Ugly Betty: Reflections Before the Finale

This weekend I caught up on several hours of television that had accumulated while I was traveling over the past couple of weeks, including the last 2 weeks of Ugly Betty. It’s been bittersweet these past few weeks, watching a show that I loved, then wasn’t sure about, then loved again, then knew was going to end soon.

I'll miss you, Betty.

When Betty Suarez arrived on our screens four years  ago, I had a weekly TV night with my mom, younger sister-in-law, and any other girlfriends who happened to be in town. Thursday nights were for watching The Office, Grey’s Anatomy and Ugly Betty.  Wow, I’d forgotten I used to watch Grey’s. Back to Betty: we enjoyed watching her stumble around the superficial halls of Mode, find her footing, and begin the change the people around her. There was some weirdness toward the end of season 2 and a lot of season 3 when it seemed like there was some epic behind-the-scenes struggle over whether the show was an over the top soap opera or a dramedy about a young woman trying to follow her dreams. Thank goodness season 4 veered sharply toward the latter and gave us some introspection, character development, and some very funny moments. This season has been so good that I am sad our time with the Suarez clan and the wackadoos at Mode is almost over, but at the same time, seeing what a mess the show can be without a firm hand, it does feel like this is the perfect time for the show to go out strong.

Betty is poised to achieve her dream of running a serious magazine and has the self-confidence and experience to make that believable; Hilda is married and seems happy; Justin has made a major announcement and is as content as a teenager can be at the moment; Amanda is striking out on her own, sort of, to realize her own potential as a stylist; Marc seems to be having some epiphanies that will, I hope, leave him happy when the final credits role on Wednesday; Wilhelmina showed a little heart but is still the b!tch we’ve come to love; and Daniel…oh, Daniel. I think he’s going to have the biggest epiphany of them all.

I’ve avoided spoilers for the series finale, preferring to be surprised, but this is a feel-good show. No matter the individual character outcomes, I know it’s going to end on a positive, hopeful note. I’ll miss Betty, but I’m ready to wave goodbye as she enters the next, off-screen chapter of her life.