Ugly Betty Episode 3.16 Full Recap

Here is the full recap for Ugly Betty episode 3.16, Things Fall Apart.  Before the recap, a few thoughts:

• Except for a few quips, this one was mostly drama and intrigue.  But, it was one of those episodes where all the story lines change arcs.
• If you’ve read the spoilers, nothing was REALLY a surprise.  But man, oh man, the way the actors portrayed it was still jaw-dropping (especially Connor).
• Matt is the most patient man that ever lived.  But, like I said in the live blog, I like Betty and him as a couple.
• I wonder if we’ll ever see evil, scheming Wilhelmina again.  I think she’s turned a corner.  It wouldn’t make sense for her to be so grasping anymore.
• Usually I can tell why the writers do something, at least how it advances the story.  I don’t understand the purpose of the Henry/Facebook thing.  I THINK it was a parallel for Wilhelmina’s problems, but that doesn’t feel right.  Brian Tanen, do you read here?  Help a fan out, why don’t you?
• This is the first time I’ve ever seen Facebook (the real one) actually used as a story line in a primetime show.  They’re bigtime!
• Thank God for Michael Urie.  He kept the episode just light enough.

Recap after the jump!

Betty smiles for a pic on her webcam, but Justin interrupts her and she takes a DMV-style photo.  She is setting up a Facebook page for YETI.  She tells Justin that Tina Brown is speaking at today’s YETI class.  Ignacio walks in, he is moping because Elena is in LA on a short trip.  He says, “Finally, I understand what country music is all about”. 

Daniel calls, he is sick (and acting like a baby).  He has checked himself into the Amsterdam.

Wilhelmina wakes up, then notices that baby William isn’t in his crib.  She frantically looks around, and finds Connor holding and rocking the baby.  Connor had not wanted to wake her.  Wilhelmina says she wishes she could just live in this moment.  Connor offers to take her away to somewhere exotic.

Amanda greets Betty at Mode.  She holds up a mirror toward Betty, but she can find nothing wrong.  Amanda says she wanted to make sure Betty knew what she was wearing.  :)  Marc grabs Betty so they can rush to their YETI meeting.  On their way out, they run into Molly.  Betty tells her about Daniel being sick and checking himself into a hotel.

At YETI, Jodi announces that Tina Brown had to cancel.  (Somebody’s husband had grabbed someone’s boob at dinner the night before).  In her stead, Jodi had booked…an accountant.  As he talks, the class all sits totally bored.  Jodi then gives an assignment: they all have to study the books of their magazines, and make a presentation the next week.

As Marc and Betty parlay over who will crunch the numbers, Matt walks up and says that he has an MBA and offers to help.  He asks Betty if they can go for drinks. Betty turns him down.  On the way back to Mode, Marc tells Betty that Matt was asking her out on a date, and asks if she likes him.  Betty is noncommittal.  Marc then asks if it will be weird for Betty, going down to accounting for her assignment, for the first time since Henry left.  Betty says she’s totally over him.

When she gets down there, talking to accountant Jenny, Betty is obviously nervous being in Henry’s old space.  Jenny says she hears from Henry all the time — he;s on Facebook.   He had posted pictures of himself and his girlfriend in Peru.  The girl was not Charlie, her name is Samantha.

Later Betty unloads her feelings about Henry to Justin.  She’s upset that he’s moved on.  Justin tells her to use the budgets as a project to get Henry off of her mind.  She dives in.

Betty comes into Daniel’s hotel room hyped up on energy drinks.  She notices that Daniel is shopping for humongous rings.  Betty starts to ask if he’s THAT serious with Molly, but Daniel is so sick, he changes the subject.  Betty tells him that her study of the budget shows money always coming up short, by millions.  Daniel tells Betty to go talk to Connor about it.

Betty does, and Connor explains that corporations always move money from division to division.  Betty still isn’t satisfied, but Wilhelmina is bored with the conversation and sends her away.

Later, Connor makes a phone call to a bank; he sees Betty, and says it looks like he may have to make his next transfer ahead of schedule.

Betty tells Marc and Amanda about the weird budget numbers.  They instead tease her about Henry.  Marc tells Betty to find someone new herself.  He tells her to call Matt.  She does, but she has to hang up quickly because Connor approached her to talk to her.  This happens three times, but Betty finally gets around to asking him out for drinks.  In the process, Connor gives Betty some papers to sign for Daniel.

At the hotel, Molly comes to visit.  Daniel doesn’t want to let her in, but she brought soup, so he agrees.  She desperately wants to tell him something, but he is so involved in his own problems, she decides to do it later.  After she leaves, he notices that his laptop was still on the jewelry page, and certainly Molly had seen it.

Connor presses Wilhelmina to go away with him; not for the weekend, but for good.  Before they can get too in-depth Marc interrupts them with another Mode emergency.

At the bar, Matt tells Betty that the budget numbers SHOULD add up.  They bond over his favorite movie (Wall-e), but Betty then receives a Facebook friend request from Henry.  The conversation then turns almost exclusively to Henry, with Betty doing all the talking. She then says it’s very cold in the bar.  Matt warms her hands with his.  Betty decides it’s time to leave; Matt wants to ask her something.  Betty tries to brush him off before he asks her out, but what he really wants to tell her is that he forgot his wallet and needs her to pay.

Betty runs to the ATM.  She checks her balance, and it says she has 101,000 dollars!

Betty runs home and tells her family.  Hilda is very eager to spend it.  (and she keeps calling herself “mama”.  Ignacio agrees with Betty that the money has to go back.  Betty says that the bank told her that the money came from Meade.  Betty vows to get to the bottom of it and fix it tomorrow.  Justin tells Betty that at least she had a memorable date.  At this point, Betty remembers that she left Matt at the bar!  She tries to call him but gets voice mail.  She calls him Henry by accident.

At Mode, Amanda tells Betty that a cute-ish boy is there to see her, and asks her if he is the one she’s trying to sleep with to forget Henry.  Matt then reminds her that he’s standing right there.  Betty then apologizes to Matt for leaving him.  He says it’s OK, they gave him a tab.  Matt apologizes for asking her out when she’s obviously not over Henry.  Matt then reveals that his parents had nothing in common when they married, now they are divorced and hate each other.  Matt thinks the two of them have far more in common.

Betty tells Jenny about the strange bank goings-on.  Jenny is perplexed, then looks up who authorized the transaction.  It was “B Suarez”.  Later, Betty tells Marc about this. 

Betty tracks down Connor and tells him about the money. They get on the elevator together.  Connor tells her she could get into a lot of trouble for it.  He tells her the investigators won’t believe her.  It dawns on Betty, and she asks him if he put the money there.  He gets a real evil look on is face, then he stops the elevator.  Connor says he doesn’t know why anyone has to know about anyone stealing from the company (meaning himself)  He says he also set it up to look like Daniel was involved.  He tells her to keep quiet about it.  He restarts the elevator, and opaquely threatens her family, then walks away.

Connor later confesses everything to Wilhelmina.  He begs her to come away with him, to leave Mode behind and start anew with him and the baby.  He admits that he did it because he hates Daniel, and he wanted to get him back for taking Molly.  He says he doens’t love Molly, he hates Daniel.  Wilhelmina reminds him that she owns half of Meade.  He once again asks her to leave with him (and the Meade’s money).  He tells her he chartered a private jet and asks her to consider it.

Betty tells Daniel about the embezzlement.  He tells her to call Claire and set up a meeting so they can make a plan.

Marc arrives at Wilhelmina’s apartment with all her things (at her instruction).  She then reveals everything, and says she is considering leaving with him.  Marc tells her that he doesn’t know what to tell her.

Claire arrives at Mode; she tells Daniel and Betty that Connor and Wilhelmina both are missing.  She then tells them more bad news:  all the company’s accounts have been cleared out. There’s nothing left.

As the Meades frantically discuss things with the lawyers, Betty notices Marc has arrived.  She goes into Wilhelmina’s office and Marc asks if everything it gone.  Betty asks where Wilhelmina is; Marc gives her a card telling where she’s meeting Connor. 

Wilhelmina walks toward the jet, but a car pulls up.  The Meades and Betty get out.  Betty asks where her baby is. Wilhelmina calls them idiots and says they are going to ruin everything.  The police then pull up.  Wilhelmina had called them.  She tells the Meades that they don’t know her at all.  Wilhelmina’s phone rings; it is Connor.  He is already on another flight (he didn’t completely trust her).  He hears the police sirens in the background and slyly smiles.  He tells Wilhelmina that he still loves her.

Betty tries to console Wilhelmina.  Wilhelmina says he asked her to choose him or her career.  She tells Betty you have to make choices; you can’t have it all.  She says Betty is just like she was, once upon a time.

At home, Elena has returned, with gifts for everyone.  She gave Betty sandals.  Elena notices something is wrong.  Betty tells her vaguely about her day.  She asks Elena if she ever had to make a choice between work and a personal life.  Elena dismisses the choice as a false one.

At Mode, Molly is trying to write Daniel a note.  She is trying to tell him…she has cancer and is dying.  She is leaving to stay with her parents.  Daniel begs her to stay, but she leaves anyway.  Claire sees all of this from afar, then goes to comfort her son.

We then see a montage of Wilhelmina with her baby, Betty watching Elena and Ignacio, then turning her attention to Henry’s friend request.  She confirms the request.  But then we see her joining Matt at the bar.

Image: Pacific Coast News