Watching Ugly Betty

The premiere of ‘Ugly Betty’ was well worth the long, dry summer of reruns. We now have answers to cliffhangers. Who did Betty choose? What happened to Daniel? How will Wilhemina change Mode now that she is editor? All this and more were revealed in the one hour premiere.

Betty makes her choice. She chooses option C and that is a cross-country journey of self-discovery. She turns down Henry and tells Gio that she will send the wrong signals by going with him to Rome. Betty travels the east side of the United States for a month on a venture to discover herself. She returns to Mode to discover that Daniel is no longer in charge and Wilhemina is the editor. Daniel’s office has been turned into a nursery and all the staff wear black. It’s definitely a different vibe. Amanda and Marc are both thrilled to see colorful Betty back at Mode if only for a brief time. Betty learns of Daniel’s new assignment and leaves to join him at Player Magazine.

Player magazine is definitely more Daniel’s speed. Betty is surprised to see just how lax Player is and how employees treat others. She is boo’d when introduced to the team while the hot receptionist is greeted with whistles. This is definitely not Mode but the new Betty decides that she can make this work.

On Betty’s journey, she started an idea journal of things she wants to write about. One of her ideas inspired by a group of women bikers who were survivors of various diseases is actually used in Player magazine. Well, sort of. The women bikers part is, so Betty is put in charge of the shoot that gives her more responsibility - one of her goals for the new her. The shoot becomes a disaster when Daniel’s son sprays one of the models with silly string when then leaves. Betty takes her place and of course, crashes the bike into a vat of what looks to be Jell-O.

Betty also decides that she needs an apartment in the city and is sad when the one she is looking at is leased right before her eyes. She takes one sight unseen from the Realtor who tells her she has another one just like the she is showing today but only upstairs with a sexy view. Of course the apartment is a total wreck and the sexy view is of the nudist middle-aged neighbors. Betty uses her whole savings to get into the apartment and tried to fix the mess on her own but with no luck.

Meanwhile, Ignacio gets a job at a fast food restaurant where Kimmie(Lindsey Lohan) is his immediate supervisor. Once she makes the connection that Ignacio is Betty’s father, she begins to make his work life harder by making him clean toilets and cutting back his hours at work. Betty and her sister Hilda confront the manager when Betty sees who it is, it begins to make sense. Words are tossed back and forth until an all-out food fight erupts that is broken up by security. Betty later apologizes to Kimmie - who then admits how jealous she is of Betty and her accomplishments. Betty gives Kimmie some advice about not quitting on what you really want and the two part ways on amicable terms.

At Mode, Wilhemina is furious when her promotion budget is scaled back for her first issue of Mode as editor. Wilhemina wants the billboard in Times Square that currently belongs to another Meade publication, Hot Flash that is a pet project of Alexa’s mom, Claire. Wilhemina calls in a favor to Kelly Ripa to get her and Alexa on as guests to talk about the changes at Mode. But Wilhemina has really schemed for the subject to be Hot Flash. Regis and Kelly make the magazine sound like a bad idea and who really wants to read such details. Alexa then cuts back on Hot Flash telling her mom that it might just be an insert to one of the other magazines. Claire warns Alexa about how manipulative Wilhemina can be and will toss her to the side when she no longer needs her.

Hilda continues to see Dan, the married gym teacher. Ignacio, Justin, and Hilda pitch in to help fix up Betty’s place. Daniel and his son grow closer after his son pushes Daniel’s buttons. Betty moves into her new apartment and knocks on her neighbor’s door due to loud music coming from the apartment. It turns out he’s a musician practicing for a gig. He gives her a necklace that she apparently dropped during the move. It’s obvious Betty may have to rethink her priorities since she had decided no romantic relationships for a while.

A busy hour of television that’s for sure.