After months of waffling, ABC has finally given the word: Ugly Betty will not be back for a fifth season. The writers still have eight episodes in which to bring Betty’s story to a (hopefully) satisfying conclusion. While I’m glad the one-time hit series is winding down, I’m anxious for them to end well and not leave us disappointed with the fates of our favorite characters. Here’s what I hope they do.
1) Give Amanda a new job. Betty and Marc have both become editors. This progression was inevitable; they can’t be assistants forever. But poor Amanda is still a receptionist. Don’t get me wrong — I love Amanda as the receptionist, but we’ve seen her grow over the course of the series. We’ve seen her teach Matt about fashion, and we know she’s the daughter of the legendary Fey Sommers. Most importantly, we know that Amanda aspires to be more than a receptionist. By the series finale, I hope she will be on her way to better things.
2) Give Hilda a break. Betty’s big sister is not my favorite character, but come on — she got fired and had to start a business because she couldn’t find a job; her fiance was murdered; her son was bullied and publicly humiliated in school; and now she has a miscarriage. At least Hilda’s salon seems to be doing well. As the series closes, I’d like to see her find happiness with Bobby. He’s exactly right for her: sweet, caring, responsible, and still ghetto enough to keep her interested.
3) Keep Wilhelmina and Marc together, scheming happily ever after. Wili admitted to Daniel in “Blackout” that Marc is the most important man in her life. And how true! I don’t want their plotting and scheming to ever end; Mode just wouldn’t be the same. I don’t want to see them go all soft and nice at the end. With the finale, I want to be assured that this fantastic duo will continue to drive the Meades (and everyone else at Mode) crazy.
4) Make Daniel fall in love with Betty. I know. Many fans hate the idea of messing with Daniel and Betty’s friendship. Many others will be furious if the two do not end up together. I have doubts about whether the writers can pull this off after building such a strong brother-sister type of bond between the two, but there have been moments that make me think it could work. One scene in particular made me a believer: In “Back in Her Place,” when Wilhelmina ordered Betty to walk a mile in a pair of painful platform shoes, Betty ended up bumping into Daniel outside; she took his arm and leaned on him as they walked down the street. For some reason, that moment was my epiphany. Betty and Daniel felt so easy and natural together, and I suddenly could see them as a couple. Here’s the scene, if you want to check it out:
All other reasons aside, I have one main reason for wanting Daniel to fall in love with Betty. For me, the show has always been about the concept of beauty, and the overarching story is not about Betty becoming beautiful but about the shallow people around her realizing that she is already beautiful. Initially, they (the fashion world and Daniel) see her as unattractive. By the end of the series, there ought to be a transformation. Daniel once epitomized the shallowness, so by the finale, he should represent the transformation. It’s not enough for him to just be her friend. The whole point is that his concept of beauty should have evolved to the point where he is able to see Betty as attractive, not because she has changed but because he has changed.
So those are my thoughts about how Ugly Betty should end. Just my opinion, of course. What about you? What do you want to see in the final eight episodes? Leave a comment and share your thoughts!
Clacked by Ruby T.
on Jan 28, 2010 @ 09:00 EST5EDT
5. Justin comes out to his family. It’s unacceptable if this doesn’t happen. His last words on the subject was that he was not gay, but that was just denial. He’s old enough now to know, and to be honest with his family about it, especially since they wouldn’t really have much of a problem with it. It would be cruel for the producers to leave him in the closet, or pretend that he wasn’t gay all along.
By saying that “Justin should come out”, you are imposing a streotype. Just because Justin acts all girly doesn’t mean he is a gay. You said it right, he knows well enough cuz he old enough. So he knows sexual orientation. Stop supporting stereotypes. Besides, the way Matt shrugged his shoulder in that episode, it just proved that Justin was sure of what he was saying. The show broke stereotypes.
Actually the producers and writers have already said that Justin is indeed gay, if I remember correctly and that his statement earlier this year in regards to that, wasn’t an actual rejection, but rather the normal struggles that gay people go through, trying to find their identity and trusting themselves enough to let everyone else know that they are okay with who they are. So I agree that Justin should ‘come out’ as you say!
But honestly the Daniel/Betty remarks in this article COMPLETELY symbolize my feelings toward the pair. And if they give Betty a full-blown makeover I would go CRAZY! I mean the show is about understanding that beauty is more than skin deep and for her to have to get made over completely would be insane! If Daniel were to fall for Betty it would be the greatest asset of all (like the article says) because he was the shallowest of them all at the beginning (aside from Amanda, but I don’t think Amanda/Betty would work out) and to show that HE of all people finally understood that beauty is more than just that would be the perfect ending!
I haven’t ever really watched the show, but I think Justin is one of the best characters on the show and the only bad part of the show going off the air now and not in a season 7 is we won’t get to see him date guys and piss everyone off. :)
LOL – Justin isn’t one of my favorite characters. But that’s why I need you all to contribute to the discussion! :-) Any thoughts on Claire Meade or Ignacio or some of the other characters I didn’t mention? I was also thinking about Owen and whether I want him to come back or not … couldn’t decide.
I’m so disappointed with ABC. They screwed the show up at the end of season 1 when they fired Marco Pennette. It was his sensibilities that gave the show everything that made it what it was that first year. It was never the same after that although this season seemed to be going in the right direction, but then they screwed it all up again by moving it to Friday and then Wednesday an hour later than it should be on. I do hope the writers can wrap things up neatly for Betty and that they do allow Justin to come out. After Wili, Mark and Amanda, he’s one of the best characters on the show (it would have been nice if he had stayed on as Mark’s protegé at Mode). I’m sure my other favorite ABC show – Better Off Ted – hasn’t long to live either. All I’ll be left with on ABC next season is Desperate Housewives, The Middle and Modern Family.
It should end with her losing the braces and getting contacts and looking like America Ferrara, who is hardly ugly.
Although Ugly Betty it’s loosely based on the super hit Colombian telenovela Betty la Fea, I doubt after 4 seasons and 8 episodes left that they put Daniel and Betty together. Actually, when the series came out and press was having discussion with the producers, they said that they didn’t put Betty and Daniel together as a couple, based on polls and focus point made beforehand. Even if they’ll do, would be completely out of the this storyline completely carried by the hairs.
I hope the writers make Justin came out of the closet. After all, there’s no straight boy even raised by women be soooo effeminate, please! let’s be real here!
I love Amada’s dumb humor! I think they should make her Stylist either in Mode or in another magazine because, after all, she have great sense of fashion. Which her character bears high similarity with Betty la Fea’s Patricia.
Wilhelmina had sort of loss her edge, while I understand the writers making her more human, more real they have soften her and so her motivations. I really wonder how they’re going to finish her because she can’t be punish as a villain yet she may still have a lesson to learn.
I hope Marc gets a boyfriend, which it’s the opposite of what he want. Maybe a glimpse into a future where’s fat yet happy.
For Betty, I hope she get a brand-new boyfriend, her first love that type of storyline where old boyfriends are being recycled it’s been way to used and predictable. Should be a new man that make her take more changes and decisions, yes, she should loose all that crap and become beautiful at the end not for others but for her.
[That last post didn’t work right – wish there were a Preview button!]
“I hope Marc gets a boyfriend, which it’s the opposite of what he want. Maybe a glimpse into a future where’s fat yet happy.”
Let him be reunited with Cliff!!!!!! I loved that, and the break-up was SO not credible, even for Marc.
well Daniel did fell in love with Betty for who she is and the man followed her to london to start a new life with her in it. He has truly transformed.