By Jae-Ha Kim
Amazon.com
September 9, 2008
The second season of Ugly Betty finds the titular heroine juggling the affections of two men, embroiled in ongoing chaos at work, and dealing with some serious drama on the home front. And yes, this truly is a comedy.
First there’s the aftermath of Santos’ death at the end of last season just as he and Betty’s sister Hilda (Ana Ortiz) were reconciling. Hilda deals with her grief by befriending a group of senior citizens, while her son (Mark Indelicato) turns from Broadway-loving good boy to leather-wearing bad boy almost overnight.
As for Betty (America Ferrera), she finds herself living out every girl’s fantasy: being adored and pursued by two men: adorable accountant Henry (Christopher Gorham) and sexy sandwich vendor Gio (Freddy Rodriguez).
Of course, both men come with their fair share of baggage. In Henry’s case, it’s a pregnant ex-girlfriend who wants to lose her “ex” status. There’s also an illegal immigration subplot involving Betty’s dad Ignacio (Tony Plano), the reveal of who’s the mother of sassy mean girl Amanda (Becki Newton), and vapid Marc’s (Michael Urie) reticence to fall for a nice but schlubby photographer with whom he is embarrassed to be seen.
The power play between Betty’s boss Daniel (Eric Mabius), his transsexual sister Alexis Meade (Rebecca Romijn) and their colleague Wilhelmina Slater (Vanessa Williams) is ongoing, with loyalties being tested ad nauseum. Wilhelmina goes to extreme measures to ensure that she will reign supreme at the office.
And Daniel finds himself falling for a woman who is related to one of his enemies.
That’s a lot of storyline to cram into 18 episodes (which originally aired during the 2007-2008 television season) but the directors and writers do a good job of keeping storylines flowing.
This season’s guest stars include Victoria Beckham, Gabrielle Union, Eddie Cibrian, and Williams’ ex-husband Rick Fox.
John Cho–as the hilariously smarmy accountant Kenny–is a scene stealer who gets in some of the best lines of the season in the form of a mini rap: “She’s Alexis, big as Texas. She knows what it’s like to be both sexes.”
The season ends with a cliffhanger where Betty needs to make a choice that will define who she is and, just as importantly, who she wants to become.
