Ugly Betty: The Complete Second Season – DVD Review

By June L. Sep 17, 2008, 15:12 GMT

Betty Suarez is smart sweet and hard working. They only problem is that she\'s not thin and beautiful like all her co-workers at Mode the high-fashion magazine where she works. The only reason the publisher hired her to be his son\'s secretary is that he thought Betty was someone who Daniel would never sleep with. Betty\'s hard work and determination earns Daniel\'s respect as she helps him find his way ...more

Billed as “Brighter, bolder, Bettyer” the second season of Ugly Betty lives up to these promises with entertaining episodes, chronicles of Betty’s (America Ferrera) adventures at work and at home. 

While peopled with over-the-top characters, Ugly Betty manages to tell stories full of pathos, humor and relevance, without becoming trite or resorting to slapstick.  Absurd moments, well yes, there are, but Ugly Betty is never ever reduced to the level of inane silliness just to get a laugh. 

If you are laughing, it is because something really funny is happening, and if you are sad, it is because you are seeing Betty’s heart broken.

Season Two of Ugly Betty opened with events that are taking place just a few weeks after the end of season one.  A lot of drama is occurring, in Betty’s life.  There has been a car wreck and Alexis (Rebecca Romaijn) is in a coma. Betty’s sister Hilda (Ana Ortiz) can’t come to grips with the reality of Santos’s loss, and Ignacio (Tony Plana) is stuck in Mexico.

On top of that, Henry (Christopher Gorham) is leaving for Tucson to be a part of his unborn baby’s life.  From this beginning, the storylines become more complicated and dramatic.  For example, Alexis wakes up and doesn’t remember her sex change operation, as well as thinking that her relationship with Bradford is congenial, and Bradford takes advantage of this turn. 

Throughout the season the baddies get worse, and the good guys are more confused.  Wilhelmina (Vanessa Williams) is as always the villainess that one loves to hate, as her schemes almost work, when she is determined to marry Bradford. 

Not even a heart attack will stop her nefarious plans, as she is able to have Marc (Michael Urie) ordained as a minister just so that he can perform the ceremony in the ICU.

When Henry comes back to work at Mode, she feels that they should only be friends, and reluctantly begins a relationship.  Is she doomed to suffer, or is there perhaps another man who will capture her affections.

Ugly Betty: The Complete Second Season is presented on 5 tastefully decorated designer discs.  Due to problems from the writer’s strike there are only eighteen episodes, but what this season may lack in quantity, it makes up for in quality performances from regular cast members and an array of guest stars. 

The program notes for the episodes are on the back of a “Fashionably Fabulous City Guide which displays the environment of the show, with points of interest marked with stars. 

Bonus features for the set include, “On Set With the Beasties,” a featurette “Wilhelmina Slater: Love to Hate Her,” “The Suarez Tour,” “Las Pasiones De Telenovelas,” I (love) Betty, gags and outtakes called “Betty Bloops,” and deleted scenes from the episodes. 

The characters and the plots can be far fetched at times, but the emotions and issues are very real.  Whether it is unwed parenthood, or anorexia, or getting a grip on reality Betty is the bright spot in all the darkness.  She endeavors to make the best decisions, or help others to move along in the right direction, but even she has her limits. 

Ugly Betty: The Complete Second Season is now available at Amazon. It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for an Oct. 13th release. Visit the DVD database for more information.