Ugly Betty Episode 3.02 Full Recap

Here is the full recap of Ugly Betty, episode 3.02, Filing For the Enemy.  Before the recap, a few thoughts.

I thought this episode was extremely well paced.  Normally during the live blog, things jump around so much, it’s hard to keep up.  In this one, they kept it down to a few key story lines and gave each of them a good amount of time. (With the exception of the Christina-Stuart story).

I’ll agree with commenter Beatrice B – the way the Wilhelmina story ended took me completely off-guard.  I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing – I think there’s something specific that the writers want to do with Wilhelmina, and they wanted to get her in that position as quickly as possible.  Does this mean we won’t see Uno anymore?  I kind of liked him.

Becki Newton made the most of the short amount of time they gave her.  I’m STILL laughing about her lullaby to Marc.

America Ferrera’s Wilhelmina imitation was EXCELLENT!  It was so spot on – who knew Ferrera had that in her?

I agree with Sarah from the live blog.  The Hilda/Diaz story line needs to end soon.  It’s just too sad, especially after what she’s been through.  Although it’s pretty cool seeing Marc and Amanda drool all over Tony.

Anyway, I have the full recap after the jump!

The episode begins with a Player photo shoot in front of a courthouse; six scantily dressed women carrying briefcases.  Betty looks on with disgust.  She tells Daniel he misunderstood her when she had said that Player should show women in a more professional light – he translated that to “Let’s feature America’s ‘hottest’ lawyers”.  Betty asks if every photo shoot has to be women in skimpy bras.  Daniel says, “You’re right!” and has the women take off the bras, which proceed to fly onto Betty.

Betty notices that Daniel is working on the ‘copy’ for Mode.  She confronts him about wanting to be back at Mode, which he denies.  When Daniel says he just wants to know what Wilhelmina is up to, Betty says she’s “Firing, scheming, looking for a puppy to kick…”  Daniel says he’s happy and hands to book back to Betty.

Betty shows Daniel’s copy of the mockup to Alexis, and shows her Daniel’s notes.  She argues that Alexis should read them and take them to heart.  Alexis brushes Betty off, but after Betty leaves, she looks through Daniel’s ideas.

Betty and Tony are walking and eating along the Hudson river. Tony asks Hilda on a real date.  He mentions that his wife will be out of town that coming Wednesday, and he want to fit it in.  Hilda gets forlorn about being ‘the other woman’.  She asks him if they have a future together, and he promises that they do.

Alexis goes to Wilhelmina about Daniel’s ideas (without telling her they are Daniel’s).  Amongst other things, she doesn’t like the cover of Angelina Jolie in a block of ice.  Wilhelmina notices that the notes are in Daniel’s handwriting.  Alexis tells her that Betty brought his notes and that she agreed with them.  She asks about the disappearance of “Mode on Madison”; Willy says, “Who cares what the average woman wears on the street?  We shouldn’t be taking their pictures, we should be throwing rocks at them!”  Alexis leaves, ordering Wilhelmina to look at Daniel’s notes.  After she leaves, Wilhelmina tells Marc that Daniel isn’t her problem, it’s Betty.

Betty sits at her desk to eat lunch.  Marc slaps it away and says “No burrito for you!”.  He summons her to a lunch date with Wilhelmina.

At the restaurant, Wilhelmina flatters her, then offers her a job, under the pretense of needing her to read Daniel’s old files.  At first, Betty is suspicious, but she doesn’t say no.

Later, Betty tells her family.  All of them want her to take the job, especially Justin.  He says (about her being at Player), “It’s like I’m stuck in a sand trap at the bottom of the ninth quarter”.  Heh.  Hilda tells Betty that Tony wants a copy of Player signed by star athletes for the school auction.  Betty resolves to tell Daniel about Wilhelmina’s offer first thing in the morning.

Unfortunately, Daniel runs into Wilhelmina in the elevator, and she takes pleasure in rubbing it in.

Later, Daniel confronts Betty about it – they argue.  Betty tells him that working at Player isn’t exactly her dream job.  Daniel says HE is happy there.  He yells at Betty, and tells her to go.

Betty shows up at Wilhelmina’s office, ready to work.

Later, Betty walks and talks with Christina, who calls Wilhelmina the “Wicked Witch of the East Side”. But, Christina tells Betty that she’s glad she’s back.  Marc sees this and salivates over being able to boss Betty around.  Wilhelmina tells him to take it easy – they don’t want her to quit.  Marc approaches Betty and ‘welcomes’ her by annoyingly poking her in the face over and over again.

Daniel talks to an immigration lawyer, who tells him there has been a snag with DJ: his grandparents in France have filed for custody.  She warns him that it could turn into a real custody battle.  She suggests Daniel ask DJ what HE wants to do before doing anything else.  After she leaves, he walks to Betty’s desk, but she’s not there. (Nice touch!)

Marc instructs Betty as they head to a meeting with Penelope Del Rios (a cosmetics mogul) to be quiet, unless asked about the cosmetics, in which case she should lie and say she’s a huge fan.  Wilhelmina is trying to convince Penelope to increase her advertising, but Penelope says Mode advertising hasn’t helped her sales.  Betty brings coffee for Wilhelmina, but Penelope snags it.  She then stops Betty and asks her if she uses her cosmetics.  Betty says “no”, much to Marc’s chagrin.  She says she can’t afford them.

Penelope says she has a budget line coming out.  Betty suggest she advertise THAT in Mode.  She explains that all the girls at Hilda’s beauty salon LOVE mode and would be a perfect target demographic.  Penelope likes the idea.  As she walks away with Marc, he’s visibly upset. He says she screwed up by outshining Wilhelmina.  Wilhelmina then calls Betty to her office, and forces a smile.

Betty tries to apologize, but Wilhelmina instead sends her on a crazy set of errands before the “New Mode” premiere party.  She even wants her to get a priceless tiara that Catherine the Great once wore from the Museum of Russian Antiquities. 

Daniel and DJ have a lot of fun playing baseball.  Daniel mentions that DJ starts school tomorrow.  He also mentions D’s grandparents and asks if he misses them.  He does, and wants to visit.  Daniel can’t bring himself to ask the ‘big’ question about custody, though.

Betty walks with Christina and complains about the crazy errands.  Christina gets a call.  She tells Betty that she thinks Stuart is doing drugs again.  She shows that she took a sample of his hair to have tested.  Christina tells Betty that she needs her at Mode, and begs her not to get fired.

Betty asks a security guard how she can go about renting the tiara.  He laughs vigorously at her.  She asks someone else, who laughs even harder.  She asks a third person, who actually breaks into tears!

Marc talks with Amanda, preparing to give Wilhelmina her Botox injections.  Betty walks in, And Wilhelmina asks how she did.  Betty lists the things she got – Wilhelmina asks about the Tiara.  Betty says she doesn’t have it, but THEY do (pointing back at some men).  Betty had gotten it by being nice to the caretaker, and promising a quid-pro-quo with advertising.  Wilhelmina then tells Marc to take off his gloves – Betty will be giving the Botox injections instead.  BOTH Betty and Marc are mortified, for different reasons.

Betty reluctantly starts to give the injection, but Wilhelmina stops her.  She tells her “you passed the test…maybe you are the one”. Betty asks, “like Lord of the Rings?” (heh).  Willy tells her that there has been only one other person that got the tiara – herself (when she was Fey Sommers’ assistant).  Wilhelmina says she’s going to groom Betty.  She tells Betty she will start by taking over her launch party (which had been Marc’s job).

Marc doesn’t take the news well.  He tells Betty, “You’ve taken away from me everything that matters”,and calls her a sorceress.  Betty tells him she can’t make the launch party happen without his help.  She asks him to find an anatomically correct life size black vodka ice sculpture of “you know who”.

Later Marc tells Amanda all about it.  She comforts him by putting his head on her chest and singing “Hush little homo, don’t you cry.  Mandy’s going to steal you a Prada tie.”  At that moment, Tony walks in, and Amanda pushes Marc to the ground.  Both Marc and Mandy claim to be Betty Suarez.  They each drool over the very attractive Mr Diaz.  He’s there to get the copy of Player that Betty promised him>

Later, Amanda tells Betty she needs his number to give him back his phone (which she had stolen).   They then both look at pictures on the phone of Diaz kissing a stewardess (his wife).

At Betty’s apartment, she tells Hilda about the pictures on the phone.  Hilda admits to Betty that Diaz is married.  They have a big fight about this.  Hilda says she’s in love with Tony, and leaves.

Daniel drops DJ off for his first day at school (in a sweet scene). Claire, who is there, tells him he’s a natural father.  She also reminds him that he should ask DJ who he wants to live with.

Betty is setting up the party at Mode, but the ice sculpture arrives too early.  She has someone run it down to the Italian restaurant downstairs, begging them to use their freezer.  She tries to talk to Marc and Mandy, but they keep inhaling helium from balloons and talking (hilarious!).  Marc hands her a huge bag full of “old mail to shred into confetti”.  Marc then accuses Betty of being disloyal to Daniel.  He says she’s just like Wilhelmina.

This fades into an incredible dream sequence, where Betty has “become” Wilhelmina.  She even kicks a puppy!

When Betty wakes up, she starts shredding the old letters, but upon seeing them, stops.

Hilda is getting ready for her date, but Justin is mortified, because she’s wearing leopard and zebra at the same time.  Ignacio is happy that Hilda is happy.  He says she deserves this, and Hilda agrees.

Betty drags the bag of mail into Daniel’s office.  She shows him that it was full of positive letters about Daniel’s work at Mode.  Wilhelmina had hid them all from Alexis. Many of the letters were about “Mode on Madison” – they had subscribed just for that.  Betty tells him that he has to show the letters to Alexis.  Daniel admits he wants to be back at Mode.  But, he says that he lost – it’s over.  Betty tells him it’s worth fighting for.

Christina confronts Stuart about his drug use (like Rush Limbaugh fornicated with Amy Winehouse! HAHAHA).  She threatens to call immigration and have him deported.  They fight, and he leaves rather violently.

DJ is playing Guitar Hero.  Daniel finally asks him if he’s rather live with his grandparents.  He says he’d rather live with Daniel.  Daniel says that means they’ll fight for it.

At the party, Betty notices Wilhelmina isn’t wearing the Tiara.  She gives her a two-week’s notice.  Betty says she can’t work for her.  As she goes to leave, Claire asks her to stay.  “This party is about to get VERY interesting”.  In walk Daniel and Alexis.

Hilda is waiting nervously outside a fancy restaurant.  She calls Tony, who pretends to be talking to someone else (his wife is obviously there).  After pretending to end the conversation with “Bobby” he hangs up on her.

Alexis tells Wilhelmina that she’s not happy with the magazine.  Daniel tells Willy that the first day sales numbers of the new Mode are horrible.  Alexis says it’s the lowest selling issue in months.  Alexis then announces to the crowd that Daniel is going to be Editor in Chief again (Wilhelmina will go back to being creative director).

Betty asks Marc if he left the letters for her on purpose.  He denies it; he says, “I would never do anything to hurt Wilhelmina’s interests…unless they’re hurting mine. 

Wilhelmina reminds the Meades that she still owns a third of the company.  Claire reminds her that it’s the unborn child who has an interest, not her.  Claire then pushes over the ice sculpture.  Claire tells Wilhelmina: Don’t you EVER threaten my children!  You have no idea the lengths I will go to protect them!

Betty and Daniel make up.  Betty says she’s come back if she can keep the raise Wilhelmina gave her.

Christina is leaving the Mode offices.  She gets tired of waiting on the elevator, and takes the stairs.   As she does, some unseen person pushes her down the stairs.  The episode ends with a shot of her lying lifeless at the bottom of the stairs.

Image: Newscom