• I LOVE Betty’s new attitude.  I wasn’t sure if I would, but it’s not annoying or abrasive, it seems to fit her new situation.
• Marc’s face when he learned he would be Betty’s assistant was hilarious.  So was Betty’s.  At the same time, Wilhelmina’s expression when she thought Marc was going to get info out of Nico was priceless.
• Wilhelmina kissing Claire and Cal’s butt was very funny.  Uncomfortable, but funny.
• Brooklyn Decker was used perfectly.  Beautiful, but totally hideous.  Man, that is one tall woman!
• I can’t believe they told Betty and Marc that the associate editor’s position was settled by a coin flip!  And Marc calling her “tails” was pretty funny.
• I TOLD you who/what the “boob” would be!!!! HA!
• I wish they could have spent more time on Hilda’s sexting episode.  Archie’s original reaction was the funniest his character has been so far.
• Of course, Marc and Betty as hot dog and bun were sublime.  The comedy quickly turned to drama, and that was pretty good, too.
• Matt kissing Amanda morphing into Betty kissing Amanda morphing into Betty as a hot dog and Amanda screaming was the funniest thing on the show this season!  Isn’t it amazing how Becki Newton can be so funny in so little screen time?
• Marc and Betty’s relationship has to be one of the strangest on TV.  But, they are wonderful onscreen together.
• The ending was nice – they really know how to do endings on this show.

OK, one quibble.  Brian Tanen, one of Ugly Betty’s most talented writers, tried to fit too much into this episode, IMHO.  There were five major concurrent story lines.  It’s usually tough to fit in three.  But then again, many times in the past when I’ve thought an episode was too “busy”, it turns out to be one of the most popular, so what do I know?

But otherwise, it was a good episode.  The second half was the funniest on the show in a long time. 

Image: Bauer Griffin

Post from: Ugly Betty News

But, last nights season 4 premiere, episode 4.01 (and 4.02), “The Butterfly Effect” was wonderful, yet I think saying “it was like season 1” would be an insult.

The show is growing up a little.  “The Butterfly Effect” was enjoyable for reasons all its own.  My favorites?

• Betty’s transformation.  So, they aren’t handling it with a Nanny McFee subtlety, but this is television.  I loved how Betty played with her bangs the entire episode, as if she was subconsciously wanting to change them.  The blog with Betty’s greatest fashion hits was funny.  The new Betty is hot (nice touch, having the crew member double take as she walked by).
• I liked the braces-off teaser dream sequence.  It makes me really excited to see them come off for real.
• This was Justin’s episode.  Ugly Betty tends to give us drama with a heavy hand, but Mark Indelicato used mostly expressions and body language to portray his misery.  I hope they give him a little comedy in the future (and Justin needs an ally at school – pronto!), but his first day at school was portrayed perfectly.
• Marc’s in a weird position this season – hate/sabotage Betty, have empathy for and help Betty’s family.  Not to mention his insecurity with Wilhelmina’s future.  Michael Urie pulls it off, though.
• I LOVE the new Nico storyline, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I love YaYa DaCosta’s portrayal of her.
• 46-year-old Vanessa Williams is still the most beautiful person on the show.  With every scene she’s in, you can’t take your eyes off her.
• Speaking of, the sight gags in this episode were subtle and hilarious.  Those of you who paid attention in history class will know why Wilhelmina’s banging on the podium at the UN with her shoe was funny.  Also, Kristen Johnston’s temp character looking for “Daniel Miagi” – almost made up for the fact that Ralph Macchio was only in one scene.
• I’m really curious where they are going to take Amanda.  Seeing herself 20 years from now was quite a wakeup call, and she’s obviously decided to do something with herself.  (Writers – Please send her to community college.  OMG, what possibilities!)
• Matt and Megan are going to be the perfect foils for Betty this season.  Megan’s resentment seems more “real” – Matt’s just being a jerk.  Did anybody else love it when Daniel punched him?
• Speaking of, the Detty moment after the punch set up the Daniel / Betty story line for this season.  It will be interesting seeing them act as sort-of peers.

Before the show aired, I was worried about the writing in this one – but they struck a perfect balance.  No, it wasn’t madcap (except for the “Lion King” dream sequence), and the drama didn’t hit you over the head – instead, it felt like a nice visit from an old friend, who has changed but is deep down still the friend you remember.

Welcome back, Ugly Betty.  Stick around a while, OK?

Image: SplashNewsOnline.com

Post from: Ugly Betty News

For the uninitiated, Jump was Ugly Betty’s season finale for season 2, and it left the show in a mess.  Gio fans were mad.  Henry fans were mad.  Fans of Betty and all the other characters wondered, “What the heck is this all about?”  (Not to mention ABC hyped a 30 second Lindsay Lohan appearance, that foreshadowed her disastrous stint on the show in season 3). Like I said, it was a mess. And Silvio Horta,the show’s creator and executive producer, was solely responsible for the script.

As he was for the final hour of last night’s season finale, entitled, “The Fall Issue”. 

Incredible.  Bravo.  I wish I had an “11″ paddle.

The first hour, entitled “Curveball”, was OK.  It was a good setup, with a properly sad and cliff-hanger-ey ending.  But, there was a noticeable change in the writing (and even the acting), once the second hour. It was much crisper, with the smart-alec banter we all love (which was almost entirely missing from “Curveball”). 

For some strange reason, Amanda totally changed personality once the episodes changed.  In “Curveball”, she reverted to downright mean.  Then, she came back to wacky Amanda in hour two.  This is the problem with back-to-back episodes, written by different people.

I’ll save the spoilers for the recap (boy, two hours is a real haul!), but I can tell you that there were more OMG moments last night (especially in the second hour) than in the entire season.  The last 5 minutes, all I could do was stammer in the live blog.  Some of the moments we knew were coming, but the way they were executed still was shocking.

In case you haven’t figured it out, the writers of the show like to make Betty’s suitors less likeable before a breakup.  They really did that with Matt last night.  Although, to be honest, I don’t blame him for being mad at Betty.

You could tell, the whole Henry storyline was the producers’ way of saying “I’m sorry we didn’t give you Benry fans your proper closure…we’re making up for it tonight”. And it was good closure for the story line, better, I think, than Gio’s – which would have been great had he and Betty remained on-screen friends.

Horta really knows how to write the Marc/Justin scenes.  You can tell, they are really coming from his heart.  Michael Urie and Mark Indelicato are on the same page as Horta – last night’s scene was one of the best the show has ever had.

I want to watch the episode again before I say anything about America Ferrera’s performance. Betty was bounced around like a pinball in the finale, so Ferrera’s job was mostly to react.  Although her kiss with Chris Gorham was hot. 

Eric Mabius proved he could bring the drama last night.  I didn’t really care for the “Molly joking about being dead” story line, but it was carried out beautifully.  When Daniel finished his speech, and Molly wasn’t there next to Betty anymore…we knew.  Then the music started and the tissues came out.  So well executed.

(For those who complain about this – does anyone remember East Side Story?  This was one of the best ever UB episodes.  Remember Hilda and Betty falling to the floor sobbing?  It’s part of Ugly Betty, especially season finales).

The Claire/Wilhelmina story line gave us the two things we’ll wonder about all summer.  Who and where is the adopted child, and who did Wilhelmina see at the end? (OK, I’m slightly giving away spoilers).  It all happened so fast.

The Detty moment at the end just felt right.  The whole Marc/Betty rivalry did not. 

Next season will be interesting.  If it didn’t separate Marc and Amanda, I’d love to see Marc go work for Vogue.

I’m working on the monster recap.  Had “The Fall Issue” been at the level of “Curveball”, I’d really be complaining right now.  But hour two of the finale was so good, I think it made what was a lackluster season a success.

Image: SplashNewsOnline.com

Post from: Ugly Betty News

In his critique of Ugly Betty’s finale (episode 2.18 – Jump), he was pretty harsh. He gave the episode a “C”, and had this to say:

As I feared, ABC is looking at those sagging ratings and fixing what ain’t broken. I’m all for refocusing the show around Betty, but does it have to come at the expense of the funny?

Now, he wasn’t the only one who was disappointed with the finale; I thought it was good, and would have been great had they had more time to develop the stories, but I understand that everyone went into the episode with their own expectations.

But, Ausiello’s grade makes me think that he dislikes the overall post-strike changes made with the show, espcially how they affect the comedy. I must admit that I’ve been compiling a list of the funniest moments of season 2, and most of them happened before the WGA strike.

So, we have to ask, has Ugly Betty lost the funny?

I don’t think so; I think that the show is now a different kind of funny, and everyone has their own taste in comedy. I know that there is a significant group of people who prefer the campy, absolutely fabulous style of funny – I’ll admit, I like it, too. But, there are only so many times that Michael Urie can raise one eyebrow before it stops being funny. The show can’t rely on just that type of funny.

To me, by far, the funniest moment of the post-strike season was the Betty/Daniel seduction scene in episode 2.15, Burning Questions. Certainly it was one of the few times they’ve allowed Eric Mabius to be the funny guy.

One suggestion I would make: make Betty “ugly” again. I know her physical appearance hasn’t changed, but reactions to it have. Now, she’s just another person at Mode. Even strangers first appearing at Mode are no longer taken aback by Betty’s unorthodox (for Mode) appearance. Bow Wow flirting with Betty? I’m sorry, but that just wasn’t right. She already has two (sort-of) hunky guys fighting over her – the show has literally lost its original premise.

Not that you can tell the same joke over and over again, but part of Betty’s charm is that she is quite aware what others think of her looks, and presses on anyway. That’s gone now, because nobody seems to think she looks out of place anymore. Remember the point-of-view cafeteria scene from the pilot? Those add to the comedy, especially when Betty gets her revenge.

Some things will take care of themselves. Having Marc and Amanda back together will help (please, Michael and Becki, deliver those zingers a little slower so we can digest them!). With the romances supposedly wrapped up, the show can get back to situational comedy (think episode 2.04 – Grin and Bear It). If he’s careful, Silvio Horta can inject comedy into Justin’s “journey”, now that puberty has arrived.

Hopefully, guest stars in season 3 will be added for comedic value (think John Cho and David Blue, although the latter mostly played straight man to Micheal Urie – straight man? See? Inadvertent comedy!).

Oh, and Becki Newton needs to sing at least twice a season.

So what do you think? Has Ugly Betty lost the funny? What can the show do to get funnier?

Image:Newscom

Post from: Ugly Betty News

About Amanda’s search for her father, Newton says, “From birth, Amanda has been trying to find herself. There’s resolve in the search with who her father is and how she sees herself. She’s made peace.”

I’m glad, because I always thought the story line was a little forced. And I say this as a huge fan of “Gene Simmons is my Daddy”.

Becki addresses the show’s return to its roots. “The heart was always there, but I do love the idea of the show being refocused on Betty,” Newton said. “Seeing everything through Betty’s eyes and including Betty’s point of view has made all the story lines more grounded.”

We’ve seen that the the last few episodes. They’ve just about tied up all the loose ends from the season 2 craziness – I can’t wait to see how it all comes together in season 3.

As far as Amanda’s relationship with Betty, “I think Amanda is secretly in love with Betty. When Betty walks in the office, Amanda perks up. I think Amanda wants to be Betty. Betty never treats Amanda the way Amanda treats Betty. I think Amanda was probably a geek when she was younger and now she’s overcompensating.”

But she knows not to take it too far: “These girls really do exist. Anyone like Amanda is flattered to be imitated. I don’t play her as a joke. Amanda is not a stand-up comic. She’s a real character. When I read the script, I see where I can go over the top. It’s a collaboration to find the middle ground. Maybe do one crazy thing and keep the other stuff more subtle. It really is a balance and something we’ve been finding over two seasons.”

“I never could have predicted where the character has gone”, she says. My favorite thing is when Amanda is just stirring stuff up.”

Ours too, Becki.

BTW, the Herald’s Mark A. Perigard has a not-so-glowing review of tonight’s season finale. We’ll all make our own opinions tonight, but it’s interesting to see what Perigard didn’t find interesting. Read at your own risk, though.

Image: Newscom

Post from: Ugly Betty News

Now, Hinkley doesn’t reveal anything new about content, but method. He makes it clear that Lindsay Lohan’s appearance is very brief. I figured it would be, there just wasn’t enough time, and the creative reason for her appearance in this season’s finale is for introduction only.

(One nitpick thing I’d like to add. In the high school flashback scenes, Ameri-Betty has perfect teeth. OK, I know it’s just a TV show, but for some reason, it bothers me).

Hinkley also mentions Naomi Campbell’s appearance, and loves the fact that she makes fun of herself (I’ll give some details, which most of us have seen in the promos, after the jump).

The rest of the preview/review goes over the main story lines. As has been hinted, Coach Diaz (Eddie Cibrian) is apparently going to reveal something to Hilda about his past, “and she has to decide if that’s a path she wants to walk.” Hmmmm.

More after the jump.

Apparently in Naomi Campbell’s at-bat, while she sashays to the plate, her cell phone rings. When she reaches for it, everyone in the ballpark ducks. For those of you who don’t know Campbell’s history, go here.

I’m glad to see she can make fun of herself. Hopefully, we’ll see some of that spirit out of Lindsay Lohan next season.

Speaking of next season, Hinkley makes absolutely NO reference to Madonna, nor does he hint about a previously unknown superstar cameo, so scratch my idea about a Madonna appearance this week.

The review also makes it very clear that a LOT is going on in this episode (it should have been 2 hours IMHO), but we already knew that.

Image: Newscom

Post from: Ugly Betty News

I didn’t know this, but Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch was the highest rated prime-time show amongst men ages 18-49 on Tuesday night, beating out Dancing With the Stars and Shark. This used to be the single most sought after demographic in TV, although now I think it’s women of that particular age. She highlights shows Dirty Jobs, Ice Road Truckers, and Ax Men. The she says:

The folks are mostly men, all rugged, real and capable, proof that Americans are still capable of living by their wits and the strength in their calloused, competent hands. Call it testicular television.

The point is that some people actually work at real jobs…they are members of the working and middle class, and they have been all but abandoned by the rest of the entertainment industry.

I think McNamara has a point. She does throw Ugly Betty a bone later: “Ugly Betty” comes pretty close to occupying an actual social demographic — they all live together in a slightly cramped but cozy row house and have immigration issues, but fortunately Betty’s job allows her access to the luxe life, so we don’t have to spend too much time idling in dreary “real” life.

I think McNamara somewhat misses the genius that is Ugly Betty.

More after the jump.

I’ll grant that 80 percent of the show happens away from Queens, but like the reality shows McNamara highlights, Betty is primarily a show about work. But, to say “women call the shots” on the show, well, that’s just a product of not paying attention. Up until his death, the Meade empire was owned and run by Bradford. He gave the Editor in Chief job to his playboy son. Even now, with Alexis running things, well, she’s not exactly what we would think of as a normal “she”.

Betty is a working-class girl, trying to survive in a male-run corporate world, surrounded by people who appear glamorous, but maybe aren’t so much so (remember Swag?).

Hilda runs her beauty salon out of her home to help pay the bills. Betty communtes into the city. Ignacio is disabled and cannot work. Justin goes to public school. I know lots and lots of families just like this.

But, the genius of Ugly Betty is the juxtoposition of the two worlds. The writers like to have themes in each show, and usually a Mode person has a parallel story to a Suarez. But, there are differences. The Meades are rich, but disfunctional. The Suarezes are barely surviving, but tight-knit.

Even the supporting cast, I think, is pretty dead on. Chris Gorham’s shy, fumbling accountant Henry is like many I’ve known. Kenny (please? can we have a little more of him?) is just like several people I’ve known. I’ve known some Cliffs, and a few Marcs. Even Amanda reminds me of some friends over the years. Only Alexis seems to come out of the soap opera realm.

That being said, my quick answer to McNamara would be that a little bit of fantasy (done with a grounding in reality) is just what many of us need in tough times. I get plenty of reality every day, thank you very much.

That being said, check out the article. Aside from missing the mark on Ugly Betty, I think McNamara raises some interesting points.

Image: Newscom

Post from: Ugly Betty News

• America Ferrera carried the episode.  Silvio Horta wasn’t kidding when he said he was refocusing the show on Betty.
• Two episodes into the season 2 restart, and we’ve seen the effects of the back-end changes at Ugly Betty.  The comedy was very subdued last night.  This is probably necessary to tie up all the old loose ends, but they need to up the hilarity next week.
• Line of the night: Betty literally putting out a fire and telling Daniel, “You don’t pay me enough”.
• Did anyone catch Marc’s Botox joke as Wilhelmina was leaving the doctor’s office?
• Gio sure gave up easily, didn’t he?
• The day that Marc and Amanda are reunited can’t come soon enough.  I think that’s why there isn’t much comedy.
• Gabrielle Union is a really good actress.
• I just didn’t feel the whole Gina Gambrarro story line.  They went for catty, when they should have gone catfight. 
• Christian Siriano’s appearance was so short,we have to call it sweeps stunt-casting.  It was fun, though.
• I tried in the recap to write a phonetic version of Christina saying “murder”, but I couldn’t.
• Eric Mabius was spectacular last night.  His nervousness made Ferrera even funnier.

Full recap after the jump!

Betty and Daniel are riding home in separate town cars, at 2am after a long day of meetings. Betty is on the phone with him, arranging his schedule. They have been putting in long hours for a week. Renee calls Betty, trying to get through to Daniel. She demands to be put through to Daniel. Betty connects them in a 3-way call, which is unfortunate, because Daniel and Renee start talking about Renee’s underwear, or lack thereof. Betty gets off the line.

At the Suarez house, Justin is cold calling trying to get business for Hilda’s Beautilities, and having no luck. Betty comes downstairs, on the phone with Gio, arranging lunch for the day’s meeting. Betty tells Ignacio how Renee has been calling at all hours (in her fits of paranoia). Hilda offers to fix Betty’s mussed hair.

As she does this, she tries to get the lowdown on Henry/Gio. Betty tells Hilda that she’s friends with Gio again, but she doesn’t want Henry to know. Betty says that Charlie is leaving for Tucson today, and the last 4 weeks with Henry will be stress free.

Justin barges in and says he has made a manicure appointment – with Gina Gambarro! Hilda is not too pleased with this; they are still enemies, sort of. Justin asks, “Don’t we need the business? Even skanky business?”

Betty begins Daniel’s day by giving him coffee and his schedule. She put curtains in his office and scheduled a nap for him. Daniel says (in a friendly way) “I love you”, and Betty says, “I know”, and comments that he smells good. Betty tries to tell Daniel that Renee is driving her crazy, but he considers her badgering to just be thoughtfulness. Betty shows Daniel the color coded, packed schedule she made for him. He makes her agree to try and work things out for Renee. Renee calls.

Cut to Wilhelmina in the office of “Dr. Remus”. He is apparently Renee’s psychiatrist. She is trying to plant the seed in his head that Renee is backsliding, so he’ll have her committed. As he describes the tell-tale signs of a relapse, they cut to Renee behaving irratically.

As she leaves, she tells Marc that they have a lot of work to do, and Marc makes a great inside joke about Vanessa William’s Botox use (saying that she always has a “poker face”). She says the Dr won’t commit her till she’s a danger. She has Marc schedule a lunch at La Brulee. She send him to watch after Christina, and tells him not to pout, because he doesn’t have the lips for it.

Betty is setting up the meeting’s lunches with Gio, and spilling her heat to him about Renee. As they speak, Henry walks up, and Betty pretends that they weren’t talking. When she meets Henry, he has bad news: Charlie had a panic attack, and her doctor says she shouldn’t travel. She will stay until the baby is born. Betty pretends not to be upset, but blows him off.

Gina Gambarro is getting her manicure, and she is absolutely blinged out. Gina is obviously trying to show off the fact that she married a doctor. Hilda tells her, “Don’t feel bad; everyone gains weight on a cruise”. They touch on the subject of Santos. Gina, trying to be sensitive, says, “Maybe you’re just meant to be alone” . Gina says she’ll come back for a pedicure.

Betty finds Renee at her desk, going through her schedule book. She’s trying to schedule something on her own. Betty tells her to get out of her book. They fight over it, and it flies into the air. Betty walks away upset, and Daniel asks Renee what happened. She says,”You’re assistant is totally in love with you!” Daniel looks at a still angry Betty, and wonders if it’s true. Renee then makes the case that Betty has fallen for Daniel. He thinks of when he said “I love you” to Betty, and starts to think he might have “led her on”.

Christina speaks to Betty on the phone, and tells her that Renee has wacked out, and that Wilhelmina found her baby monitor, and that Marc had been strangely nice to her ever since. Marc then knocks on the door, and she yells, “Go away, you wanker!”. She tells Betty that she’s stuck on her “leave of absence” until they are sure the baby is on the way.

Renee meets Wilhelmina at La Brulee, and she’s upset about it (something happened in the past here). It was “Gregory’s” favorite place. Wilhelmina then tells Renee about how Daniel has cheated on his past girlfriends. Then a waiter approaches with a lit birthday cake (and Renee freaks out and leaves). Wilhelmina then tips the waiter.

Betty comes into Daniel’s office and closes the curtains. He is lying down. She then proceeds to seduce him. As she starts to kiss hi, he wakes up from what was obviously a dream. He is actually in the middle of a meeting. Betty sends everyone away, then tries to close the curtains for real. Daniel tells her no. Betty then tries to talk to him. About “relationships” . Daniel misconstrues this, and runs away.

Marc and Wilhelmina are talking of their evil plans. Marc starts to say that Renee had once committed murder, but Wilhelmina stops him because she knows Christina is listening. He says it anyway, low and slow, and Christina hears.

Alexis is freaking out because Christian Siriano is coming, and he is only going to choose ONE magazine to run his new line in. Alexis tells Daniel he’s all “Linty”. Betty shows up with a lint brush, and Daniel has a panicked look on his face while Betty brushes off the lint. She tries to talk to him about Renee. He tries to change the subject – to Siriano, to Henry, anything. Betty says that with all the work, it’s like he (Daniel) is her boyfriend now.

Daniel asks Amanda about a hypothetical workplace crush, on him. At first, she thinks he means her (I reserve the right to think about him in the shower sometimes…). Daniel says, no it’s Betty. Amanda tells Daniel that Betty’s relationship with Henry is in trouble. She also tells him about Gio. When Daniel leaves, we see that Henry heard the part about Gio. Amanda says “He’s totally in love with her!”

Hilda comes to Mode to get clothes to impress Gina.

Christina calls Betty and says she needs help going through Wilhelmina’s files (she broke into her file cabinet). She tells Betty about the word “Murder” (in that wonderful accent!)

Henry walks into Gio’s sandwich shop. He tells Gio to stay away from Betty. Gio asks him if he wants to fight. He comes toward him, and pretends to swng. Henry punches him in the nose, knocking him over. They then have a heart to heart, and Gio asks Henry why he’s not with Betty at that moment, instead of there with him.

Gio calls Betty to tell her about it while she’s at at Wilhelmina’s apartment, going through her files with Christina. They find Renee’s file, and discover that she had been put in a mental institution shortly after her then-boyfriend/professor at Stoney Brook had been killed in a fire. Christina says, “His name was Larson, and he died of arson. How unfortunate…”

Daniel and Alexis are speaking with Nina Garcia; she has been keeping an eye on Christian Siriano. He then makes an entrance with models (and Amanda, posing). Daniel tells him how “fierce” it is that he’s there. Siriano doesn’t like this, and Alexis apologises. He calls her Ferosha and says she is a hot tranny mess, minus the mess. (I win the bet!). As the models show, Renee barges in, and accuses the models of being Daniel’s “whores” and Garcia of being his “slut”. Siriano likes the drama.

Renee confronts Daniel, as Alexis tries to smooth things over with Garcia. Daniel’s phone rings, and Renee grabs it and smashes it. Daniel then calls Wilhelmina about Renee. They decide to get her committed.

Betty and Christina put the pieces together, and decide that Daniel is in danger. She calls Amanda because he isn’t answering his cell phone. Amanda tells Betty about the fight with Renee. Betty decides she has to go to Daniel’s apartment to warn him.

At Gina’s pedicure, Hilda walks in dressed to the nines. She takes off Gina’s Prada shoes, only to discover they are knockoffs. She taunts Gina about it. Hilda calls her pathetic. She accuses her of not even being married. Her husband (a chiropractor) walks in, as they are arguing. Gina leaves in a huff, and the husband tells Hilda that her life must be pretty sad.

Daniel and Wilhelmina speak to Dr Remus. In the course of the conversation it is revealed that Betty might be in danger.

Betty walks into Daniel’s apartment, and lit candles are everywhere. Renee closes the door behind her, and accuses Betty of coming between her and Daniel. She accuses her of being in love with Daniel. Betty tries to reason with her, to no avail. Renee knocks over some candles. Betty tells her about Henry, AND Gio, confusing Renee.

Daniel calls on the cell phone, and Betty screams that Renee is trying to kill her – just before Renee grabs the phone and pushes her down. Daniel, Wilhelmina, and Marc speed to his apartment.

Renee pulls a knife on Betty. The curtains catch fire from the spilled candles. Betty swears she doesn’t love Daniel, and tells Renee that Daniel loves her (Renee). This seems to snap Renee out of her craziness. Betty tries to get both of them out of the burning apartment.

Daniel knocks down the door, only to find Betty operating a fire extinguisher. She looks at him and says, “You don’t pay me enough”.

Betty later gives her statement to the firemen, and Renee apologizes to Daniel. Wilhelmina takes her away to be committed. Daniel sits next to Betty.

The next day, Betty brings Daniel coffee. She tries to console him. He says he’s not going to talk about “this” in front of you. Betty is confused, so Daniel tells her that he knows she has a crush on him. She then says, “Yeah, you’re right. I love you. I’ve always loved you. I can’t stop thinking about you. I wish I were your morning bagel so I could get caught between your beautiful teeth.”

Daniel then figures out that she was being sarcastic. She then sees Henry and walks out to talk to him. Betty and Henry make up, and kiss. Daniel looks through the window, seeing this, and stares into the distance mysteriously.

Post from: Ugly Betty News

 First of all, I want to make clear that last night’s Ugly Betty, episode 2.12, Odor In the Court, was one of my favorite episodes, ever.  Seeing Betty go berzerk was side-splitting funny.  I loved how, for this one episode, Micheal Urie, Marc Indelicato, Ana  Ortiz, and Eric Mabius all got to play the “straight man” to Betty’s craziness.  America Ferrera is one great comedic actress.  As EOnline’s Kristin (actually, Korbi) said: “These are the moments that Emmys are made of…”

Having said that, there were a few moments that made me say, “Yeah, but what about…?”  I’m not the type that demands realism out of my entertainment, mind you.  Especially shows like Ugly Betty.  But there were a couple of times where it was obvious the writers did not come in to help with tidying things up in the post-filming stage.  Let me list a couple, and you can tell me if I’m just being nit-picky.  Warning, these are major spoilers if you haven’t seen the episode:

• What happened to the charges against Claire for escaping prison? Maybe that’ll come up in a future episode, but only the murder charges were dropped, as far as I could tell.  I guess I’ve had too many years of watching Law and Order, but it bugged me a little.
• Why did it take Henry so long to call?  He called her while she was in the doctor’s office, and Betty seemed to drop being angry at him (granted, she was down from her high).  But, what was the reason he waited till the next day to call?  Did I miss something?
• How did Gio afford such a nice sandwich shop?  Maybe this was explained earlier in the year, but I expected his shop to be little more than a closet (like many of the office-based sandwich shops I’ve seen).  It just seemed a little nicer than I expected.
• Why didn’t Marc and Wilhelmina just keep the Jackie Kennedy dress?  Of course, the way it played out in the show was funnier, but it seemed strange that they had it in their hands and only needed to hide it, but didn’t.

One other thing I notice that wasn’t a nitpick, but was kind of a neat discovery: they’ve never shown Fey’s Sommer’s whole face.  She’s always had on huge sunglasses, or is obscured like in this picture:

I don’t know, maybe I’m wrong. But I’m pretty sure I’m not. 

Post from: Ugly Betty News

This was a kind of topsy-turvy episode of Ugly Betty.  Betty, normally the conscience of the show, cheats and gets herself into trouble.  Daniel is thoughtful and kind.  He ends up bailing Betty out and lecturing her (sort of).  Justin is a wanna-be gangsta, making moves on a neighborhood girl and drinking “be-ah”.  Henry was not upfront with Betty about the paternity test.  Alexis is the opposite of confident, and doesn’t know how to act as a girl.

The only normalcy at Mode was that Wilhelmina was evil and conniving, Marc was spastic and funny, and Amanda was her usual airhead self.  And Ignacio is now treating Henry like he treated Santos.

Two things made this show for me: the guest stars, and Wilhelmina’s wonderfully delivered lines.  Here are my quick thoughts from the episode:

• ABC, please, I’m begging you: bring back Kenny! (John Cho).  In his short screen time, he was a breath of fresh air.  He was just like so many people I know from corporate America.  He’s funny, and a great partner to Henry.
• Wilhelmina was given the best lines for the night: “I was a simple girl with an evil plan”, and “Even if I wanted to express sympathy, I physically can’t”, and “I put my blood, sweat, and old nose into this place”.
• Marc, once again, was given the best physical comedy: “We’re doooooomed!  Doomed!” and getting hit by the shoe.
• Victor Garber was great casting.  He was over-the-top, and intimidating – perfect for getting Betty to do something she wouldn’t normally do.
• I wish emo guy would make another appearance – his glance at Betty at the end was heartwarming.  But, it was just a bit part.
• Justin as “badass” is funny, but weird.  The new girlfriend is quite irritating.
• Rebecca Romjin is an actress who happens to be a model.  Besides Ferrera, she might be the best actor on the show.
• What was with Marc wearing Bear Bryant’s hat?
• Amanda not knowing how to “add” to fake her age was great.
• “Why can’t the rest of you get attacked by a bear?”  – priceless.
• They need to use Poquito the bear as Betty’s conscience more.
• Marc and Wilhelmina called each other “Marcie” and “William”; pet names, I love it!
• The character Luke (James Van Der Beek) is more realistic than you might think.
• Ted Kennedy as Amanda’s possible father – that was as good as the Dick Cheney moment.
• I’ve re-watched the entire episode: there is no “bagel” moment.  Perhaps I was wrong about the running sight gag. 

 All in all, this is one of the better episodes this season.  THe story moved quickly without getting confusing, and there was LOTS of comedy, both physical, and one liners. 

Post from: Ugly Betty News