Ugly Betty 1.12 'Sofia's Choice'

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the Sofia story line, but ‘Sofia’s Choice’ is a fitting and strong end to the arc. Though it felt more like this episode was about her effect on Daniel, the places she brought Betty were equally as important, and though her execution of Betty’s move was a little odd, one can reason that she might have been better off following Sofia’s advice.

Betty finally joins the staff of MYW in 'Sofia's Choice', but when she discovers the truth behind Sofia's relationship with Daniel, she races to tell him before it's too late. Meanwhile Wilhelmina tries to maintain her relationship with Ted.

The world of Mode has always been painted as a fake, superficial world, a place where everyone is as cold as they are beautiful. But it was in a place where people were more honest, and less materialistic, that Betty found herself more out of place. The MYW scenes were hilarious, and the double casting of Becki Newton was hysterical, and they were one of the most pivotal ways of helping Betty to greater understand her role at Mode, and to accept that though people there may be shallow, they’re honest, and know exactly what they stand for, unlike their MYW counterparts whose morals are totally skewed. It’s a nice halfway point in Betty’s freshman year at the magazine, and it only further cements Mode as a conceivable setting for her.

For better or worse, Sofia’s scheme had changed Daniel irreversibly. She may have been cruel and callous, and what he felt for her was based on a web of lies, but the love he felt for her made him a more honest, and deeper person, someone Betty could be pound of. His journey isn’t the most entertaining as the series progresses, and it gets bogged down a little too much with his myriad of love interests, but here its well constructed and engrossing. His devastation upon learning the truth about Sofia is palpable and gut-wrenching, and only makes you feel for him more.

Wilhelmina’s cold exterior get’s deconstructed further down the line, but the initial glimpse we get of a human and sensitive woman after being left by Ted, a man that she never thought she could be a match for, makes her cold, harsh and dark exterior more believable. The writers always pay mind to giving her as much attention as possible, and with good reason. Not only does Vanessa own the role, but her role as the series villain is never more pronounced when we know what’s fuelling her anger, and desperation; moments like this one.

Some fun time jumping and a change up in the standard narrative was welcome making Sofia’s Choice one of the funniest and dramatic episodes so far, I just wish we got to see more Christina in strip clubs.

9/10

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