'Ugly Betty': Where there's a Wilhelmina, there's a way
After last week's Ugly Betty wedding fiasco (the groom keeling over will ruin it every time), most of the activity revolved around trying to figure out what this meant for the company, the Meades and his fiancee Wilhelmina.
Spoilers will jump out of the circle desk and tackle you if you haven't seen the show yet.
Tonight's episode played like "Bradford'd Dyin' ... Who's Got the Will?" Yup, Bradford is still alive, but his coma looks grim. Both Claire and Wil realize that they don't know the details of Bradford's latest will and want to look out for their best interests. Claire wants to make sure of her kids' futures and thus enlists Betty's help to track down the will.
In a showdown between Wil/Marc and Betty/Henry, Marc's latent talent for misdirection and slapstick puts Betty out of commission long enough for Wil to get to the will first (it was hidden in the secret sex room). Wil stands to get a share in all of Bradford's estate, including Meade Publications, but only if she's pronounced his wife. Uh, oops. So let's get this straight: 1) somehow coma Bradford has to be married to Wil and then 2) Bradford has to die.
Wilhelmina's solution to the first part is genius: Make Marc an ordained minister. Bradford waking up from his coma in time for the impromptu hospital room ceremony just makes it that more perfect ... except that his near-death experience has given him unerring insight. He realizes that Wil never loved him and refuses to go through with the sham marriage. Go, Brad.
Meanwhile, the Meade kids had their chance to talk to their conscious dad just before Ignacio informs them that Claire is there to see them. Since Claire is a fugitive planning to hop a plane to Italy after seeing her kids for the last time, the meeting is all hush-hush in the elevator. They reconcile, and Claire reveals to Daniel why Betty "betrayed" him.
It was when Bradford got to speak to Claire that I went, "Uh, oh." Maybe I'm a little slow on the uptake, but when you make peace with all your loved ones on TV, you gotta die, right? Sure enough, after Claire and Bradford share some tender moments, after which Claire is dragged away by the police who are alerted to her presence, Bradford says a few last words to Betty, pleading for her to look after Daniel, and then dies. Yup, he's gone.
But oh, the fun isn't over since respect for the dead apparently isn't hardwired into Wilhelmina's cold, designer heart. We see her confronting a young, impressionable and in-debt coroner over a sheet-covered corpse that is likely the earthly remains of Bradford Meade. Hmmmm.
There was an unconvincing yet fairly funny C plot where L'Amanda (Mo'Nique) is the weekend receptionist who has a thing for Henry, which allowed Henry to show off his awesome nerdy wooing skills. Also, Betty had visions of herself as she was when she first arrived at Mode and realized that she's allowed her beliefs, integrity and spirit to be compromised in the name of her job. So, when Daniel asks her to take her job back, she refuses, claiming that she needs to focus on getting herself back to being the Betty we first loved. Yea! I know I've been bitching about this for a while, but she is the hub of the show, and I've missed her pluckiness.
Highlights:
- When L'Amanda realizes Betty got fired: "I have a shot [with Henry]. Man like a woman with a job."
- Old Betty to Present Betty: "What's happened to you? I hardly recognized you except for the braces. And gosh, when are we getting those off?"
- Amanda: "Why is it always sadder when tragedy strikes hot people?"
- Amanda and Marc eating popcorn in the hospital waiting room as if they're at a show.
- Marc: "I don't like the limbo or the electric slide or any forced party dancing."
- Henry: "I'm sweet like sugar and soft like suede, but unlike a piano I'll never get played."
- L'Amanda: "Where have you been all my life?" Henry: "Math camp."
- Wilhelmina dubbing Betty and Henry "Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Diego."
- Marc to Wilhelmina: "Is that water boiling under you because I think I sense a plan brewing."
- Henry: "L'Amanda, you and I are like water and magnesium -- explosive."
- In Betty's letter to Marc: "So in conclusion, you are a weenie."
What do you think about them killing off Bradford? What's Wil up to? How long do you think Betty can stay out of Mode business?
Caleb Nichol: dead. Bradford Meade: dead. I hope this is not an omen for things to come with Charles Widmore!
So far, this was my favorite episode of the second season. Many viewers were complaining that UB wasn't as good this year because Betty hasn't been the moral comp*** of the show. Well, this episode certainly addressed that complaint. Betty needed to be reminded by her past self that she needed to stop making such bad choices. It was great to see the Guadalajara poncho again!
I felt bad for Alan Dale --killed off two different shows by fatal heart attacks! :-( I was close to crying when Bradford told Betty that she had to look after Daniel. One of the best parts of this show is the strong friendship between Betty and Daniel.
It was great to see Ignacio and Hilda helping reunite Claire and her children. I also liked Henry and Betty's hijinks at Mode, but Monique's character seemed too forced. I didn't think they needed to show another female African-American character drooling all over a man who was not interested in her. Remember the wacky social worker who held Ignacio prisoner in his own home because she had a crush on him?
I wonder what Wil has planned considering Bradford is Dead. Any ideas on that
I think she is going to impregnate herself! That way she still has a claim on the estate.
I'm with bkgrrl - Wili's going to get herself pregnant but hopefully she'll already be pregnant with the bodyguard's baby thus scuppering her plan!!
Loved this episode - Betty's young self was so adorable I can't believe it's just been a year. Henry makes an awesome wingman - I really hope he stays longer than the 5 months. He and Betty are so good together - I love it when he's bossy too.
Claire Meade is a real cl*** act I really hope we see more of her.
Now the fight begins between Alexis and Daniel - hopefully Daniel will come into his own now that his Father's not holding him back.
Mark was brilliant in this one - throwing Betty's gl***es then shoving Henry and escaping; another awesome wingman and they say you can't find a good man whose always on your side. Henry and Mark are wonderful to their women. Look at the cl***y way Mark got Wili out of the hospital.
What's the betting Wili's took that whip back to her office?!
I wonder if anyone remembered to let Victoria Beckham out of the closet...
What was so weird for me about this episode is that the first five minutes or so were almost a direct addressing of issues regular contributors of this very forum have been sounding off about for months. It was as if the scriptwriters had been perusing past weeks' blogs and decided to put all of our minds at rest as to where our beloved Betty's life was going. My favorite part of the entire goings-on was how the Meade and the Suarez families keep intermingling, whether accidentally or on purpose. In the end, Betty's family always gets the better end of the deal, as the Meades get a taste of humanity and decency they likely rarely see amongst the prigs they usually spend time hanging out with. The meetings of the two families always remind me of a never-happened meeting between Benji and L***ie (mutt versus serious show dog material). Anyway, just about everyone who matters on the show got at least one good line, so I was happy. No Cliff, though...that doesn't bode well. I don't know that Wilhemina would either want or is able to have any more kids, given her age (which is a mystery). Can you imagine Ms. Slater pregnant? And Marc thinks his life is sweet hell now...
This week's episode was wonderful.
I'm very much in love with the relationship between Claire and Amelia. When they popped up in Betty's room at the beginning of the ep, I clapped. I knew the show was going to be good with those two back on the scene.
Their banter everytime Amelia gave a lame excuse to a member of the Suarez family for being in Betty's room was priceless. So was their hug. I hope Amelia goes to find Claire to comfort or save her now that she's back in custody.
I must admit that I missed Cliff in this ep too. He looked so handsome at the wedding and he always brings out a nice side of Marc. But! Marc was at his wacky best this episode. I thought I was going to choke when he told Wil that they needed to "find this charity person and kill her" if she inherits Bradford's estate.
Could Wil's doubletake have been any better?
I've never doubted that Betty was still the moral center of that show. The decisions she's made this season that are morally ambiguous have been done for love of others (not herself). In my opinion,this is morality at its finest.
Besides, maybe it's because I live in New York and so maybe I'm tainted, but it's clear to me that life decisions aren't always either just right or just wrong. Life is messy and you have to navigate through it with a strong sense of self. In that respect, I think Betty's doing just fine. It's naïve and unfair to expect Betty (or anyone in real life) to be a wholly moral or wholly immoral character.
Let Betty be. She's a complex fictional character.
I liked Mo'nique's (funny) appearance in this show and her kiss with Henry. He was so perfect at playing the nerdy seductor. I also liked Betty trying to explain to Mo' what she and Henry do in their intimate life. "Well, we kiss .... and ... other things ...."
Great episode.
Wilhelmina does try to get pregnant, she bribes the coroner who is heavily in debt to get Bradford's sperm, then her plan is to get pregnant so she can get a share in the estate.
Maybe she's just going to have the coroner pretend that he is a witness to wedding, even though Bradford is already dead. That way, Marc can use his degree and she can still get the stuff in the will w/ getting pregnant and potentially ruining her figure - did you see how the woman behaved over being a size 4!?
"Nikki Parker" on "Ugly Betty"
At least that's what it felt like I was watching when I tuned in Thursday night.
Mo'Nique was the guest star on this particular episode. She played the role of L'Amanda, the crazed weekend security guard who develops an unrequited crush on Professor Oglevee, er, Betty's boyfriend, Henry. It was a role that could have been played by any random actress in her first prime-time role. I have to say, I was very much disappointed.
I wanted to see Mo'Nique appear on the show in a glam role, say, as the owner of a full-figure magazine, modeling agency or advertising firm that wants to do business with Mode. I wanted to see her enter dressed fabulously, with an entourage, and being led by a sleek black panther with a diamond-studded leash around its neck. I imagined a storyline that would have allowed her to share screen time (not to mention all the narrowed-eyed sharp-tongued catfight-like dialog two primadivas can deliver in a forty-two minute episode) with the deliciously evil Wilhelmina Slater (Vanessa Williams). Now that would have been memorable, and a testament to how far (not how full-circle) Mo'Nique's career has come since "The Parkers".