Not super long ago, my wife and I started watching Ugly Betty after we needed a new series to watch, and we are now officially finished. It’s almost hard to believe it only took four seasons for the show to end, but after the writers’ strike really affected the quality of the series, I can kind of see why. Some television shows never end, some end because the ratings go down, and sometimes the people behind them want to quit before the show gets really bad. Apparently, for Ugly Betty, it was a mix of both, but it was definitely ABC’s poor handling of everything that was the ultimate nail in the coffin for anyone hoping for a fifth season.
Season 4 is probably the most unique of the four because Betty has finally become an editor rather than Daniel Meade’s assistant. That made things kind of interesting since she no longer felt like Daniel’s de facto mother figure. Instead, she was treated more like an intern that nobody liked. It’s just kind of unbelievable to me because she’s beloved by Daniel and his mother Claire, yet somehow nobody else is even pretending to be nice to her.
By Season 4, Daniel Meade seems much more grown up, but it definitely came at a price. He married Molly while she was dying of cancer, and she passed away at the end of Season 3. His maturity also comes with some naivety because he’s very susceptible to anyone trying to reconnect him spiritually with his beloved late wife.
Wilhelmina Slater once again miraculously manages to stay employed at Mode magazine. But after everything that went down with Connor Owens, she seems much more toned down than she was before, especially compared to the first season when she was the ice queen of fashion journalism. Without saying any major spoilers, I’ll just say that her story didn’t end quite the way I expected.
Probably the biggest addition to the season was the revelation that Claire had a secret illegitimate son many years ago, and she reconnects with him as an adult named Tyler. I was actually really disappointed with this plot line because it built up, fell apart, and then just didn’t seem like it mattered anymore.
I guess it was lucky that the show’s creators knew they were getting canceled because there isn’t a terrible cliffhanger with no resolution. There is an ending, and it’s not terrible, but it’s not particularly good either. I had heard the fourth season was the worst, and I definitely agree. Overall, though, I was really glad to watch it with my wife.