'Ugly Betty' hunts down the YETI
For anyone who has struggled to break out of their entry level position, does Ugly Betty have an episode for you. I kinda loved this part of the episode.
Spoilers that can't be seen by the cool crowd.
Stupid ol' Amanda is being her annoying self again at home, but Betty has bigger concerns since former Mode assistant Nick Pepper has returned to his old stomping grounds (now that he's done getting dumped by Calvin over on Greek) flush with his success as Deputy Culture Editor at a local mag. His secret: He went through the prestigious Young Editors Training Initiative (yes, YETI for short) and since then he's been catapulting up the career ladder.
Betty finds that apply to YETI, she only has 48 hours to put together her magazine concept that reflects herself and get a sponsor letter (from Daniel, natch). At first she tries to half-ass it by doing a fashion magazine mockup, but when she discovers Marc is applying with his own fashion mag, she's scared. Add to that that YETI only chooses one winner per magazine, and she's dejected and gives up.
Naturally, Clan Suarez bucks her up, and she gives her presentation about B magazine -- the lifestyle magazine for young women who want to be themselves and do things that matter. Lo and behold, she wins! And Marc doesn't.
This is where Marc puts the ugly in Ugly Betty. He tells Betty that being Latina, she got in for tokenism, so YETI could meet a quota. Honestly, after his cheating on Cliff and now this, Marc has plummeted down my list of favorite characters this season. Where's the vulnerability and love?
When YETI doesn't quite deny that reason, Betty backs out and cedes the position to Marc. Daniel, who had left her in the lurch in her time of need, makes up for it 50-fold by calling YETI to tell them Betty also worked at Player magazine, and thus shouldn't be canceled out. Also, he sent along a six-page recommendation letter that he had failed to write despite her request.
Touching? Yes. But you know what? He should have done that in the first place. Yeah ... I'm kind of disgruntled. He was off wooing Connor's fiancee Molly by being the guest speaker at her school. I mean really. You may be seeing her as the future mother of your children, but SHE IS ENGAGED!
The concept of engagement isn't really grasped by Wilhelmina either, who schemes to get Connor all to herself by taking a trip with him down to Key Largo so they can do their own wooing -- of a potential ad client of course. But after an intimate room service-catered dinner an copious amounts of wine, Connor holds firm and resists her sexy evil charms. The funny thing though is that he never says stuff like, "I love Molly," but instead says, "I'm engaged." Hmm ...
Finally, Justin has a rude awakening when his friend Randy (remember, they tried out for Billy Elliott together and both lost out?) suddenly snubs him because the cool guys are tightening the thumb screws of peer pressure. Okay, Randy I can forgive for being weak, but did he have to be so terribly cruel in public? "Dude, stop following me around. Get a life. It's pathetic." No sir, you're the pathetic one.
Hilda gives the best damn speech to Justin about his being perfect and never, ever compromising who he is. I admit it: I got a bit verklempt, and having a sinus headache only made me a tiny bit more susceptible to the emotion. The Suarezes rule yet again.
Other musings and highlights:
- Marc dubs Connor the "Male-helmina"
- Man, Betty is getting bolder with her fashion this year. What's with the technicolor dream jacket?
- It is so typical for Daniel to have asked Betty to write her own letter of recommendation, which he'll sign. Done that. It's so lame.
- Loved the scene where a peeved Betty texts Daniel from her computer while he's standing right there. Damn straight.
- So much meanness this episode, and yet, so much love. Hilda's pep talk to Justin, Daniel coming through for Betty, and I still loved that shared joy between Marc and Betty when they talk about the upcoming YETI program.
- Love how when YETI judge Francesca calls out, "Marc St. James," Marc, (Mark) Badgley and (James) Mischka all respond.
- When is Christina going to pop?
Your thoughts? See you in two weeks! Happy Early Turkey Day!
That was possibly the best hour of Ugly Betty EVER!! Most people seem to have stopped watching this show- which is horrible because this season it has crept right back up into my top 5 shows!The raw emotion and great humour the show has the season is unstoppable. And I love Amanda more and more each episode. Good job Ugly Betty-keep up the great season. And give America Ferrera and Vanessa Williams every single emmy they can get !
People have stopped watching? WHY??????? This show is awesome. Yeah, last season was uneven, but I think that a lot of that was due to the writer's strike. The message has always remained the same, and the actors are amazing. LONG LIVE BETTY!!!
I agree with David...this season is on par and just maybe even better than the first season. I really was tired of Betty chasing after Walter (who I grew tired of..and his pregnant girlfriend)...this season the hysterics and emotional scenes have a great balance and every episode ends with a reason to smile...love it!
I too agree they should do more with the Suarez family. And I'll say it here and everywhere HILDA IS THE BEST MOTHER EVER!!! Her encouraging speech to Justin had me in tears...what a great scene.
I loved the ending Marc/Betty scene too. He was adorable and how cool that we got some of his backstory about working hard to become an editor as well. It's the first time we've heard about his dreams.
Henry had the pregnant girlfriend.
"Betty" is back on track after a few derailments last season -- and it was done quickly and sensibly.
Marc may have his flaws but he is easily redeemed. It is always very nice to get backstory on him. He is a fascinating character to me.
Kudos to Michael Urie for a consistently solid performance.
The last scene with him and Betty was fantastic. They may or not ever be buddy-buddy, but they at least can have a commonality to work towards.
Let me change that last sentence .. "at least they have a comon ground to build upon."
I agree, this was the best episode of the season (although as a fan of Gio, I am still peeved that he is not around). That being said, this episode brought back what I loved about Season 1---Betty following her dreams and side stories about the important people in her life. The Suarez family was awesome tonight! They have been practically ignored this season. I like the Molly character...I think the loved "quadrangle" will be interesting to watch. Lately, I've been feeling as though characters have been in and out and storylines have been rushed. Not with this episode. I hope they plan to show us more of Marc and Betty's YETI experience. I love Michael Urie and I thought he really shined in this episode.
Isn't it time for Betty to wise-up? That ugly scene between Marc and Betty segued well into a very touching scene at the end, but I didn't buy that final scene completely. She's taken blow after blow from Marc and I respect that she keeps getting back up, but what kind of moron would give away her position after being called a cow and the "token ethnic"? There's a fine line between doing what's right and doing what's deserved. Marc deserved a steaming crap sandwhich from Betty. I don't pity Betty any more for enduring abuse because she brings in upon her self so often.
This season brought back Betty's heart, but I'm worried that these characters aren't evolving. Daniel screws over Betty but then makes up for it after-the-fact. Shouldn't he have learned by now? Marc destroys Betty with his cruelty, gets his way and then exhibits some rare human decency. Amanda is and will always be Amanda. And then there's Betty. How long must one wear braces when one's teeth are so straight? How is it that one can live with a hairdresser and maintain a frizzy mop? How is it that one could work at a premiere fashion magazine and not, even out of curiosity, improve one's style? I realize that the show is called Ugly Betty, but come on. You don't have to turn her into America Ferrera but no one is immune to the potential of self-improvement and a set of tweezers wouldn't compromise Betty's integrity in the least.
I find myself drawn to Hilda and Justin, despite the fact that I hated Hilda for most of the first season. Hilda has made some questionable decisions, she is a fantastic mother to Justin who is in turn an exemplary young man. Love the interaction between those two(like I used to love the interaction between Daniel and Betty).
Terrence,
Do you really think that Marc is easily redeemed? What did he do to earn redemption. He only made nice with Betty after she gave him what she should have kept for herself. He only apologized after she urged him to do so. Marc is an egomaniacal, cruel human being. The problem is that these writers are trying to avoid making him inhuman by giving him these cutesy little scenes like the final one between him and betty. I didn't find it touching or redemptive. I found it contrived. I like Marc. He's funny. He's witty. But he's also very cruel and not easily redeemed. He's done very little to make up for the cruelty that he's hurled upon Betty.
I think Betty has to bear part of the blame for her own problems. She didn't know about the YETI scholarship until 48 hours before its deadline. If this is such a prestigious scholarship that's going to launch her in her career, why didn't she know about it until Pepper mentioned it? She doesn't seem to be doing her homework careerwise. Then she asks her boss on very short notice to write her a recommendation and is annoyed when he doesn't drop everything on his schedule and jump to it. He does have other commitments.
As far as clothing goes, I think Betty is trying harder, probably shopping at more expensive stores, but the poor girl has no taste. She's drawn to bright patterns and butterflies and clashing colours.