Dress for Success (Ugly Betty)

"Dress for Success"^[1] (also known as "Dressed for Success") is the 11th episode in the third season, the 52nd episode overall, of the American dramedy series Ugly Betty, which aired on January 8, 2009. The episode was directed by Matt Shakman.^[2]

Plot[]

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The day begins with Betty helping Hilda, Justin and Ignacio decorating the Suarez home as they celebrate the relaunch of "Hilda's Beautilities". Betty agreed to help out Hilda with filling out gift baskets and other goodies, believing it will not interfere with her work and her studies at YETI. At work Daniel and Wilhelmina address the "MODE" staff that they have landed Keira Knightley for an April shoot and just ordered a Halston dress for her to wear on the cover. The two also warn that this info must not be leaked out to the competition. In addition, Betty is tasked by Daniel to pick up the dress, and she finds herself trying to juggle work and family without much success as she struggles to impress her idol, Jodie Papadakis (Bernadette Peters), the editor running YETI, this after Jodie lectures Betty for missing an important social networking gathering the night before in favor of helping her family. Jodie then gives the students their assignment to gather 40 contacts through social networking (no family members), and warns them that they will be kicked out if they do not complete this.

With help from Marc and Amanda at a local bar, a reluctant Betty does gets some good tips, where she succeeds in single-handedly amassing a large amount of contacts, despite passing on helping Hilda again that same evening, leaving Hilda disappointed. Things go from bad to worse when she encounters Teri O'Shaughnessy (Nikki Blonsky), an assistant at ELLE magazine, just as the long-running MODE/ELLE rivalry heats up. As Betty and Teri exchange cards, the two make small talk about each other, but when Betty goes to the bathroom, Teri eyes her phone that was left on the table and manages to scoop enough info for ELLE. Thanks to Teri, not only does she get Knightley for ELLE, but also steals the dress for their party by using Betty's name. This makes Wilhelmina furious and Daniel somewhat upset, so they call out their rivals at ELLE over their sabotaging tactics.

Luckily, Betty recalls who Teri said is catering the ELLE party that evening, and gets the caterer to sneak her and Marc in to steal back the dress, just in time to escape Teri's clutches after she spots the two. Arriving with the adorned dress at a lavish party in Wilhelmina's apartment, Betty and Marc get invited in and have the opportunity to rub elbows with the fashion elite. When Jodie spots Betty, surprised to see her at a party like this, Betty asks Jodie to be her mentor, and Jodie responds by allowing her to remain on YETI, impressed with her newfound social networking ability.

Unfortunately, after Betty arrives at the empty Suarez home, she learns that Hilda left several more messages on her phone. She calls Hilda, who tells her that Ignacio had a heart attack, prompting her to rush to the hospital to be there for him alongside her family.

Meanwhile, Daniel and Wilhelmina's feelings over Molly and Connor respectively continue to take center stage, with Wili showing Daniel the security footage of his almost-kiss with Molly and encourages him to follow his heart, which Wilhelmina uses as a ploy so she can steal Connor for herself. While Connor looks very susceptible and admiring of Wilhelmina at the party where people mistake them for a couple, Daniel privately confesses his feelings for Molly and says he will allow her to leave if she can honestly tell him that she does not feel the same way about him. Molly is taken aback at his revelation and reacts by leaving the party with Connor before Wilhelmina can confess her feelings for him. As Wilhelmina consoles Daniel over Molly, he reveals he is aware of Wilhelmina's crush on Connor, but promises to keep it a secret. But Molly later shows up on Daniel's steps, saying she does have feelings for him and has broken up with Connor, and she and Daniel consummate their almost-kiss. Likewise, Connor then makes a huge surprise by going to Wilhelmina's home and kissing her.

Music[]

The ending song is "La Ritournelle" by Sébastien Tellier.

Casting[]

Judith Light, although credited was absent from this episode.

Ratings[]

Although they came in third to the BCS Championship Game between the Florida Gators and Oklahoma Sooners on Fox and a repeat of CSI: NY, the episode scored a 5.0/8 overall, a 2.4/6 among 18-49s and 7.50 million viewers, even though it was down from 900,000 viewers from the previous episode.^[3][4][5]

References[]

Also starring[]

• Grant Bowler as
• Sarah Lafleur as Molly

Guest starring[]

• Bernadette Peters as Jodie Papadakis
• Nikki Blonsky as Teri O'Shoughnessy
• Thomas Sadoski as Ryan Richards, the Caterer
• as Mrs. Bowen

See also[]

• Ugly Betty
• Ugly Betty (season 3)