Ugly Betty - Hello Goodbye - Finale Recap
Fresh from last week's shocking cliff hanger resulting in Wilhelmina getting shot, this episode opens with a funeral. Fake out! (I did panic for a second) It's Amanda's dog that she inherited from her mother. Her newly discovered father is there with her consoling her. Amanda, never one to not think things through, stores her dead dog in Betty's fridge. Then she has him cremated and spread around her mode reception area. Erm. Disturbing. But that's Amanda. I'm going to miss her :(. She and her father have a sit down and they both confess that they know everything. Her dad confesses he was so out of it that night that he thought he was doing Andy Warhol. Hahah. But it's all good because he got Amanda.
An unconscious Wilhelmina is revealed to be in a coma in the hospital. I liked this scene because it had a sense of the original over dramatic story lines from season one. It's a cute memory. Marc shows up to get in some good conversation time with Willie and to make sure her nails are still looking fab. Her next visitor is a bigger surprise. She opens her eyes to see a scruffy Connor standing over her. Ahhhh! Pleaseee don't let this be a dream sequence. It's not! Wooohoo! Mr. Gorgeous returns to make Wilhelmina's beautiful eyes shine. Willie is a changed woman after what happened to her. No more scheming and evil plots from her. :) ..
Well that lasted for about two minutes. Claire just had to come visit her and try and blackmail Wilhelmina into telling a lie about who really shot her. Marc gets frustrated listening to Wilhelmina getting angry over Claire and walks out on her. It's apparently the wake up call she needed. She holds a press conference and tells the fashion world she accidentally shot herself and it was nothing more than a foolish accident. Aww. Willie has a heart of gold. :) After years of battling it out, Claire and Wilhelmina finally put their differences aside. No more rivalry. I'm really glad that happened. It was a nice little happy ending for them. They weren't exactly hugging but Claire was able to unclench so it was obviously a good thing.
Betty has told her family about taking the job in London and most of them are thrilled for her. Papi is predictably said and resorts to pollution and some steamed Haggis to change her mind. :( Betty hasn't told Daniel and panics when Marc sends out a mass email about her decision. She tries and fails to stop Daniel from reading it and he tries to act like it doesn't bother him. He agrees to sign the papers releasing her from her contract. Or so Betty thinks. She shows up to his office the next morning and he lights the papers on fire and tells Betty he needs to think about it. You know, because he's just so in love with her. Sigh. It doesn't help that Daniel has Claire telling him that he feels this way so he runs to Betty to tell her he can't live without her. I think at this point, I'd rather see Betty end up with Amanda. Don't even lie. You know there's something there. ;)
Daniel tries to bribe Betty with a huge promotion to editor. If I was Betty, i'd probably succumb to the guilt and take it. But Betty is stronger than I am and after a sweet moment on the front steps with Justin (raise your hand if you appreciated this nod to the pilot episode), she goes to tell Daniel her decision to go to London hasn't changed. Daniel tries to hide how upset he is and Betty tries not to cry. Then the sound department obviously stole some sad piano music from LOST and decided to play it during this scene because I started crying like a baby.
The happy endings start to come together with Betty's farewell party. She finally gets a proper hug in with Marc and i'm happy she gave him a good squeeze. I'm really going to miss their moments together. Marc is encouraged by Justin who's "recently hatched from the gay egg" to go ask Troy to dance and he happily agrees. It looks like Marc will finally get his much wanted relationship. Daniel is going through the editors collage and tells Wilhelmina that the next era is all her's. He quits his job at Mode and gives Wilhelmina what she's always wanted. If taking the blame for the shooting is not good karma for Wilhelmina then I don't know what is. Wilhelmina calls Marc into her office and gives him the creative promotion he's always wanted. Yay Marc! They indulge in one last scheme to get Connor out of jail early and Wilhelmina has hopefully found her true love. Some of my favorite quotes from the episode came from the office scenes.
Wilhelmina: You've got big balls Betty Suarez.
Willie: Marc, it's time to trim some of the fat around here.
Marc: But Betty already left.
Aww. Good times.
Bobby and Hilda announce they're buying a house in Manhattan and want Ignacio to come with them. He declines and is happy to live alone and get full access to the bathroom. And who knows? Maybe his girlfriend will keep him company. The family gets together to say a final farewell to Betty as she makes her way to London. She's adapting well and doing great. She bumps into Daniel on the streets of London. He wants to give her a proper goodbye. They share a smile as he says he'll be staying in London to get a fresh start. Betty jokingly announces she's looking for an assistant. They share a laugh as Betty walks away and the "Ugly" in the end title disappears.
I'm going to miss this show so much. It was a nice escape to just watch Ugly Betty and be able to enjoy it and simply laugh. This show has done so much for so many people and I really believe it was an important series that took risks and broke boundaries. It introduced the world to the fabulousness that is Michael Urie, reminded us of it in Vanessa Williams, and showed us just how not ugly America really is. I'm forever grateful for the smiles, the laughs, and the opportunities it gave me, and i'm happy I was able to share these fun recaps with you guys.