Burning Questions (Ugly Betty)

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“Burning Questions”

Ugly Betty episode

Episode no.

Season 2
Episode 15

Written by

Henry Alonso Myers

Directed by

Matt Shakman

Production no.

215

Original airdate

May 1, 2008

Episode chronology
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"Twenty Four Candles"	"Betty's Baby Bump"

Episode chronology

Burning Questions is the fifthteenth episode in the second season, and the 38th episode overall, of the American dramedy series Ugly Betty, which aired on May 1, 2008. The episode was written by Henry Alonso Myers and directed by Matt Shakman.

1 Plot
2 Production
3 Reception
4 Ratings
5 Also Starring
6 Guest Starring
7 Music
8 References

[edit] Plot

The episode began with Betty and Daniel staying up late to arrange his appointments and schedules for the next day via the phone, but the conversation was interrupted by Renee, who was worried that he is not at home and wanted to talk to him. The next morning Betty's family is concerned about her busy work schedule while juggling the plans Renee wanted to make with Daniel. While Hilda fixed Betty's hair, Betty mentioned that she has reconciled with Gio without Henry's knowledge, for fearing that Henry will be jealous of Gio.

In Mode, Betty told Daniel that it is difficult to fit in Renee's constant want to spend time with Daniel with the tight schedule Daniel had this week, but Daniel told her to try to work things out as he loved Renee. Henry stopped by and told Betty that Charlie had to stay in New York due to a panic attack, as her baby might be experiencing difficulties and might be force for an early labor.

Wilhelmina consulted a psychologist about her sister's condition, which has symptoms such as paranoia, jealously and mood swings. When she asked to put Renee in to the asylum, the doctor declined unless she posed a threat towards other people. After the consultation, Wilhelmina asked Marc to pamper Christina and decided to make Renee's condition resurface. Wilhelmina then arranged to meet Renee for a lunch to trigger her past illness, including bringing a lit birthday cake and meeting her at the restaurant where Renee and her ex-boyfriend Professor Greg Larson dated.

Things reached breaking point when Renee went into Betty's desk to reschedule Daniel's appointment, and tore the schedule apart while they were fighting for it. When Daniel interrupted the fight, Renee asserted that Betty was in love with Daniel.

After the fight, Betty talked to Christina on the phone about Renee's erratic behavior, and decided to investigate Renee. Christina then overheard Wilhelmina and Marc talking about Renee committing a murder. Christina and Betty found her medical records, saying she had murdered Professor Larson in a fire. Betty tried to call Daniel to warn him, but instead Amanda received the call and told Betty that the meeting with Christian Siriano has ended long ago and Daniel was heading home after an argument between him and Renee.

Daniel was affected by Renee's assertion when he dreamed about Betty trying to seduce him, and acting uncomfortable when he is interacting with her. When Daniel consulted Amanda about Betty's crush on him, Amanda advised him to be sensitive to people's feelings. Henry overheard Amanda saying that Gio is in love with Betty. He confronted Gio at his deli and asked him to stay away from Betty, and Gio challenged him into a fight. At first Henry, but eventually punched Gio on the nose. However, it turns out that Gio was just trying to scare Henry. Henry confessed that he was stuck in his situation (being the father of Charlie's baby while in love with Betty), and Gio told him to spend more time with Betty since he had very little time with her.

Meanwhile, Hilda's new client at the beauty shop turned out to be her ex-neighbor and lifetime nemesis Gina Gambarro, who returned to Queens to rub her fabulous life and wealthy doctor husband, orthodontist Larry Goldfarb, in Hilda's face. The designer clothes Gina wears made Hilda envious, so she rushed to Mode's closet to grab some designer clothes to compete with her. When Hilda discovered that Gina was wearing fake merchandise, Gina stormed off angrily, and her husband told Hilda that her life must be sad when she spend all her effort just to make her cry. Hilda realized that at least Gina had someone who loved her, and returned Mode's collection to Betty.

Daniel finally learned about Renee's condition, and discovered that she had actually set the fire to murder her ex-boyfriend's assistant, but instead Professor Larson got trapped in his home and killed. Worried that Betty might be in trouble, he called Betty while she was in his apartment, but was interrupted by Renee. Daniel, Wilhelmina and Marc rushed back to Daniel's apartment to stop the situation becoming worse.

Betty rushed to Daniel's apartment as she was worried Renee might murder him, but instead found Renee there with many lit candles. Renee accused Betty of keeping Daniel away from her, which Betty denied. Betty tried to explained that nothing had happened between her and Daniel, and she herself had a romantic life with Henry, but failed to convince Renee. When Renee aimed a knife at her, Betty begged her to see reality and told her that Daniel really loved her. Renee finally realized what she was doing and broke down, prompting Betty to help Renee escape the burning apartment. When Daniel, Wilhelmina and Marc reached the apartment and broke through the door, they found Betty had managed to extinguish the fire. Renee apologized to Daniel as she was taken away to the asylum, even as Wilhelmina told Marc not to say anything about the pills they switched in Renee's purse several days earlier.

Back at Mode, Daniel found himself wondering what went wrong as Betty, who decided to return to work of her own accord, went in to console him over Renee. Daniel asked Betty if she had feelings for him, only to have Betty say that she only loved Daniel "as a friend" and that her heart was with Henry, and when Betty sees him, they embraced each other after everything happened to them and that everything is fine for now.

[edit] Production

This episode marks Gabrielle Union's last apperence as Renee.

In addition, Christian Siriano designed most of the outfits featured in the episode. He is the second designer to share a guest star/wardrobe credit in the series, the first being Vera Wang in "A Nice Day for a Posh Wedding." Also the scene in which Amanda showed off her outfit, which by the way was designed by Siriano himself, was also available for auction on the website for The Clothes Off Our Back Foundation, which auctions off clothes donated by celebrities to help childrens' charties and agencies^[1]

[edit] Reception

"Don't Get Meds, Get Even" was one way Entertainment Weekly described this episode, which had their take on Siriano's appearance: "Sure, I loved seeing Christian (fabulously draped in a Count Dracula-esque cape) prance in with a gaggle of models wearing his "Project Runway" designs, too. But really, was that all? Sheesh. If you want the definition of buildup without payoff, I think we witnessed it right then. The best part of that sequence was Amanda furiously voguing with the models only to quickly get the hook by a very irritated Alexis. Oh, and Christian telling Alexis she was a hot tranny mess was spot-on. I mean, the phrase is totally overdone, especially after the uproarious SNL parody, and you could see it coming a mile away, but I'll admit: It was appropriate and funny.^[2]

[edit] Ratings

Although the numbers were down from the previous episode, "Burning Questions" did help "Ugly Betty" retain its second place showing against first-place "Survivor: Micronesia," scoring a 5.6/9 in the US Nielsen ratings^[3].