Betty indulges her inner wild child for a features piece on “being fearless.” When she runs into bad boy Bobby — Hilda’s ex-boyfriend from high school and the perennial object of Betty’s pre-adolescent affection — she decides to take driving lessons with him.
Meanwhile, Marc offers Justin some tips on high school: befriend the popular girls and play along with the constant harrassment. When Justin is crowned homecoming queen as a mean joke, he gracefully accepts, and hands the crown to his mom, who was pregnant with him at the time of her homecoming queen nomination 15 years ago. It’s a touching moment for the Suarez family, followed by Justin’s quick denial that he is actually gay.
In the Slater household, Wilhelmina almost buckles under the pressure of paying off the “detective” for Nico’s “murder.” She concludes that she must leave Mode to seek out Connor Owens and reclaim the money he stole from her in season three. She quits her position at Mode, only to find out that Connor’s body was discovered washed up on a foreign shore.
At Mode, Daniel reaches “level five” — supposed reunion with his dead wife Molly — of his healing/grief-support group, the Community of the Phoenix. The Community has become increasingly more cultlike in this episode, especially with its recommended diet of “vitamin-enhanced water” alone and its bead-wearing. The diet has him acting loopy, but not enough to worry Betty or Mrs. Meade.
Things we liked:
1. The Suarez sisters’ self-discovery. Hanging out with Bobby helps Betty realize she can step outside the box from the nerdy and occasionally boring guys she usually dates (ahem, Walter), and Hilda realizes she might be missing out on other opportunities by limiting herself to dating Archie.
2. Betty stepping outside her comfort zone. Stick shifts, bad boys, and going out on work nights? I like it. I like it a lot.
3. Justin standing up for himself. Sure, that performing arts high school might’ve provided a buffer for social angst, but he’s probably building more character in a public high school setting.
Things we didn’t like:
1. The creepy cult that is the Community of the Phoenix. Sure, it’s intriguing, and I can’t wait to see what “level five” really means, but it all just seems a little too unbelievable, even for the “Ugly Betty” writers.
2. The lack of Marc/Amanda dynamic. Last week, they worried over breaking Betty’s “pudgy little heart.” This week, they weren’t in a single scene together.
3. The general lack of funny moments in this episode. I think I only laughed when Amanda mentioned something about the aesthetic quality of her “chesticles.”