TVSquad

(S01E04) A couple of questions came to mind right off the bat in this episode, as I watched the "previously on" teaser. I don't remember two scenes they showed: one where Hilda tells Betty that their HMO won't cover their dad, and one where Wilhelmina (or is it Fey?) steals the music box Bradford salvaged from Fey's belongings. Am I crazy to not remember these scenes? Or did they not make the final cuts of the episodes they were in and were inserted into the teaser just to set up this episode? Let me know in the comments... I appreciate it!

Ok, on to last night's episode, where Betty learns the value of telling the truth...

This is the episode where we see a little more of the humans behind the cartoons that are Amanda and Marc. They hate the fact that Betty was the hit of a industry networking party, but cover it up by saying she was awful there. Then, when the Mode holiday fashion shoot was leaked to rival magazine Isabella, you see how the two of them react under stress: Marc starts hyperventilating and Amanda can't stop eating. Interestingly, I thought that the whole time they were saying to Betty that they should stick together that they were going to eventually rat her out. But that didn't happen. In fact, when the light of suspicion landed on the three of them, Betty, the good soul that she is, was the only one who actually admitted she talked to the weasel assistant from Isabella.

We also got a glimpse into Marc's childhood in the form of Justin. Justin's following Betty around for a "school project," but he's really ditching to frolic in his version of Disney World. He and Marc bonded when Justin points out Amanda's (gasp) two year old Manolos. But at the end of the episode, Marc tells Justin to be himself at school and to "just learn how to run really fast." Hm... hate to see Justin become another Marc, but at least you know that Marc still has a little Justin in him.

The whole episode was about secrets and lies and how they're starting to come out; Fey sends the music box to Daniel who remembers that his mother had the exact same one. So now the connection between Fey and Bradford -- and Fey's accident -- are starting to be made in Daniel's mind. This is another point where I thought I had called the plot ahead of time but was pleasantly surprised to be mistaken: I thought Fey and Wilhelmina leaked the "post apocalyptic Christmas" shoot so Whilhelmina would be able to conveniently suggest a reprise of the "Fey's Sleigh Ride" shoot, this time without Fey. But the leak -- done by a loose and horny "Fat" Carol -- was just a happy coincidence. Maybe the other way would have made more sense for the plot, but it is what it is.

It's interesting that Daniel didn't seem to care if Betty gave any info to the Isabella guy; twice he said to her "I'd rather you lie if not lying means I'm going to lose you." You can see he's becoming more dependent on Betty every week, and you can also see that he's becoming more confident in his job. Now let's see if something develops between the two of them... it would make sense, wouldn't it?

Mode may be an ugly place where people hide things from each other, but the Suarez family has its own secrets. Ignacio keeps sneaking coffee, even though it's bad for his heart (the coffee-sneaking scene with Walter, whos seems to be setting up the most universal remote ever conceived, was goofy but chuckle-worthy). But that's not the worst of it; Betty finds out from their HMO that Ignacio Suarez is using a dead person's Social Security number. Which is why he said to Betty earlier in the episode, "Sometimes you need to keep secrets to survive."

Hm... do we need to see soapy stuff from the Suarezes? Well, maybe... we don't know much about Ignacio and Hilda, so some intrigue might help that storyline out a little. Walter's fumbling attempts to get Betty back are nice but inconsequential at this point. But I like the fact that he still shows up for "Tamale Tuesdays," even though he cheated on Betty.

Overall, it was kind of an eh episode. But next week looks better, as Betty finds a suitor that isn't a bumbling idiot like Walter.

Some more notes and quotes:

• Is it me or is Betty's clothing getting incrementally less loud as the weeks go on? And, yes, at some point, Daniel should order her to get a makeover, Mode-style, but I'm pretty sure all that designer stuff would make Betty uncomfortable.
• Amanda is pretty stupid, but making her borderline racist isn't the best idea. "Hola," she drippily says to Ignacio when she and Marc (double gasp) show up at Betty's house. She pronounces the "H"; Ignacio corrects her, but she just replies, "but it has an 'H' in it." Yeah... no wonder why she has to sleep with people to keep her job.
• Wilhelmina to Daniel: "Did you just gesture to me when you mentioned Kwanzaa?"