• This episode belonged to Amanda (and Becki Newton).  Becki was spectacular – she was hilarious and poignant at the same time.  I’m so glad they finally were able to give her something of a story line.
• Michael Urie was great again.  When Marc finally stood up  to Wilhelmina, it was SO disappointing that it was so short-lived.  That was a great scene.
• The thing with Nico had me TOTALLY fooled.  Kudos to the writers.  Having seen every episode multiple times, I can usually see the “surprises” coming, but not this one.  Great job, writers!
• Jamie Lynn Sigler says that Natalie isn’t going to be a villain, but she sure is acting like one right now.
• I love when the writers give us a little inside joke.  Justin’s quip about Hilda “putting on a little weight last spring” (Ana Ortiz was pregnant) was hilarious.
• The story line with Claire’s son who was placed for adoption will be a very interesting one, as long as they don’t get too silly with it (like making him a character we already know)
• The ending was great, as usual.  Betty’s dance was a combination of the dance from “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and an 80’s new wave pogo.  If Betty had placed an hand on the other arm and waved her fist (ala Idol) it would have been perfect (although probably too over the top). 

The  ratings for this one remained the same (up just a tiny bit in the demo), which is only good news in that the news didn’t get worse.  Hopefully the word can continue spreading about how good Betty is this season.  Ratings-wise, things are not looking too good right now.

Anyway, next week looks to be a crazy one.  I can’t wait.

Full recap after the jump.

Betty is working late and missing dinner.  Betty looks at her reflection, and is startled by Matt’s appearance beside her.  They are quite nice to each other, and it looks like Matt will kiss her, but he just rearranges her hair. 

Marc wants to do something with Amanda after work, but she’s too tired.  however, when Matt asks her to stay late, she gets a burst of energy and pushes Marc out of the way.

On the way to the elevator, Betty runs into Daniel.  He asks about Matt, and Betty says there is nothing going on between them, but she might have news tomorrow when she meets Daniel for lunch (as friends).  Daniel also says that The Group is helping him cope with the loss of Molly.

Wilhelmina comes off the elevator, and Daniel thanks her for working with Tibetan orphans.  He hugs Wilhelmina, who is surprised.  Later Marc informs Willi that he “volunteered” her to host the annual Style Cares charity event.  Willi is angry, but decides to go along to help her image.

Betty is excited – she got an invitation to the event. She muses inviting Matt, which makes Hilda angry.

Daniel and Natalie leave a meeting of The Group, and Daniel is excited.  He worries about the stress he’ll face back at work.  Natalie volunteers to be his new assistant.

Betty goes to Matt’s office and puts “Will you be my plus one” on the charity invitation.  Matt comes in and sets some papers on top of it without looking.  He asks her if it’s OK if he brought a date.  Betty pretends that it’s OK, while sneaking the invite off his desk.

Betty walks up to Daniel, only to find that he has hired Natalie as his new assistant.  Daniel asks Betty to help Natalie “learn the ropes”. 

Matt invites Amanda to the charity party.  She is beside herself with happiness.  He says he’ll be late, but she can come anytime she wants.  Later, she tells Marc that she feels guilty about taking “Betty’s Matt”.  Marc talks her into finding some way to cushion the blow.

Marc helps the speechwriter write Wilhelmina’s speech for the party (filled with falsehoods).  Nico calls and interrupts, causing Willi to abruptly leave.

As Betty shows Natalie how to do things, Natalie wipes out any trace (voice mail, email, name plate) that Betty was ever there.

The private investigator shows Wilhelmina a photograph of the bloody fingerprint from the boat.  He then tries to blackmail her and Nico.  Willi kicks him out.  Nico is upset about this.

Amanda finds out that Betty is going to the party, and that she didn’t have a date yet.  She says she knows some guys she can set him up with.

Hartley wants to cut the Wit and Whimsy column from the magazine for ad space, but Daniel argues against it.  Claire seems to be taking Ca’l’s side, but she suggests everyone think it over for a bit.

Daniel arrives for the lunch with Betty, but he brought Natalie along.  During the meal, Betty feels left out because Daniel and Natalie keep talking about The Group.  Betty then asks Daniel to be her plus one for the party, but he has already asked Natalie.

Wilhelmina tells Marc to dig up dirt on the private investigator (Oscar Castelar).  He finally stands up to her and says he won’t do that sort of thing anymore.  She then comes clean with him about Nico, and he changes his mind.

Betty tells Amanda she’s taking her up on her offer to set Betty up with one of her friends.  Amanda is worried about this.

Megan shows Daniel “The Book” for February’s issue, and he notices the Wit and Whimsy column isn’t there.  She says Claire decided to cut it.  Daniel storms into Hartley’s office, only to find Claire in there kissing Cal.  Claire wants to talk about it, even mentions their long-ago affair, but Daniel storms away.  Cal tells her that maybe it was better that things didn’t work out with their baby.  This upsets Claire.

Betty arrives at Amanda’s – there are about 12 or 13 guys there, none of whom Betty is interested in.  It turns out that Amanda had placed an ad in Craigslist, advertising a “plus size chica”.  Of course, this makes Betty furious when she finds out.

Natalie tells Daniel he ahs to start ignoring people who cause unnecessary drama in his life, including Betty.

Claire calls Betty asking a favor.  Betty later approaches Daniel asking him to talk to his mother, but he rebukes her, with Natalie’s encouragement.

Marc leads Willi to a bordello where apparently Castelar is supposedly meeting with a dominatrix.  They find him tied up face down, and Marc sneaks a picture of him, but it turns out to be someone else.  Wilhelmina figured that the investigator stole this real person’s identity to prevent her from digging up dirt on him.

We then see Castelar approaching Nico on the street, and her demeanor changes,  She kisses him and calls him Jonathan.  Apparently, the two have been executing an elaborate scheme to get money out of Wilhelmina.

Betty tells Amanda on the phone that she’s decided not to go.  Hilda overhears this and talks her out of it.  Betty decides to go alone, and Justin will make her dress out of one that Hilda wore “when she gained weight last spring” (heh).

Betty arrives at the party, looking fabulous in an animal print dress.

Wilhelmina paces in her bedroom, and Marc comes in wondering why she’s not outside hosting.  Willi tells him she can’t handle the stress of everything going on.  Nico barges in and tells her she’s going to turn herself in.  They are all arguing about this when a lady comes in and tells Wilhelmina it’s time to give her speech.

Amanda runs into Betty and is upset about it.  She starts to tell Betty about her and Matt, but then Matt walks in with another woman on his arm.  Both women seem devastated. 

Cal and Claire have a conversation that reminds us that he doesn’t know that Claire had their baby and placed him for adoption.

Wilhelmina gives her speech, making it clear that she’s going to do whatever it takes to makes sure all children, especially her child, are going to be OK.

Betty is “big” and makes up with Natalie and Daniel.  Natalie gets a call, and tells whoever it is that she’ll do what she can to get Daniel back to The Group.

Matt runs into Amanda and says he glad she made it.  He had six plus ones, mostly support staff to reward them for all they do.

Claire leaves and calls the adoption agency, asking them how she can find her and Cal’s son.

Betty and Matt talk for a minute.   She tells Matt she came alone, but that she’s fine.  She says she glad they’re still friends.  Billy Idol’s “Dancing With Myself” comes on, and Betty goes on the floor and dances.  Matt watches her and smiles.

Image: Zuma Press

Post from: Ugly Betty News

ABC

Click here to watch the episode on Hulu.com .

For those of you who are old enough to remember, these episodes slightly resemble the old VH1 show “Pop Up Video”, albeit with no annoying bubble sound.  From time to time, relevant facts about what is happening will pop up on the lower third of the screen.  This serves two purposes:

1) The fill in back story, for those who have never seen the show or those who had stopped watching the show in seasons 2/3.

2) For those of is who have seen and analyzed EVERY episode, they pop up little behind the scenes facts, like the title of the currently playing song, or trivia about the set.  (For instance, the images on the monitor in the elevator always reflect the theme of the show).

These are very well done – the pop ups never interfere with the focal point of the screen, and they use them sparingly.

I learned a few things I didn’t know (Cal Hartley was partially inspired by Ted Turner?  Well, I have heard he could be a jackass…)

Here is the schedule for the airings of the enhanced versions of Ugly Betty:

Friday, August 14 – "Rabbit Test" (OAD: 4/30/09)
Friday, August 21 – "The Born Identity" (OAD: 5/7/09)
Friday, August 28 – "In the Stars" (OAD: 5/14/09)
Friday, September 4 – "Curveball" (OAD: 5/21/09)
Friday, September 11 – "The Fall Issue" (OAD: 5/21/09)

These will also be available the day after airing on ABC.com and Hulu.com.

So, what do you think of “Enhanced Ugly Betty”?

Post from: Ugly Betty News

I love Ignacio’s reaction (pretty much what would be my reaction). I also love Justin’s “I’ll get the recap later” after they start discussing the subject of Betty’s virginity.

Someone said it before, and I’ll say it now: I sense an airport scene cliffhanger. Of course, the show hasn’t moved to NYC yet, so they couldn’t actually film it at JFK, but airports are airports.

What I want to know – is this Henry’s first appearance in the episode? He shows up after a hard breakup, and the first thing he does is gets down on one knee?

We won’t know for sure till next September, but I say Betty’s going to reject them both – one permanently. The other one will still be around, flirting and wooing, but I would guess that Betty will be more independent and most of the drama will focus around work next year. Just reading between the lines of several interviews with the creators of the show.

We’ll see!

Clip: B&B

Post from: Ugly Betty News