"Ugly Betty" (3.07) recaplet: Crush'd

This episode of Ugly Betty is one of the best of the season, combining a surprise proposal, a mancrush, a mess of betrayals, a dirty fantasy and the roommate from hell.

See it all after the break!

We begin with Betty leaving for work at 6 a.m., specifically so she can "accidentally" run into her dreamboat neighbor, Jesse, who calls her "Betty Rocker" and has the cutest John Boy Walton mole on his face.

Even though she manages to invite him over to watch TV, she may regret heading off to work so early, as she enters the deserted office at Mode to find Amanda wandering the halls ... naked (this is just between you and me, but I've that heard that Brian has been to known to do the same thing at the AfterElton office, while wearing a gas mask and pasties).

Seems Amanda forgot to pay her rent a "few times", and was evicted. She's been living at Mode for a while, and bribing the security guard by playing a little peek-a-boo with the cameras. Betty tells her she should try staying with one of her friends instead. Betty is a smart girl, but sometimes she can say the most inexplicable things.

Hilda and Justin help her prepare for her big night of ... watching TV, and Justin manages to be both endearing and insulting by telling her "it's not that I don't love what you're wearing right now, it's very ... 'you', but maybe for tonight we can go a little ... simpler."

She ushers them out, and is doing some last minute primping in the mirror when the doorbell rings. She enthusiastically opens the door to discover Amanda standing there with her mangy mutt Halston (who bears a striking resemblance to Paris Hilton).

The building management at Mode kicked her out and she needs a place to stay. Betty asks why she didn't go to Marc's apartment, and Amanda says "well, I don't want to jeopardize that friendship," and besides, Cliff has practically moved in there. Amanda admits that she doesn't really have any other friends, and she knew Betty wouldn't turn her away because "you're Betty, and you're a nice person."

Unfortunately, this means Betty has to break the news to Jesse that they can't "watch TV", which is actually fine with him, since he's in a bad mood over his band losing a gig. Betty looks into his eyes, and says dreamily "Oh Jesse, I'll always cut fresh flowers for you and Jesse, I'll always make the wine cold for you". Okay, she doesn't really say that, but my undying love to whoever gets that reference.

Amanda proves to be just as annoying a roommate as you'd imagine, forcing Betty to tickle her back while she sleeps and dressing like Sex Trade Strawberry Shortcake:

The next day Christina tells her she needs to take the next step with her crush, and Amanda overhears and wants to know who it is. Betty doesn't tell her (which she'll regret later) but does take her advice about inviting him to the Mode party.

When she tries to invite Jesse to be her guest, she says exactly the wrong thing, and he misunderstands (um ... did they just come home from the Regal Beagle?). He thinks she's inviting his band, Dark Sexual Journey, to perform, and she doesn't have the heart to tell him otherwise. Jesse is ecstatic, and tells her that he was in a foul mood, but she managed to cheer him up, and he calls her a "snow day", which is about as perfect a compliment as someone can get.

She asks Daniel if Jesse's band can play at the party, but he breaks the news that they got Mariah Carey ... so they've already booked a dark sexual journey.

Once again, Amanda saves the day by suggesting that Jesse play the after party, which they'll hold on the roof of Betty's building (and that way Amanda can charge an entrance fee and get her credit cards paid). And on a side note, in scenes that are both rude and hilarious, Amanda shows up wearing various articles of Betty's clothing, like leggings and blouses ... as dresses.

Meanwhile, Marc and Cliff finally have some airtime together. Cliff shows up at Mode to surprise his boyfriend (who calls him "Big Tiny", which Cliff hates but I think is adorable) and to Marc's shock blurts out "move in with me!" Marc is stunned, and fumbles his way out of the room, promising that "they'll talk later."

Amanda comforts Marc while he has a mini-meltdown about what to do. Sometimes he thinks "I love this guy," and other times he thinks "what am I doing with him?" Amanda completely understands — after all, she now knows what it's like to live with a "fatty".

Cliff confronts Marc about not calling him for three days, and Marc gets all Diane Keaton and can't put a sentence together without getting flummoxed. Cliff sees the writing on the wall, and tells Marc to just forget he mentioned moving in.

Daniel and Wilhelmina are also crushing in the episode ... on the same guy! Daniel hired new company finance officer Connor to help out the magazine, but also to get back at Willi for all the underhanded stunts she's pulled. He pretended to loathe the guy, while secretly being in cahoots with him the whole time.

He and Connor went to college together, and Daniel always admired the man for his popularity and his attractiveness and how he could always get any girl he wanted because he was so good looking, and had strong, muscular arms ... well, Daniel doesn't go that far with it, but it's close.

When Willi finds out she was played, she's livid and orders Marc to scrape up dirt about Connor. She meets with him that night to lay down the law, but is distracted by his ability to accupressure her headache away, and by his ... strong, muscular arms. The next morning, Marc calls her on her crush, but she insists it was just a momentary lapse of judgment.

As the roof after party gets underway, Willi shows up (looking like her breasts have been inflated by all the colors of the wind) and is appalled to find out that ... this ... is ... Betty's ... roof. Daniel is driving in with Claire and they're both wondering why Connor wasn't at the party. (And Claire delivers my favorite line of the night: "If I should have to sit there and listen to Scarlett Johanssen babble about climate change, he should too.")

They watch the limo TV and learn that Connor secretly went behind Daniels's back and sold off some of Meade's other magazines. Daniel is convinced that Connor double-crossed him and is now working with Willi, and rushes to the after party to confront him.

Connor is there, and Willi and Daniel take turns berating him. Finally having had enough, he calls them both children and tells him that if he's going to stay with the company, he is not going to take sides and he's going to do what's best for Mode.

Marc is still pining for Cliff but really doesn't want to ruin what they have now by moving in together. He takes his mind off things by letting himself be cruised by a muscular guy from Betty's building, and eventually goes back to his apartment.

As he's leaving the guy's place the guilt on his face is apparent, and when he runs into Cliff on the stairwell, he suddenly blurts out "marry me!" Cliff is shocked but happy, but Marc has a definite deer-in-the-headlights look.

Jesse is scared to perform for everybody, but after a pep talk from Betty he's ready (and calls her "beautiful"). At the party, he dedicates a song to her called "Snowy Day", and later on she realizes she's finally ready to tell him how she feels. She runs to his apartment, but when she hears noises coming from her own place she opens the door to reveal him and Amanda kissing passionately.

She runs away, but not before telling Amanda that's she's selfish and insensitive and that she wants her gone by the morning. Daniel finds her outside, and they have a very touching scene where Betty says, "I should have known when he said I was 'beautiful' he meant on the inside." When Daniel tells her she is beautiful, she says "I'm fine with who I am, but I'm not beautiful."

Back in the apartment Amanda tearfully apologizes (in her own way) and says she had no idea that Jesse was the one she was crushing on. Betty forgives her and Amanda caps things off by saying "you're lucky, when someone falls in love with you, it's real. I've never had that. I never know if I'm loved for who I am, or because I'm so pretty." This elicits a hint of a smile from Betty (because an appalling statement like that must be sincere) and the episode ends with Betty on the roof, with Willi inviting her to share a beer.

Oh, I loved this episode. This is the Betty I've been waiting for all season. I'm not sure what to make of the whole Marc/Cliff story, though. Did Marc propose out of guilt, or because he finally sees Cliff as a way out of his shallow life, or because he thinks it will keep him from cruising guys? It'll be interesting to see where they go from here with it.

What do you think about the episode, and the Marff story in particular (OMG, tell me I didn't just combine their names ... someone stop me, please!)?