurring leitmotifs throughout the episode that are generally also {{Call Back}}s to ''Theatre/TheGuyWhoDidntLikeMusicals'':
** "Cup of Roasted Coffee" is the leitmotif generally associated with Emma, including playing under Paul's wedding vows when he's describing what he loves about her, and playing the first time Paul sees Real Emma walking down the street. It gets a DarkReprise in the BarBrawl scene, where the "Hey, Mr. Business" snippet plays whenever Emma 2 kills somebody.
** The TitleThemeTune of this episode, "Forever & Always", is Paul and Emma's LoveTheme, which plays under Emma's wedding vows, the narration of Paul and Emma's honeymoon, and Paul and Emma's "heartwarming" reconciliation in UnholyMatrimony at the end.
** Paul's "theme song", "What Do You Want, Paul?", gets a chirpy electronic remix as the underscoring for Paul's day at work at CCRP Technical when he gets back from his honeymoon. It then gets a hilariously appropriate DarkReprise in the FinalBattle between the two Emmas where he faces his SadisticChoice ("What do you want, Paul?" indeed).
** The other theme identified as "Paul's theme" from ''TGWDLM'' (the opening bars of "Inevitable"), which appears in other ''Nightmare Time'' stories as a generic "spooky" theme or the theme of the Witchwood, appears here as a leitmotif underscoring Paul's intimate moments with Real Emma when she's pouring out her DarkAndTroubledPast to him.
** Robot Emma gets two specific themes associated with her -- her "confession theme", a somber, serious theme that plays under her initial confession she's an impostor, that gets a DarkReprise when her robotic nature is first revealed, then is played straight again when she fully confesses to him in the ending, and her "suspicious theme", a creepy theme that plays whenever Paul gets evidence she's been lying to him (and that, ironically, plays again when Paul suddenly reveals ''he's'' an impostor in the ending).
** Finally, there's a blatant CallForward that none of the original audience would've gotten -- when the Homeless Man bursts into the wedding, he's accompanied by the tune of "Time Bastard", which [[RewatchBonus upon rewatch]] is a blatant spoiler for the ending of that story.
** "Cup of Roasted Coffee" is the leitmotif generally associated with Emma, including playing under Paul's wedding vows when he's describing what he loves about her, and playing the first time Paul sees Real Emma walking down the street. It gets a DarkReprise in the BarBrawl scene, where the "Hey, Mr. Business" snippet plays whenever Emma 2 kills somebody.
** The TitleThemeTune of this episode, "Forever & Always", is Paul and Emma's LoveTheme, which plays under Emma's wedding vows, the narration of Paul and Emma's honeymoon, and Paul and Emma's "heartwarming" reconciliation in UnholyMatrimony at the end.
** Paul's "theme song", "What Do You Want, Paul?", gets a chirpy electronic remix as the underscoring for Paul's day at work at CCRP Technical when he gets back from his honeymoon. It then gets a hilariously appropriate DarkReprise in the FinalBattle between the two Emmas where he faces his SadisticChoice ("What do you want, Paul?" indeed).
** The other theme identified as "Paul's theme" from ''TGWDLM'' (the opening bars of "Inevitable"), which appears in other ''Nightmare Time'' stories as a generic "spooky" theme or the theme of the Witchwood, appears here as a leitmotif underscoring Paul's intimate moments with Real Emma when she's pouring out her DarkAndTroubledPast to him.
** Robot Emma gets two specific themes associated with her -- her "confession theme", a somber, serious theme that plays under her initial confession she's an impostor, that gets a DarkReprise when her robotic nature is first revealed, then is played straight again when she fully confesses to him in the ending, and her "suspicious theme", a creepy theme that plays whenever Paul gets evidence she's been lying to him (and that, ironically, plays again when Paul suddenly reveals ''he's'' an impostor in the ending).
** Finally, there's a blatant CallForward that none of the original audience would've gotten -- when the Homeless Man bursts into the wedding, he's accompanied by the tune of "Time Bastard", which [[RewatchBonus upon rewatch]] is a blatant spoiler for the ending of that story.
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** There's also a DarkReprise of the "Hey, Mr. Business..." melody from "Cup of Roasted Coffee" in ''Theatre/TheGuyWhoDidntLikeMusicals'' that plays whenever Emma 2 violently attacks someone.
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* DoesNotLikeGuns: When Emma 2 casually asks Paul if he keeps any firearms in the apartment while preparing to go out and finish killing Real Emma, Paul reacts at first with confusion and then with sheer horror.
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* KnifeNut: Emma 2 would ''prefer'' to arm herself with a gun -- saying it's a shame to ruin the expensive carving knife Bill got them for their wedding -- but acquits herself very well in combat with the knife and seems to enjoy herself while doing so.
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* NoNameGiven: The script gives no actual name for Paul's wife other than "Emma 2" or, at one point, "Robot Emma".
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* ActingForTwo: Continuing the trend of ''Nightmare Time'' doing stories that it would be impossible or very difficult to literally portray onstage or onscreen, Creator/LaurenLopez plays the two Emmas without the use of any SplitScreen, just altering her position slightly and letting her tone of voice tell you which is which (and showing off some very skillful acting chops in the process).
** Creator/JoeyRichter does this at the beginning of the episode, popping into Lauren's window as the Homeless Man so he can accuse Emma of being an impostor, then immediately popping ''back'' in the window with his coat off as Ted so he can call the Homeless Man a "loser". (This is a moment deliberately designed as {{Foreshadowing}} for "Time Bastard".)
** Creator/JoeyRichter does this at the beginning of the episode, popping into Lauren's window as the Homeless Man so he can accuse Emma of being an impostor, then immediately popping ''back'' in the window with his coat off as Ted so he can call the Homeless Man a "loser". (This is a moment deliberately designed as {{Foreshadowing}} for "Time Bastard".)
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* ActingForTwo: Continuing the trend of ''Nightmare Time'' doing stories that it would be impossible or very difficult to literally portray onstage or onscreen, Creator/LaurenLopez plays the two Emmas without the use of any SplitScreen, just altering her position slightly and letting her tone of voice tell you which is which (and showing off some very skillful acting chops in the process).
** Creator/JoeyRichter does this at the beginning of the episode, popping into Lauren's window as the Homeless Man so he can accuse Emma of being an impostor, then immediately popping ''back'' in the window with his coat off as Ted so he can call the Homeless Man a "loser". (This is a moment deliberately designed as {{Foreshadowing}} for "Time Bastard".)
** Creator/JoeyRichter does this at the beginning of the episode, popping into Lauren's window as the Homeless Man so he can accuse Emma of being an impostor, then immediately popping ''back'' in the window with his coat off as Ted so he can call the Homeless Man a "loser". (This is a moment deliberately designed as {{Foreshadowing}} for "Time Bastard".)
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* AssholeVictim: As in ''Film/TheTerminator'', the bikers at the bar are set up to provide an antagonist for the killer robot that we won't feel too bad about when they're on the receiving end of a CurbStompBattle. The BlackComedy of this scene is Emma 2 smoothly segueing from murdering them to murdering ''everyone else'' in the bar, including obviously innocent bystanders cowering and begging for mercy, because her LeaveNoWitnesses ethos is non-negotiable.
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* BatmanGambit: When Emma 2 is marching Emma 1 to the alleyway behind the Birdhouse to her death, Emma 1 sees the perverted biker gang coming to hit on the pair of "hot twins" as her possible salvation, at first trying to seduce them, then trying to provoke a fight between Emma 2 and their leader. [[GoneHorriblyRight The fight does break out, and it doesn't go the way Emma expected.]]
* BecomingTheMask: A major theme of this story, with Emma 2 desperate to leave behind her violent past to truly become Emma Perkins, and with TheReveal that Paul 23 ''already'' became the mask of the real Paul and his reticence to accept Emma 2's nature has been not wanting to take that mask off again.
* BecomingTheMask: A major theme of this story, with Emma 2 desperate to leave behind her violent past to truly become Emma Perkins, and with TheReveal that Paul 23 ''already'' became the mask of the real Paul and his reticence to accept Emma 2's nature has been not wanting to take that mask off again.
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* CallBack: An immediate one, where Emma's vows bring up that she tried to talk Jane out of marrying Tom by calling him a "tall, hairy Yeti-man" (throwing shade at Lucy Stockworth's [[NightmareFetishist taste in men]], since we just saw her run off with a [[BigfootSasquatchAndYeti literal Bigfoot]] in "The Hatchetfield Ape-Man").
** Episode 1's other story, "Watcher World", gets a minor one with Bill's reveal that Alice has since gone off to college and that she's apparently on much better terms with him now than she was before, having already confirmed she'd prefer to stay with him over fall break than her mom.
** Episode 1's other story, "Watcher World", gets a minor one with Bill's reveal that Alice has since gone off to college and that she's apparently on much better terms with him now than she was before, having already confirmed she'd prefer to stay with him over fall break than her mom.
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* CharacterDevelopment: Real Emma and Emma 2's conflict -- aside from the fact that Emma 2 tried to KillAndReplace Real Emma -- comes from this fact. Real Emma is ''appalled'' that despite her ConfirmedBachelor status, Emma 2 ended up getting married after only six months of dating Paul -- and not just that but choosing someone who's such a "geek".
* ChurchOfSaintGenericus: Paul and Emma are pretty clearly having a non-denominational wedding (to hold off Ted's Presbyterian objections to walking into a "stinky-ass Methodist church" from ''Theatre/TheGuyWhoDidntLikeMusicals''), using the Hatchetfield Natural History Museum as their venue, but it still seems to be a religious service -- we enter InMediasRes to Prof. Hidgens wearing a clerical collar saying "Thus ends the lesson" after apparently having just read from the Bible. That said, [[CloudCuckooLander it's Prof. Hidgens]], so any conclusions about what church he belongs to are still up in the air.
* ChurchOfSaintGenericus: Paul and Emma are pretty clearly having a non-denominational wedding (to hold off Ted's Presbyterian objections to walking into a "stinky-ass Methodist church" from ''Theatre/TheGuyWhoDidntLikeMusicals''), using the Hatchetfield Natural History Museum as their venue, but it still seems to be a religious service -- we enter InMediasRes to Prof. Hidgens wearing a clerical collar saying "Thus ends the lesson" after apparently having just read from the Bible. That said, [[CloudCuckooLander it's Prof. Hidgens]], so any conclusions about what church he belongs to are still up in the air.
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* CurbStompBattle: The fight between Emma 2, the biker gang, and eventually everyone inside the Birdhouse tavern, which is [[TakeOurWordForIt lavishly described by the stage directions]] in bloody, gory detail.
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* FidelityTest: When Real Emma and Paul flee the bloodbath at the Birdhouse to hide out at a motel, it turns out Robot Emma completely anticipated this move and was already there, hiding in the closet, and chose to wait before attacking because she ''also'' knew that Real Emma would start to feel attracted to Paul and try to seduce him at this point, and wanted to know how Paul would respond.
* FieryCoverup: After murdering everyone in the Birdhouse, Emma 2 immediately decides she has no choice but to burn down the whole building to destroy the evidence and forestall any future investigation, while hilariously [[WhyDidYouMakeMeHitYou blaming Real Emma]] for "forcing" her to destroy her favorite bar.
* FieryCoverup: After murdering everyone in the Birdhouse, Emma 2 immediately decides she has no choice but to burn down the whole building to destroy the evidence and forestall any future investigation, while hilariously [[WhyDidYouMakeMeHitYou blaming Real Emma]] for "forcing" her to destroy her favorite bar.
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* GeneticMemory: The story revolves around this trope -- both Robot Emma (who is actually a {{Cyborg}} made by cloning the real Emma) and Paul 23 (who is an exact clone of the real Paul) have this, which both motivates and enables replacing their originals.
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* ImprobablyPredictable: Emma 2 knows ''everything about'' Emma, and can predict everything she does -- including not just predicting which motel she'd check into to hide out but the ''room number'' (because Emma has a private joke of always booking room Music/ThreeEleven if it's available). This ends up being explained by the fact that Emma 2 is a {{Cyborg}}, and has an enhanced computerized brain combined with a cloned brain that has all of the real Emma's GeneticMemory.
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* LeaveNoWitnesses: Emma 2's philosophy she's adopted to protect her peaceful, ordinary life, which it surprisingly turns out is Paul 23's philosophy too -- and leads to them [[UnholyMatrimony merrily running off at the end of the episode]] to commit their first murder together, of the Homeless Man who initially tried to expose Emma.
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* OneDialogueTwoConversations: Paul's initial conversations with the two Emmas, which he persistently chooses to interpret as Emma teasing him or messing with him even though it pretty clearly becomes obvious -- given Emma 2's confession at the beginning of the story -- that they're two different people.
* PoliceAreUseless: The HFPD continues their generally poor showing in this story; yes, the bartender at the Birdhouse was KilledMidSentence during his 911 call, but the fact that the call went through and then mysteriously went dead is the kind of thing you'd think would merit some kind of police response.
* PoliceAreUseless: The HFPD continues their generally poor showing in this story; yes, the bartender at the Birdhouse was KilledMidSentence during his 911 call, but the fact that the call went through and then mysteriously went dead is the kind of thing you'd think would merit some kind of police response.
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* RunningGag: Paul keeps on asking if the runaround Emma is giving him in this story is a prelude to a "sexy surprise", while protesting that he hates sexual roleplaying (because he hates all forms of playing roles or performing, by extension of [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin hating musicals]]).
* SadisticChoice: The climax of the episode has the two Emmas fight to a standstill, with Paul stuck holding a knife and forced to choose which side to intervene on -- the woman he actually married and made a promise to love "forever and always", even after she's been revealed as a robot impostor and a murderer, or the woman his wife was ''pretending'' to be, who's an innocent bystander and who has all the qualities he admired in his wife but is technically someone he's never met. The choice turns out to be, in hindsight, a ForegoneConclusion once we learn that Paul is a clone who killed his original himself, and that his hesitation in this moment is him [[IJustWantToBeNormal resisting going back to his old ways]].
* SadisticChoice: The climax of the episode has the two Emmas fight to a standstill, with Paul stuck holding a knife and forced to choose which side to intervene on -- the woman he actually married and made a promise to love "forever and always", even after she's been revealed as a robot impostor and a murderer, or the woman his wife was ''pretending'' to be, who's an innocent bystander and who has all the qualities he admired in his wife but is technically someone he's never met. The choice turns out to be, in hindsight, a ForegoneConclusion once we learn that Paul is a clone who killed his original himself, and that his hesitation in this moment is him [[IJustWantToBeNormal resisting going back to his old ways]].
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* SpotTheImpostor: Averted in-universe -- the two Emmas are, for obvious reasons, wearing different clothes, and one of them even has a wedding ring as an identifier -- but out-of-universe we have to guess which Emma is speaking just from Creator/LaurenLopez's facial expression and tone of voice. [[SheReallyCanAct She does a very good job of making it clear.]]
* TakeOurWordForIt: All of ''Nightmare Time'' tends to run on this, but this story especially asks us to imagine the two Emmas not just conversing but physically grappling and fighting with each other (something that would require some expensive tricks with body doubles in a real live-action film), as well as a truly epic blood-soaked BarBrawl when Emma 2 turns on the other denizens of the Birdhouse.
** This also applies to some of the more minor physical features of the characters, like Robert Manion conspicuously stroking his imaginary BadassBeard as one of the bikers, or Paul 23 revealing his SlaveBrand tattoo (that Jon Matteson doesn't actually have) on his right wrist.
** Also applies to Creator/LaurenLopez's PlayedForLaughs CheapCostume for the wedding scene -- Jon Matteson does wear a real suit with a bowtie to approximate a tuxedo, but Lauren just wears her normal clothes with a tissue-paper veil in lieu of Emma's "gorgeous wedding dress".
** Many fans therefore took notice of this trope being ''averted'' with Emma's knife -- an actual high-quality kitchen knife Lauren brandishes with surprisingly carefreeness during the fight scenes.
* TakeOurWordForIt: All of ''Nightmare Time'' tends to run on this, but this story especially asks us to imagine the two Emmas not just conversing but physically grappling and fighting with each other (something that would require some expensive tricks with body doubles in a real live-action film), as well as a truly epic blood-soaked BarBrawl when Emma 2 turns on the other denizens of the Birdhouse.
** This also applies to some of the more minor physical features of the characters, like Robert Manion conspicuously stroking his imaginary BadassBeard as one of the bikers, or Paul 23 revealing his SlaveBrand tattoo (that Jon Matteson doesn't actually have) on his right wrist.
** Also applies to Creator/LaurenLopez's PlayedForLaughs CheapCostume for the wedding scene -- Jon Matteson does wear a real suit with a bowtie to approximate a tuxedo, but Lauren just wears her normal clothes with a tissue-paper veil in lieu of Emma's "gorgeous wedding dress".
** Many fans therefore took notice of this trope being ''averted'' with Emma's knife -- an actual high-quality kitchen knife Lauren brandishes with surprisingly carefreeness during the fight scenes.
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* TwinThreesomeFantasy: The two Emmas attract the attention of a BadassBiker who has one of these, which Real Emma tries to exploit as a BatmanGambit to get herself away.
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* WeddingRingDefense: Emma 2 tries this on the leader of the BadassBiker gang when Emma 1 tries to seduce him, only for the biker to hold up his hand and reveal he is ''also'' married and thinks that cheating on his wife only makes his TwinThreesomeFantasy hotter (setting him up as an AssholeVictim).
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** Kendall Nicole was also absent for this episode, meaning that we don't get to see if Tim Houston is an attendee at the wedding (even though his father Tom is).
** It turns out that, even though Jon Matteson is obviously in this episode, his ''character'' of Paul Matthews doesn't show up in this episode -- or in ''Nightmare Time'' Season One as a whole -- at all, having been KilledOffscreen long before the story starts.
** It turns out that, even though Jon Matteson is obviously in this episode, his ''character'' of Paul Matthews doesn't show up in this episode -- or in ''Nightmare Time'' Season One as a whole -- at all, having been KilledOffscreen long before the story starts.
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* DarkAndTroubledPast: According to the preview, Emma has one, and it catches up with her by the time of the wedding.
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* TheBigGuy: Creator/DylanSaunders is mostly in this story to play this role, in his {{cameo}} as Tom escorting the Homeless Man out of the wedding and as the leader of the biker gang sexually harassing the two Emmas.
* CassandraTruth: The Homeless Man warning Paul that "That's not Emma Perkins!" We find out what's up with that in the very next story, "Time Bastard".
** To a lesser extent, Bill giving a grim warning to Paul about how "the shit always hits the fan" when people keep secrets from each other in a marriage. Even though this is just Bill expressing his own bitterness over his wife's emotional infidelity and their divorce, it's also a CaptainObviousReveal when Paul eventually finds out there's more to Emma 2's DarkSecret than she initially confessed. Gets a hilarious CallBack:
-->'''Paul''': Bill was right. I've got a shitty fan!
* CollateralDamage: Played for BlackComedy -- Emma 2's scheme to steal the real Emma's life started off with a body count of ''seventy-five'' bystanders who were on the bus with Emma when she arranged the "accident", followed by her casually murdering the ''entire clientele and staff'' of the Birdhouse tavern just to LeaveNoWitnesses. It turns out Paul 23's clone uprising probably had its fair share of collateral damage too, although he only confesses to the murder of Paul himself and dismisses the rest of it as "We raised some hell".
* ConfessToALesserCrime: The initial BaitAndSwitch of this episode is Emma telling Paul that she's not the real Emma, but just an IdenticalStranger who witnessed her death in Guatemala and took the opportunity when she heard about Jane's death to pull a DeadPersonImpersonation. The truth is much, much worse.
** When watching this scene in hindsight, it's pretty clear Emma 2 is pulling off an ExactWords lie -- it's ''true'' that she was a drifter with no friends or family who was desperately jealous of Emma 1's life, and that she took the opportunity to steal that life after Emma's accident. She just doesn't mention that the ''reason'' she has no friends or family is she's a time-traveling robot from the future... and that Emma 1's BusCrash ''[[VehicularSabotage wasn't an accident]]''.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: According to the preview, Emma has one, and it catches up with her by the time of the wedding. The story ended up subverting a lot of fans' expectations ''hard'' -- it's not ''Emma'' who had a DarkSecret, the DarkSecret is that the woman Paul is marrying ''isn't Emma''.
* CassandraTruth: The Homeless Man warning Paul that "That's not Emma Perkins!" We find out what's up with that in the very next story, "Time Bastard".
** To a lesser extent, Bill giving a grim warning to Paul about how "the shit always hits the fan" when people keep secrets from each other in a marriage. Even though this is just Bill expressing his own bitterness over his wife's emotional infidelity and their divorce, it's also a CaptainObviousReveal when Paul eventually finds out there's more to Emma 2's DarkSecret than she initially confessed. Gets a hilarious CallBack:
-->'''Paul''': Bill was right. I've got a shitty fan!
* CollateralDamage: Played for BlackComedy -- Emma 2's scheme to steal the real Emma's life started off with a body count of ''seventy-five'' bystanders who were on the bus with Emma when she arranged the "accident", followed by her casually murdering the ''entire clientele and staff'' of the Birdhouse tavern just to LeaveNoWitnesses. It turns out Paul 23's clone uprising probably had its fair share of collateral damage too, although he only confesses to the murder of Paul himself and dismisses the rest of it as "We raised some hell".
* ConfessToALesserCrime: The initial BaitAndSwitch of this episode is Emma telling Paul that she's not the real Emma, but just an IdenticalStranger who witnessed her death in Guatemala and took the opportunity when she heard about Jane's death to pull a DeadPersonImpersonation. The truth is much, much worse.
** When watching this scene in hindsight, it's pretty clear Emma 2 is pulling off an ExactWords lie -- it's ''true'' that she was a drifter with no friends or family who was desperately jealous of Emma 1's life, and that she took the opportunity to steal that life after Emma's accident. She just doesn't mention that the ''reason'' she has no friends or family is she's a time-traveling robot from the future... and that Emma 1's BusCrash ''[[VehicularSabotage wasn't an accident]]''.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: According to the preview, Emma has one, and it catches up with her by the time of the wedding. The story ended up subverting a lot of fans' expectations ''hard'' -- it's not ''Emma'' who had a DarkSecret, the DarkSecret is that the woman Paul is marrying ''isn't Emma''.
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* DownerEnding: A harsh one for people who cared about the fates of the real, original Paul and Emma, although the fact that Paul 23 and Emdroid inherited all of their memories raises the question of whether Paul and Emma really count as dead (with all the ExistentialHorror implications of the resulting debate).
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* EvilInc: We get TheReveal in this story that the StandardOfficeSetting from ''Theatre/TheGuyWhoDidntLikeMusicals'' is actually one of these -- "CCRP" stands for "Coven Communications, Research and Power", and true to their [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast ominous name]] they're up to some shady stuff, like cloning their own employees to use as slave labor on a hidden moon colony.
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* KilledOffscreen: The BaitAndSwitch that starts this story tells us the real Emma was KilledOffscreen months ago in an accident, [[{{Irony}} ironically]] on the same day her sister died. This is subverted when we see her NotQuiteDead after all, and then find out at the end of the episode it was the real ''Paul'' who was actually killed months ago.
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* LohengrinAndMendelssohn: Matt Dahan doesn't ''actually'' play either of these {{Standard Snippet}}s at Paul and Emma's wedding but gives us some organ music that [[SuspiciouslySimilarSong sound close enough]] to pass muster.
* TheMainCharactersDoEverything: The classic example where one of the members of the main cast surprisingly turns out to be licensed as a wedding officiant, and the OfficialCouple decides he's the best possible option to officiate their ceremony as opposed to a more traditional choice. Professor Hidgens seems to be ordained in some kind of Christian denomination (wearing a clerical collar) and Paul and Emma apparently want him to conduct their wedding despite the fact that they only really know him as Emma's "kooky, reclusive biology professor" from community college.
* TheMainCharactersDoEverything: The classic example where one of the members of the main cast surprisingly turns out to be licensed as a wedding officiant, and the OfficialCouple decides he's the best possible option to officiate their ceremony as opposed to a more traditional choice. Professor Hidgens seems to be ordained in some kind of Christian denomination (wearing a clerical collar) and Paul and Emma apparently want him to conduct their wedding despite the fact that they only really know him as Emma's "kooky, reclusive biology professor" from community college.
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* NotSoDifferent: Paul's final {{reveal}} to Emma 2 that he's an impostor as well.
* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: Whatever you think of the morality of pulling a KillAndReplace on your own counterpart so you can steal their life, you're pretty clearly JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope when you murder a whole bar full of innocent bystanders just to keep your secret. The ending is pretty clearly the Creator/LangBrothers wanting the audience to squirm with discomfort over how much to cheer on Paul 23 and Robot Emma's newfound devotion and loyalty to each other.
* RememberTheNewGuy: It's not clear if Sylvia was hired/transferred to the Hatchetfield branch of CCRP in the year and a half between ''Theatre/TheGuyWhoDidntLikeMusicals'' and this story or we just never saw her before, but when she shows up in this story all of the CCRP staff are already familiar with her.
* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: Whatever you think of the morality of pulling a KillAndReplace on your own counterpart so you can steal their life, you're pretty clearly JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope when you murder a whole bar full of innocent bystanders just to keep your secret. The ending is pretty clearly the Creator/LangBrothers wanting the audience to squirm with discomfort over how much to cheer on Paul 23 and Robot Emma's newfound devotion and loyalty to each other.
* RememberTheNewGuy: It's not clear if Sylvia was hired/transferred to the Hatchetfield branch of CCRP in the year and a half between ''Theatre/TheGuyWhoDidntLikeMusicals'' and this story or we just never saw her before, but when she shows up in this story all of the CCRP staff are already familiar with her.
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* SpeakNowOrForeverHoldYourPeace: Prof. Hidgens, to his credit, averts this trope -- as most modern, secular weddings not using a traditional liturgy do -- but the Homeless Man interrupts the ceremony at around the time the officiant ''would'' be raising this question anyway. (And, to be fair to the Homeless Man, the accusation he's making -- that the bride is an impostor getting married under false pretenses -- absolutely is one of the traditionally valid objections one could make at this point.)
* TimeTravel: Makes a surprise early appearance in this episode, when Emma reveals that she's from the year 2104, to be followed up on immediately in "Time Bastard".
* TurnedAgainstTheirMasters: Hilariously, ''both'' this Emma and this Paul turn out to have this as their backstory, both being creations of CCRP -- although Emma is a far more advanced one from the future.
* TimeTravel: Makes a surprise early appearance in this episode, when Emma reveals that she's from the year 2104, to be followed up on immediately in "Time Bastard".
* TurnedAgainstTheirMasters: Hilariously, ''both'' this Emma and this Paul turn out to have this as their backstory, both being creations of CCRP -- although Emma is a far more advanced one from the future.
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* VehicularSabotage: We finally get confirmation that Emma 2 is a morally irredeemable murderer when we find out that Emma 1's BusCrash wasn't an accident -- Emma 2 ''cut the brakes'' on the bus, which wasn't just attempted murder on Emma but ''successful'' murder on the driver and ''[[CollateralDamage seventy-five other passengers]]''.
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* WholePlotReference: The sequence at the Birdhouse is one to ''Film/TheTerminator'', with Emma 2 revealed as a TerminatorImpersonator and taking out a whole gang of {{Badass Biker}}s in an homage to the first scene of the movie.
** Paul 23's backstory is a reference to the movie ''Film/{{Moon}}''.
** Paul 23's backstory is a reference to the movie ''Film/{{Moon}}''.
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* AbsenteeActor: This time, Mariah Rose Faith wasn't available to be in the main cast, meaning that Emma's coworker Zoey is mentioned as being at the wedding but doesn't actually appear. (Alice is also mentioned but doesn't appear, having already left for college.) This played a role in the staging of the TitleSequence for the story -- it had been proposed that the song "Forever & Always" be performed by Prof. Hidgens and Zoey in-universe, but with Mariah not actually in the cast of the episode proper it was easier to have the SurrealMusicVideo be entirely [[MusicalWorldHypotheses non-diegetic]].
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* ReunionShow: One for both the actors and characters from ''Theatre/TheGuyWhoDidntLikeMusicals'', minus only Mariah Rose Faith -- all of the core cast of ''TGWDLM'' reappear as their primary characters from that show in either this story or its immediate sequel, "Time Bastard", since it's about all of Paul's friends from CCRP Technical showing up at his wedding.
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* ReunionShow: One for both the actors and characters from ''Theatre/TheGuyWhoDidntLikeMusicals'', minus only Mariah Rose Faith -- all of the core cast of ''TGWDLM'' reappear as their primary characters from that show in either this story or its immediate prequel, "Forever & Always", since it's about all of Paul's friends from CCRP Technical showing up at his wedding. This story notably brings in the two characters from CCRP Technical who didn't show up in the previous story for a {{cameo}}, Charlotte and Mr. Davidson.
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* ShoutOut: The song "Time Bastard" is a direct reference to the opening numbers of the ''Film/JamesBond'' films, complete with [[SexySilhouette dancing silhouetted women and all]].
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* ExtyYearsFromNow: Ted's travels take him first 85 years in his future, then 15 years in his past, meaning Andrew Kilgore spent exactly 100 years waiting for him.
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-->'''Music:''' "Forever and Always", performed by Robert Manion and Mariah Rose Faith.
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"Forever and
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-->'''Music:''' "Time Bastard", performed by Kim Whalen, and "Peanuts!", performed by Joey Richter and Lauren Lopez.
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"Time
"Peanuts!" performed by
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* WhyDidYouMakeMeHitYou: Emma 2's reasoning is that all the death and destruction caused in her wake wouldn't have happened if Emma had just died on the bus she sabotaged. She outright tells a horrified Emma so after her attempted murder turns into a bloodbath.
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* KillingYourAlternateSelf: Emma 2 attempts this twice, and succeeds the second time. She may not seem so much of an alternate self as she is a synthetic double, but she doesn't just look like Emma. She acts and ''thinks'' like her as well, making her that much more terrifying of a threat.
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* AIIsACrapshoot: Emma's robotic double in "Forever and Always" turned on her creators and killed them all, later time-traveling to the past to take over the original's life, murdering whoever she has to in order to keep her secret.
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* AIIsACrapshoot: Emma's robotic double in "Forever and Always" turned on her creators and killed them all, later time-traveling to the past to take over the original's life, murdering whoever she has to in order to keep her secret.
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* DarkReprise: A darker instrumental version of "What Do You Want, Paul?" from ''Theatre/TheGuyWhoDidntLikeMusicals'' plays when Paul is [[SadisticChoice forced to choose]] between the android Emma and the real one.
Deleted line(s) 23 (click to see context) :
* DarkReprise: A darker instrumental version of "What Do You Want, Paul?" from ''Theatre/TheGuyWhoDidntLikeMusicals'' plays when Paul is [[SadisticChoice forced to choose]] between the android Emma and the real one.
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* DarkReprise: A darker instrumental version of "What Do You Want, Paul?" from ''Theatre/TheGuyWhoDidntLikeMusicals'' plays when Paul is [[SadisticChoice forced to choose]] between the android Emma and the real one.
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* GreenAesop: A surprise one at the end of the segment. The reason Robot Emma insists on becoming vegan is because of the {{Bad Future}} that ends up happening due to humans not reducing their carbon footprint.
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* RobotGirl: Robot Emma is this, naturally. A synthetic organism made from the original's genetic material in her likeness.
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** For a non-Ted reveal, Executive Kilgore mentions the name "T'Noy Karaxis" before calling the entity "Tinky" from then on, as well as referring to him as a "Lord in Black", revealing details that would become clearer in the next episode: that Wiggly's kin are called the Lords in Black, and that their incongruously cute names are shortened forms of their eldritch true names.
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* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** When Ted arrives in the year 2104, Executive Kilgore wryly remarks that without the implants required to function in this futuristic society, Ted is a homeless man.
** When Tinky tells Ted he's trapped in the past, Ted [[GoMadFromTheRevelation goes mad from the revelation]], and suddenly develops some rather familiar loopy mannerisms. It's not until a few minutes later that he finds himself cold and alone in the streets, discovers a rather familiar [[IconicOutfit heavy coat and wooly black hat]], and starts muttering about needing to find a home.
** When Ted arrives in the year 2104, Executive Kilgore wryly remarks that without the implants required to function in this futuristic society, Ted is a homeless man.
** When Tinky tells Ted he's trapped in the past, Ted [[GoMadFromTheRevelation goes mad from the revelation]], and suddenly develops some rather familiar loopy mannerisms. It's not until a few minutes later that he finds himself cold and alone in the streets, discovers a rather familiar [[IconicOutfit heavy coat and wooly black hat]], and starts muttering about needing to find a home.
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No spoilers on recap pages.
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* AIIsACrapshoot: [[spoiler: Emma's robotic double]] in "Forever and Always" turned on her creators and killed them all, later time-traveling to the past to take over the [[spoiler: original's]] life, murdering whoever she has to in order to keep her secret.
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* AIIsACrapshoot: [[spoiler: Emma's robotic double]] double in "Forever and Always" turned on her creators and killed them all, later time-traveling to the past to take over the [[spoiler: original's]] original's life, murdering whoever she has to in order to keep her secret.
* TheBadGuyWins: Emma 2 and Paul 23 remove anyone who could threaten their KillAndReplace scheme, and are able to walk away alive, with no one the wiser and their marriage intact.
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* ADayInTheLimelight: Paul and Emma were, of course, already in the limelight as the OfficialCouple of ''Theatre/TheGuyWhoDidntLikeMusicals'', but this is a long-promised chance for them to get ''back'' in the limelight after they were both DemotedToExtra in ''Theatre/BlackFriday'' and didn't appear at all in Episode 1 of ''Nightmare Time'', and to focus on their romantic relationship without an apocalypse getting in the way.
* KillAndReplace: [[spoiler: Robot Emma's plan to take over Emma's life]].
* MismatchedEyes: When the [[spoiler: robot Emma]] [[GoForTheEye gets her eye damaged in a fight]], she has to replace it with one belonging to a biker she killed, resulting in one eye having a different color than the other.
* UnholyMatrimony: It's revealed at the end of "Forever And Always" that not only is [[spoiler: there a robot Emma that's convinced Paul to kill the original]], but the Paul she convinced [[spoiler: is actually a clone that killed the original Paul as well]]. [[TheBadGuyWins And they both live happily ever after]].
* KillAndReplace: [[spoiler: Robot Emma's plan to take over Emma's life]].
* MismatchedEyes: When the [[spoiler: robot Emma]] [[GoForTheEye gets her eye damaged in a fight]], she has to replace it with one belonging to a biker she killed, resulting in one eye having a different color than the other.
* UnholyMatrimony: It's revealed at the end of "Forever And Always" that not only is [[spoiler: there a robot Emma that's convinced Paul to kill the original]], but the Paul she convinced [[spoiler: is actually a clone that killed the original Paul as well]]. [[TheBadGuyWins And they both live happily ever after]].
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* ADayInTheLimelight: Paul and Emma were, of course, already in the limelight as the OfficialCouple of ''Theatre/TheGuyWhoDidntLikeMusicals'', but this is a long-promised chance for them to get ''back'' in the limelight after they were both DemotedToExtra in ''Theatre/BlackFriday'' and didn't appear at all in Episode 1 of ''Nightmare Time'', and to focus on their romantic relationship without an apocalypse getting in the way.
way. This turns out to not ''quite'' be the case, as the leads of this episode are not in fact the original Paul and Emma.
*KillAndReplace: [[spoiler: EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: If there's one thing you can say for the android and the clone, it's this. They're quite literally willing to kill to stay together, and accept each other exactly as they are.
* FlockOfWolves: It turns out, they're ''both'' fakes, and neither had any idea until the other told them the truth.
* KillAndReplace:
** Robot Emma's plan to take over Emma'slife]].
life; quietly murder her and take her place with no one the wiser. It would've gone off perfectly if not for two little problems: real Emma wasn't actually dead, and the Homeless Guy knows something.
** It turns out, "Paul" is actually a clone who murdered and replaced the real Paul Matthews ages ago. Unlike his wife, he managed to pull it off in such a way that even ''she'' had no idea, and never would have had he not confessed.
* MismatchedEyes: When the[[spoiler: robot Emma]] Emma [[GoForTheEye gets her eye damaged in a fight]], she has to replace it with one belonging to a biker she killed, resulting in one eye having a different color than the other.
* UnholyMatrimony: It's revealed at the end of "Forever And Always" that not only is[[spoiler: there a robot Emma that's convinced Paul to kill the original]], but the Paul she convinced [[spoiler: is original, ''he's'' actually a clone that killed the original Paul as well]]. well. [[TheBadGuyWins And they both live happily ever after]].after]].
* WartsAndAll: A very twisted version of this. When "Emma" initially confesses that she's not the real Emma Perkins, Paul is taken aback, but then concludes that she is still the same woman he fell in love with, and he can live without knowing her true background. He then proves willing to accept her even as it becomes clear she's a murderous monster... because ''he himself'' is a clone who killed the real Paul Matthews to take over his life. And Emma still loves him knowing this.
*
* FlockOfWolves: It turns out, they're ''both'' fakes, and neither had any idea until the other told them the truth.
* KillAndReplace:
** Robot Emma's plan to take over Emma's
** It turns out, "Paul" is actually a clone who murdered and replaced the real Paul Matthews ages ago. Unlike his wife, he managed to pull it off in such a way that even ''she'' had no idea, and never would have had he not confessed.
* MismatchedEyes: When the
* UnholyMatrimony: It's revealed at the end of "Forever And Always" that not only is
* WartsAndAll: A very twisted version of this. When "Emma" initially confesses that she's not the real Emma Perkins, Paul is taken aback, but then concludes that she is still the same woman he fell in love with, and he can live without knowing her true background. He then proves willing to accept her even as it becomes clear she's a murderous monster... because ''he himself'' is a clone who killed the real Paul Matthews to take over his life. And Emma still loves him knowing this.
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* TrappedInThePast: Ted discovers that because of some strange experiment and an encounter with Tinky, he can travel to the future and the past. Naturally, after realizing this, he uses this power to attempt to travel back to the past to [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong stop his younger self from screwing up with his crush]]. [[spoiler: However, after a fatal accident, his girlfriend is disintegrated and he realizes his damning error. Ted traveled back in time before the experiment was ever conducted, and he finds that he's trapped in 2004]].
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* TrappedInThePast: Ted discovers that because of some strange experiment and an encounter with Tinky, he can travel to the future and the past. Naturally, after realizing this, he uses this power to attempt to travel back to the past to [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong stop his younger self from screwing up with his crush]]. [[spoiler: However, after a fatal accident, his girlfriend is disintegrated and he realizes his damning error. Ted error: he traveled back in time before the experiment was ever conducted, and he finds that he's trapped in 2004]].2004.
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* KillAndReplace: [[spoiler: Robot Emma's plan to take over Emma's life]].
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* AIIsACrapshoot: [[spoiler: Emma's robotic double]] in "Forever and Always" turned on her creators and killed them all, later time-traveling to the past to take over the [[spoiler: original's]] life, murdering whoever she has to in order to keep her secret.
* MismatchedEyes: When the [[spoiler: robot Emma]] [[GoForTheEye gets her eye damaged in a fight]], she has to replace it with one belonging to a biker she killed, resulting in one eye having a different color than the other.
* UnholyMatrimony: It's revealed at the end of "Forever And Always" that not only is [[spoiler: there a robot Emma that's convinced Paul to kill the original]], but the Paul she convinced [[spoiler: is actually a clone that killed the original Paul as well]]. [[TheBadGuyWins And they both live happily ever after]].
* UnholyMatrimony: It's revealed at the end of "Forever And Always" that not only is [[spoiler: there a robot Emma that's convinced Paul to kill the original]], but the Paul she convinced [[spoiler: is actually a clone that killed the original Paul as well]]. [[TheBadGuyWins And they both live happily ever after]].
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* TrappedInThePast: Ted discovers that because of some strange experiment and an encounter with Tinky, he can travel to the future and the past. Naturally, after realizing this, he uses this power to attempt to travel back to the past to [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong stop his younger self from screwing up with his crush]]. [[spoiler: However, after a fatal accident, his girlfriend is disintegrated and he realizes his damning error. Ted traveled back in time before the experiment was ever conducted, and he finds that he's trapped in 2004]].
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* SimultaneousArcs: Unlike most Hatchetfield stories, which clearly take place in an AlternateUniverse from every other, this story very explicitly takes place in the same universe as "Forever & Always" and at about the same time.
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no spoilers in recaps
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** More significantly, we learn that Hatchetfield's resident [[CrazyHomelessPeople crazy homeless man]] is in fact [[spoiler:Ted himself, having travelled back in time 15 years and been forced to take TheSlowPath back home. WordOfGod confirms that this is true of ''all'' incarnations of the Homeless Man, despite Ted dying young in every other story in which he appears, this [[TimeyWimeyBall timey-wimey]] oddity working on the same still-unknown mechanism by which there are multiple Hatchetfield timelines to begin with.]]
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** More significantly, we learn that Hatchetfield's resident [[CrazyHomelessPeople crazy homeless man]] is in fact [[spoiler:Ted Ted himself, having travelled back in time 15 years and been forced to take TheSlowPath back home. WordOfGod confirms that this is true of ''all'' incarnations of the Homeless Man, despite Ted dying young in every other story in which he appears, this [[TimeyWimeyBall timey-wimey]] oddity working on the same still-unknown mechanism by which there are multiple Hatchetfield timelines to begin with.]]
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'''Music:''' "Forever and Always", performed by Robert Manion and Mariah Rose Faith.
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'''Music:''' "Time Bastard", performed by Kim Whalen, and "Peanuts!", performed by Joey Richter and Lauren Lopez.
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* TheReveal: The story begins with a small one and ends with a massive one:
** The first is of Ted's surname, long touted by WordOfGod as being a spoiler: Spankoffski. WordOfGod later clarified that previous claims of the surname being inherently a spoiler ''were'' true back when ''Nerdy Prudes Must Die'' was expected to be the third installment of the Hatchetfield saga, a plan which was disrupted by the pandemic, so they decided to just reveal his name here. Presumably, Ted's younger brother, obliquely mentioned in "Watcher World", would have been introduced in NPMD and Ted would have been revealed to share his name later. As it stands, it still works as a Reveal that Ted has a [[PunnyName silly]] and [[MeaningfulName meaningful]] surname (it helps that all the cast members have giggle fits as Nick reads it out), and instead it will be the identity of his brother which serves as the reveal of their relationship.
** More significantly, we learn that Hatchetfield's resident [[CrazyHomelessPeople crazy homeless man]] is in fact [[spoiler:Ted himself, having travelled back in time 15 years and been forced to take TheSlowPath back home. WordOfGod confirms that this is true of ''all'' incarnations of the Homeless Man, despite Ted dying young in every other story in which he appears, this [[TimeyWimeyBall timey-wimey]] oddity working on the same still-unknown mechanism by which there are multiple Hatchetfield timelines to begin with.]]
** The first is of Ted's surname, long touted by WordOfGod as being a spoiler: Spankoffski. WordOfGod later clarified that previous claims of the surname being inherently a spoiler ''were'' true back when ''Nerdy Prudes Must Die'' was expected to be the third installment of the Hatchetfield saga, a plan which was disrupted by the pandemic, so they decided to just reveal his name here. Presumably, Ted's younger brother, obliquely mentioned in "Watcher World", would have been introduced in NPMD and Ted would have been revealed to share his name later. As it stands, it still works as a Reveal that Ted has a [[PunnyName silly]] and [[MeaningfulName meaningful]] surname (it helps that all the cast members have giggle fits as Nick reads it out), and instead it will be the identity of his brother which serves as the reveal of their relationship.
** More significantly, we learn that Hatchetfield's resident [[CrazyHomelessPeople crazy homeless man]] is in fact [[spoiler:Ted himself, having travelled back in time 15 years and been forced to take TheSlowPath back home. WordOfGod confirms that this is true of ''all'' incarnations of the Homeless Man, despite Ted dying young in every other story in which he appears, this [[TimeyWimeyBall timey-wimey]] oddity working on the same still-unknown mechanism by which there are multiple Hatchetfield timelines to begin with.]]
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* ADayInTheLimelight: For Ted. [[spoiler: The ''second'' one of these after "The Hatchetfield Ape-Man"; Ted is turning out to be a surprisingly important character.]]
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* ADayInTheLimelight: For Ted. [[spoiler: The ''second'' one of these after "The Hatchetfield Ape-Man"; Ted is turning out to be a surprisingly important character.]]
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"Forever & Always and Time Bastard" is the second episode of ''WebVideo/NightmareTime'''s first season, livestreamed on October 17, 2020, before being released on [=YouTube=] on February 14, 2021.
As with all ''Nightmare Time'' episodes, it's a DoubleFeature, consisting of two stories:
[[folder: Forever & Always]]
!! Forever & Always
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/forever_and_always_2.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"It was forever and always you."'']]
Paul Matthews and Emma Perkins are getting married, but before they tie the knot, the happy couple must come to terms with a terrible secret from "Emma"'s past...
'''Music:''' "Forever and Always", performed by Robert Manion and Mariah Rose Faith.
----
* AlternateUniverse: Once again it pretty much has to be, with Paul and Emma surviving long enough after their MeetCute to make it all the way to their wedding this time.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: According to the preview, Emma has one, and it catches up with her by the time of the wedding.
* ADayInTheLimelight: Paul and Emma were, of course, already in the limelight as the OfficialCouple of ''Theatre/TheGuyWhoDidntLikeMusicals'', but this is a long-promised chance for them to get ''back'' in the limelight after they were both DemotedToExtra in ''Theatre/BlackFriday'' and didn't appear at all in Episode 1 of ''Nightmare Time'', and to focus on their romantic relationship without an apocalypse getting in the way.
* WeddingEpisode: The fandom came in ''hyped'' for this one once it was revealed it was the long-awaited wedding of ''Theatre/TheGuyWhoDidntLikeMusicals''' OfficialCouple, Paul Matthews and Emma Perkins.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Time Bastard]]
!! Time Bastard
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/time_bastard.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"Keep runnin' away, you time bastard!"'']]
Ted, the horny bastard from CCRP's technical department, discovers that his office is a time-machine. Will he use this awesome ability to save his life... or doom us all?
'''Music:''' "Time Bastard", performed by Kim Whalen, and "Peanuts!", performed by Joey Richter and Lauren Lopez.
* ActorAllusion: Ted being the "Time Bastard" may be an allusion to Creator/JoeyRichter playing a supervillain named the "[[https://henrydanger.fandom.com/wiki/Time_Jerker Time Jerker]]" on ''[[Series/HenryDanger Henry Danger]]''.
* CharacterTitle: It was revealed just before the episode was broadcast that the titular "Time Bastard" is none other than Paul's work {{Frenemy}} Ted. The epithet "Time Bastard" may be a reference to Charlotte calling him a "horny bastard" in ''Theatre/TheGuyWhoDidntLikeMusicals''.
* ADayInTheLimelight: For Ted. [[spoiler: The ''second'' one of these after "The Hatchetfield Ape-Man"; Ted is turning out to be a surprisingly important character.]]
* DoubleMeaningTitle: Ted is the titular "Time Bastard" both because he's been disconnected from the normal flow of time, making him a "bastard" child of the laws of space-time, and also because... well, he's a time-traveling asshole.
* TimeTravelEpisode: ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin -- it's one of these plus ADayInTheLimelight for Ted.
[[/folder]]
As with all ''Nightmare Time'' episodes, it's a DoubleFeature, consisting of two stories:
[[folder: Forever & Always]]
!! Forever & Always
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/forever_and_always_2.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"It was forever and always you."'']]
Paul Matthews and Emma Perkins are getting married, but before they tie the knot, the happy couple must come to terms with a terrible secret from "Emma"'s past...
'''Music:''' "Forever and Always", performed by Robert Manion and Mariah Rose Faith.
----
* AlternateUniverse: Once again it pretty much has to be, with Paul and Emma surviving long enough after their MeetCute to make it all the way to their wedding this time.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: According to the preview, Emma has one, and it catches up with her by the time of the wedding.
* ADayInTheLimelight: Paul and Emma were, of course, already in the limelight as the OfficialCouple of ''Theatre/TheGuyWhoDidntLikeMusicals'', but this is a long-promised chance for them to get ''back'' in the limelight after they were both DemotedToExtra in ''Theatre/BlackFriday'' and didn't appear at all in Episode 1 of ''Nightmare Time'', and to focus on their romantic relationship without an apocalypse getting in the way.
* WeddingEpisode: The fandom came in ''hyped'' for this one once it was revealed it was the long-awaited wedding of ''Theatre/TheGuyWhoDidntLikeMusicals''' OfficialCouple, Paul Matthews and Emma Perkins.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Time Bastard]]
!! Time Bastard
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/time_bastard.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"Keep runnin' away, you time bastard!"'']]
Ted, the horny bastard from CCRP's technical department, discovers that his office is a time-machine. Will he use this awesome ability to save his life... or doom us all?
'''Music:''' "Time Bastard", performed by Kim Whalen, and "Peanuts!", performed by Joey Richter and Lauren Lopez.
* ActorAllusion: Ted being the "Time Bastard" may be an allusion to Creator/JoeyRichter playing a supervillain named the "[[https://henrydanger.fandom.com/wiki/Time_Jerker Time Jerker]]" on ''[[Series/HenryDanger Henry Danger]]''.
* CharacterTitle: It was revealed just before the episode was broadcast that the titular "Time Bastard" is none other than Paul's work {{Frenemy}} Ted. The epithet "Time Bastard" may be a reference to Charlotte calling him a "horny bastard" in ''Theatre/TheGuyWhoDidntLikeMusicals''.
* ADayInTheLimelight: For Ted. [[spoiler: The ''second'' one of these after "The Hatchetfield Ape-Man"; Ted is turning out to be a surprisingly important character.]]
* DoubleMeaningTitle: Ted is the titular "Time Bastard" both because he's been disconnected from the normal flow of time, making him a "bastard" child of the laws of space-time, and also because... well, he's a time-traveling asshole.
* TimeTravelEpisode: ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin -- it's one of these plus ADayInTheLimelight for Ted.
[[/folder]]
