Family/Affair

"Family/Affair" is the second episode in season two of the American dramedy series Ugly Betty, which aired on October 4, 2007. It is the 25th episode in the series, which was written by Bill Wrubel and directed by Victor Nelli, Jr.

"Family/Affair"
Ugly Betty episode
Wilhelmina screaming on Mode's Roof after talking to Bradford.
Episode no.Season 2
Episode 2
Directed byVictor Nelli, Jr.
Written byBill Wrubel
Production code202
Original air dateOctober 4, 2007
Guest appearance(s)

Rick Fox

Plot

At a MODE staff meeting, Wilhelmina walks around reading a statement about pulling together in difficult times, like a family. And as usual, Betty reaches back for a bagel off of the food table and ends up knocking everything over. To add to Betty's embarrassment, Marc loudly whispers "Don't worry, nobody noticed" whilst holding a bagel aloft. Turns out that what Wilhelmina was reading was the letter from the editor going in the newest issue of MODE about the Meade family misfortunes, which has Betty wondering if the letter from the editor should be written by Daniel. Wilhelmina tells Betty that Daniel's been through a lot and needs a break, but as Betty protests that he's fine, Wilhelmina tells her to shut up.

At the hospital, Betty learns from Daniel that Alexis has partial retrograde amnesia, and has blanked out on the past two years - the last thing she remembers is their Mom's birthday party two years ago. Alexis doesn't remember becoming a woman, but seems to be enjoying squeezing her new breasts after she looks at them, which prompts Betty to start squeezing her own breasts as well, earning herself a questioning look from Daniel. Alexis also doesn't know that Bradford rejected her, that Bradford and Claire are divorcing, that Claire is a wanted criminal (which Alexis later sees on "Fashion TV"), or that Bradford and Wilhelmina are getting married. Betty also tells Daniel of Wilhelmina's scheme to control the magazine, and talks him into looking at the book for the newest issue, which she has yet to acquire. After Betty leaves, Alexis calls Daniel in, asking if there's something he wants to tell her. Later on, Bradford says he has no problem telling Alexis the truth about what's going on, so Daniel tells him to have a go at it. As Bradford visits Alexis, she yells at a baseball game on TV, and the two start to bond, even though Daniel doesn't buy Bradford's sympathy. Daniel later blast Bradford for not being honest with Alexis, but Bradford tells him about getting a second chance and wanting to fix the mistakes he made. Still, Daniel doesn't seem to be buying it. Back at the hospital, Daniel wants to tell Alexis the truth, until he sees how happy it makes her to think that he and Bradford are there for her. When she asks how they got into their accident, Daniel lies that a deer ran out in front of them. Bradford then comes in, but it looks like this family reunion may be an act as Bradford and Daniel look at each other.

Meanwhile, Marc has a lock of Amanda's hair in one bag, and Bradford's ear hair in another as they prepare to get the DNA test results. As Amanda stares at a photo of Fey and wishes she'd gotten to know her mother better, Marc points out that Amanda should get to know Fey's estate better, and Amanda tells him she should be learning about any potential riches if she ever inherits them. Later that day at the reception desk, Amanda gets a visit from Fey's lawyer, who tells her that the bulk of Fey's stuff was auctioned off for charity after her death...except for Fey's beloved dog, Halston. Amanda wants none of him until she learns that Halston's caregiver gets $1,000 a week. Later on, Amanda gets a visit from Nick, who hates the way Halston smells, prompting Amanda to counter that when he's eighty-four, he'll smell like Halston, too. As Amanda is bragging about her caregiving fee, Halston falls right over. Afterwards, Amanda enters and bemoans the fact that Halston is sick and she has to be a caregiver, saying that it's almost like she'd be better off getting rid of him, so Amanda and Marc then take Halston to the pound, but once they realize how gross the place is, Amanda can't bear to give the dog away. She tells Halston that he may be mangy and disgusting, but he's the only connection she has to her mother, so she decides to keep the dog.

At the Suarez home, Hilda looks at a bunch of boxes that contains Santos' stuff, which she has kept. She gives Justin a brown-bag lunch for the first day of his MODE internship, but he's too cool for peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. She tells Justin she's proud of him, and that Santos would be, too. While at MODE, Justin is bored with sharpening pencils for Betty, so he checks in with Marc, who makes him fetch a pen that he throws, and then asks if he has any interest in updating Wilhelmina's contacts. Marc then gives Justin an assignment to find rice cakes for Shakira and tells him he has twelve more hours before he has to bring them to the photo shoot. Justin is really excited that he gets to go to the shoot, but gets sad when he almost says that he can't wait to tell his dad, then pauses after mentioning it. Marc tells Justin, that it's okay to be happy, and to enjoy the fact that he did a great job today. On his way home listening to Shakira on his iPod, Justin spots the rice cakes in the same convenience store where Santos was killed. The clerk recognizes Justin, and tells him that Santos saved his life and was a hero and that he was a good man, and that Justin must be just like him, but Justin says that no, he's not, and leaves. As Justin returns home, Hilda tells Justin to pick one thing of Santos' that he loves, and settles on a basketball.

Back at MODE, Marc enters Wilhelmina's office, only to be encountered by her new bodyguard, Dwayne, there to protect Wilhelmina from Claire. Marc tests out Dwayne's protection skills by pretending that Betty is Claire, and as Betty walks in Dwayne grabs her but is told by Wilhelmina to put her down. Wilhelmina refuses to give Betty a copy of the book for Daniel, but tell Marc to confirm her lunch with Nora Ephron (a line she uses to cover her whereabouts) and give her bodyguard a set of her house keys. Marc then takes the keys off a ring in his desk drawer. Betty tries to get the book from Marc, but he tells her he couldn't give it to her if he wanted to—it's in Wilhelmina's apartment. This prompts Betty to steal a copy of Wilhelmina's key from Marc's drawer. As she turns around, she sees Henry.

Henry explains that he was planning on going back to Tucson, and is excited about becoming a father, but he couldn't find a good job in Tucson, and enjoys Meade's benefits, so he's planning on taking his old job back, if Betty has no objections. She does, but tries to cover up by saying they can just be buddies and doesn't tell him about Charlie's deception. Betty then tells Christina, who thinks that Betty should tell Henry that the baby might not be his, but she says that she has enough to deal with, given Ignacio stuck in Mexico, and that she's not going to be the person to break up Henry's family. While Christina is disappointed in this, the two are already making plans to break into Wilhelmina's apartment.

As they do, the two find the mock-up, but before they can leave, Wilhelmina has returned, prompting Betty and Christina to hide under the bed...and learn that instead of seeing Wilhelmina with Bradford, the two see Wilhelmina with Dwayne. After two hours of "Afternoon Delight" (as Christina tells Betty, who thought she meant the song, and later referenced by Dwayne after his romp with Wilhelmina), they make their escape with the book as Wil headed to the shower...only to have Wil return and find Betty's earring! Wilhelmina then makes a phone call to Marc to see what info she can find on Betty (of which Marc gets plenty from Justin!). As Betty returns to work, Marc tells her that Wilhelmina wants to see her. At the rooftop, which is full of busted up mannequins and complete with thunder provided by Marc, the two meet as Wilhelmina (who holds her earring) tells Betty that she knows about what she did and tells Betty that Dwayne is an old friend and insists that she will still marry Bradford. However, she is willing to give Betty a chance to keep quiet by helping her get Ignacio back to the United States by using her senator father's connections. All Betty has to do is say nothing to Daniel about her changes or about Dwayne. Betty says she'll think about it.

Back in Mexico, Ignacio, who has grown tired of waiting for his visa and miss holding Hilda, tells Clara and Betty (via phone) that he might cross the border illegally. Betty is upset over this and asks him to not do anything yet. She tells him she knows how to get him home, so she enters Wilhelmina's office and gives in. Later on in Daniel's office, Daniel gives his feedback on the book and is pleased, but Wilhelmina says that he's right and she made a mistake. On her way out, Wilhelmina tells Betty that she hears her father's coming back on Thursday, and that she should give him her regards. As Daniel thanked Betty, Betty starts to wonder if she did the right thing after Daniel said that he trusted her.

At the end of the day, as a confused Betty, Hilda and Justin celebrate that evening, Ignacio, who was packing for his return home, gets a surprise visit from a person...who points a gun at him.

Later that evening Wilhelmina tells Bradford that she just got off the phone with Cavalli, who's working on Bradford's wedding tuxedo and flying himself in for the fitting, but Bradford tells her with Alexis in the hospital, he wants to postpone the wedding now that he really wants to bond with his daughter. Bradford asks if Wilhelmina still loves him, she says, "Always," before giving him the cheek when he tries to kiss her. As she leaves, the fire in the fireplace surges behind her. On the rooftop, Wilhelmina takes out her aggression by beheading mannequins, this time with real thunder.

Finally, back at the Suarez home, Betty hears a pounding at the door: It's Henry, who tells Betty that Christina told her about Charlie lying about him being the baby's father. Henry, who was drinking a wine cooler, says he drank milk first to coat his stomach. Henry then tells Betty that he wants to get back with her, leaving Betty more confused and conflicted.

Production

There was a lot of reaction over the casting of Rick Fox as Dwayne, since Fox was formerly married to series regular Vanessa L. Williams, who plays Wilhelmina on the show. However both Williams and Fox remained friends after their divorce and had no problems playing opposite each other.[1]

Ratings

The episode was seen by 9.8 million viewers in the United States, even though the figure was off slightly from the previous episode.[2] 5 million people watched this episode in the United Kingdom, when it aired on Channel 4 on October 12, 2007.

Notes
  • After Wilhelmina asked Betty on the rooftop "I believe you have lost something?", referring to Betty's earring, Betty only checks her left ear and never checked her right ear, the one with the missing earring.
  • In the second episode of the first two seasons of Ugly Betty, Betty searches for the MODE book. In the second episode of the first season, after Betty takes the book home to prevent Wilhelmina from taking it when Daniel left it unattended, Gina steals the book from the Suarez' house. Here, Betty finds out that Gina has the book after writing a note to pay her $4,000 for wrecking her television from the first episode. In this episode, Betty successfully finds the MODE book at Wilhelmina's apartment.

References
  1. From People.com (August 5, 2007)
  2. From The Futon Critic

Also starring

Guest stars
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