Oh boy. I wasn't quite sure where this season of Ugly Betty was going, but the third episode in was not only juicy, but kind of touching as well.

Spoilers in Size 11 shoes and a dusty jacket.

So when we last saw Christina, she was out cold after a mysterious person pushed her down a flight of stairs. Fast forward to the next day, and Daniel asks Betty to dry clean a really dusty jacket and then says if anyone asks where he was last night, give the excuse that he was wrapping stuff up at Player magazine.

Uh, why do you need an excuse in the first place, Danny boy? Ooh, mysterioso. Unfortunately, not sharing the truth with Betty bites him in the butt because our girl cannot lie. So when the 5-0 comes by Mode -- allowing Amanda to get all sex kitten-y and hit on Mr. Kelly Ripa -- Betty breaks under interrogation and blurts out she doesn't know where Daniel was the previous evening. D'oh.

Add to that that the exact same Size 11 shoe prints match the soles of the shoes in Daniel's office, and in a jiffy Daniel is whisked off to jail. Before he can get hit on by his cellmate though, a quick $200,000 bond frees him.

In one fun sequence, Betty gets all sleuthy on an information scavenger hunt when she discovers that the security tape that night was stolen. This leads her to Amanda, then to Marc (who reveals his habit of screaming at a uber-creepy Wilhelmina mannequin in privacy), then to Claire (who was martini-soaked last night) and finally to Alexis, who took care of Claire for the rest of the evening.

Faced with a dead end, Betty goes to the scene of the crime with MarcManda trooping alongside her. Jokingly -- or not -- they say they need to recreate the crime, but get muddled up causing them all to tumble down. When Betty realizes that it's dusty down there, she flashes back to the jacket Daniel had her clean. Ay! Say it isn't so!

Finding the security tape in his briefcase seems to seal his guilt with her ... until she watches it (but not before lots of hand-wringing and worrying to Papi who finally knocks some sense into her). Wait, it's not the crime on the tape, but Daniel boinking a woman on the copier! Uh yeah, he finally admits that he's been sleeping with Holly, the state department liason handling his custody case for DJ. Okay, I know you're a lady magnet and kind of dim, but seriously?

Everything comes to light though when Betty discovers that Alexis had borrowed Daniel's jacket. Therefore she was probably the one who made it dusty. Post sex change, she still has Size 11 shoes. She pushed Christina! Alexis soberly confesses that pushing Xtina was an impulse springing from her frustation with Wilhelmina and her claim on the companythrough the Bradford fetus.

Just before Alexis whisked away, she whispers to Claire that the paternity results showed that she, Alexis, had fathered DJ, not Daniel. Whoa. Uhh, I should have seen that one coming, but now my mind is trying to figure out what this means.

If Alexis is in jail, and somehow the paternity results come to light, then Daniel doesn't stand a chance, does he? Finally I understand what part DJ plays here. (Although I admit, for the longest time I suspected that he had borrowed Daniel's shoes and pushed Christina. To what purpose, I'm not sure, but I guess it just shows how much I disliked his character. Apologies.)

The B plot is pretty quick and dirty: Betty, who Papi warns is too trusting, entrusts Hilda with her apartment key so Hilda can meet with Coach Tony in privacy. Eww, I'm sorry but if you get into that habit, you know that they'll be some coach-on-beautician action going on there soon. The end result though is that Papi discovers the coach is married, gets mad at Hilda for being the other woman and then finally forgives her.

Some other musings and highlights:

- I want Betty's bag with the bespectacled doll on it! Can anyone help me?
- Speaking of ... ever since the show moved to New York to shoot, I've noticed a distinct difference in characters' styles. Betty's has improved. Claire looks totally hot. Marc is more stylish and casual. I'm not terribly crazy about Wilhelmina's bright palette tonight though.
- Papi has had a racy few days! First he catches the Coach nude (very nice muscle tone in front and behind), then he watches the Daniel-boinking surveillance tape with Betty. Hmm, I'd feel better if the sexiness didn't always involve his daughters somehow. Really, Ignacio needs some love!
- Is it just me, or is this the first episode where the Suarezes finally lapse into Spanish when they're upset? It's about time they added that touch of realism.
- Wil calls Christina a "Scottish rent-a-womb"
- Justin: "That Mariska Hargitay wears some amazing pantsuits."
- Jeez, can Wil actually have a heart? She's actually considerate of Christina after learning that Stuart is dying since the treatment didn't work.
- The Wilamannequin also scares me a little. Okay, a lot.
- Claire's prison advice: "Do your own time, and don't trust the popo."
- Neighbor Jesse borrowed Betty's umbrella and left a note. Okay, I know we're giving the girl time to focus on her career here, but I'd like a little flirtation. Please?

How did you like this episode? Any thoughts as to where this is going?

Comments

Saw Alexis as the pusher from a mile away (the actress leaving the show kinda gave it away), but the episode was still very well done. Betty, Marc and Amanda doing the Scooby Doo routine was hilarious, and their weekly teaming up (even if not for positive reasons) was what was missing from season 2. Poor Stuart...accused of attempted murder and dying at the same time. Sucks to be him. Willie having a heart is not a new development, as she does bring it out from the back of her walk-in closet from time to time, but it was pleasant to see if only for a few picoseconds. Good episode overall, hope they continue like this.

Revenant | Oct 9, 2008 7:35:04 PM | #

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So I missed it, did Christina loose the baby or get seriously hurt?

Sarah | Oct 9, 2008 8:48:49 PM | #

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This is the first Ugly Betty episode i missed. Our Abc was out so i didnt get to watch it. Maybe i'll catch the re-run but im sure i'll be able to catch up next week.

Ray | Oct 9, 2008 9:45:09 PM | #

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oh my god willy looked fabulous

amanda huginkiss | Oct 10, 2008 4:43:32 AM | #

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Not only was Willie hot, even her mannequin turned me on ;)

Yes, the Alexis reveal was expected because of casting news, but still, a rather wonderful episode.

Why does Hilda call her lover "coach"? Oh, and Sarah- the baby is fine.

| Oct 10, 2008 5:29:32 AM | #

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I'm way more excited about Gio's return next week than about anything else that has happened so far this season. I hope he gives Betty hell for leading him on the way she did.

Ashley | Oct 10, 2008 6:28:04 AM | #

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I enjoyed the show last night. Its nice to see Willie have a heart every once in a while.

Im still going with the baby not Willies and it is actully going to be Christina and her husbands!

Baby B | Oct 10, 2008 7:19:08 AM | #

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Color me clueless, but I didn't see it being Alexis - my only idea was that it was DJ, but I couldn't figure out why.

I wish Betty would lose the socks - it's so distracting and while I know that she has no fashion sense, you'd think that working for Mode they'd make her do it.

I guess I'm the only one, because everybody else seems to love them, but I really can't stand, and haven't been able to stand since the first year, Marc and Amanda, particularly Amanda crawling across the desk the way she does. It's not funny to me; just nauseating.

Jan | Oct 10, 2008 8:08:06 AM | #

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Holy Smokes! Alexis being Daniel Jr.'s father was the most awesome twist since discovering that the woman recovering from the plastic surgery was not Faye, but Alexis who was originally Alex Daniel's brother.

My biggest question what will Claire do: reveal that D.J. is Alexis's or keep her mouth shut? If she tells the truth she will lose her grandson or she keeps it a secret and hopes that someone like Willie won't reveal it, because I wouldn't put it past Willie to have Marc (or a "Mode" employee) go through Alexis & Daniel's mail.

Carly | Oct 10, 2008 12:56:03 PM | #

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I didn't think Alexis was the culprit because I thought I read somewhere about the character leaving the show in a different way than jail. I also thought it was Daniel Jr - thought it was an accident with him running into her while skate boarding or something.

I thought the reveal of Alexis being the father was great!!!

Erika | Oct 10, 2008 3:28:04 PM | #

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Was it mentioned earlier that Daniel and Alex had both dated DJ's mom? If so, I guess it made sense that Daniel ran paternity tests for both himself and Alexis as the possible fathers. (Perhaps the child should be eased into the situation where his aunt is actually his dad - maybe start calling him AJ.)

Don't know what "popo" means. Not sure I want to know, mind.

The whole Christine stairs thing seems bizarre. Shouldn't she have known that the stairs couldn't be used due to work? And although the dusty raincoat pointed towards the place where Christine landed, it isn't as though she was pushed from the bottom of the stairs. Logically the culprit would have remained tidy. Me, I'd be looking for the source of the 911 call.

Maureen | Oct 10, 2008 9:54:50 PM | #

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Maureen, PoPo = police.

Jan | Oct 11, 2008 9:17:52 AM | #

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I'm loving this season. The stories are better and the fashions are hot thanks to Patricia Field of Sex and the City fame.

Viktor | Oct 11, 2008 9:23:47 AM | #

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Don't worry, Maureen...I had to ask a few folks what "popo" meant as well. My mind tends to perambulate towards the gutter with words like that I'm afraid...:P

Revenant | Oct 11, 2008 12:37:22 PM | #

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PoPo means police? That's all? Sounds like babytalk.

Maureen | Oct 11, 2008 2:38:34 PM | #

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Although in no way do I agree with Hilda's affair with a married man I do think that Betty and her Father could be a little more understanding. After all, Hilda was there for Betty when Henry was still with Charlie and Betty's Dad did have an affair with their mother which Hilda pointed out to him before they turned into the Telenovella!

Can you imagine how stress-free life would be if we all had a "Willamanequin" of people who annoy us to yell at and slap?!

This was a fab episode - I love a good (attempted) murder mystery, the red herrings, the new sidekicks, everyone doing the police's job for them with better results and a ton of secrets popping out! But still, the humanity of the show front and foremost. Good people sometimes do very bad things which is what makes us so wonderfully imperfect.
And kudos to the costume department, even though Rebecca Romijn is preggers her costumes managed to disguise it extremely well without having to resort to Alexis suddenly carrying around giant handbags!!

Now if someone could please tell me why Betty leaves her umbrella outside her door instead of by the door inside her apartment...??

Solly | Oct 11, 2008 3:36:59 PM | #

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I am sorry Alexis is leaving, but Rebecca R is so huge right now! Did she have twins? So it sort of made sense that she needed to be shipped off somewhere for a while.
I LOVE Betty Marc and Amanda together, and I lvoed those three investigating. So why was Daniel's coat dusty? Alexis didn't roll in the dust did she? As she's a good few inches taller than Daniel, surprised they have the same size feet.
Bored with the Coach/Hilda story. LOVED the Mariska comment! Now they are in NYC, will SVU pop in for a visit. If only... :D

Cath | Oct 11, 2008 4:52:40 PM | #

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Oh, please! I know Rebecca Romijn was going to leave the show, but seriously, have her character go to jail? This story line is the pits. The thing about the shoes bothers me as well, the same size as Daniel? A size 11? Is that a MAN'S size 11? If so, that that make her shoe size a women's size 13! For a Halloween party a few years ago, I had to get high heels as part of a costume and a women's size 13 is hard to come by! And the ones I DID find were... wait for it... for the transgender community and were quite expensive, though they actually DID fit surprisingly well. Ms. Romijn is tall, 5'11" I think, and it is likely she actually wears a wears a women's size 11, which would be a man's size 9. OK, so I nitpick. But while I'm at it, how did all the dust get on the coat? What did she do, roll on the ground? How else would all of that dust gotten on the coat? Sorry, never liked scooby, but I understand the reference and though I only watched scooby a few times, I recognized the homage immediately. I love it when the writers, any writers on any show, work something like that into the story. All in all, a mostly excellent show, except for Ms. Romijn leaving the cast that is. My favorite episode with Ms. Romijn was the paint ball shootout in the office... Yep, she is quite the babe...

xyzzy | Oct 13, 2008 9:22:56 AM | #

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