Ugly Betty 1.11.08

How I have missed this show!

It is fashion week in Mode World (attention NY- Fashion Week actually does kick off on Friday,Feb 1 this year- beware, the city will be in chaos the entire week) and there are gorgeous models all over the Mode offices... Betty gives Justin's class a tour and she sees that the kids are all really affected by how the models are sooo skinny, and they all throw out their lunches per the order of their snobby leader (and peer-pressure the only normal girl in the class to do the same) and she gets motivated to make Daniel change Mode so it gives a better message to kids.

She asks Daniel to have 'healthy models' as his theme, and that in turn will support Betty's idea of role models the kids can look up to. However, Alexis shoots down Daniel's suggestions at the meeting... and when he confronts her about it afterwords, she pulls rank and still says no.

Wilhemina is 'Hormonistic' (her term , not mine) and Mark gives her hormone shots so she can go ahead and use the stolen Bradford Meade sperm to get pregnant and claim some of his money and hopefully gain ownership of Mode too. She hits a speed bump in her plan when the doctor tells her she'll be lucky if they can get one viable egg from her to fertilize- and that she'll need to find a surrogate because she can't carry a baby due to her 'hostile womb'.
(I get that this is a funny story line because of her character, but it is a bit insensitive to women who actually need to use IVF in order to have children- it is in reality an emotional, painful process and while the humor here is appreciated, it shouldn't overshadow how serious the procedures are in real life).

Anyway, Wilhemina and Mark brainstorm to think of a good surrogate- and she looks at her manicurist Brandy who has five kids with a look in her eyes.... and cut to a scene where Wilhemina is offering Brandy any of her fur coats to convince her to carry her baby and Brandy accepts...

Mark tries to help Amanda get over her sadness over not knowing which star her mother slept with at Studio 51 is her real father- and so he brings her a psychic to help her. She's played by someone I recognize, but not enough to bother looking her up on IMDB, you're on your own there. Said psychic tells Amanda she will rescue a black dog, that's it.

Celebrity sighting! After Daniel lies to Betty and tells her that Alexis is on board for the healthy models issue, Betty runs into Bow Wow (formerly but no longer 'Lil') as he gets onto the elevator- and they get stuck. As Amanda sits at her desk listening to the alarm from the elevator, Bow Wow hits on Betty and she (politely) turns him down. Eventually the alarm bothers Amanda and she gets the elevator fixed- thereby rescuing a BLACK DOG per the psychic's forecast! (it sounds racist as I reread the sentence, I'm sorry- can't think of a nicer way to say what happened). Amanda goes back to the psychic, who tells her to find a B who will lead her to a kiss who will lead her to her father. Cryptic. Her B is of course, Betty...

Christina gets the bad news that the experimental treatments her used-to-be-secret husband came to America to get won't be covered by the company's health plan, and Mark overhears in the fashion closet and tries to be nice...

Alexis rigs the scales for the healthy model weigh in (it automatically adds 20 pounds) and Betty finds out. Betty confronts Alexis, only to find out that it was Daniel's idea in the first place. He tells her he lied because Alexis said no to the whole idea, and he didn't know how to tell her. To make up for it, Daniel shows up at Betty's door with invitations to an alternative fashion show hosted by both him and Betty showcasing real women...

Mark and his boyfriend (Chad, Craig? I forgot his name) are looking for a movie too rent and go into the 'back room' to find something they will both enjoy- and (ready for this twist folks?) find a raunchy video starring none other than Brandy, manicurist-mother-of-five-soon-to-be-surrogate-for-Wilhemina!!! As Mark says "If she can do that with a ping-pong ball imagine what she can do with a baby!" Ewwwww. After firing Brandy, Mark suggests desperate for money Christina as the surrogate... hmmmm

Amanda corners Betty and takes her to the secret sex room and tells her what the psychic said- and alludes to needing to kiss Betty to find out who her father is- Betty refuses and starts to leave but somehow they bond over the fact that both of them lost there mothers... and then as Betty is leaving she picks up a photo that has fallen of Amanda's 'Who's My Daddy' wall- and it is Gene Simmons from KISS!!!!

Betty's alternative fashion show rocks- and Bow Wow sings live with Omarion! Betty even takes a stroll down the runway herself... glad to have one of my favorite shows back! It can only get better...