Last night’s Ugly Betty, “A Thousand Words by Friday,” was the saddest episode yet. And I don’t mean because anything particularly sad happened. I’m singing the Betty blues because it’s looking to be the last new episode we’re going to get in a long while.

It’s particularly painful because the show’s been on a real creative high lately. This week was filled with reminders of everything that makes this such a wonderful, totally unique series, and why our TV options will feel so paltry now that it’s gone:

1) It’s still the gayest show in town. At the start of the episode, a beautiful stranger played by Gabrielle Union approaches Daniel in a bar. She asks him to dance, claiming she’s trying to make her thug of a boyfriend jealous, and then wonders why Daniel’s not at all worried about getting pummeled.

Daniel: Your boyfriend’s making out with another dude.

And just like that, the camera cuts to two tattooed bikers going at it, hot and heavy, a gay kiss in the first minutes of a “family hour” primetime show. It was a funny surprise, but also a reminder of how Betty routinely manages to feature gay and gay-friendly characters within its world.

A similar moment came when Alexis casually referenced her transgender support group to Daniel. We’ve moved past the family conflicts that Alexis’ surgery had initially ignited; it’s simply a part of who she is now, not the central drama in her life. (At the same time, mention of a support group, the first we’ve heard of it, emphasized that even for someone as seemingly self-possessed as Alexis, it’s not always a walk on the catwalk.)

But what makes this not just a show with gay characters but a gay old time is the exhilarating way every detail – the set decoration, camerawork, costumes, music, campy dialogue – brings out a gay sensibility in the show’s look and feel unlike anything else on TV right now. It’s like watching an early Almodóvar movie unfold on your TV screen week after week.

2) Vanessa Williams, Vanessa Williams, Vanessa Williams! The brilliant America Ferrara has deservedly garnered the bulk of the acting nominations and awards. But there’s no doubt that on a show filled with exceptional acting, Williams has done wonders with what could have been a one-note villainess.

Last night, for example, found her caring for Cristina – surrogate for Wili’s “hostile womb” – and so overcome with gratitude she almost hugged her. Williams' face expertly reflected Wili’s varied, conflicting emotions – affection, appreciation, surprise, disgust – all in that single moment.

Bringing Cristina to Wili’s home is a masterstroke of plotting, and now we’ll have to wait to see what comes of it. I’ve always enjoyed Ashley Jensen as an actress, but her character has had sadly little to do. She’s had her funniest moments when unwittingly ensnared in Wili and Marc’s machinations, and this plot development promises many more of those to come.

I’m also intrigued by the introduction of Gabrielle Union as Wili’s scheming sister. I’m wondering how far Renee will go to hurt her sister (I’m guessing pretty far), and what the big secret is that Wili alluded to in the episode’s final cliffhanger moment. Exploring the complex sisterly dynamic between them should provide Williams with even more compelling material in future episodes.

3) For the Love of Benry. There’s been two big story arcs for Betty this season – her developing career, and her developing relationship with Henry. Those two themes coalesced last night when her first big writing assignment – an article with the author of Tap That!: How to Score with Hot Bitches – led to a head-to-head battle between Henry and Gio to see who could better carry out the book’s hot dog techniques.

The bar scenes of the two of them using insults to pick up women were hilarious (I kept wondering how differently those lines would play at a gay bar; Gio’s line about one prospect’s “big feet” would surely be taken as a compliment). For the first time this season, I actually liked Gio. I liked him because it finally became clear that he’s not being foisted on the audience as the new, more preferable love interest for Betty, but a minor complication in the one she’s already got.

When Henry acknowledged that, despite his trust in Betty, he can’t help but feel jealous, it was an expression of honest, human emotion common in many relationships. But unlike on Friends and Ross and Rachel’s interminable “we were on a break,” it’s not one that necessarily has to doom a relationship either. Instead, it leads Betty to reaffirm her love for Henry.

What’s kept the Betty-Henry "Benry" relationship so compelling all season is that it feels like we’re still in the process of watching them fall in love. And we still have the minor issue of Henry’s promised return to Tucson left unresolved.

3) Hilda and Justin. The aftermath of Santos’ death in the first episodes provided both with meaty dramatic material that unfortunately hasn’t been equaled this season. But even with minimal screentime, their gestures, expressions, and zippy line readings never fail to bring laugh-out loud moments to every episode.

Justin had two such reactions this week: his horrified expression at Betty’s princessy hair, and his excitement at the prospect of reading Tap That! – a book he assumed to be about tap dancing.

But the line that had me falling off the couch was when Daniel showed up at the house and couldn’t help but stare at a mud-masked Hilda at the door.

Hilda: What? You think gorgeous just happens?

It’s funny reading it in print. But it’s fall-down-laughing, freaking hilarious when you see how Ana Ortiz delivers it.

My secret confession to you: she’s actually my favorite character on the show.

4) Marc and Amanda. Ever since Marc comforted Amanda last season after her faux-mo boyfriend was so cruel to her, their relationship with each other has been one of the key ways in which they’ve been fleshed out as characters. That continued this season, with Amanda’s search for her biological father, and Marc’s sympathetic assistance and support of her.

It’s also led to consistently snappy banter as they carry out their wacky schemes. Case in point, Marc’s reassurance this week that Amanda shouldn’t be nervous about singing in public:

Marc: You have nothing to be nervous about. Except for your voice, you’re a great singer.

Amanda’s debut was the end result of Marc’s plan for her to reach out to Gene Simmons, who she’d finally identified as her father, by communicating with him “in his own language.” Leading Amanda to logically wonder, “Hebrew?”

Marc’s idea, that Amanda simply write a song about Simmons, record it, make a video, and post it on YouTube until he sees it, led to his playing Svengali-like manager to her burgeoning singing career (René Angélil to her Celine? Meshulam Riklis to her Pia Zadora?). Her painful first effort at writing a song led a choked-up Marc to respond, “I can only hope that one day I’ll have an illegitimate daughter who will sing me a song that’s that beautiful.”

And Amanda’s eventual on-stage performance, following on her Milkshake dance at Wili’s wedding, was a comic triumph for Becki Newton, making it clear at least one Betty player is ready for that much-promised musical episode.

5) Marc and Cliff. For me, the unparalleled highlight of this season was the addition of Cliff as Marc’s new boyfriend. I like the actor playing him (David Blue), I like the character, and I love his scenes with Marc.

I’m really going to miss seeing those two together. But at least I’m already somewhat accustomed to that feeling, given Cliff was absent from so many episodes, this one included.

Having worked out some of their initial problems (mostly Marc being such a shallow jerk), I want more opportunity to see them enjoying each other’s company. Like Betty and Henry at the end of this episode, they also deserve their time in the spotlight and centerstage duet.

Goodbye, for now, Ugly Betty. Out of all the show’s going dark, I think know I’ll miss you most of all.