The Fall Issue
Encyclopedia
"The Fall Issue" is the twenty fourth episode in the third season, the 65th episode overall and the third season finale of the American dramedy series Ugly Betty
, which aired on May 21, 2009. This episode doubles as the second part of a two hour episode, a first in the series' history.
Mode's "Wedding Issue" has just been nominated for best cover issue at the MAMAs. As Daniel is congratulated by Molly on getting the nomination, Wilhelmina gets wind that Claire is getting the credit, so Wilhelmina tries to use the info she got from Victoria as blackmail, demanding that Claire tender her resignation at the event or she'll reveal Claire's dark secret to Cal and the public about Claire's secret visit to Madison, South Dakota in the early 1980s.
Daniel asks Betty to pay a visit to the features editor Penny Meadows, who seem to have her thoughts elsewhere, like complaining and wondering why all those pigeons are on her window sill. Betty then gets a text from Matt to meet her downstairs. But just as Betty is finally going to confess to Matt, they witness someone falling from the 28th floor... Penny Meadows.
Now that Penny has died, Daniel agrees that Betty should get her job and says he'll recommend it. While this is good news to the Suarez family, she tells them that she is cautious. The next day, a funeral for Penny is held, where everyone is shocked to learn that Penny has a twin sister, Mindy. Penny's life is celebrated, sort of, with Betty giving the eulogy. However, Marc, who turned down the Vogue job, shows up to honor Penny with the announcement that he will take over her job, shocking Betty in a big way. This causes Daniel and Wilhelmina to come up with a compromise: whoever can complete Penny's research before the deadline will succeed Penny as feature editor.
As Betty prepares to track down Penny's hardware at home, Matt stops by for lunch at City Park, only to reveal that he saw Betty kiss Henry, and his jealousy over Henry gets the best of him.
At Penny's home, Betty and Marc try to search for her notes when they are confronted by Mindy, who then takes her sister's notes and throws them out of the window and orders the two to get out. Afterwards, Betty catches up with Matt to offer him tickets to the MAMAs, though he is still bitter over his jealousy with Henry.
Meanwhile, Justin nervously waits to see if he got into performing arts school, hoping that year he'll finally get accepted. However, it turns out that Justin was not accepted, devastating the teen.
At the MAMAs, everyone is there, including Justin, who is whisked away by Marc and is given advice about acceptance, which Justin takes to heart. Matt also shows up and has a talk with Cal, who offers him a job. Then there's Daniel and Wilhelmina, who decided to flip a coin to come up with Penny's replacement. Daniel later tells Betty that she has been promoted to features editor. While Betty feels excited over this, Marc does take it hard. Meanwhile, Cal comes to Wilhelmina to tell her that he knows about Claire's pregnancy, and her abortion, and that it was none of Willy's business.
At the MAMAs, Mode is chosen as the winner. Daniel gives a speech without using his cue cards (which Marc took and gave to Wilhelmina) after he sees Molly. As he went over to see if it was her, Betty told him that Molly wasn't there. Daniel starts to realize that the Molly he thought he saw in the audience was a ghost. She has just died of cancer and he learned the truth after he returned to the apartment, when he sees Molly's body in a body bag being removed from the building by an ambulance team.
Wilhelmina turns to a mysterious person to track down Connor Owens by any means necessary to retrieve the money he stole from Meade Publications as a way to retaliate against the Meade-Hartley alliance, but as she walked into another room, her glass drops as she sees someone in front of her. At the Meade mansion, Claire looks at a piece of paper and burns it in the fireplace. The paper is revealed to be an adoption letter from South Dakota that reveals that she and Cal had a son and that he wasn't aborted after all. Betty's celebration as the new feature editor turns sour when Matt stops by to tell her it's over between them, then stunned her with another surprise: he will now be working at Mode as her new boss. After Matt left, she gets a text from Daniel to come to the apartment, where the two console each other.
as Matt Hartley being credited as recurring character and Christopher Gorham
as Henry Grubstick
. However, Gold will be upgraded as a permanent regular character in the fourth season while Gorham has a guest role in the fourth season.
Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which premiered on ABC on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series revolves around the character Betty Suarez and is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian telenovela soap opera Yo soy Betty, la fea...
, which aired on May 21, 2009. This episode doubles as the second part of a two hour episode, a first in the series' history.
Plot
Betty starts imagining things while she was eating a hot dog, including a fantasy of Antonio Sabàto, Jr. who is interrupted by an image of Matt. Betty tells Hilda that sooner or later she is going to have to tell Matt about her kiss with Henry.Mode's "Wedding Issue" has just been nominated for best cover issue at the MAMAs. As Daniel is congratulated by Molly on getting the nomination, Wilhelmina gets wind that Claire is getting the credit, so Wilhelmina tries to use the info she got from Victoria as blackmail, demanding that Claire tender her resignation at the event or she'll reveal Claire's dark secret to Cal and the public about Claire's secret visit to Madison, South Dakota in the early 1980s.
Daniel asks Betty to pay a visit to the features editor Penny Meadows, who seem to have her thoughts elsewhere, like complaining and wondering why all those pigeons are on her window sill. Betty then gets a text from Matt to meet her downstairs. But just as Betty is finally going to confess to Matt, they witness someone falling from the 28th floor... Penny Meadows.
Now that Penny has died, Daniel agrees that Betty should get her job and says he'll recommend it. While this is good news to the Suarez family, she tells them that she is cautious. The next day, a funeral for Penny is held, where everyone is shocked to learn that Penny has a twin sister, Mindy. Penny's life is celebrated, sort of, with Betty giving the eulogy. However, Marc, who turned down the Vogue job, shows up to honor Penny with the announcement that he will take over her job, shocking Betty in a big way. This causes Daniel and Wilhelmina to come up with a compromise: whoever can complete Penny's research before the deadline will succeed Penny as feature editor.
As Betty prepares to track down Penny's hardware at home, Matt stops by for lunch at City Park, only to reveal that he saw Betty kiss Henry, and his jealousy over Henry gets the best of him.
At Penny's home, Betty and Marc try to search for her notes when they are confronted by Mindy, who then takes her sister's notes and throws them out of the window and orders the two to get out. Afterwards, Betty catches up with Matt to offer him tickets to the MAMAs, though he is still bitter over his jealousy with Henry.
Meanwhile, Justin nervously waits to see if he got into performing arts school, hoping that year he'll finally get accepted. However, it turns out that Justin was not accepted, devastating the teen.
At the MAMAs, everyone is there, including Justin, who is whisked away by Marc and is given advice about acceptance, which Justin takes to heart. Matt also shows up and has a talk with Cal, who offers him a job. Then there's Daniel and Wilhelmina, who decided to flip a coin to come up with Penny's replacement. Daniel later tells Betty that she has been promoted to features editor. While Betty feels excited over this, Marc does take it hard. Meanwhile, Cal comes to Wilhelmina to tell her that he knows about Claire's pregnancy, and her abortion, and that it was none of Willy's business.
At the MAMAs, Mode is chosen as the winner. Daniel gives a speech without using his cue cards (which Marc took and gave to Wilhelmina) after he sees Molly. As he went over to see if it was her, Betty told him that Molly wasn't there. Daniel starts to realize that the Molly he thought he saw in the audience was a ghost. She has just died of cancer and he learned the truth after he returned to the apartment, when he sees Molly's body in a body bag being removed from the building by an ambulance team.
Wilhelmina turns to a mysterious person to track down Connor Owens by any means necessary to retrieve the money he stole from Meade Publications as a way to retaliate against the Meade-Hartley alliance, but as she walked into another room, her glass drops as she sees someone in front of her. At the Meade mansion, Claire looks at a piece of paper and burns it in the fireplace. The paper is revealed to be an adoption letter from South Dakota that reveals that she and Cal had a son and that he wasn't aborted after all. Betty's celebration as the new feature editor turns sour when Matt stops by to tell her it's over between them, then stunned her with another surprise: he will now be working at Mode as her new boss. After Matt left, she gets a text from Daniel to come to the apartment, where the two console each other.
Trivia
Though not revealed by name, the features editor was mentioned in the pilot episode during the ending sequence.Casting
This episode marks the last appearance of Daniel Eric GoldDaniel Eric Gold
Daniel Eric Gold is an American theater, TV and movie actor. He attended Lee Strasberg's Theater Institute as a teenager, and went on to graduate from Penn State in 1996, with a degree in Theater Arts....
as Matt Hartley being credited as recurring character and Christopher Gorham
Christopher Gorham
Christopher David Gorham is an American actor.- Early life :Gorham was born in Fresno, California to David Gorham, a certified public accountant and Cathryn Gorham, a school nurse. He attended high school at Roosevelt School of the Arts and graduated from UCLA with a BA in Film & Theater Arts...
as Henry Grubstick
Henry Grubstick
Henry Grubstick is a fictional character in the American drama series Ugly Betty. He is played by Christopher Gorham.Henry's character is equivalent to Nicolás in Betty la fea. Henry and Nicolás have similar features. They are both tall, have dark brown hair, and wear square glasses...
. However, Gold will be upgraded as a permanent regular character in the fourth season while Gorham has a guest role in the fourth season.
Ratings
This final hour of this two hour season finale came in third with a 4.2/7 overall and a 2.0 among 18-49s, which contributed to a 1.9/6 among 18-49s and 6.2 million viewers tuning in, a 28% drop from last season's cliffhanger.Also starring
- Daniel Eric GoldDaniel Eric GoldDaniel Eric Gold is an American theater, TV and movie actor. He attended Lee Strasberg's Theater Institute as a teenager, and went on to graduate from Penn State in 1996, with a degree in Theater Arts....
as Matt Hartley - Christopher GorhamChristopher GorhamChristopher David Gorham is an American actor.- Early life :Gorham was born in Fresno, California to David Gorham, a certified public accountant and Cathryn Gorham, a school nurse. He attended high school at Roosevelt School of the Arts and graduated from UCLA with a BA in Film & Theater Arts...
as Henry Grubstick (NOTE: Gorham is credited, but he does not appear in this second hour of the two-hour season finale) - Ralph MacchioRalph MacchioRalph George Macchio is an American actor, best known for his roles as Daniel LaRusso in the Karate Kid series, Bill Gambini in My Cousin Vinny, and Johnny Cade in The Outsiders. He is also known to American television audiences for his season five recurring role as Jeremy Andretti on the...
as Archie Rodriguez - Christine BaranskiChristine BaranskiChristine Jane Baranski is an American stage and screen actress, and is perhaps best known for her Emmy Award winning portrayal as "Maryanne Thorpe" in the sitcom Cybill, and her Emmy nominated portrayal of "Diane Lockhart" in The Good Wife...
as Victoria Hartley (NOTE: Baranski is credited, but she does not appear in this second hour of the two-hour season finale) - Alec MapaAlec Mapa-Personal life:Mapa, a Filipino American, was born in San Francisco and attended George Washington High School . Mapa is openly gay and lends his support to various projects supporting the gay, lesbian, and Asian American communities...
as Suzuki St. Pierre - David RascheDavid Rasche-Early life and career:Rasche was born in St. Louis, Missouri. His father was a minister and farmer. Rasche started in theatre, but also has appeared on numerous movies and television series. He became a member of the Chicago Second City, after John Belushi moved on to Saturday Night Live...
as Calvin Hartley - Sarah LafleurSarah LafleurSarah Lafleur is a Canadian-born actress, most recognizable for her roles in Ugly Betty , The Mentalist , Grey's Anatomy , CSI: NY , Crossing Jordan , Without a Trace , Playmakers ; and the films Shall We Dance? , Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story and Daydream Believers: The Monkees Story...
as Molly
Guest starring
- Rachel DratchRachel DratchRachel Susan Dratch is an American comic actress best known for her roles as a cast member of Saturday Night Live from 1999 to 2006.-Early life:...
as Penny and Mindy Meadows - Antonio Sabàto, Jr.Antonio Sabàto, Jr.Antonio Sabàto, Jr. is an American actor and model. Born in Italy and raised in the U.S., Sabàto first became known as a Calvin Klein model and for his role on the soap opera General Hospital. He continued appearing in films and television series throughout the 1990s and 2000s.-Early life:Sabàto...
as himself - Nigel Barker as himself
- Robert VerdiRobert VerdiRobert Verdi is an American TV personality and style expert. He is most noted for hosting a variety of TV programs featuring fashion and interior design.-Early life:...
as himself - Rachel MaddowRachel MaddowRachel Anne Maddow is an American television host and political commentator. Maddow hosts a nightly television show, The Rachel Maddow Show, on MSNBC. Her syndicated talk radio program, The Rachel Maddow Show, aired on Air America Radio...
as herself