IMHO "Ugly Betty" (1.21): The Born Identity

As you can tell by the title, this week's episode of Ugly Betty centers on Baby William and involves a kidnapping and deception ... and by the time it's over three cast members will be gone!

But there's also room for the single greatest hideous outfit the show has ever given us!

Wilhelmina's baby has been kidnapped! Which we all sort-of knew was going to happen. Christina is the kidnapper! Which we all sort-of knew was going to happen. Wilhelmina faked the DNA test, and Christina is really the mother of baby William! Which we .... to happen.

So there were no real surprises in this episode. Christina kidnapped the baby and went on the lam with reluctant help from Betty (and they run afoul of a lesbian cop, played by Avenue Q's Carla Renata). There's also a Three's Company-esque scene at the Suarez house when Hilda tries to hide them from the news crew that's filming boyfriend Archie.

When Willi finds out that a dingo dingbat snatched the baby she nervously confesses to Marc that she faked the test, and after Willi has Christina arrested, Marc does that special Marc thing he does where he's able to bring out Willi's human side without her admitting that she ... has a human side. It's a high art, and Marc is a master at it.

So Willi eventually relents and drop the charges against Christina. She also "discovers" that the test results were wrong, and publicly announces that she's doing the right thing and handing over custody of baby William to Christina.

After getting custody Christina decides to "move back to Scotland" (aka "Ashley Jensen wanted off the show"), and she, her husband, and baby William leave.

But where does this leave Willi? Without the baby, she has no leverage in the company, and both Daniel and Claire are itching to fire her. Obviously, this can't happen, so the writers stretch credibility just a tad and have new investor Cal Hartley insist that she stay on ... because she's a back-stabbing shark, and every company needs a back-stabbing shark ... or something.

So it looks like we have the old Willi back, which could be a cause for celebration. Think about it, she's back in control and there's no baby to distract her. Suddenly I'm very ... afraid.

All of this is entertaining, and wraps up the baby (and Christina) storylines nicely, and sets up for an interesting last couple of weeks this season. But the real reason why this episode earns the up arrow is because I was in awe of Amanda's latest workplace attire. I don't know why, but I was mesmerized by this outfit, which I can only describe as a Deranged Music-Box Ballerina look. Behold!

However, there was one huge clunker in this episode, and unfortunately it involved the increasingly one-dimensional Justin. When Hilda presents the family with t-shirts for Archie's upcoming political campaign, the slogan reads "vote for Archie Rodriguez - an A-Rod we can believe in," to which Justin responds, "I don't get it".

Sorry, but I find it a little hard to believe that a kid in Queens (even a kid with no interest in sports) would have no idea who A-Rod is. And I find it impossible to believe that Justin wouldn't know, since the name that is usually linked with A-Rod is ... Madonna.

What did you think of this week's episode? Glad the baby is gone? Hoping that Willi is back to normal? Or do you think the softer Willi was better?