Line #12 Headscratchers/UglyBetty


1	[[WMG:Series/UglyBetty]]
2	* Pretty much the last half of the of the second season of ''Ugly Betty'' has been a test of fridge logic. The show remains a fun ride, but heaven help you if you stop to think about what certain characters are trying to accomplish with their machinations. Why again was it so important for Willhelmina to break up Daniel and her sister? How does the Meade / Slater baby have any claim on the Meade assets, being born after Mr. Meade's death (when all the assets get passed to the wife automatically)?
3	** His will said everything goes to his children, which is supposedly vague enough to work.
4	** Legally, this is a fairly common occurrence, with property being divided up between children equally having to be expanded to include unknown children. (And, thanks to Supreme Court rulings, this has included children out of wedlock for some time.) Where it fails is while that can include children who haven't been born yet, it can't include children that haven't been conceived as of Mr. Meade's death, because, at that point, all the property was theoretically instantly divided up, and people who don't exist yet don't get any. So that means that, yes, Christina and/or the fertility clinic can blow the lid of this thing retroactively at any point and Wilhelmina's scheme will fail.
5	** Daniel and HIS sister, perhaps?
6	*** No, he dated Wilhelmina's mentally ill sister, remember? They committed her after she lit his apartment on fire.
7	** Wilhelmina likely wanted to break Renee and Daniel up so Daniel didn't get too close to her family and find out about the whole Bradford's baby scheme, which Renee herself eventually did and threatened to expose it if Wilhelmina didn't stop butting into their relationship. So Wilhelmina intentionally drove Renee into getting reinstitutionalized so Renee's credibility would be severely damaged, or at least be viewed with suspicion, in case she tried to expose the scheme later on.
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9	* Everyone on this show wears garish sweater-vests and inadvisable neckwear, yet it's only nerdy when Betty does it. Seriously I'm watching it now and Mark is wearing a ''lavender plaid suit'' with a ''bow-tie'' and a ''little pyramids of curls'' on his head, and is supposed to be a male style-obsessed [[TheBrainlessBeauty brainless beauty]]. How is [[http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/U/ugly_betty/images/gallery/s2_press/marc_pink_2_400x304.jpg this]] or, good God, [[http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/U/ugly_betty/images/gallery/s2_press/marc_pink_1_400x304.jpg this]] any better [[http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/U/ugly_betty/images/gallery/s2_press/betty_flowers_400x304.jpg than this?]] Justin is supposed to be a "fashion elf" in the making but is usually to be found [[http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/U/ugly_betty/images/gallery/s2_press/justin_swirl_400x304.jpg dressed like this]]. By the standards of the show, Betty should be the peak of style!
10	** I guess there's some huge damn irony working here. ''Actual'' irony, for the record.
11	** Hmm, I always just figured that the idea was that weird things became fashionable and that's why they dressed that way. And now that I think of it, every time I walk into a popular clothes shop, I find this to be distressingly true. Like the above troper said, there's quite a bit of irony going on here.
12	*** I think the show is subtly but rightly implying that things don't necessarily need to look good to be fashionable, you just need to have the charisma and confidence to make people think it's fashionable and you can literally wear rolled up newspapers and get away with it - people will just say it's avant garde or daring. There ARE trends, but those trends are only really precipitated by people wearing whatever they want and convincing a lot of people it's good regardless of quality, taste, or looks. This is pretty much Truth in Television and it goes all the way back to the Emperor's New Clothes fable. I like to think of it as quantum fashion.
13	*** Because Marc's clothes come from the Closet and are designer labels. Betty buys hers at Target or some other department store. Have you ever seen a designer handbag? They're hideous. A lot of designer stuff is. You're paying for the name, not the fashion. Same with the wardrobe of Mode.
14	** Wait, how is Mark "brainless?" He's running an impressive gambit!
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16	* How did Sofia Reyes' dumping Daniel on live TV not backfire on her?? In the real world, she would be hated for it.
17	** For one, because she is a "real woman" feminist who is getting back at the "Daniel Meades of the World" (aka people who are players, use women as objects, etc). Also, the point was that it generated a media storm, regardless if it was out of love or hate, people are going to want to read the magazine to get more details on a new scandal. Such is life.
18	* It probably did backfire on her, but we didn’t exactly see much of the aftermath. She likely was hated and probably even received threats, if the real world is anything to go by.
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20	* When is Betty getting her braces out anyway?
21	** The show would end if she did!
22	*** Those aren't braces. And THAT's why she's called Series/UglyBetty. No but seriously, they contain her soul or something.
23	*** "The show would end if she did!" Funnily enough, she ''has'' gotten her braces out now that the show is ending.
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25	* Why does Betty's new apartment have a shower in the living room?
26	** It ''is'' a cheap apartment. Maybe it was designed by a really cheap architect.
27	*** I could maybe see not being able to fit it in the bathroom, but in front of the door?
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29	* Speaking of which, what planet was the architect who designed the [=MODE=] offices from, because it clearly wasn't Earth? The show even [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] this with Hilda saying that it looked like "a gay version of ''Franchise/StarTrek''" (it does).
30	** I look at modern architecture and ask myself the same question.
31	** Funnily enough, the set for Mode is based off of an actual office they found. So, yeah, it exists somewhere.
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33	* Okay, I know Betty has bad taste in clothes, but why has she suddenly started dressing like a reject from Godspell? Last season her choices were slowly starting to evolve, but now her outfits are worse than the Guadalajara poncho! She's always worn the clashing skirts and sweater vests, but with neon tights, tacky belts, and a ''clown'' bow tie?
34	** Maybe she noticed that her outfits were becoming actually fashionable (as mentioned above) and thus decided to push them even further, as I'm pretty sure she's ''trying'' to not fit in on purpose as a statement against conformity.
35	** The real answer is because they switched costume designers a few seasons in and the new one practically ejaculates to neon colours.
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37	* I think Christina's been pregnant for over a year now.
38	** I heard this story from a friend that Scottish women and elephants have the same gestation period.
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40	* Who owns the controlling stake of Meade publications now? Originally, the shares were split evenly among the three Meade children, Daniel, Alexis and William. Then Alexis sold her shares to Daniel and Wilhelmina, leaving each with a 50/50 stake. Now, it turns out William isn't Bradford's son, so what happened to his shares? Were they split up between Daniel and Alexis again, meaning that the ownership is now 66.65% Daniel, 16.65% Alexis and 16.65% Wilhelmina? Meanwhile, how much of the company does Cal Hartley now own?
41	** Wilhelmina lost her share when William turned out not to be Bradford's son -- remember Daniel and Claire had planned to fire her immediately after that happened, but Cal Hartley forced them to keep her. And considering Cal Hartley seems to have absolute sway in recent episodes, I guess he pretty much owns the company at this point.
42	** Update: Now, of course, they've kicked Hartley out and given Wilhelmina back her 50%.
43	** But, now Tyler's come along and apparently he should get some as well. Why, exactly? He's Claire's illegitimate son, not Bradford's.
44	*** It seems Tyler's grab for shares was more an act of guilting Claire into giving him hers than any actual legal standing, threatening to go to Cal if she didn't.
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46	* So Ignacio and Bobby go clubbing with Justin. Justin is, what, maybe sixteen? Are there any clubs that would actually let him in?
47	** Justin is fifteen. Many clubs do allow minors. Legally, they're are required to make minors wear a red tag, have a special marking on their hand, etc. to make sure no alcohol is served to them. Bobby likely knew which clubs (drugs, sex, etc.) to steer his future father-in-law and minor stepson away from.
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49	* What's the deal with Fashion TV's relentless coverage of the management goings on at Meade Publications and Mode? There are real-life fashion TV channels (including one that's really called Fashion TV and the imaginatively named Fashion Television) which broadcast actual fashion events internationally, with any Suzuki St Pierre-style coverage largely concerning the designers and creative directors of fashion houses; otherwise the focus is on fashion itself, from the latest runway collections to the latest trends. One fashion media outlet reporting on the management staff at another fashion media outlet (even if it's implied to be an expy of Condé Nast and Vogue magazine) would be of little interest to someone who is truly into fashion; Vogue readers wouldn't care if there was a major boardroom revolt at Condé Nast unless the magazine consequently changed editorially. Considering the mostly business focus of Fashion TV's reporting of Mode (even Meade family drama affects company ownership rather than the magazine itself), wouldn't it be CNBC, Forbes and Bloomberg giving scoops on Mode instead of Suzuki St Pierre?
50	** Well, we only see segments of news that are plot relevant so it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume they talk about other subjects as well. As for the non-fashion parts, they don't actually go much into detail, they do a pretty superficial analysis of the subject and focus on the drama instead, so there are likely more serious business-focused channels that do analyze and discuss boardroom activities.
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52	* Why exactly did Betty suddenly get so fixated on her mother's ripped photo in "Trust, Lust and Must"? Sure, Ignacio says stuff that do contradict what Betty thought she knew, but then again, it's not so weird that parents wouldn't talk about their previous romantic pasts to their children. Betty also said "I thought you said you were each other's first loves." but that doesn't mean they didn't have exes before: it's just that said exes were just not loved the same way her parents loved each other.
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54	* Ignacio is so inconsistent in his protectiveness of his daughters. He refuses to accept Santos is trying to change and be a part of Justin's life and Hilda has forgiven him, but he insists Betty forgive Walter, who has ''cheated'' on her after several years of relationship, and take him back even though she keeps saying she wants nothing to do with him? Santos and Hilda would have been barely adults when Justin was born: even if it's not right, you can't really blame Santos for bailing out. What was Walter's excuse?
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Context Headscratchers / UglyBetty