Ugly Betty 1.17.08

I know, I never post on the same night it airs on TV, but today I am actually watching the show as it airs on TV... believe me, I won't be making a habit of this- I much prefer watching shows a day later, online, with the ability to pause and rewind... anyway, on to the show

Betty wakes up in Gino's store with handcuffs on and the huge window broken and a police officer writing a report... flash back to three days earlier... Daniel is preparing to testify at the trial for Fay Summer's murder, in defense of his mother. Betty gives him and Alexis the usual pep talk...

Wilhemina and Marc ask Christina to be the surrogate of her baby, but doesn't tell her that it's from Bradford Meade's sperm. They know Christina needs the money for her husband's experimental surgery to save his life, and offer her $100,000- but she refuses. Christina tells Betty, and also tells her that she has another way to get the money- from an old dress that Jacki Kennedy wore to a white house dinner that Christina found in the closet at Mode. (But neither of them see Marc hiding in the corner, listening)

Amanda goes into her mother's secret-sex-room and finds that all the other Mode employees know about it and use it for their breaks- so Amanda decides to take all of her mother;s things out of it- and sees a bunch of diary pages taped to the back of one of her paintings. (Then a voice narrates some of the words on the page- I can't place the voice...)

Daniel, Alexis, Betty and Claire are all sitting in a pre-trial meeting discussing what will happen. Claire gives Betty her favorite perfume bottle, but Betty refuses to accept it, only says she'll keep it safe till Claire gets out of prison.

Alexis testifies, and since she was 'dead' at the time it happened (really in hiding getting a sex-change operation without her family's knowledge), her testimony isn't really so helpful.

Amanda continues reading her mother's diary- and the narration tells us that the perfume bottle was a gift that Bradford gave Claire- but it was a poisoned bottle of perfume that Fay Summers suggested Bradford giver her to convince her he wasn't having an affair and Fay swapped the real perfume with the poison so it would kill Claire- and now Betty has it- AND IS WEARING IT!

Henry smells Betty and tells her she smells fantastic- and Betty is acting like she is on speed- she has done everything in the office and is on accomplishment overdrive (obviously an effect of the poisoned perfume).

During a break during the trial, Daniel breaks change at the courthouse food court, only to get caught looking as though he is bribing the judge from his mom's case- cuz he is the one who needed the change, and the judge has to recuse herself.

Betty keeps spraying the perfume on herself- she is addicted to it. Gio brings her a sandwich she orders and Betty says the sandwich tastes like purple and sunshine... she also orders another sandwich to pack for Henry to take on his trip to Tucson to see Charlie get her sonogram... Gio tells Betty she smells really good...

Back to the trial- even though the Judge had to get recused, the lawyer says he only lost one case ever- and of course the new Judge is the one he lost to. Not good... and I can't place the actor who plays the lawyer but I recognize him and he's funny.

Betty is still acting crazy... she gets all excited about the colors some of the models are wearing... Henry notices but he has to go and asks Betty for the care package- and she runs into him and kisses him in front of everyone in the office...

Amanda and Marc are reading more of the diary and she tells him about the poisoned perfume that was meant to kill Claire but drove her crazy so she killed Fay first- and realize that the pages are evidence that would free Claire Meade- so Amanda decides to burn them, but Halston runs away, so she tells Marc to do it, even though he stutters that they should turn the pages over to someone...

Wow, commercial break- um, it moves a lot faster when I watch it on TV for some reason, even if the commercials are longer, and much more annoying!

And we're back! Betty is singing and dancing around her house talking a mile a minute... even eating a bottle of whipped cream for breakfast... and surreptitiously scratching at her neck...

Daniel's testimony in court begins and the lawyer makes mince meat out of Daniel (plus the new Judge is absolutely not in his favor).

Betty is sitting in the office waiting for Henry to call and being a little crazy... she sprays more perfume on herself... Gio comes to see her and apologize for saying that Henry would cheat on her while he was in Tucson. She works herself into a tizzy about him not calling and starts attacking Gio (while yelling that Henry must be with Charlie)... it gets out of hand and she yells at him to leave (cue ominous music) and sprays herself with more poison perfume.

Marc tells Wilhemina about Christina's plan to sell the vintage Jackie O dress, and they plan to take the dress so Christina needs to accept her offer and carry her baby.

Betty makes change for Amanda, while sweating and ranting about Gio and Henry, and Amanda sees Betty spray the perfume on herself... and it clicks... yup, the perfume must be the poisoned one... Betty writes Gio and note about how she doesn't like him and marches down to his shop and throws a garbage can through the store window and then passes out... (so basically we are exactly where we were when the show started tonight, just now we know about the poisoned perfume).

Betty is at the doctor, Gio came with her, and Hilda comes running in, with her dad and Justin right behind her. The doctor sees Betty, and makes everyone leave the room- so he can ask her if she is using drugs! She denies it, and he tells her if she's not doing drugs, then someone is drugging her!

Christina brings the auctioneer in to see the dress, only to find that it has been shredded! She confronts Wilhemina and Marc, and they don't admit they ruined the dress, but re-offer the money if she'll carry the baby.

The blood work comes back and they find out that Betty has been poisoned, drugged- and could have died from the toxins!!! She realizes that the perfume must have been what has been poisoning her, and runs back to the office to get it- but it's gone! She realizes Amanda took it- and confronts her. Amanda tells Betty the truth about the diary, the perfume and Fay... but refuses to go to court to free Claire. Betty guilt's her into returning the perfume by asking her if she really wants to take away Daniel's mother from him...

When Betty tells Daniel, Alexis, Claire and the lawyer, they don't really believe it at first, but call Betty as a witness anyway. She testifies how the perfume made her crazy even though she's only been using it for a day- and points out that Claire was using it for six months. The Prosecutor asks Betty why Bradford would poison his wife, and since Betty can't produce the diary pages he makes it look like she's lying to protect Daniel. The Prosecutor walks forward and takes a huge swallow of the perfume- and pretends to be sick for a moment- and then is fine, because there is only water in the bottle...
cut to Amanda and Marc in the secret-sex-room- Amanda is holding a vial of liquid and says, "I didn't give her the perfume, say goodbye Mrs. Meade."

cue more ominous music, and fade to black (and commercial).
(Have I said yet today how much I enjoy this show? So refreshingly different... and funny)

Marc doesn't want to dispose of the perfume for Amanda, and gives her back the diary pages because he doesn't want to destroy them- he also tells her Claire is Innocent and the reason Amanda makes Marc do all the dirty work is because she can't admit to herself that her mother was the one who did wrong. She slaps Marc, but then they hug it out.

Claire is testifying and it's not going well, and Betty gets a text from Amanda to meet her in the hallway- she gives Betty the diary pages and the poisoned perfume- and Betty rushes in and gives the evidence to the Judge- and then the Jury finds Claire not guilty by reason of temporary insanity. She's a free woman!

Back at the office, there is a celebratory party, and Daniel hugs Betty... side bar- I love Claire Meade's outfit... Betty apologizes to Gio, for the window and the note and they hug it out too... and then Betty goes to hug Claire, and we see Gio watching Betty with adoring eyes.

Christina, Wilhemina and Marc are at the doctor's office getting Christina pregnant and Betty opens the door- Christina invited her to help her through the procedure- and the next nine months...