Wait a second, let me get this straight… Marc is gay? Okay, all kidding aside, last night’s episode of UGLY BETTY was one of the season’s strongest and couldn’t have come at a better time.
For as much as I love Marc and his show-stealing exchanges with both Wilhelmina and Amanda. The truth is that as of late, Marc was becoming a crutch, a ‘Gay.P.B’ if you will. A quick joke the writer’s went to whenever they needed to inject some funny into the comedic side of Betty.
Marc works best in small doses. It’s his surprise one-liners and quick wit that was quickly turning him into one of television’s most delicious side dishes and last night’s episode was the perfect example. Especially when he explained to Amanda that his mom was coming into town and she’d no longer need to be his beard.
Marc: “I’ve been telling her that you’re my girlfriend for five years now and she’s starting to pressure me to buy the cow.”
Amanda: “So you’re saying we’re over, and I’m fat?”
Amanda: “I am the best pretend girlfriend that you’ll ever have.”
Marc: “Mandy, we’ll always have that fake pregnancy scare.”
Amanda: “That was a real scare you idiot… it just wasn’t yours.”
Of course this being UGLY BETTY, it wasn’t enough for Marc to simply tell his mom the truth — that he loves NSYNC and HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL — complications had to ensue. Amanda, slightly annoyed for being painted as a drug addicted whore was more than happy to introduce Marc’s mom to his new ‘girlfriend’ — BETTY. Amanda even went as far as to setup an impromptu dinner between Marc’s family and Bettys in Queens. (The episode was so good that I’m happy to ignore the fact that I think I’ve already seen this story on numerous episodes of FRASIER!)
In Queens, Momma Marc, played by Broadway legend Patti Lupone quickly showed us where Marc gets his quick wit, firing off comment after comment with regards to Betty’s family. “Marc honey, lets be honest. With that hair and that face, what were my grandchildren going to look like? … Don’t even get me started on her family. Her father, why should I pay his taxes, he broke into this country. The sister? I don’t want to use the S word, but Slut. There I said it, no wonder she got knocked up in second grade. And I don’t even know what that is. He’s just so swishy. The mother doesn’t say anything, it makes me sick.”
Not surprisingly, the ‘swishy’ comment was the last straw, leading Marc to finally come out to his mom, “Mom I love you, but I am what you think I am…. If you want to get to know me, it has to be the real me.” Ending off the episode with what’s become somewhat of an UGLY BETTY trademark. An emotional [Full House-esque] moment, reminding us viewers that the show’s about ‘real people’ and not just over-the-top caricatures better suited for, say a, Columbian telenovela.
Yet as great as last night’s episode was, a two things worry me. Firstly, now that Betty’s seen a vulnerable side of Marc, can Marc really continue to be his mean magnificent self at Mode? Secondly, and more importantly, is UGLY BETTY running through story-line too fast. Wilhelmina’s already moving on and setting her sights on Bradford Meade. Isn’t this the same mistake THE OC made in season one? Can the UGLY BETTY writers keep this up? 