"Ugly Betty" (3.10) recaplet: Bad Amanda

This week's Ugly Betty is the ultimate episode for all you Amanda-philes, as she tries to teach Betty the ins and outs of surviving a night in New York City ... Amanda-style!

Join us after the break for all the details!

Before we begin this week's recap, I think another director tribute is in order. The last time we looked behind the scenes, we discovered the prime slab of 80's beefcake John Terlesky. This week's show was directed by another blast from the past: John Putch.

John is the son of Jean Stapleton, who created one of the most beloved characters in TV history, All In the Family's "dingbat" Edith Bunker. He starred in the classic early 80's TV drug-scare film Angel Dusted (which also starred Helen Hunt, but was not the early 80's TV drug-scare film in which she jumped through a plate glass window).

But he's best known (at least to me) as the innocent, naive, perhaps mildly retarded wannabe boyfriend of Valerie Bertinelli on One Day At A Time. He's gone on to a successful career as a director, but to me he'll always be "Bob Morton":

We open on Betty and Hilda unwrapping some of the "unique" items that Hilda will be selling in her boutique/hair salon. She can't believe she got such a deal on all these products made by Prada ... oh wait, it's actually "Plada". But that's okay, they'll go great with the new "Sorny" sound system she had installed and the hair products from "Vidal Basoon".

Betty is having financial problems thanks to roommate Amanda, who refuses to pay for anything, including rent. As if that weren't bad enough, Betty's food (that she actually put her name on) keeps coming up missing, which Amanda blames on the man living in the walls named Bad Ronald.

Okay, first John Putch, now Bad Ronald. What is this, I Love the 70's? For you whippersnappers, Bad Ronald is one of the most infamous TV movies of all time, which starred Scott Jacoby as a nerdy kid who accidentally kills a neighbor girl. His mother decides to hide him from the police ... by walling him up in a secret room in their house. Unfortunately, the mother is hospitalized and dies, and the house is sold to another family ... with Ronald still living behind the wall.

Anyway, Hilda suggests that Betty just tell Amanda "where's my rent, bitch?" (did I mention I love Hilda?) but Betty decides to take a gentler approach. When that doesn't work, she goes to Daniel, who informs her that she can make some extra dough by writing for ModeNY.com. They're accepting article pitches, and encourages her to give it a try (he also tells her that she'll be paid "the standard freelance fee", which means she can expect to be living the "Plada" life from now on ... trust me).

At the pitch meeting, her idea of "how to have fun in NYC for zero dollars" doesn't go over too well when she starts talking about museums and feeding squirrels. Amanda chimes in with her own ways, like crashing premieres and running up $10,000 bar tabs without paying, and Betty is stunned when Daniel orders the two of them to team up to write the article.

Betty reluctantly agrees, with the provision that they don't do anything illegal, and they can only do things that normal Mode readers would be able to do.

They start off on "Betty and Amanda's Big Adventure" by collecting a ton of free perfume and makeup samples, then get free clothes by playing "buy, wear, return" (which Betty points out is illegal and immoral ... and tricky to pull off. I tried doing it when I needed a suit for a date with the gardener, but the bastards wouldn't take it back just because of a few grass stains on the back .. and the knees).

They head off to a gallery opening (Amanda has found out that the galleries with the ugliest art always have the best food), and run into a couple of hot Italian guys who invite them to dinner. Betty is appalled (she doesn't want to go anywhere with total strangers), but Amanda convinces her to throw caution (and her sense) to the wind and take a chance. After all ... what could go wrong?

Unfortunately, their expensive dinner is ruined when the two guys excuse themselves to make some "business calls" ... and never come back. Amanda and Betty are stuck with the bill, which they can't possibly pay, but Betty talks her way out of it by convincing the restaurant manager that Mode wants to do a feature on the place in the next issue. The manager buys it (after some tense close-ups) and decides to comp their meal.

Their giddiness with getting away with it is short-lived when Amanda realizes that the guys stole her purse ... and the rent along with it (she was going to do Betty a favor by taking the rent to the creepy landlord, and forgot she still had it).

Betty is livid, and blasts her for being irresponsible and never taking anything seriously, and leaves her near tears.

When talking with her father, however, Betty is surprised when he tells her not to be too hard on Amanda. Yes, Betty is responsible and serious, but there's also something she might be able to learn from her roommate.

Betty turns in the article, which Daniel loves, and he tells her that he wants to make the adventures of Amanda & Betty a regular feature online. Best of all, he'll give her an advance on the next article ... that just might be enough to pay her rent. Awww.

She tries to find Amanda to tell her the good news, and runs into her as she's about to leave work early. Amanda tries to hide it, but Betty sees that she's wearing a uniform ... a fast food uniform. Amanda has taken a second job to help pay her half of the rent. She apologizes for what happened, and Betty is touched by her sincerity. She thanks Amanda for the "fun' time they had, and tells her that Daniel wants them to team up again ... oh, and that the rent is covered.

Later that night, Amanda comes home from a night of "clown hell" to discover that Betty has made dinner for her, and presents her with a gift: a brand new "Plada" purse.

Meanwhile, things are getting even more complicated with the Wilhelmina-Connor-Daniel-Molly story.

Molly is visiting Daniel to scrounge up money from all the "rich jerks" that her fiance Connor works with, and immediately thought of him. She's holding a charity auction to raise funds for the public school she works at, and since Connor will be busy working that night, invites Daniel to go in his place.

This doesn't get past the eagle eye of Claire (the always underused Judith Light) who gets him to admit that he might be carrying a small torch for her, and tries to slap some sense into him (literally). When she tells him that Molly will be looking stunning, and the booze will be flowing, and reminds him that he has a weakness for having sex in public places, he responds with my favorite line of the night: "It was only once, and it wasn't a public place, mom ... until they moved the truck".

Daniel realizes that his mother is right, and cancels his "date". Later Molly shows up to pick up the check he's donating, and when she spills some General Tso on her outfit, Daniel takes her to to the Mode closet to find something else to wear. Unfortunately ... the walls have eyes (and we ain't talking about Bad Ronald.)

Willi is still flustered around Connor, and when she isn't trying to avoid him, ends up babbling words like "mate" and "top of the morning" when he comes within range.

She and Christina (who looks like a blowsy knocked up Princess Leia) get to bond in this episode (and I had almost forgotten that Christina was carrying a baby for Willi). She spills the beans to Willi that she's having a boy, and there's a hilarious scene where she points out how un-childproof Willi's apartment is (she yells out "dead baby" while pointing to various dangerous objects, like sharp knives and ... pointy elephant tusks).

As they try to come up with baby names (Abilar? Hamish?), Christina gets a call from Daniel. He's going into the Mode closet to find an outfit for Molly, a fact that piques Willi's interest.

Back at Mode, she and Marc are watching the security tape from the "closet", and see that Daniel and Molly are growing close ... very close, from the near kiss they almost share (before Molly pulls away and rushes out of there). Willi is ecstatic. She tells Marc "watch the way he looks at her ... like Betty looks at a cheeseburger." She realizes that Daniel is falling in love with her, and that's just the opening she needs to drive a wedge between him and Connor. She licks her lips and coos, "I'm back in the game."

End of episode

Well, I loved that they're bringing new dimensions out of Amanda (in much the same way they're doing with Marc). When this show started, they were simply cartoonish villains used to thwart Betty, but they've grown as characters.

I also like that they're humanizing Willi just a little (and I can't wait to see what they do with her and the baby).

What did you think of this week's episode?