Ugly Betty Review:
"Crush'D" (Episode 3.7)

I have a theory that the weakest character on a television show is always the namesake. I call this the “Dawson Leery Hypothesis.” The title character is almost always presented as weak when compared to his/her strong supporting cast. The character grows increasingly annoying as the series continues. Meredith Grey of Grey’s Anatomy is the best current example of this hypothesis. She’s a passive central character surrounded by strong people. She’s a black hole sucking all of the fun out of the show.

Betty Suarez is slowly growing into such a character. America Ferrera continues to pour everything she has into the character, but the writers continue to destroy her. It's sad watching the character get dumped on episode after episode. I understand that part of Betty’s charm is her innocence, but she doesn’t have to allow herself to become a doormat as a result of it. Betty just simply allowed Amanda to take over her apartment and she was too quick to forgive her after Amanda kissed Betty’s crush Jesse (Val Emmich). Betty always has to be bigger person, but she’s 24. She should be allowed to hold a grudge for longer than 20 minutes.

That said, "Crush’D" was the strongest episode of the season because the supporting cast did play such a huge role in the story. Marc’s relationship with Cliff was finally given some airtime when Cliff asked Marc to move in with him. Marc has always been afraid of committing to Cliff and he decided to cheat rather than to own up to what he was really feeling. He then proposed to Cliff and regretted it immediately.

Wilhelmina continues to be the show’s bright spot. Her moment with Betty on the roof was one the few quiet ones in this episode. Both women have just been rejected by potential love interests, and in that moment the two enemies actually find common ground. I love the office politics of Mode, but it was nice to see these two women have actual human emotions for a moment.

Jesse may be the most realistic love interest the show has ever had for Betty. Val Emmich is charming in the role and he’s signed on for more episodes. It will be fun to see where the relationship between the neighbors will go now that he’s broke her heart.