TVSquad

(S02E11) Many weeks ago (man, it's been a while since we've had a new episode) I shared my dream of a Dixie Carter-Vanessa Williams showdown. This week, Amanda visited a psychic played by another Designing Women cast member, the wonderful Annie Potts. So close! It's great to have Ugly Betty back, at least for now. The sad truth--that there are only two episodes left--is beginning to sink in. Who's panicking?

Gallery: Ugly Betty: Zero Worship

I was glad that this episode revisited the uplifting theme of this show: we're all beautiful, just as we are. The "Betty message" hasn't been covered as much this season, and I missed it. Betty's been a lot more confident this season, and it showed in the way that she handled the Fashion Week models. Season One Betty would have taken the elevator thing lying down, but Season Two Betty pushed all the buttons on the way out. Take that, "maximum load exceeded"!

I was proud of Betty for standing up for the average girls and setting an example for the Hillarys of the world. She saw firsthand that the grown-up peer pressure of fashion magazines trickles down to insecure tweens. I loved that that Betty included both the schoolteacher and herself in the Mode fashion show. She finally realized that being the only "normal" woman at the magazine comes with a big responsibility. If Betty doesn't speak up, she won't be able to make a difference.

Another classic element that I noticed in this episode was the Betty-Daniel tender moment. Is there anything sweeter than watching these two smile at each other after job well done? Thankfully Daniel saw that there was more going on with the fashion show than simply one-upping Alexis. His heart-to-heart with Betty about pool parties and NKOTB t-shirts really did the trick. His vision of young, pool party Betty forced him to admit that he was "one of those guys." My favorite part about Daniel and Betty's friendship is that they continue to learn things about themselves through each other.

It looks like Christina will be back in league with the bad guys. Her money troubles put her on Wilhelmina's short list for a potential surrogate. I guess Wili's womb must have become hostile sometime after Nico was born. I don't think I could handle it if Christina was carrying Wili and corpse-Bradford's offspring; that's just too much. Early on in the episode, Daniel mentioned that he missed Wili's talents around the Mode offices. I second that. Wili has to find a way to get her hostile-wombed self back at work where she belongs.

Marc and Amanda were back together this week. It's nice to know that Marc occasionally comes back to Mode to hang out with his BFF and steal a pair of pants from the closet. Amanda's search for her father led her to Annie Potts, Bow Wow, Betty, and, ultimately, to Gene Simmons. That's quite a journey! We only have to wait two weeks for Simmons to make an appearance, and I'm curious to see how this turns out. Do you think he'll appear in full Kiss makeup? Is he really Amanda's biological father, or will it be a big tease?

My favorite lines of the night:

• "You're right. I've been hormo-tional." --Wili
• "It's like Lord of the Flies in ballet flats." --Justin, on the mean girl clique.
• "Christina, you know that's a man, not a bottle of vodka." --Marc
• Amanda (to Marc): "Hey, lady." Marc (to Amanda): "Hey tramp."
• "Don't hate me because I'm a guy and burn 26 percent more calories." --Justin, on why he isn't skipping lunch.
• "That is one Scotch on the rocks." --Wili, about Christina

Next week--Betty's behaving badly, Claire is on trial, and Gio returns.