An Ugly (Betty) Finale! (Long post = a ship-related rant. Joy.)
Here's a story of a drama/comedy show that dared to be different. A show that eschewed the pretty, white female archetype and gave us a character who was smart, kind, driven, and... ugly. This show is Ugly Betty and it was one of the most brilliant comedies to hit ABC in a long time.
Adapted from a Colombian "telenovela" (Spanish for "soap opera"), Betty La Fea, the premise was basically a fish-out-of-water meets Ugly Duckling scenario set in a fashion magazine. Our heroine, Betty, aspires to make it big in the magazine business but because of her looks, she gets shunned and mocked when she gets the job. The telenovela was insanely popular and spawned off many adaptations in different countries.
Now, I've seen bits of Betty La Fea (and the Mexican adaptation, La Fea Mas Bella). It's outlandish, silly, and so very soapy that you'll feel like your drowning in bubbles. The Spanish version, and practically every other version from Greek to Indian to Chinese, has the heroine fall for her handsome jerk of a boss. If you can't already guess how the story ends, you haven't seen enough teen movies. Give the protagonist an "ugly" to "pretty" makeover and she's sure to get the rich hottie of her dreams! It's not cliche, farfetched, or insulting *at all*! (How the hell am I supposed to emote sarcasm in a Livejournal post? Maybe color coding... except I have no idea how to do that. Maybe next time.)
But enough background information. The American version was different. This Betty had braces and glasses and was more than a size 2 but she was overall comfortable with who she was. This Betty had more romantic pursuers than most of the other "prettier" characters, and this Betty DID NOT FALL IN LOVE WITH HER BOSS. She became his friend! She has had (and probably will not have) a glamazon makeover! She just recently toned down the clashing colors and had her braces removed. It was shocking but refreshing and many, many viewers obviously agreed because this show was all over the media when it exploded on TV four years ago. But I'm not here to talk about the decline of Betty. I'm here to talk about something more disappointing.
Now, as the show is limping along its last season, the final episode on the horizon, we get the curveball. The way out of left field, "wait a second can they even do that this late in the game" kind of play. (My baseball analogies suck but I hope you get what I mean.) The show threw us the half-assed curveball that is "Detty".(As a rule, I don't like it when we get a mishmash of couple names. I blame "Brangelina" for this. Or rather the media who started the trend. Bleh.)
Now for the record, I'm a fan of Henry and as such, I'm a fan of the geeky, adorable romance he and Betty shared. But I really like Daniel and Betty's friendship, and in fact my appreciation of Daniel has grown along with his character traits from a playboy manslut into a mature, capable, kind person. All of this because of Betty's influence. And in turn, he has helped her with his money and connections, and occasional good advice that only a true friend can give. So up until now, every Daniel and Betty moment was the picture perfect example of fun friendship on television between two leads of the opposite sex which is even rarer than using an insulting adjective used in the title to describe the underdog protagonist everyone wants to root for.
And I'm not saying this as an "opposing shipper". I've recently learned that early on, the actors who play Betty (America Ferrera) and Daniel (Eric Mabius) wanted the Daniel/Betty dynamic to stay strictly friendly. And the creator himself, Silvio Horta, has alluded to them being brother and sister! There was no plans from the beginning to have the "homely assistant" fall for her "handsome boss" but many fans believed they would have them be friends and gradually become more than that. But then... it didn't happen. And as each season passed, Silvio kept reiterating he wanted to keep them as friends. This would be when most of those shippers turned on Horta and started some kind of online campaign (including petitions!) to get "Detty" on the show.
The problem with listening to a vast majority when you already have a clear vision of how a pair interacts would probably be the episode that aired a few hours ago. All the superb writing in the world could not make this believable. (And really, with the crappy writing they saddled onto Henry's character early in the series, why should I expect anything different now?)
The episode in question is The Past Presents the Future, and I shall summarize the scenes thusly: first we get Daniel acting jealous of Henry (which I guess may be kind of plausible since Danny-boy claims he doesn't want Henry to break her heart again). But this jealousy reaches the point of sabotaging Henry's job offer? (Seriously. Betty has to verbally kick his butt to reverse the weird pettiness). But the scene where we get that ole curveball would have to be the wedding scene. Betty shows up sans date and so does Daniel. (It sounds like the premise to a dozen D/B fanfics.) Hilda gives a wedding toast about marrying her best friend, (Nevermind that I dislike Bobby and don't think he's so much a best friend as he is a bad boy hottie with a "heart of gold" that Hilda managed to reel in. Ick.) So, after 4 years of friendshippy speeches, and joking around about her love life, and him sleeping with Amanda no more than 3 episodes ago, we get Daniel making this face like he's either surprised or confused (I know I was both) as we get a shot of him looking at Betty in her pretty green dress and classy up-do. I assume they were going for an "Aha!" moment but all I can think of is him making fun of her for flashing Gio the episode before and I think I may have temporarily, for that brief moment, gone insane. If not, I could only hope that it was Daniel who had a lapse into temporary insanity (partly caused by the Tyler drama) and everything will go back to normal for the final episode where he and Betty will share a laugh and talk about how Justin and Austin looked more coupley than they did when they were dancing.
Except after the episode we get the promo where Daniel is declaring he can't live without her. Really. No, really. I know that promos misdirect if not outright lie but... okay, did a "Detty" fangirl sneak some pages of fanfic into the script and the producers didn't catch it because, hell, it's the last two episodes and they're already in drunken party mode? Maybe the vocal, fangirly masses just pressured the creator to give them a little nugget of hope even if he wanted something that was more unique and special than the ole' standby "plucky ugly duckling gets the hot rich jerk with a heart of gold". Maybe he wanted something, like, I dunno, an actual friendship that sets us apart from every telenovela cliché in every other country that has adapted this promising story? If so, congratulations fangirls! You got that little curveball nugget and if it came out of no where and it's terribly OOC (Out Of Character) when comparing it to every previous interaction between Betty and Daniel, well, screw it! The scene will make for some good fanvids, amirite? (Maybe I can bold whatever is sarcastic. I already figured out how to underline and italicize...)
In closing, I came here to let off some steam and to bang my head against the proverbial internet wall, hoping some Betty and Henry fans - or really any fans who liked Daniel and Betty as friends - understand how I feel and can relate even a little bit. And if a Daniel/Betty fan wants to comment, I'm always up for a debate. I promise not to scream, "Are you happy noooooow??? You've broken Silvio!"
But that's mostly because out here in cyberspace, no one can hear me scream.
Adapted from a Colombian "telenovela" (Spanish for "soap opera"), Betty La Fea, the premise was basically a fish-out-of-water meets Ugly Duckling scenario set in a fashion magazine. Our heroine, Betty, aspires to make it big in the magazine business but because of her looks, she gets shunned and mocked when she gets the job. The telenovela was insanely popular and spawned off many adaptations in different countries.
Now, I've seen bits of Betty La Fea (and the Mexican adaptation, La Fea Mas Bella). It's outlandish, silly, and so very soapy that you'll feel like your drowning in bubbles. The Spanish version, and practically every other version from Greek to Indian to Chinese, has the heroine fall for her handsome jerk of a boss. If you can't already guess how the story ends, you haven't seen enough teen movies. Give the protagonist an "ugly" to "pretty" makeover and she's sure to get the rich hottie of her dreams! It's not cliche, farfetched, or insulting *at all*! (How the hell am I supposed to emote sarcasm in a Livejournal post? Maybe color coding... except I have no idea how to do that. Maybe next time.)
But enough background information. The American version was different. This Betty had braces and glasses and was more than a size 2 but she was overall comfortable with who she was. This Betty had more romantic pursuers than most of the other "prettier" characters, and this Betty DID NOT FALL IN LOVE WITH HER BOSS. She became his friend! She has had (and probably will not have) a glamazon makeover! She just recently toned down the clashing colors and had her braces removed. It was shocking but refreshing and many, many viewers obviously agreed because this show was all over the media when it exploded on TV four years ago. But I'm not here to talk about the decline of Betty. I'm here to talk about something more disappointing.
Now, as the show is limping along its last season, the final episode on the horizon, we get the curveball. The way out of left field, "wait a second can they even do that this late in the game" kind of play. (My baseball analogies suck but I hope you get what I mean.) The show threw us the half-assed curveball that is "Detty".(As a rule, I don't like it when we get a mishmash of couple names. I blame "Brangelina" for this. Or rather the media who started the trend. Bleh.)
Now for the record, I'm a fan of Henry and as such, I'm a fan of the geeky, adorable romance he and Betty shared. But I really like Daniel and Betty's friendship, and in fact my appreciation of Daniel has grown along with his character traits from a playboy manslut into a mature, capable, kind person. All of this because of Betty's influence. And in turn, he has helped her with his money and connections, and occasional good advice that only a true friend can give. So up until now, every Daniel and Betty moment was the picture perfect example of fun friendship on television between two leads of the opposite sex which is even rarer than using an insulting adjective used in the title to describe the underdog protagonist everyone wants to root for.
And I'm not saying this as an "opposing shipper". I've recently learned that early on, the actors who play Betty (America Ferrera) and Daniel (Eric Mabius) wanted the Daniel/Betty dynamic to stay strictly friendly. And the creator himself, Silvio Horta, has alluded to them being brother and sister! There was no plans from the beginning to have the "homely assistant" fall for her "handsome boss" but many fans believed they would have them be friends and gradually become more than that. But then... it didn't happen. And as each season passed, Silvio kept reiterating he wanted to keep them as friends. This would be when most of those shippers turned on Horta and started some kind of online campaign (including petitions!) to get "Detty" on the show.
The problem with listening to a vast majority when you already have a clear vision of how a pair interacts would probably be the episode that aired a few hours ago. All the superb writing in the world could not make this believable. (And really, with the crappy writing they saddled onto Henry's character early in the series, why should I expect anything different now?)
The episode in question is The Past Presents the Future, and I shall summarize the scenes thusly: first we get Daniel acting jealous of Henry (which I guess may be kind of plausible since Danny-boy claims he doesn't want Henry to break her heart again). But this jealousy reaches the point of sabotaging Henry's job offer? (Seriously. Betty has to verbally kick his butt to reverse the weird pettiness). But the scene where we get that ole curveball would have to be the wedding scene. Betty shows up sans date and so does Daniel. (It sounds like the premise to a dozen D/B fanfics.) Hilda gives a wedding toast about marrying her best friend, (Nevermind that I dislike Bobby and don't think he's so much a best friend as he is a bad boy hottie with a "heart of gold" that Hilda managed to reel in. Ick.) So, after 4 years of friendshippy speeches, and joking around about her love life, and him sleeping with Amanda no more than 3 episodes ago, we get Daniel making this face like he's either surprised or confused (I know I was both) as we get a shot of him looking at Betty in her pretty green dress and classy up-do. I assume they were going for an "Aha!" moment but all I can think of is him making fun of her for flashing Gio the episode before and I think I may have temporarily, for that brief moment, gone insane. If not, I could only hope that it was Daniel who had a lapse into temporary insanity (partly caused by the Tyler drama) and everything will go back to normal for the final episode where he and Betty will share a laugh and talk about how Justin and Austin looked more coupley than they did when they were dancing.
Except after the episode we get the promo where Daniel is declaring he can't live without her. Really. No, really. I know that promos misdirect if not outright lie but... okay, did a "Detty" fangirl sneak some pages of fanfic into the script and the producers didn't catch it because, hell, it's the last two episodes and they're already in drunken party mode? Maybe the vocal, fangirly masses just pressured the creator to give them a little nugget of hope even if he wanted something that was more unique and special than the ole' standby "plucky ugly duckling gets the hot rich jerk with a heart of gold". Maybe he wanted something, like, I dunno, an actual friendship that sets us apart from every telenovela cliché in every other country that has adapted this promising story? If so, congratulations fangirls! You got that little curveball nugget and if it came out of no where and it's terribly OOC (Out Of Character) when comparing it to every previous interaction between Betty and Daniel, well, screw it! The scene will make for some good fanvids, amirite? (Maybe I can bold whatever is sarcastic. I already figured out how to underline and italicize...)
In closing, I came here to let off some steam and to bang my head against the proverbial internet wall, hoping some Betty and Henry fans - or really any fans who liked Daniel and Betty as friends - understand how I feel and can relate even a little bit. And if a Daniel/Betty fan wants to comment, I'm always up for a debate. I promise not to scream, "Are you happy noooooow??? You've broken Silvio!"
But that's mostly because out here in cyberspace, no one can hear me scream.