(S02E18) After all the hype surrounding the Lindsay Lohan appearance, I was expecting more than a brief flashback that explained Betty's hatred of sports. Even the little French kid had more screen time! It would be one thing if Lohan was introduced briefly midseason and continued to make appearances; that would have made sense. Introducing her for thirty seconds before the season's end was a strange choice. I look forward to seeing how they reintroduce Kimberly in the Ugly Betty present, but I wish they had waited until next season's premiere to bring her in.
The Lohan thing is a minor grievance. Unfortunately, there were some major things wrong with this episode. As finales go, "Jump" didn't come close to the emotional punch of season one's "East Side Story." The cliffhangers didn't put much at stake. Betty won't suddenly move to Tucson to be with Henry, especially since the cast and crew are moving to NYC for real. Daniel isn't really gone from Mode for good, or the whole premise of the show would be shot. Don't even get me started about that weird fake plane at the end.
Once again, there was a connection between Betty and Hilda's love lives. Both women were playing it safe; Hilda by taking things slow with Tony Diaz, and Betty by being too cautious (with Gio, her writing, everything). I'm having trouble rooting for Hilda's relationship with the sort-of-married Coach Diaz, especially since the writers didn't give us much of a reason to like him. Yes, he looks great with his shirt off, but why do we want him in Hilda's life?
The men of Ugly Betty didn't do so well in this episode. Daniel got stuck with a random "long-lost son" storyline, and Henry turned desperate and pushy all of a sudden. What was the deal? He pitched this perfect life in Tucson scenario, put the ring in Betty's hand, and left without waiting for an answer or just to, I don't know, talk? I got the impression from Betty's dream that her answer to the Gio-or-Henry question will be, "Neither." She's going to take a page from Kelly Taylor's book and choose herself. That's all well and good, but can she choose Gio once she straightens herself out?
The softball game scenes were the highlight of this episode, and emphasized the things that Ugly Betty does well. The impractical softball uniforms, the usual Marc and Amanda misbehavior, and a great celebrity cameo. Naomi Campbell was a good sport to go along with the cell phone joke. The game was also a great way to declare Wili the victor of round two of Meade vs. Slater. She won the game and got Daniel's job.
I have a lot of questions after watching the finale, but probably not the ones the writers intended. What was up with the Madonna overload? Where was Christina, and what was the point of Stuart's presence this season? Can Elle's Joe Zee be a recurring guest star and insult Wili with more awesome one-liners? All in all, I think this season suffered from the writers' strike hiatus and the dismissal of several key staff members over the last year. I still love a lot of things about Ugly Betty, though, and I hope that season three will feature more of those elements.
My favorite line/moment of the night: Daniel doing his Wili impression, or the repeated use of the word "natch."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
5-23-2008 @ 12:06AM
joe brooks said...
I'm guessing Betty is going to take Gio's advice and take a vacation alone to find herself. I betcha she ends up back in Mexico with her aunt and other relatives.
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5-23-2008 @ 12:12AM
SImpression said...
i hope she was going to Rome with Gio. Gio/Betty is soooo much better than Henry/Betty. Henry is just creepy now and you know that them being together would only complicate things, can you imagine all the Charlie-hate they would get in Tucson?
I agree that this finale wasn't nearly as good as last but i guess you can't always have a charcater dying and an emotion packed finale can you? I kind of think this has to do with the writers though...
Silvio Horta seems to think so too. he said he thought it was a little outthere-ish and that the move to New York will also meet more emotion-grounded storylines than uber crazy ones which i think is a good thing. Ugly Betty is good at the emotional. Either way, i'm definitely going to be watching come Fall '08.
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5-23-2008 @ 12:14AM
SImpression said...
Oh, and i too noticed the overload of Madonna... that was odd. Does anyone else
5-23-2008 @ 12:30AM
joe brooks said...
I'm sadden that Amanda's "who's my daddy" storyline wasn't even addressed in this episode. Are they going to continue it next year, or just pretend it didn't happen at all.
What happened to Marc's boyfriend?
Just like real soaps storylines will get dropped for no reason.
I'm glad the current writers looked at season 1 and realized that the plan the whole time was for Alexis to be the leader of the company and Willie to be the editor of Mode.
All that being said, I can't wait for the show to move NYC.
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5-23-2008 @ 2:31AM
SImpression said...
Well there was a little cut to the Amanda storyline when she budged in on Sazuki St. Pierre. I think it was wrapped up for the season when she realized that Gene wasn't her father and she said that she already had the family she needed (Marc). I have a feeling it will be brought back next season, but who knows for sure.
As for the Cliff/Marc's Boyfriend, just because he isn't talked about doesn't mean they arent still together. Oddly enough, in the first video podcast of UB they showed behind the scenes footage of them all coming back to work after the Writer's Strike and the guy who played Cliff was in the podcast so maybe he was in one of the post-strike episodes and it was just cut or something? I'm sure it too will be brought back up. I think the writers just wanted to focus on other storylines for the time being and that got back-burner'd.
5-23-2008 @ 12:38AM
Jen said...
Madonna was annoying. Ugh.
Totally gonna rip off Grey's Anatomy and choose neither (although in Ugly Betty, she won't date both). It's not much of a cliff hanger. And yea, obviously she definitely won't choose Henry because Ugly Betty won't be staged in Tuscon.
It was a good episode...but it was a mediocre season finale.
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5-23-2008 @ 12:51AM
TDM said...
I think Betty should go to Rome, but by herself. Might as well use the all-expense-paid vacation from Daniel.
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5-23-2008 @ 1:06AM
Nola said...
I think Alexis is that kid's Daddy. Dommy? Maddy?
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5-23-2008 @ 2:39AM
Imp said...
"Yes, he looks great with his shirt off, but why do we want him in Hilda's life?"
Because it'll give us more opportunities to see him with his shirt off, obviously. ;)
On a more serious note, when Henry said "you can move to Tuscon with me!" I immediately knew she wasn't going to go with him. As much as I adore him (and god knows it's a ridiculous amount), it is ridiculous for him to ask her to move away from everyone she knows and loves to be with him and his new baby with another girl. That is just too much. TBH, I think it's really out-of-character for Henry, it kind of seems like a cheap way for the show to get rid of him, which makes me quite sad.
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5-23-2008 @ 3:32AM
marisolace said...
The dream was awfully symbolic, I think. In one mindset, Henry could be the 'safe' choice (job and relationship security), while Gio could be the 'risk' (erm, Italy? For a first date?) -- but her getting pushed off the edge by both of them pretty much told me she's going it alone for now. I wouldn't mind if she ended up with Gio, but if she left it was probably a trip for herself.
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5-23-2008 @ 3:34AM
marisolace said...
What I meant to say as well -- Her not choosing either of them would be the biggest risk of all, which was kind of the theme here. Taking into account the episode name 'Jump' and the fact that nobody was there to take her away/there was no ring on her finger.. She probably chose herself.
5-23-2008 @ 3:50AM
Matt said...
I totally think the strike killed the show. A lot of what made the show was the supporting cast, and up until maybe the last 2-3 episodes it was very centered on just a few characters (perhaps this is why Rebecca Romijn is just going to be guest starring in future seasons?). They had episodes without really any Amanda or Marc, let alone Amanda/Marc, and those two always add a big deal to each episode as far as supporting characters go.
With that said, I think what's going to happen is Alexis will take a position with Meade internationally causing her to have to go to Paris or something, giving Daniel her job to correct the backstabbing she did. We could see at the end that she feels guilty, and with knowing Romijn is taking a lesser role going forward it'd make sense he'd get that job and once again be Wili's boss.
I vote for Betty to go with Gio, but I haven't heard that Freddie is back next season yet, and in what capacity, so until we find that out, we won't know for sure!
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5-23-2008 @ 8:51AM
ranmas59 said...
oh, oh..... how about this......Alexis goes to Paris to work for Meade International because it turns out that being the lousy brother Alex was back then, he fooled around with the French model too... and so, Alex/Alexis is actually the father! So, the little boy gets a mom & a dad... could fit w/ rumors she won't be around much next year... what do you all think???
5-23-2008 @ 12:48PM
Erin Martell said...
Matt--Your comment (combined with Nola's) about how Alexis will leave is an interesting idea. We know that she'll have a limited role on the show next season, so the writers will have to invent a reason for her to have a limited presence at Mode. Leaving with the French boy or moving for a Mode International position would be a good way to go.
5-23-2008 @ 7:12AM
ray said...
I really like Nola's comment; that, would be a great twist!
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5-23-2008 @ 8:10AM
G said...
All I could think was "Ben or Noel?" Maybe next season Betty will get a haircut.
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5-23-2008 @ 8:20AM
Beth Gaston Moon said...
Ben or Noel ... exactly! Or Brandon or Dylan? And yet, while I really, TRULY cared where Felicity Porter was going in that cab, I can't be bothered as to who Betty will "choose."
Note she didn't have her engagement ring on when she hugged Poppi goodbye.
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5-23-2008 @ 8:50AM
Isabelle Carreau said...
I told myself the same thing about Betty: she'll choose neither. If she chooses Henry, the writers will need to have them move back to NYC.
The French kid storyline seemed push. It sounded like "we have nothing major for Daniel in the finale so how about a long-lost son?" If they had to absolutely do this storyline, I think I would have preferred just have the kid show up near the end of the episode and have him say "papa?"
By the way, kudos to the show because the French spoken in the episode wasn't bad at all! Contrary to some other ABC shows where the French suck (I still have nightmares of scenes on Alias where the French was incomprehensible! And the worse was that Frenchie Michael Vartan was in the scenes and didn't even correct the other actors!!!)
Back to the finale, the highlight was really the baseball game with Willi as the pitcher!
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5-23-2008 @ 9:51AM
JFTA said...
Unfortunately, I too got the whole Brandon/Dylan/Me thing from it too and think she is going off by herself somewhere, maybe to film a movie with three other girls about magical jeans or something like that.
Just a random thought - when is Betty getting her braces off? I know it is part of the "Ugly" in Ugly Betty, but come on - how can the girl support her family, save money to go on vacation and be in ongoing orthodontia treatment?
I love the comment about Alexis being the dad and now the kid has a mom and dad.
I will still wait with baited breath for the DVD of Season 2 to come out and watch them all and revel in the Betty-ness. Le sigh.
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5-23-2008 @ 11:16AM
Gwin said...
Imp: the show has used "cheap ways" to get of Betty's suddenly-useless boyfriends before... remember Walter?
I too noticed the Madonna overload and thought it was odd.
The one thing that really annoyed me, though was: couldn't they have found an ACTUAL French boy to play Daniel's son rather than an American with a so-so accent?? They do that a lot in TV but it's always just so ludicrous.
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