Ugly Betty Episode 3.16 Full Recap
February 26, 2009 by Tom
Here is the full recap for Ugly Betty episode 3.16, Things Fall Apart. Before the recap, a few thoughts:
- Except for a few quips, this one was mostly drama and intrigue. But, it was one of those episodes where all the story lines change arcs.
- If you’ve read the spoilers, nothing was REALLY a surprise. But man, oh man, the way the actors portrayed it was still jaw-dropping (especially Connor).
- Matt is the most patient man that ever lived. But, like I said in the live blog, I like Betty and him as a couple.
- I wonder if we’ll ever see evil, scheming Wilhelmina again. I think she’s turned a corner. It wouldn’t make sense for her to be so grasping anymore.
- Usually I can tell why the writers do something, at least how it advances the story. I don’t understand the purpose of the Henry/Facebook thing. I THINK it was a parallel for Wilhelmina’s problems, but that doesn’t feel right. Brian Tanen, do you read here? Help a fan out, why don’t you?
- This is the first time I’ve ever seen Facebook (the real one) actually used as a story line in a primetime show. They’re bigtime!
- Thank God for Michael Urie. He kept the episode just light enough.
Recap after the jump!
Betty smiles for a pic on her webcam, but Justin interrupts her and she takes a DMV-style photo. She is setting up a Facebook page for YETI. She tells Justin that Tina Brown is speaking at today’s YETI class. Ignacio walks in, he is moping because Elena is in LA on a short trip. He says, “Finally, I understand what country music is all about”.
Daniel calls, he is sick (and acting like a baby). He has checked himself into the Amsterdam.
Wilhelmina wakes up, then notices that baby William isn’t in his crib. She frantically looks around, and finds Connor holding and rocking the baby. Connor had not wanted to wake her. Wilhelmina says she wishes she could just live in this moment. Connor offers to take her away to somewhere exotic.
Amanda greets Betty at Mode. She holds up a mirror toward Betty, but she can find nothing wrong. Amanda says she wanted to make sure Betty knew what she was wearing. 
Marc grabs Betty so they can rush to their YETI meeting. On their way out, they run into Molly. Betty tells her about Daniel being sick and checking himself into a hotel.
At YETI, Jodi announces that Tina Brown had to cancel. (Somebody’s husband had grabbed someone’s boob at dinner the night before). In her stead, Jodi had booked…an accountant. As he talks, the class all sits totally bored. Jodi then gives an assignment: they all have to study the books of their magazines, and make a presentation the next week.
As Marc and Betty parlay over who will crunch the numbers, Matt walks up and says that he has an MBA and offers to help. He asks Betty if they can go for drinks. Betty turns him down. On the way back to Mode, Marc tells Betty that Matt was asking her out on a date, and asks if she likes him. Betty is noncommittal. Marc then asks if it will be weird for Betty, going down to accounting for her assignment, for the first time since Henry left. Betty says she’s totally over him.
When she gets down there, talking to accountant Jenny, Betty is obviously nervous being in Henry’s old space. Jenny says she hears from Henry all the time — he;s on Facebook. He had posted pictures of himself and his girlfriend in Peru. The girl was not Charlie, her name is Samantha.
Later Betty unloads her feelings about Henry to Justin. She’s upset that he’s moved on. Justin tells her to use the budgets as a project to get Henry off of her mind. She dives in.
Betty comes into Daniel’s hotel room hyped up on energy drinks. She notices that Daniel is shopping for humongous rings. Betty starts to ask if he’s THAT serious with Molly, but Daniel is so sick, he changes the subject. Betty tells him that her study of the budget shows money always coming up short, by millions. Daniel tells Betty to go talk to Connor about it.
Betty does, and Connor explains that corporations always move money from division to division. Betty still isn’t satisfied, but Wilhelmina is bored with the conversation and sends her away.
Later, Connor makes a phone call to a bank; he sees Betty, and says it looks like he may have to make his next transfer ahead of schedule.
Betty tells Marc and Amanda about the weird budget numbers. They instead tease her about Henry. Marc tells Betty to find someone new herself. He tells her to call Matt. She does, but she has to hang up quickly because Connor approached her to talk to her. This happens three times, but Betty finally gets around to asking him out for drinks. In the process, Connor gives Betty some papers to sign for Daniel.
At the hotel, Molly comes to visit. Daniel doesn’t want to let her in, but she brought soup, so he agrees. She desperately wants to tell him something, but he is so involved in his own problems, she decides to do it later. After she leaves, he notices that his laptop was still on the jewelry page, and certainly Molly had seen it.
Connor presses Wilhelmina to go away with him; not for the weekend, but for good. Before they can get too in-depth Marc interrupts them with another Mode emergency.
At the bar, Matt tells Betty that the budget numbers SHOULD add up. They bond over his favorite movie (Wall-e), but Betty then receives a Facebook friend request from Henry. The conversation then turns almost exclusively to Henry, with Betty doing all the talking. She then says it’s very cold in the bar. Matt warms her hands with his. Betty decides it’s time to leave; Matt wants to ask her something. Betty tries to brush him off before he asks her out, but what he really wants to tell her is that he forgot his wallet and needs her to pay.
Betty runs to the ATM. She checks her balance, and it says she has 101,000 dollars!
Betty runs home and tells her family. Hilda is very eager to spend it. (and she keeps calling herself “mama”. Ignacio agrees with Betty that the money has to go back. Betty says that the bank told her that the money came from Meade. Betty vows to get to the bottom of it and fix it tomorrow. Justin tells Betty that at least she had a memorable date. At this point, Betty remembers that she left Matt at the bar! She tries to call him but gets voice mail. She calls him Henry by accident.
At Mode, Amanda tells Betty that a cute-ish boy is there to see her, and asks her if he is the one she’s trying to sleep with to forget Henry. Matt then reminds her that he’s standing right there. Betty then apologizes to Matt for leaving him. He says it’s OK, they gave him a tab. Matt apologizes for asking her out when she’s obviously not over Henry. Matt then reveals that his parents had nothing in common when they married, now they are divorced and hate each other. Matt thinks the two of them have far more in common.
Betty tells Jenny about the strange bank goings-on. Jenny is perplexed, then looks up who authorized the transaction. It was “B Suarez”. Later, Betty tells Marc about this.
Betty tracks down Connor and tells him about the money. They get on the elevator together. Connor tells her she could get into a lot of trouble for it. He tells her the investigators won’t believe her. It dawns on Betty, and she asks him if he put the money there. He gets a real evil look on is face, then he stops the elevator. Connor says he doesn’t know why anyone has to know about anyone stealing from the company (meaning himself) He says he also set it up to look like Daniel was involved. He tells her to keep quiet about it. He restarts the elevator, and opaquely threatens her family, then walks away.
Connor later confesses everything to Wilhelmina. He begs her to come away with him, to leave Mode behind and start anew with him and the baby. He admits that he did it because he hates Daniel, and he wanted to get him back for taking Molly. He says he doens’t love Molly, he hates Daniel. Wilhelmina reminds him that she owns half of Meade. He once again asks her to leave with him (and the Meade’s money). He tells her he chartered a private jet and asks her to consider it.
Betty tells Daniel about the embezzlement. He tells her to call Claire and set up a meeting so they can make a plan.
Marc arrives at Wilhelmina’s apartment with all her things (at her instruction). She then reveals everything, and says she is considering leaving with him. Marc tells her that he doesn’t know what to tell her.
Claire arrives at Mode; she tells Daniel and Betty that Connor and Wilhelmina both are missing. She then tells them more bad news: all the company’s accounts have been cleared out. There’s nothing left.
As the Meades frantically discuss things with the lawyers, Betty notices Marc has arrived. She goes into Wilhelmina’s office and Marc asks if everything it gone. Betty asks where Wilhelmina is; Marc gives her a card telling where she’s meeting Connor.
Wilhelmina walks toward the jet, but a car pulls up. The Meades and Betty get out. Betty asks where her baby is. Wilhelmina calls them idiots and says they are going to ruin everything. The police then pull up. Wilhelmina had called them. She tells the Meades that they don’t know her at all. Wilhelmina’s phone rings; it is Connor. He is already on another flight (he didn’t completely trust her). He hears the police sirens in the background and slyly smiles. He tells Wilhelmina that he still loves her.
Betty tries to console Wilhelmina. Wilhelmina says he asked her to choose him or her career. She tells Betty you have to make choices; you can’t have it all. She says Betty is just like she was, once upon a time.
At home, Elena has returned, with gifts for everyone. She gave Betty sandals. Elena notices something is wrong. Betty tells her vaguely about her day. She asks Elena if she ever had to make a choice between work and a personal life. Elena dismisses the choice as a false one.
At Mode, Molly is trying to write Daniel a note. She is trying to tell him…she has cancer and is dying. She is leaving to stay with her parents. Daniel begs her to stay, but she leaves anyway. Claire sees all of this from afar, then goes to comfort her son.
We then see a montage of Wilhelmina with her baby, Betty watching Elena and Ignacio, then turning her attention to Henry’s friend request. She confirms the request. But then we see her joining Matt at the bar.
Image: Pacific Coast News
WOW I haven’t watched many episodes this season, but I tuned in tonight (The Henry mention in the guide description influenced me haha) but wow there’s so much drama! I saw the previews for next week and it looked fun with the cookin contest and whatnot, but they always have to throw something in there!
I’m glad to see Amanda and Marc seem to be back to their season 1 ways!
I’m also glad to see that the Connor and Molly storylines are appearing to be coming to an end, they bored me.
The guy Betty went to the bar with was cute though! I hope they can be friends.
And also, I love henry but I swear if they do this whole drama with them reconnecting it’s going to be very redundant very soon. I’m still hoping for an Amanda/Henry storyline here lol
I am waiting for the responsive download link of this episode… Thanks,Tom! Another marvelous job!
It was one of the top episodes this season, if not the best episode this season! Only thing it didn’t had comedy so It can’t be the top one, i guess. But it was amazing!! Bowler portrayed an amazing Connor. I really don’t know why they didn’t bother to make Willy and Connor do some evil things together before this final episode. But who cares?! This was really amazing. It got me staring to the screen every second. And the ending!!!!
You are right: thank God for Marc! I am definitely loving him this season. The writers are doing wonders with him and Amanda (except stripping them from their love life and the quest for her father. But whatevs). I like Marc interacting in Yeti, with Betty and, of course, I love Marc and Willy. He really felt let down when he thought she was leaving everything behind for love.
And Matt, Matt is nice but pitiable. He is nice as a character and I didn’t understand why writers HAD to use old love memories to make Betty turn to Matt. It was as if he was a rebound (which he technically isn’t… she had been in love twice before him). If Betty hadn’t been romancing all this time, the parallel would have been perfect “you can’t sacrifice your love life for work”. BUT wasn’t that what she’s been doing all this time. But we feel like Matt is hiding something (and please! we already know he might be some sort of a rich brat, so I hope that’s not the secret).
Oh I can’t wait to rewatch this episode.
Tom, I have to disagree with you on one part of your post. I that there’s even more reason now for the evil, scheming Wilhelmina to return. One, she is a woman scorned. And, two, she is going to have to be at the top of her game to help the company stay afloat, now that the money is all gone. I think that it would make less sense for her not to return to her old self with a vengeance.
As for the Henry thing, I think that its purpose was to help Betty to move on, especially since she sees that Henry has moved on. This opens her up to letting Matt into her life. It was indeed also a parallel for Wilhelmina’s problems, particularly the concept of being able to have a career and a love life. I like how Betty was considering ignoring Henry’s friend request at the end, which is what I thought she might do, but she did the mature thing and confirmed the request instead. I think that shows that she still cares about Henry, but she is now able to move on herself as well without being bitter towards Henry for having moved on.
The episode was good and little sad.I’m glad Betty move on when she found out Henry move on with his new gf in Peur(sp?).Daniel make me tear when Molly gave him bad news about she sick of cancer and he upset.I like Betty and Matt are chat at bar scene in end.
wow. why do they keep removing Daniel’s love interests.
this ep is kinda sad.
i really do like Molly.
le sigh.
lets hope the show doesnt turn irrelevant in time.
TBH, I’m more sad about what happened to Connor than I am with Molly. That may sound callous, but seriously – it’s still hard for me to get hooked on the Daniel/Molly pairing. The only thing that made me feel bad was seeing Daniel’s sad face last night.
So far, however, he hasn’t had any love interests that have made me care – especially since he fell for all of them within minutes of meeting them.
haven’t watched it, but i’m sad about Connor, he & willie are such a dynamic power couple. Wish he could stayed on, and not turn evil — shrewd, but not evil. The 2 got real chemistry, they could have done a lot with him. It’s kind silly to basically write out both Connor & Molly the same time.
I agree with Beatrice…this was probably the best episode of the season. Marc was great in his scenes with Betty and Matt and his scenes with Willi—showing he still has the snarky sarcastic side we love but also has a vulnerable side. I loved Amanda in this episode. She was on the sidelines but had some great facial expressions and one-liners (love her!). The scene with Betty and Conner in the elevator totally creeped me out. He does evil very well. I just don’t understand why he was threatening Betty to keep quiet one minute and then confessing to Willi the next. Once again, it felt rushed and out of the blue.
As for Matt and Betty…I’m not ready to gi Batt ship over them yet. Sorry. I like him but he seems a bit bland. I get the feeling he is luring Betty in and may try to influence her or use her in some way. Otherwise, how boring if he’s just this cute, sweet guy who is falling all over himself to date her? Where is the reality in that?
As for Daniel and Molly. I do feel bad Daniel. Can’t the guy catch a break? The scene at the end was very well done though.
Lastly, what is up with Betty fretting over Henry with no mention of Gio? I realize Henry was central to the storyline of her “moving on”, but seriously, if characters on this show aren’t central to the plot it’s like they cease to exist. Did Gio move to Italy or something? Have the people at Mode stopped eating sandwiches? It’s not like I’m expecting a return…but at least acknowledge that he continues to exist in some way.
This episode was good, but not the absolute best, in my opinion. Last week’s episode was so much better and true to UB’s modus operandi.
Like Angie said, I mourn Connor’s downfall. He should have stuck around longer as the good guy. Unlike others, I don’t really care if he’s Wili’s love interest or not. Frankly, I’m one of the few who’s not into their chemistry. But I did like Connor being the guy who was squarely in the middle between Daniel and Wili – the guy who casually flirted with her, yet was friends with Daniel. Honestly, I wish Daniel had never fallen for Molly. Sorry, but I think having her around ruined everything, including Daniel’s friendship with Connor.
Finally, I think the whole Henry mention was done well. Of course, it would’ve been more fun had he been married, but I think it worked out well the way the writers wrote it. They already gave time to Betty and Gio in “Betty Suarez Land”, so I think it’s only fair that Henry get an episode where he’s mentioned this season – especially since he was Betty’s first major love. However, I’m going to disagree with the Benry/Hetty fans who think this is a door left open to a renewal of romance between Henry and Betty. I seriously doubt that will happen, especially considering the general premise of this show. In fact, I doubt Betty will ever go back to any of her past love interests. Tonight’s episode signified one thing to me regarding Betty: This was all about moving forward for her and remembering the past without living in the past.
I think the Henry/Facebook thing is to fix the financial crisis that Mode is having. Henry will come back and fix it. Betty will have a dilemma, to choose Henry or Matt. Hopefully she chooses Matt.
I definately think a new door for Henry has been opened. How convienient that at the same time that Mode has budgeting problems, Betty comes in contact with Mode’s best accountant. I can easily see Betty being told to ask Henry for help. Gorham already wrapped up his other show on CBS, so he could easily come back for a few eps towards the end of the season, I think.
I’m not sure where Charlie, the baby, new supposed gf and Peru come in, but I don’t think Betty ever saw the photos Amanda was talking about, so who knows who Samantha is really.
If Henry seems chill enough to request her as a friend, then I think it’s safe to assume that he’s moved on. Hopefully he can come back and they can be just friends because I really do adore his character, although the drama between him and Betty got tiresome towards the end.
First of all, I have to say that Vanessa Williams is unbelievable gorgeous! I was in awe every time she came on the screen.
But I agree with SirLizard.
I think Connor leaving is going to bring wicked Wilhelmina back. She is obviously hurt and we all know what happens when Wilhelmina doesn’t get her way.
I’m going to miss Connor (a lot), but I’m excited to see Wilhelmina get back to her carreer. Devious Wilhelmina is the best!!
Also, I love that the baby’s name is William!!
=]
Can I just say one thing…. Michael/Marc was freaking HILARIOUS in this episode.
Spark said: “I definately think a new door for Henry has been opened. How convienient that at the same time that Mode has budgeting problems, Betty comes in contact with Mode’s best accountant. I can easily see Betty being told to ask Henry for help. Gorham already wrapped up his other show on CBS, so he could easily come back for a few eps towards the end of the season, I think.”
While it’s always a possibility, I really doubt that will happen. If anything, I expect that Matt will end up being of more assistance here than Henry. Besides, knowing spoiler hounds like Michael Ausiello and Kristin dos Santos, we would’ve heard by now if Chris Gorham was slated for a possible end-of-Season-3 return.
^angie, that is true. I know people have been speculating that Matt is rich, and he will somehow help the company, but for some reason I still think Henry will come in at some time in the future. They haven’t really mentioned him all season, so I don’t see why they would mention him now and then throughout the episode emphasize how Betty was still not over him. It’s just all kind of random…
Other than that, I think Matt is really cute, so hopefully they don’t ruin his character. I haven’t watched much, so I don’t know where he came from but he and Betty seem like they could be awesome friends.
First time this season I sat through an entire episode without skipping or fastforwarding. It took them long enough.
I enjoyed this episode & the last.. I hope Matt hangs around for a while. I kind of agree with the issue with Henry. For some reason, I have a feeling that he might pop in before seasons end.. Why did they just suddenly mention him? Is it to show that he’s moved on? Does he hve something to do with Matt’s secret??
Hey, I am just glad to finally have Henry in an episode (even if it is only in mention). I agree with another person who mentioned that Henry should at least get his 1 (hopefully more like 2 or 3) episodes. Gorham is done filming, and to do a couple eps would be great. I don’t think that sparking the love interest again, would be realisitic but would love to see our Henry back!
16 ! They had to wait 16 episodes to finally give us something good, some really good UB like we like it. This episode, with “When Betty meets the YETI” was so far – I haven’t watch episode 17 yet- the best of this season. Nothing else to add : it was great.