Ugly Betty Episode 3.22 Full Recap
May 16, 2009 by Tom
Here is the full recap for Ugly Betty episode 3.22, In The Stars. My quick thoughts:
- Excellent, excellent episode! When you can pack that much action into one episode, make it coherent, and make it fly by, it’s well done all around.
- This was one of Michael Urie’s best. He spent most of the time panicking over the YETI project, the rest looking puzzled at Jodi’s advances.
- Speaking of Jodi, the whole storyline between her and Marc would not have worked, had it not involved Urie and the wonderful Bernadette Peters. She is larger than life.
- I don’t know how Becki Newton feels about it, but I loved how Amanda was used in this episode. She wasn’t part of any story line; her job was to interject wackiness at appropriate times. The scene where Marc and Betty were ignoring her on the phone was classic.
- The gay marriage reference was done with the usual Ugly Betty sense of humor and flair. I prefer the subtlety of Betty over the preachiness you might get from other shows.
- Much more controversial, believe it or not, was the scene in the conference room with the over-the top product placement for Cherry 7-UP. I’ve seen a lot of complaint about this, but I think the complaints miss the point. Product placement is a fact of life in TV and movies. I like the fact that the writers decided that, since they were going to do it anyway, instead of insulting the audience, they’d let them in on the joke. I’ll do a longer full post about this subject soon – I thought it was one of the funniest scenes in the episode.
- Once complaint – they’ve made Matt into such a head case, it’s hard to like him.
- I like having the old Wilhelmina back. She’s funniest when she’s annoyed and frustrated.
- The musical scene with Adele was the best the show has ever had (excluding Amanda’s My Milkshake scene). I wish they could have made it longer.
Full recap after the jump.
The episode begins with Suzuki St Pierre recapping all the dealings at Mode from the previous few episodes, focusing on the Cal Hartley bailout of Meade. At home, Betty tells her family that today is performance review day, and that she’s going to ask to be promoted to editor. As everyone goes to start their day, Hilda knocks over Elena’s purse, revealing a letter from a Nursing school in California.
Betty and Marc simultaneously go in for their annual performance reviews. Both are glowing (Wilhelmina calls Marc “adequate”, which is about the highest praise she’ll give), yet they are also both informed that there is a hiring freeze (part of the bailout), and neither will become editor this year. Daniel does tell Betty that if YETI brings her an opportunity, he’ll give her a great reference.
Hilda confronts Elena about the letter from California. Elena insists she hasn’t decided if she’s going to take the position. She really wants the job, though, so she is torn. Hilda insists she tell Papi.
Cal butts into a staff meeting where Wilhelmina is going over the final layout for Mode’s wedding issue. It highlights the “Little Black Wedding Dress”. Cal hates the idea. He starts to make suggestions, and with each new one, Wilhelmina looks more and more perturbed.
During this scene, there is HEAVY, over the top product placement for Cherry 7-up antioxidant. It’s in Cal’s hand, on the table, in the layout, and mentioned on-air twice. It’s so in your face, it’s obvious the writers decided to have a little fun with the task they were given, and the results are hilarious.
Claire walks in to get the conference room for a Hot Flash meeting, and Cal asks her opinion of the layout. Claire suggests instead of highlighting black, they highlight colorful wedding dresses, like in Europe. Cal asks her to work with Wilhelmina revamping the issue. Willi is about ready to explode.
Molly sees a giant ring and proposal on a desk, she thinks it’s for her from Daniel and says yes. Unfortunately, it was part of the layout instead. But now Daniel knows what her answer will be, so he knows her can propose in earnest without worry.
At YETI, Jodi is making the final assignment of the year, based on seating at the table. She announces that because of the economic downturn, only the members of the winning team will get interviews with publishing companies. Marc, Betty and a non-present Matt are teamed up, and they are assigned (randomly) to create a magazine layout involving music and physical sciences. During this scene, Jodi flirts with Marc (her boyfriend dumped her the night before).
Marc and Betty dive into their assignment; Betty will write the article, Marc will book a great musician to photograph. Matt, assigned to securing the venue (the planetarium) is distracted watching silly YouTube videos with Amanda. Marc tells Betty they can’t count of Matt, but Betty defends him and says he’ll be fine. Marc says that if Matt doesn’t come around, they’ll have to kick him out of the group.
Daniel tells Claire he can’t decide on a ring; Claire, somewhat reluctantly, pulls her engagement ring off her finger and tells Daniel to go propose. He does, with Betty and Claire watching, getting on one knee quite romantically. Claire is wonderful in this scene.
At the Suarez house, Hilda and family use the news of Daniel’s engagement to convince Ignacio to propose to Elena, so she’ll stay in New York with him.
Marc announces to Betty and Matt that he’s gotten Grammy winner Adele to do their photo shoot. (He tells a wonderful 6-degrees to her story, of course involving Kevin Bacon). Matt then tells them the Planetarium fell through. This makes Marc so mad, he says loudly that Matt should be kicked off the team. Betty begs Matt to get with the program, but he agrees with Marc, and leaves, sadly. Betty chases after him, and in the hall Matt tells her he’s lost his passion for publishing; he’s now into art. Betty is freaked out, but tells him she supports him.
Marc’s choice of venue falls through, and Betty, exasperated, says, “We can’t just paint stars in your apartment and call it the planetarium – this is Adele, not Amy Winehouse”. Betty then gets a call and finds out they did indeed get the planetarium after all. Betty goes to sign the contract.
Wilhelmina argues with Claire over a colorful (but rather hideous) dress, the model between them. Claire brings up Connor, and Wilhelmina says the model looks like a baboon’s ass. As the argument escalates, Marc “evacuates” the staff for their own safety, and they all get out except the poor model, who has her dress torn by Wilhelmina.
Daniel and Molly get a wedding planner; Molly wants the beach, a band, and tacos. The planner freaks out when Daniel says they need to do it within the month (Molly doesn’t have a lot of time), but Daniel insists that they find a way to get it done.
At the planetarium, Victoria surprisingly shows up, and asks Betty to do what she can to keep Matt on track. Apparently, he’s spent a lifetime starting things and not finishing them; she even has a slideshow for effect. Betty doesn’t want to to this, but agrees because Victoria got the planetarium for them (plus, she would also like to see Matt finish YETI).
Meanwhile, Ignacio very nervously proposes to Elena, and she says yes. He doesn’t have a ring but promises to get one as soon as he can.
At lunch, Betty talks Matt into finishing YETI. Matt says she’s sounds like his mother, but he does agree to come back.
At the planetarium, Matt really embraces the project, and Betty is impressed. Betty meets Adele’s manager, who really doesn’t want to be there. Victoria comes in to see if Matt is really there, and on her way out whispers thank you to Betty. This infuriates Matt, and they argue very loudly in front of everyone, causing Adele’s manager to call them amateurs and leave with the star before the shoot. Things are falling apart, so Marc leaves to play his last card, Jodi’s attraction to him.
As one of the planners goes through a wedding gift guide (the planner fretting that he can’t get married), Molly realizes just how little time she has left, and tries to call off the wedding.
At the Suarez house, Papi answers a call from the nursing school. He is visibly upset.
Wilhelmina barges into Cal’s office and says she can’t work with Claire anymore. Claire, for the good of the magazine agrees to step down. After Wilhelmina leaves, Cal asks to speak with Claire alone.
As Betty is fretting about everything falling apart, Daniel tells her that Molly cancelled the wedding. Betty, trying to make the best of two bad situations, convinces Daniel to go grab Molly and have the wedding right there at the planetarium.
Daniel and Molly have a wedding that is at once beautiful and strange, married by and actress/model dressed as an alien, who was an ordained minister before switching professions . The bride and groom are beautiful and dashing.
Later, Claire walks up to Wilhelmina and informs her that Cal made her (Claire) Senior Vice President of Meade. She will report only to Cal, and Wilhelmina now reports to her. This makes Wilhelmina so angry, she stalks off behind the set and destroys some planets.
Matt returns, and apologizes to Betty. He also brings back Adele, who Betty gushes over before she performs for the wedding (and photo shoot).
Ignacio walks up to Elena and tells her he’s got something for her. Instead of a ring, he hands her plane tickets, though. He says it’s not the right time for marriage, and she needs to go follow her dream.
At YETI, Jodi loves the submission by Team Betty, and declares them the winner (adding that it has nothing to do with whatever Marc happened to do with her the night before). She declares them the YETI winners (meaning they will get industry interviews).
As Daniel and Molly are preparing for their honeymoon in Bora Bora, Molly collapses in the bathroom, and the episode ends with Daniel discovering her lifeless body.
Image: Bauer Griffin
I actually hated this episode ”/ i found myself struggling to watch through the end because it was just being so tedious. Maybe it’s just because I’m not a big fan of Matt (i’m not a religious shipper of any kind – I just don’t see any real likable traits), nor of Molly, so this episode was kinda spoiled for me. The Ignacio/Elena plotline always seemed kinda tacked on to me, and there was no real chemistry between the actors anyway – as is the case with Daniel/Molly, I think. And, come to think of it – there seems to be little on-screen chemistry between Betty and Matt, too ”/
Mode plotlines are also faltering now I think, though I must admit the Wilhelmina/Claire “partnership” was the highlight of the episode. But God, even towards the end of the season, I still can’t get used to the new outfits. I mean, all this colour on Wilhelmina, it just seems so, wrong really, after the first two seasons of wearing basically whites, or at least a pastel shade, seeing her in bright colours is just, so out of character – and whilst it seems stupid to get worked up about such a thing, in Ugly Betty, where fashion means alot, it just seems too out of place. The same goes for other characters too – what was up with Marc’s trousers at the start of the episode?! Who wears those?!
Aside from the fact that in season 4 I would like to see Justin’s sexuality revealed, something about Fey Sommers, Perhaps see Alexis and DJ, and more Claire, I think it would be great if Betty went to visit Christina in Scotland. Perhaps everyone could take a trip to Europe on a business meeting to MODE UK and Marc and Amanda could interact with their counterparts (From MODE After Hours), Daniel could visit Alexis and DJ, and Betty could go to Scotland to visit Christina, Stuart, and the baby. After all, we still really don’t know Stuart’s fate, and we know that this could be possible, even through green screen. Because in season one they did go to Mexico! I think it would be great to tie together some loose ends, and it would make for a very different, exciting episode! =p
I’m not interested in Matt at all, he’s very boring. He’s not funny or exciting like Gio, he’s not cute and nerdy like Henry, he’s not entertainingly clueless like Daniel used to be, he’s just there. Even Walter was more entertaining than him.
I’m also not interested in Molly or her storyline at all and I enjoyed Daniel pre-Molly. I’m also not feelin’ the chemistry with both the Daniel and Betty relationships, it’s a bit awkward to watch sometimes.
I’ll always keep tuning in as long as there is Marc and Amanda but the rest of em aren’t very fun to watch.
I laughed a lot this episode. Loved it. Matt gets less likeable by the episode, and I never was interested in Molly, but Urie was at the top of his game. And Ignacio! (Is it sad that I found his scenes were by far the most romantic in the episode?) Tony Plana was fantastic, the show is so lucky to have him. And the music was fantastic all the way through. This episode was a lot better than I expected.
Overall, I enjoyed this episode & laughed alot esp. watching Amanda trying to include herself with Marc & Betty who were giving her the shaft as they were busy with their YETI project. She even didn’t even seem to mind that Matt was the only one paying attention to what she was saying. Altho Marc & Amanda are suppose to be BFF’s, Betty & Marc seem to be getting along well now since they both began YETI & they both have the same career goals.
What’s the deal with Matt?? As his relationship with Betty is getting more serious, we are finding more kinks in his armor. It seemed like he had it together career-wise when he first met Betty & now we find out that he starts things & not finish them & flakes out..Maybe the writers are trying to throw us off regarding Matt. I think this is the first time that Betty & Matt “really” got into a heated arguement. Altho Betty was angry at Matt when he told her that he “changed his mind “about the YETI project being important to him. she seemed hurt & her voice seemed to waiver when she relates his “changing his mind” to their relationship. By the expression on Matt’s face, I think he realized what he said because when he apologized to her later he assured her of his committment to her by letting her know that he loves her.. aww!! I was wondering when he was going to say it as he is sooo into her right now.
Saw the preview for the finale & can’t wait to see it !!! It will be interesting how Matt’s going to handle Henry’s return since Betty will be torn emotionally between the two of them as Matt & Betty move foward with their relationship.. I hope we don’t get another cliffhanger regarding her relarionship From the previews looks like Matt sees them kissing..
People who bellyache about Cherry 7-Up don’t like *ANYTHING!* Take the Geico Caveman for example. His crew have prolly been kicked out of the cave and forced to live amongst humanity like Jack Black and Michael Cera in the plot of Year One.
If it were say Veggie Burgers or Starbucks? These are the same characters who’d start a 68′ DNC riot over that allegedly slapping the face of “Alternative Lifestyle” even though GRUNGE was self-involved 80’s Alternative’s ANTITHESIS! Getitright, homie! Sheesh. All I’m saying in that regard is don’t mind what they think. By the end of Obama’s first term they’ll be looking for Amnesty. I did not appreciate the lack of “previously” bumpers as had been standard the last two seasons but I did like how black was changed up for something colorful and tasty. In that moment of showing Antioxident Cherry 7up I got hungry. I could near smell leather and taste black licorice. It was *strong!* That was the machismo lacking since Bradford died. Cal ain’t nobody’s fool. That too might be what scares honest-to-god troublemakers. Whenever you see something over-the-top it tends to have a pavlovian trigger of hostility on presumed sophisticates nursed on Kafka and Russian author literature. Not the fans’ fault that when over-the-top was en vogue during the 1970’s and 80’s parents of these people split up. If anything, they should be turning on who groomed them for success. Look at Rob Lowe. After he was helping out known radicals Tom Hayden and Jane Fonda seek presidency he never received so much as a phone call when his first sex scandal surfaced. Then conveniently he had another scandal happen last year during Obama’s bid. Is it any wonder he was cast as the bad guy in Wayne’s World when it featured Alice Cooper? What I’m saying is this: If you go with bellyaching that cries over MSG, how do you expect them to handle a show based on culture that cannot even drink the water in their home country? A culture that doesn’t have a working government system? Oh sure, it could be exploited like African-Americans were until oh that’s right… WHEN OVER-THE-TOP BECAME POPULAR! Then you couldn’t touch Asians so why not let them die from allergic reactions? You already stole their culture via gentrified TV program, eh? Not like Irish could do anything after Chappaquiddick. To keep them at arms length while petitioning for Amnesty, why not claim their cousins killed a little neighbor girl? Guilt trip Freddy Prinze with a yellow ribbon around an old oak tree. *sniff* Then even better steal yachting popularity from the Greeks and push up on your Japanese. Should I go on (again?!) There’s also skateboarding from teenagers, cocaine from columbia, disco from the Irish (Travolta’s article character basis for Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever was blonde haired and blue eyed)… some people don’t have a *clue* what it means to be ethnic and it ain’t the writers. I’m talking viewers who don’t wanna be exposed and say everything in secret. It ain’t my ol’ man that lost the big game. What, Simpsons got your silver tongue or something? I think this episode cleaned up alot of discrepancy. Matt and Betty don’t work. Proven fact. Marc and Betty do as frienemies. Amanda works as comedic foil but she’s also good with Daniel as was proven when they learned she might be Bradford’s kid in Season II and Gio appeared. Also though, she worked like magic with Alexis’ assistant Nick Pepper. Those are options to consider for season IV. Ignacio and his girlfriend do seem pinned on. I don’t understand what the push is for him to always be with an afro-american woman. Why not an asian or irish woman? What’s wrong with a white girl? Guys his age when he was old as Betty were stereotypically with a gum chewing clueless blonde that had big hair. Old habits, eh? I thought integration wasn’t communism anymore. Hmmm! Nothing belongs to no brothas alone unless the old school says its cool. Now from where I stand, the only people who’d say its cool for the show to go direction it has this season would steal a house from kid outta high school and drink their leg off outta jealousy. Those are the types I’ve had experience with. That run scared sh**less outta Vacaville but would stalk a teenager down the street in Davis from a car. Jealous much? That is oppression which was defeated prior to Betty’s premiere by yours truly on other bulletin boards and didn’t say boo again until last season after Bradford’s character died and said types being bearded by their children’s oppressors moved back stateside from overseas. Who else but “friends” like those would even *suggest* marriage so young? That’s whose slitting this show’s neck while smiling to the faces of top network brass. In fact, I just took a meeting with a dean of my college in regards to this last Friday. If I’m not supposed to say a word myself then why is same not being followed here by all the hints and allusions on episodes? Do the children of wealth not learn during youth about y listening in on grown-up conversation is bad?
Hey Tom:
Gorham speaks:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2009/05/ugly-betty-christopher-gorham-talks-henrys-return.html
Horta speaks:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-uglybetty18-2009may18,0,5469566.story
I saw the whole Season 3 already! Especially when Henry appeared….you see Betty again in a sort of Love Triangle.
Common writers, give me a break! It is so unrealistic already! Living in NY with a face like Betty??? Common, I have a friend prettier, thinner and much nicer personality than Betty who could not even get a bf in NY!!!!
How can Betty have all of these men??? Yeah we know the Betty La Fea story that he ends up with her boss, in this case Daniel. THAT could be a possibility, yes. BUT with Matt I mean HELLO?! Don’t you have other ways to spice up Betty’s life other than give her boyfriends on the show?!?!
I am beginning to hate the show. I believe that there is still that silver lining of hope that one of the writers will come up with a better idea…. say…speed dating? or a guy trying to use him? or something like that….more realistic!
Walter was very okay, then Henry arrived which was still okay, then Gio, hmmm which was a bit okay, now Matt??? A gazillionaire in NEW f*cking YORK who admitted that Betty is his FIRST LOVE??!!! This really pissed me off!!!