Ugly Betty, of course.
It is taking every ounce of willpower that I have to not read all the spoilers for the Ugly Betty finale. It sounds like most critics hated it, but then again, most critics are anti-Detty, so perhaps this is a good thing? I AM WAY TOO EXCITED FOR THIS DAMN FINALE. Which means I will probably be disappointed. Or not, because I'm not really expecting anything as awesome as a kiss. Simply a hint of something happening in the future will probably suffice for me (though that doesn't stop me from wanting a kiss). I've been trying to catch up on all the TWoP posts and the blog posts, and man, I have psyched myself up for this ep way too much. Now that a week has gone by, it is still shocking how much the anti-Detty sentiment of the fandom has disappeared. It's still there, just... not as fierce? And what's weird is that I keep seeing the anti-shippers talking about themselves as if they are an oppressed minority, and I'm just like, "WHUT?" Did they miss the Henry days when the D/B shippers were ripped to shreds by all the Betty/Henry shippers? Did they miss the 75 pages or so Daniel/Betty thread where the shippers just kept getting attacked and had to defend their views anytime they expressed excitement over a D/B scene? Did they miss the media calling anyone who shipped them delusional morons? The only place where Daniel/Betty shippers have dominated is the fanfic, and even there we pretty much disappeared during season 3. We're not exactly a domineering shipping faction, and the people who think we are must be hanging around different places than I do (which is very possible). I admit that there are a few people who make me roll my eyes every time I see a post from them, but even they aren't that bad, they just kind of make us look stupid, and we're not, it's just that the D/B shippers seem to have trouble writing coherently sometimes, which I think is an "English as a second language" thing more than anything else. I don't know.
Anyway, I've been coming across quite a lot of comments that paint Yo Soy Betty, La Fea as some kind of crime against humanity, which... I don't get. And most of the people painting it this way haven't even seen the damn thing, they've just been basing it off of random comments from other people (who probably never watched it). Now, I do agree with a lot of the feminist views, how it's ridiculous that Armando gets forgiven for all of the heartless acts that he commits while Marcela gets painted as annoying and unforgivable by the very man who made her that way, how it's chauvinistic that Betty is so in love and devoted to a man that treats her so awful, how it's not fair that Betty takes him back in the end. But you know what? The romance was so very much about how Betty perceived herself. In the beginning, Betty felt that she was powerless, hence her taking a job that was so far below her abilities. She felt like she wasn't worthy of being treated better than she was, hence her being perfectly fine with being shut into that tiny little office/closet. She wanted to be treated better, she wanted the desk that Patricia got, but she didn't fight for it because she didn't really perceive herself as being worthy of it. When she started working for Armando, she was fiercely loyal to him before the crush started. She wanted to prove herself worthy of the job, and she more than accomplished that. It wasn't until Armando made her feel important that she started to have a crush on him. She was perfectly aware of his flaws, but he made her feel needed. This was important. The crush wasn't necessarily about Armando, it was about the power that he gave her. The more responsibility he gave her, the more power she held, the more attention he gave her, the more important she felt. Armando was despicable, utterly despicable, but he had these moments where he was so genuinely affectionate with her, and outside of her family, he was the only person who treated her with such reverence. But he also shouted at her all the time, and she kind of just nodded and took it with a smile, and it's important to note that her father treated her the same way (but her father also loved her fiercely, but Betty was used to being treated this way, and in fact found it pretty normal, so that cancels out the whole "she's stupid for falling for a man like that" argument. The show made it a point to illustrate Armando and Hermes as being very similar men, it's just that Hermes had morals and respect for other people, whereas Armando did not). Now, once the actual romance starts, again, it's about empowering Betty. She's never been wanted before, and here's the man she's been fantasizing about for months saying that she's his obsession. He pursues her relentlessly and makes her feel beautiful and loved and wanted, all things that she never felt she deserved. He makes her realize that she does deserve all of that, she is just as worthy of happiness as anyone else. And when that state of happiness gets crushed, when she learns what a bastard he is, she becomes aware of just how much power she holds over him, and she uses it, and it's glorious. But she still loves him. She's woken up from the dream and sees him for what he truly is, but she still loves the bastard, because no one's ever made her feel as happy as he made her feel, and no one ever will again, and this kills her, and it kills her that she hates seeing him in pain, because she wants to cause him pain, she wants him to suffer the way that he made her suffer. It's not pretty, and it never tries to be, but at the same time, it's utterly beautiful. It's just something that you have to watch for yourself in order to understand it. It's messed up, yes, but it's also wonderfully entertaining and utterly heartbreaking to watch as it all unfolds, and I just don't think people should deem it unworthy of the American version, because really? The quality of the American version can't even hold a candle to the original. I LOVED season 1 of Ugly Betty, and I will forever defend it, but the show went so wrong after that. The Colombian version is all kinds of dysfunctional, but it was beautifully written.
Speaking of Yo Soy Betty, La Fea, I've fallen deeply, deeply in love with the Russian version. At first I was a little detached, but once the show hit the romance, you could really see the differences between Katya/Andrey and Betty/Armando. Katya and Andrey are so much more tender with each other, to the point where a lot of their moments make me cry, because they both are just in so much pain and they can't stand it. Betty and Armando were all passion and fire and desperateness and Betty took so much pleasure out of her revenge, but with Katya, the revenge is hurting her just as much as it's hurting Andrey. This moment in particular gets me (starts at about 5:47, it's when he's asking her to make the fake balance sheet and she kept holding off on it to torture him, and he talks about his life being in her hands and whatnot (at least, in the Colombian version that's what he says, not sure what's being said here, but it's beautiful. God, I so love that piano instrumental):
I love that in the Russian one, it's Katya rushing to him for the hug. You really see her struggle going on there, how she's always been the one to comfort him and she can't resist in this moment, and Andrey just rushes into her arms. In the Colombian one, Armando is so desperate and you can see how much Betty has suffered from all of his head games, and he's the one that initiated the contact. God, they are both so heart-wrenching in their own ways. But I love how the Russian one is different in that it treats the dramatic moments as actual drama rather than the over the top melodrama (which I also love, but it's nice seeing it from a completely serious stand-point).
Their goodbye hug also gets me (starts at about 1:45):
Once again, the Russian one is so, so tender, and Katya reciprocates the hug. I so love that they chose to extend this scene where the Colombian version cut off, most especially the bit where Kiera walked in. It shows how lost in each other Andrey and Katya are, how much they don't want to part but know they have to, whereas Betty and Armando are super guilty looking and Betty just wants to get the hell away from him and he's so, so desperate to tell her his side of the story. What's heartbreaking about the Russian version is how mean he is to Kiera there (and many other scenes, because she is way more sympathetic than Marcela was, and before Katya came along, Andrey was actually somewhat decent to Kiera, but, you know, he still cheated on her constantly, because he's a douche).
Oh, oh! I must also include their taxi moment, which actually happened before both of those clips (starts at about 5:30. This one really made me cry):
Guuuuuuuuuh! See, the contrast between the couples is really shown there. Same exact plot, totally different love story simply because of the differences in their interactions. Plus, in the Colombian one, they are making out in like every other scene, and with the Russian one, they barely ever kiss on the lips. IT'S REALLY FRUSTRATING. But at the same time, it makes their big kisses all the more climactic, most especially the second time they sleep together. That bit was like one big glorious explosion of repressed passion. *dreamy sigh* The sad part is that I keep imagining these scenes with the American Daniel and Betty, and how awesome they would have been together, and then I get depressed. I hope someday that either Canada or the UK buys the rights to Yo Soy Betty, La Fea and does an actual adaption so that this story can exist in the English language (although, it might not go over too well seeing as how it's a gigantic case of sexual harassment and we don't exactly have any social classes that we respect more than others, so... hmm. You know, really, I just wanted Ugly Betty to go the "best friends falling in love" route, and I wanted them to do it right instead of shoving it into the two very last episodes, but whatever. If I get my Daniel/Betty ending, I will probably be happy).
Er... in non Ugly Betty related news, I loved Glee last night. They pretty much corrected everything that I hated about the show. Also, I am now so totally on the Rachel/Finn train (though, you know, Will/Rachel and Finn/Kurt still own me). Also, The Big Bang Theory was magnificent on Monday.
Anyway, I've been coming across quite a lot of comments that paint Yo Soy Betty, La Fea as some kind of crime against humanity, which... I don't get. And most of the people painting it this way haven't even seen the damn thing, they've just been basing it off of random comments from other people (who probably never watched it). Now, I do agree with a lot of the feminist views, how it's ridiculous that Armando gets forgiven for all of the heartless acts that he commits while Marcela gets painted as annoying and unforgivable by the very man who made her that way, how it's chauvinistic that Betty is so in love and devoted to a man that treats her so awful, how it's not fair that Betty takes him back in the end. But you know what? The romance was so very much about how Betty perceived herself. In the beginning, Betty felt that she was powerless, hence her taking a job that was so far below her abilities. She felt like she wasn't worthy of being treated better than she was, hence her being perfectly fine with being shut into that tiny little office/closet. She wanted to be treated better, she wanted the desk that Patricia got, but she didn't fight for it because she didn't really perceive herself as being worthy of it. When she started working for Armando, she was fiercely loyal to him before the crush started. She wanted to prove herself worthy of the job, and she more than accomplished that. It wasn't until Armando made her feel important that she started to have a crush on him. She was perfectly aware of his flaws, but he made her feel needed. This was important. The crush wasn't necessarily about Armando, it was about the power that he gave her. The more responsibility he gave her, the more power she held, the more attention he gave her, the more important she felt. Armando was despicable, utterly despicable, but he had these moments where he was so genuinely affectionate with her, and outside of her family, he was the only person who treated her with such reverence. But he also shouted at her all the time, and she kind of just nodded and took it with a smile, and it's important to note that her father treated her the same way (but her father also loved her fiercely, but Betty was used to being treated this way, and in fact found it pretty normal, so that cancels out the whole "she's stupid for falling for a man like that" argument. The show made it a point to illustrate Armando and Hermes as being very similar men, it's just that Hermes had morals and respect for other people, whereas Armando did not). Now, once the actual romance starts, again, it's about empowering Betty. She's never been wanted before, and here's the man she's been fantasizing about for months saying that she's his obsession. He pursues her relentlessly and makes her feel beautiful and loved and wanted, all things that she never felt she deserved. He makes her realize that she does deserve all of that, she is just as worthy of happiness as anyone else. And when that state of happiness gets crushed, when she learns what a bastard he is, she becomes aware of just how much power she holds over him, and she uses it, and it's glorious. But she still loves him. She's woken up from the dream and sees him for what he truly is, but she still loves the bastard, because no one's ever made her feel as happy as he made her feel, and no one ever will again, and this kills her, and it kills her that she hates seeing him in pain, because she wants to cause him pain, she wants him to suffer the way that he made her suffer. It's not pretty, and it never tries to be, but at the same time, it's utterly beautiful. It's just something that you have to watch for yourself in order to understand it. It's messed up, yes, but it's also wonderfully entertaining and utterly heartbreaking to watch as it all unfolds, and I just don't think people should deem it unworthy of the American version, because really? The quality of the American version can't even hold a candle to the original. I LOVED season 1 of Ugly Betty, and I will forever defend it, but the show went so wrong after that. The Colombian version is all kinds of dysfunctional, but it was beautifully written.
Speaking of Yo Soy Betty, La Fea, I've fallen deeply, deeply in love with the Russian version. At first I was a little detached, but once the show hit the romance, you could really see the differences between Katya/Andrey and Betty/Armando. Katya and Andrey are so much more tender with each other, to the point where a lot of their moments make me cry, because they both are just in so much pain and they can't stand it. Betty and Armando were all passion and fire and desperateness and Betty took so much pleasure out of her revenge, but with Katya, the revenge is hurting her just as much as it's hurting Andrey. This moment in particular gets me (starts at about 5:47, it's when he's asking her to make the fake balance sheet and she kept holding off on it to torture him, and he talks about his life being in her hands and whatnot (at least, in the Colombian version that's what he says, not sure what's being said here, but it's beautiful. God, I so love that piano instrumental):
Click to viewI love that in the Russian one, it's Katya rushing to him for the hug. You really see her struggle going on there, how she's always been the one to comfort him and she can't resist in this moment, and Andrey just rushes into her arms. In the Colombian one, Armando is so desperate and you can see how much Betty has suffered from all of his head games, and he's the one that initiated the contact. God, they are both so heart-wrenching in their own ways. But I love how the Russian one is different in that it treats the dramatic moments as actual drama rather than the over the top melodrama (which I also love, but it's nice seeing it from a completely serious stand-point).
Their goodbye hug also gets me (starts at about 1:45):
Once again, the Russian one is so, so tender, and Katya reciprocates the hug. I so love that they chose to extend this scene where the Colombian version cut off, most especially the bit where Kiera walked in. It shows how lost in each other Andrey and Katya are, how much they don't want to part but know they have to, whereas Betty and Armando are super guilty looking and Betty just wants to get the hell away from him and he's so, so desperate to tell her his side of the story. What's heartbreaking about the Russian version is how mean he is to Kiera there (and many other scenes, because she is way more sympathetic than Marcela was, and before Katya came along, Andrey was actually somewhat decent to Kiera, but, you know, he still cheated on her constantly, because he's a douche).
Oh, oh! I must also include their taxi moment, which actually happened before both of those clips (starts at about 5:30. This one really made me cry):
Guuuuuuuuuh! See, the contrast between the couples is really shown there. Same exact plot, totally different love story simply because of the differences in their interactions. Plus, in the Colombian one, they are making out in like every other scene, and with the Russian one, they barely ever kiss on the lips. IT'S REALLY FRUSTRATING. But at the same time, it makes their big kisses all the more climactic, most especially the second time they sleep together. That bit was like one big glorious explosion of repressed passion. *dreamy sigh* The sad part is that I keep imagining these scenes with the American Daniel and Betty, and how awesome they would have been together, and then I get depressed. I hope someday that either Canada or the UK buys the rights to Yo Soy Betty, La Fea and does an actual adaption so that this story can exist in the English language (although, it might not go over too well seeing as how it's a gigantic case of sexual harassment and we don't exactly have any social classes that we respect more than others, so... hmm. You know, really, I just wanted Ugly Betty to go the "best friends falling in love" route, and I wanted them to do it right instead of shoving it into the two very last episodes, but whatever. If I get my Daniel/Betty ending, I will probably be happy).
Er... in non Ugly Betty related news, I loved Glee last night. They pretty much corrected everything that I hated about the show. Also, I am now so totally on the Rachel/Finn train (though, you know, Will/Rachel and Finn/Kurt still own me). Also, The Big Bang Theory was magnificent on Monday.