Like far too many US series lately, Ugly Betty has been struggling for some time with how to follow up a great first season. The second season was very bitty, and the third season even more so. Whilst there have been some elements that have really worked, such as the development of the relationships between Betty, Marc and Amanda, these have often been squandered in an attempt to keep reverting back to old ways (e.g. Betty moving home) rather than being used to drive the plot and characters in new and interesting directions.
The premise of the series is supposed to be about Betty making progress in the world of fashion, yet every time her character is given opportunities to progress, the writers seem determined to pull her out of those situations again – frustrating for Betty, but even more so for viewers who don’t actually want to see her being a downtrodden girl with a tumultuous love life for the show’s duration. Similarly, interesting plotlines with Marc, Amanda and Justin get started and then seem to be buried under the latest Meade love triangle story (and let’s be honest, the Daniel/Wilhemina/Connor/the other one storyline is so dull I’m not even sure what ‘the other one’ is actually called, never mind caring about who ends up with who).
Where there would be mileage in seeing new aspects to all of the characters, including Betty’s family as they learn to adjust to life without her and forging their own paths, resetting all the characters to their starting points seems counter-productive. If the series inevitable finale is Betty achieving her dreams, then why can’t we see the gradual path she takes to get there?
As a fan, I am frustrated and I’m not alone – and the shift from Wednesdays to Mondays to make True Blood the midweek centrepiece suggests Channel 4 is losing confidence in the show. I don’t know how the rest if the third season pans out, but I just hope there is more consistency and plot development than there’s been thus far.
