The sound of clicking stilettos, the sight of mismatched clothing and flashing braces, the sexy smile of Eric Mabius; all mean only one thing: Ugly Betty has returned! The premier of the third season of this telenovela inspired show, while not a lightening clap of drama and excitement, was fun and full of that optimistic Betty Suarez charm.
The episode begins with a conversation between Betty and her mother’s gravestone. Betty recaps last season’s favorite dilemma: the love triangle between herself, Henry Grubstick, and Gio Rossi. The moment we’ve been waiting for all summer is almost here. Who will Betty choose??? Neither! While this decision reeks a little of cop-out, the show moves on too quickly to really focus on Betty’s choice and what it means to all the viewers who spent the summer arguing the merits of one guy over the other. Suckers!
Betty explains to her mother that she needs to take a trip (to places her mother never got to go) and find out who she really is. She returns a changed woman, clutching a to-do list in her hands:
1) To take on more responsibility at Mode Magazine and be promoted within a year,
2) Not to let any romantic involvements interfere with her plans, and
3) To move out on her own into the big city.
Upon returning to Mode, however, Betty finds that everything is different. Wilhelmina Slater has changed Mode to a cold, colorless place. The change is so drastic and harsh that devious duo Amanda Tanen and Marc St. James, who had forgotten how “big and bright” Betty is, are thrilled to see her. It’s quite a different welcome from the one they originally extended to her; not in terms of manners (they’re still hilariously judgmental), but in terms of how genuinely glad they are.
Another change is Daniel Meade’s removal from Mode to Player Magazine, a piece of ‘literature’ aimed at “18 to 39 year old male idiots” who are amused by a slightly lower standard of journalism. While Daniel is happy with the change, Betty is shocked and finds the idea of more responsibility in such a magazine far less appealing. Especially as her co-workers make it clear how they feel about a girl of Betty’s appearance.
As for the apartment in the city, Betty is thrilled to find her dream apartment, only to lose it to another renter. Afraid of losing another chance, she agrees to rent the upstairs apartment without looking at it first. Naturally, the apartment is a disaster. The ceiling leaks, the curtains are falling down, nudists live across the alley (a “breath-taking” view), and a noisy musician lives across the hall. Betty spends the rest of the episode hiding her mistake from her disapproving father and trying to get out of the contract.
The third part of her list was the avoidance of new romances. We know better than to expect this to work. This woman mocked by the fashionistas around her and called “Ugly Betty” has spent most of the show fighting men off with a stick. Why should this season be any different? Upon storming across the hall to the noisy musician’s apartment, Betty finds that he is actually fairly attractive and friendly. Uh-oh! Is the music he’s playing the song of loooove?
As for the other characters, Daniel is dealing with suddenly being the father of a rambunctious pre-teen. While he doesn’t want to repeat his father’s mistakes, Daniel quickly realizes that boundaries still must be set. He and son DJ come to understand that sometimes they won’t get along, but they’ll always love each other. It must be said that fatherhood looks very good on Daniel Meade.
Wilhelmina, meanwhile, is not satisfied with Daniel’s job as editor of Mode. She wants it to be clear that with her in charge, the magazine will be FABULOUS. The only problem: Alexis won’t accept the budget proposal. Willie points out that she has to drag the magazine out of the deep shadow of Daniel’s care (somehow they’ve both forgotten that their scheming drove it there to begin with) but Alexis wants the funding for her mother’s magazine, Hot Flash. So Willie manages to convince Alexis of the unlikely success of such a magazine, to the bitter disappointment of Claire Meade. We can only wonder at Alexis’ forgetful nature. Not long ago, she was helping Wilhelmina betray her own father and brother, but now she seems to have forgotten how deceitful Willie is. Wake up Alexis!
In the Suarez household, Ignacio is proud of his new job, humble though it is. However, his shift boss turns out to be none other than Betty’s old high school nemesis, Kimberly – a long awaited appearance by Lindsay Lohan. Jealous of Betty’s success, Kimberly begins to make life hard for Ignacio, enraging Betty and Hilda who pick a fight with her that results in Ignacio’s termination. A humbled Betty returns and apologizes, and assures Kimberly that she, too, can achieve great things. As they talk, Betty puts to rest that painful part of her past and regains some of her former enthusiasm for life.
We end the episode with Betty having come to terms with her new job at Player Magazine, deciding to work her hardest no matter where. She confesses her apartment disaster to her father, she comes home to find the entire family engaged in cleaning and fixing it, until it is revealed to be a very nice apartment that she is thrilled to live in. As the episode ends, Betty is dancing to the music of her cute new neighbor, and with a newfound sense of freedom and independence.
Susan Kearl is a university student with too much time on her hands who loves to watch TV. She’s happy to contribute her opinions to the world of television viewers like you.
