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East Side Story is the twenty-third episode and the first season finale of Ugly Betty. It is the 23rd episode of the series overall.

Synopsis[]

Betty and Henry's romance heats up. Meanwhile, Wilhelmina makes great strides in her ambitious power play, Daniel descends further in a downward spiral, and the Suarez family trip to Mexico takes a dangerous turn, as old ghosts create new problems. Explosive secrets will be revealed, and everything will be tied together by a beloved Broadway musical.

Plot[]

As Betty returns from Mexico, having failed in her attempt to secure a visa for Ignacio, she attempts to call Henry. At first Betty starts hesitating, but goes through with it by summoning the accountant to the copying room. She begins to tell him that she is going to fight for him after realizing that when you find something good in life, you have to go after it. Henry tells her that he and Charlie have broken up, and says that he wants to be with her, to Betty's delight. They decide to have their first date together. As Betty is preparing dinner for her and Henry, Charlie shows up at Betty's house to reveal that she is pregnant. When Henry shows up, Betty tells him to talk to Charlie and the two leave. Betty waits distressed that night and following morning as none of her messages are returned. She finally hears back from Henry, who asks her to meet him. He tells Betty that he never had a father growing up and doesn't want to be absent from his child's life. He has decided to return to Tucson with Charlie, who wants to go back to her hometown and, after sharing their first and last kiss, says goodbye. Hours later at her orthodontist's office, Diane, a technician asks Betty how her date went. She tells her Charlie, his ex, is pregnant and they never had a chance to be together. Diane, who has a love for romantic comedies, asks more about this other woman who probably got pregnant on purpose. Betty tells her a little about Charlie and Diane comments Dr. Farkas has been dating a cute red-head named Charlie. Betty doesn't think she is the same girl until she notices Diane's bracelet, which Charlie gave as gifts to the staff. The ladies realize that Charlie and Betty's orthodontist, Dr. Gabe Farkas, had been dating for the past two months, adding a new twist as it is now unclear whether Charlie's unborn child is Henry's, as Charlie and Henry prepare to take off for their flight back to Arizona.

Meanwhile, Wilhelmina makes great strides in her ambitious power play by manipulating Bradford into proposing to her, as Bradford gives her a wedding ring that he made himself. However, Wilhelmina's plans for a June wedding at St. Patrick's Cathederal has been roadblocked by Fabia. It appears that she has booked it for her wedding, so she forces Wilhelmina into making an exchange: She'll give up the date for the services of "That Girl," who happens to be Marc. Wilhelmina agrees and Marc (or "Marco" as Fabia calls him) becomes Fabia's slave. However, the exchange is called off as Wilhelmina gets Marc back and moves up the wedding date to November.

It appears that Daniel has descended further in a downward spiral due to his drug addiction. After he lies to Betty about how he got a black eye by claiming that he saved a girl scout in Central Park, Betty runs to Alexis and tells her about this heroic deed, prompting Alexis to intervene and to embarrass him because his "story" was twisted, since it happened when Alex was a teenager and was the one who saved the girl. So Alexis convinces Betty to have the Girl Scouts and the press to come by MODE for a photo opportunity, and as expected, Alexis embarrasses her brother. Afterwards, Daniel comes clean to Betty, who thinks that taking drugs to cure his sex problem is making matters worse. Later that evening as Daniel goes to see Bradford, he is upset over his dad's plans to divorce Claire and marry Wilhelmina, leading him to go off the deep end. Hours later he stops by Alexis' office to say that he is resigning and then rambles on about how he wish that they were a family again. Alexis then notices that Daniel has been taking pills and drinking heavily, but as Alexis and Daniel head for the hospital to detox Daniel after he overdoses, they take Bradford's car, not knowing that the brakes were cut by the guy Alexis hired to exterminate Bradford (Daniel overhears his sister mentions this), and the car crashes, leaving the siblings unconscious at the scene.

At the institute, Claire, along with Yoga and two inmates, make plans to escape. They do so by feeding their diabetic inmate chocolate, causing the driver to stop. (Claire gets the driver to stop by saying the diabetic is having a hypoglycemic reaction -- which would actually be cured by, not caused by, giving her chocolate.) When he goes to check on the girl, they choke him with their handcuffs while Claire grabs his gun and points it at him saying, "This is happening!" Claire and Yoga are later seen running down the road, still handcuffed, as Claire sets her sights on stopping Wilhelmina from marrying Bradford.

Back at MODE, Christina sees Amanda and asks what she was doing in "The Closet." Amanda says that she has found her favorite secret spot, then opens up the "Love Dungeon". This would prompt Amanda and Christina to argue at each other, only to have the two end up getting locked inside. While inside, Christina and Amanda drink over their differences, then reveal how they ended up at MODE, with Christina revealing that she was married to an insurance agent named Stuart, but then she walked away from her family in Scotland and no one has bothered to look for her since. Amanda then tells her that after her acting career went nowhere, her father, who was handling Fey's accounts, got her the "Lifetime Receptionist" job. As they look for more alcohol, Christina accidentally discovers a safe and opening it with the combination numbers (that matches Fey's measurements), then discover an envelope containing pictures of Amanda as a chubby child, thus stunning Amanda, who recognizes the photos after she sees them. Christina then finds a birth certificate that reveals Fey Sommers as Amanda's mother, stunning Amanda even more as she now knows why she got her job at MODE in the first place.

After Justin 'accidentally' fed walnuts to his classmate who had the lead role, which caused him to have an allergic reaction and unable to perform, Justin moves from understudy to star. Betty rushes to find Henry at the airport to stop him from leaving with the hopes of still catching the play. Before she can leave, several police officers arrive asking for Hilda Suarez. Hilda is already at the play, waiting next to an empty seat she saves for Santos, thinking he is standing up his family. Betty arrives at Justin's school to deliver some bad news to Hilda: Santos has been shot. Earlier that evening he was held hostage in a convenience store while on his way to see his son perform and shot while trying to defend the clerk. Betty comforts a crying and devastated Hilda out in the hallway, just as she sees Justin finally make his starring performance as Tony in his school production of "West Side Story", singing "Somewhere" while the entire audience sits watching in tears.

Cast[]

Starring[]

Guest Starring[]

Co-Starring[]

Production notes[]

  • Episode title also known as "The Conclusion of Betty's Life" or "Surprises Are All Around."
  • This is the last episode in which Judith Light (Claire Meade) and Christopher Gorham (Henry) will be credited as also starring. From Season Two onwards they will become core regulars.
  • Arap Bethke, who played Antonio in the previous episode, is credited, but does not appear, in this episode.
  • The working title of this episode was "The Number 23," a double reference to the movie of the same name.[1]
  • Vanessa Williams sang the rendition of "The Way We Were" that played during the montage of scenes featuring special moments between Wilhelmina and Marc. Williams performed this cover as the lead vocalist on Dave Koz's 2007 album, At The Movies.
  • In the scene where Wilhelmina is trying to get Fabia to change her wedding date, Fabia points at Marc saying, "I want That Girl!". Marc looks up with an open mouth, paying homage to the old ABC show's regular opening gag.
  • "Angelica", who appears in the scene in the orthodontist's office, is played by Angélica Vale. Vale played the character corresponding to Betty, Leticia "Lety" Padilla Solís, in La fea más bella, a Mexican remake of Betty la fea. She appears in the orthodontist's office costumed exactly like Lety.

Also starring[]

Guest Stars[]

Featured Music[]

Quote[]

Gallery[]


References[]

Navigations[]

Ugly Betty Episodes
Season 1
PilotThe Box and the BunnyQueens For A DayFey's Sleigh RideThe Lyin', the Watch and the WardrobeTrust, Lust, and MustAfter HoursFour Thanksgivings and a FuneralLose the BossFake Plastic SnowSwagSofia's ChoiceIn or OutI'm Coming OutBrothersDerailedIcing On The CakeDon't Ask, Don't TellPunch OutPetra-GateSecretaries' DayA Tree Grows in GuadalajaraEast Side Story
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