Titles, Synopses for Ugly Betty Episodes 4.01, 4.02

Well, now we can really feel the new season of Ugly Betty is upon us.  ABC has released the title and synopsis for each hour of the 2-hour October 9 season premiere.

The first hour will it titled "The Butterfly Effect" Part 1 .  Here is the synopsis (there’s a LOT going on):

Betty finds that everything is changing as she begins her new job as associate features editor, especially since her boss is her ex-boyfriend, Matt Hartley, who is still unhappy about their breakup. In addition, Betty’s new officemate, Megan (Smith Cho), openly resents her, while Marc is constantly undermining her because he felt he was more deserving of the promotion. Meanwhile, without Betty as his assistant, Daniel is adrift, still mourning the loss of his wife, Molly. Betty tries to help Megan out on an assignment and connects with a thoughtful insect jewelry designer, Olivia (Lynn Redgrave), while Justin starts high school and is victimized by bullies-but won’t tell his mom, Hilda. Claire Meade is finding that her power struggle at the company has her sitting pretty – for the moment — opposite Wilhelmina, who lost her claim to the Meade throne last season. But Wili has perhaps an even bigger problem than job security – she is harboring a secret at home that is driving Marc to distraction.

Guest-starring in "The Butterfly Effect," Part 1 are Lynn Redgrave as Olivia, David Rasche as Calvin Hartley, Smith Cho as Megan, Yaya DaCosta as Nico Slater, Alec Mapa as Suzuki St. Pierre, Ralph Macchio as Archie Rodriguez and Judy Gold as Joan. This episode was written by Henry Alonso Myers and Sheila Lawrence, and directed by John Terlesky.

They really are going to hit the ground running, aren’t they?  This episode is going to set the tone for season 4 (in fact, so much is happening, each story line will only get enough attention to get it started, I would imagine). 

From the spoilers this past summer, I wouldn’t have guessed that Megan would openly resent Betty.  But Smith Cho is very funny;  she can play it either way.

And Justin getting picked on at school was expected – not telling his mother is a bit of a surprise.  This will be a great storyline for drama, I think.

Also, we find out that Wilhelmina has another secret – this one obviously involves Nico.

It’s good to see Alec Mapa and Ralph Macchio make appearances in the first episode.

I’ve got info on the second hour of the two-hour premiere after the jump!

The second hour is titled, "The Butterfly Effect" Part 2.   I like the title because Betty has always been associated with butterflies, especially in her fashion accessories.  Here is the synopsis:

Betty gets to run her own Mode photo shoot at the United Nations to promote their anti-malaria initiative, "Nothing but Nets," but her big opportunity becomes a baptism by fire when Daniel’s neediness takes its toll, and Matt openly demoralizes her. Meanwhile, Amanda does some soul-searching when she bonds with Daniel’s new temp, Helen (Kristen Johnston), a career receptionist as fabulous as Amanda is. Wili makes it her personal mission to protect a loved one, and Hilda reaches out to Marc to figure out how to help Justin.

Guest starring in "The Butterfly Effect," Part 2 are Kristen Johnston as Helen, Smith Cho as Megan, Yaya DaCosta as Nico Slater, Piter Marek as Oscar Castelar, Rob Bartlett as Security Guard and Matte Osian as Dmitri. This episode was written by Henry Alonso Myers and Sheila Lawrence, and directed by Victor Nelli, Jr.

It looks like hour two will introduce this season’s “heart”, where hour one will introduce the intrigue.  Betty will probably bumble in Part 2 at her photo shoot at the UN, providing the comedy.

But the Amanda/Helen storyline will probably be silly and sad at the same time.  This is what I’m looking forward to the most.

And most encouraging, Hilda reaching out to Marc to help Justin is going to be great, because those snippets of scenes the two have had together have been some of the best of the past seasons.

I’ll be interested in seeing how the writing goes.  Myers and Lawrence have individually given us some excellent ones (Secretaries Day, In The Stars, There’s No Place Like Mode).  The only writing collaboration I see on IMDB for them is A Thousand Words By Friday, which I didn’t like at first, but has grown on me (Tap That!).

The board is set, the piece are moving – October 9th is almost here!

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