(Sorry for the delay.)
It's the day after Thanksgiving, and Daniel wakes up in a strange bed with Little Mermaid sheets. The first thing he sees is a framed photo of Betty in her graduation cap and gown, which is an odd thing for Betty to keep next to her own bed, but perhaps that's one of the secret habits of highly effective people.
Betty greets him and explains that she brought him home from the bar because he lives alone and she didn't want him to choke to death on his own vomit. (If that isn't love, what is?) He asks Betty where she slept - she jokes "in your arms," but the look on his face suggests that his hangover is greater than his sense of humor. He whines about Sofia, and Betty tries to reassure him that things could change.
Betty leaves Daniel to sleeps some more and joins her father in the kitchen. Dad gripes that Betty has to work on a paid company holiday, but she says it's just for the morning to take care of some quick paperwork. She asks her father to offer Daniel breakfast if he gets up before she gets home, and don't mention Sofia's name.
Santos enters the kitchen wearing a pretty kimono (technically I think it might be a yukata), presumably Hilda's. He playfully shoves Betty, causing her to spill her coffee. Dad is not particularly happy to see him.
Time to split up the stories.
Betty as Editor-in-Chief
Sofia is writing a note at Daniel's desk and asks Betty if Daniel is coming in. She's upset that he hasn't returned any of her calls or messages. She's going to Maine tonight, because Hunter found them a house and probably wants to get married this weekend. She confesses that she's not sure she wants this, and that she has feelings for Daniel. (Lust? Pity? Contempt? I'm not really sure where this is coming from. He's attractive enough, but I don't understand why an independent woman like Sofia would be particularly interested in him, since he hasn't shown her a lot of depth.) She seems very insecure and asks Betty for advice; suddenly, Betty is very eager to work.
Brad comes looking for Daniel; Betty assures him that Daniel is on the way. Brad explains that fictitious movie stars Tim & Chloe are passing through New York. They've decided to let Mode publish the first photos of their baby Chutney. Several employees are being called in to prepare for the shoot. Sofia volunteers to write the copy for the article, since they are short-staffed (and since she's probably hoping to see Daniel). Betty calls Daniel at home, but he says he's too sick to come in; in fact, he's still drunk.
The stylist arrives, accompanied by Fluffy. He is snotty with Betty and won't speak to her; she assures him that Daniel is on the way. The stylist asks Betty to get him some coffee. When she comes back with it, she hears him telling Fluffy of his brilliant idea to dump water on the baby and catch that surprised look on her face. Betty questions this. He pointedly ignores her and refuses the coffee.
Betty calls Wil, who says this guy is great so let him do what he wants. She calls home, but Sofia overhears Betty asking to speak to Daniel and wants to talk to him; Daniel begs off, and Betty has to hang up. Sofia asks if Daniel asked about her (I can't believe this desperate woman is the same Sofia we met just a few weeks ago).
The stylist looks at a row of mannequin babies dressed in creepy outfits; he picks the creepiest - "chainlink armor?" Betty asks incredulously ("chainmail," Fluffy the secret geek corrects her, just a little too quickly). "Daniel is on his way," she asserts hastily. The stylist insults her.
Christina and Betty search through the Closet for something a little safer for the baby to wear, like a plastic bag. Betty calls Daniel yet again. By now, he is stringing popcorn and cranberries for the Christmas tree. Seriously. He would much rather talk about that than the photo shoot; he tells Betty to handle it.
The stylist receives a sneak preview photo of Chutney and panics. He says the baby is butt-ugly and he will need more time. Betty suggests that his concept of beauty might be too narrow; she points out that his tasteless Courtney Love cover was their lowest-selling issue. (Sofia beams with pride.) He asks Betty if she's firing him; then he quits to save face. Sofia tells him that Betty is the boss for the day.
Betty tries to reach Wil on the phone; Sofia realizes that Daniel isn't coming in. Betty admits that he's hung over... because Sofia broke his heart.
Fluffy interrupts them; the staff are waiting for directions. Betty scrambles (via montage) to arrange the shoot herself. She chooses the Regal Park Arboretum in Queens to do an Adam & Eve in the jungle theme. Instead, Daniel calls and suggests that they do it at her house instead, now that he and Betty's family have decorated it for Christmas. Taking pictures in a family setting will complement Tim & Chloe's working-class backgrounds.
Betty bums a ride home with Sofia. Sofia suspects that it was Betty's idea to do the shoot at her house (oh, the irony!). When they get to Betty's house, Sofia coyly points out that Betty could have gotten a ride with Christina instead. Betty confesses that she doesn't want to tell Daniel that Sofia will come back on Monday as Mrs. Hunter. Sofia agrees to wait outside for Daniel; she squirts her mouth to freshen her breath, then chokes - she squirted cologne by mistake (a sly nod to the original Colombian series).
Looking through the window, Betty is sad that Daniel didn't use her idea. Sofia says that Betty is wasting her time working at Mode; they'll never appreciate her there. She tells Betty she should come work at New York Woman instead; she'll have her own assistant within a year.
That is, if that magazine doesn't fold before then, as I predict it will. Sofia is sweet to be so kind to Betty, but the truth is, Daniel had the better idea this time. If Sofia can't see that, she may not be able to make the best decisions for her own magazine, either. The best way she can help Betty is to teach her to develop a thicker skin, rather than treat her as though her every idea is pure genius.
But anyway. On with the comic relief.
Wil & Fido
First thing that morning, Wil questions Fido about the condition of her office. Fido pretends to be shocked. She asks where he was yesterday; he says he was in Schenectady with his family watching The Sound of Music. She confronts him with some evidence: a half-eaten cashew she found under her chaise. As the phone rings, she asks him to analyze the teeth marks.
Fido tries to listen in on the phone call, but it's only Brad, telling them about the photo shoot with Tim, Chloe, and baby Chutney. He sends them to the airport to pick up the celebrities.
The two of them conduct some telephone business in the car: While Wil reassures Betty about the stylist, Fido texts Fluffy to warn her of Wil's suspicion. Wil asks Fido where Fluffy spent her Thanksgiving. He tells her she was in Vermont. Wil says that it's strange that she got back so fast. Fido is trying to change the subject when his phone rings. Wil grabs the phone out of Fido's hand to read Fluffy's incriminating reply. She is especially upset about the phone call they made from her office. She throws his phone out the car window.
Their car gets a flat, so they continue in a taxi. Fido whines that his parents wanted to set him up with a girl from their church. Wil ominously warns Fido that she may not be able to protect him from the person he called.
They are extremely rude to the cab driver, so he kicks them out in a bad neighborhood. Wil forgets her purse, so now they are without a phone or money. They approach some hookers to ask them for money. One of the hookers admires her albino lynx stole. Wil attempts to be "street" and Fido pretends to be her pimp; the hookers get offended and chase them away.
They take shelter in a candlelit, semi-abandoned storefront church. Talking to herself, Wil expresses disappointment that she screwed up, and that she spends all of her time trying to cover Daniel's job and taking over the company. Fido unwisely repeats that last part, and Wil snaps, "I would never say that." She laments that her leadership skills are on the decline.
"It has to get really dark before it can get light again," Fido announces, mangling a well-known quote. He turns on an electric light, which shines directly on the cashbox for the candles. She takes off a white (cowboy?) boot to bust the clasp and open the box. They take the money inside, which is all singles. "Poor people are so cheap," Wil complains. She takes off an earring and leaves it in the box.
They use the money to get back to the office. Fluffy calls from the photo shoot at Betty's house (she is eating the roof off of a gingerbread house) to find out if she's fired. Fido says no. I guess Wil thinks they know too much already.
Fey calls on the office phone and dryly explains to Fido she's "an old friend from college." "Which you never went to," Fido remarks to Wil. Fey has already figured out Wil's cell phone was stolen, since the cab driver is now answering it. Fido wants to get in on the conversation. Wil hurriedly says goodbye to Fey to negotiate with Fido. He wants job security, a title, and company credit card. (Probably also a pay increase and a new cell phone.)
Daniel
Rewind to morning...
Daniel gets up and tries to sneak out while the family (plus Santos) have breakfast. He overhears them discussing whether or not they should have a Christmas tree, due to financial problems. Dad asks Daniel to stay for breakfast.
Still wearing Hilda's kimono, Santos introduces himself as "Hilda's, uh, Justin's father." Santos is filled with admiration - he knows Daniel to be a serious player. Dad serves Daniel a plate of huevos rancheros, which sends Daniel fleeing from the table.
Dad takes Daniel's temperature; he's got a fever. Betty calls to tell Daniel about the Tim/Chloe/Chutney crisis, but Daniel says he's too sick to come in, he's still drunk, he's a mess. (He's still raving about "the Chin" Hunter.)
A Christmas tree arrives - Daniel tells Betty he ordered it to make up for throwing up in four rooms of their house. He hangs up.
Sounding like Fluffy, Justin declares "Oh. My. God." at the sight of the huge tree. They struggle to get it through the door. Santos wants to cut off some of the branches and asks Justin if he has a saw. (Why is he asking a kid? Why not ask Dad?) Hilda gets one. Justin tells Daniel about an issue of Mode that he especially liked, an article about some Hungarian queen. Still in denial, Santos expresses surprise that Justin is interested in history; Justin goes on to say that this queen had flawless skin.
Dad pulls Hilda aside and asks her how much longer Santos is going to be hanging around. Hilda gets huffy with him.
Looking through a box of Christmas ornaments, Daniel is impressed that all of them were made by the family. They talk about Betty's glitter phase and invite him to hang an ornament, but he doesn't know how. He says they always had cool trees when he was a kid, but they weren't allowed to touch them.
They discuss a particular ornament that Justin made from fabric store supplies. This annoys Santos, who offers to play football outside with him, but Justin wants to work on the tree. Santos insists, "come out and be a normal kid for an hour." Daniel cheerfully protests that he needs Justin's help with the tree; he tells Santos that Justin has a gift. Santos complains that Justin isn't being raised properly or learning appropriate manly arts. (What would those be, Santos? Gambling? Deserting your family?) Hilda pulls Santos aside and defends Justin. Santos stomps out, muttering "don't say I didn't try."
Daniel asks Justin for help with an ornament. Justin morosely tries to fix it.
The family gives Daniel a little stocking to hang on the tree. He apologizes to Dad for getting into the debate with Santos, but Dad tells him he'll be a great dad someday.
All this mushy family togetherness gives Daniel an idea. He calls Betty and tells her to do the Chutney photo shoot at her house.
Wrap-up
The entire on-duty staff goes to Betty's house for the shoot. (Daniel tells Fluffy not to touch the tree.) Daniel asks Dad how to say "I love you and I can't live without you" in Spanish.
Betty goes into the house while Sofia waits outside. Betty tells Daniel about Sofia's plan to go to Maine to possibly marry Hunter. He goes outside to talk to Sofia. (Snow falls.) He says he hasn't been eager to be a family man because his own family sucks, but he asks her for another chance. He mangles his Spanish, but charms her with a homemade dove made out of jellybeans. He asks her to cancel her trip to Maine and help him pick out a Christmas tree. She agrees, and they kiss.
Later, in the house, Daniel talls Betty that Sofia isn't going to Maine after all, and that she told him about the job offer she had made to Betty. Daniel encourages Betty to take the job and pursue her dream.
After the shoot (which we don't see), Betty begins to tell her family about Sofia's job offer. They are impressed that two magazines want her, but they are interrupted by the doorbell. Dad gets up to answer the door, and is arrested.
Next week
The return of Henry, aka Hotty.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment