"I See Me, I.C.U."
Daniel and Claire were able to see a sensitive, loving father and husband tonight in Bradford Meade. Even though Daniel couldn't say those three big words, his father - in a flash of insight into the son who cares so deeply about family - perceived that that was what he was thinking. Too bad Daniel didn't hear him say that he loved him. And I'm so glad Claire and Bradford had a quiet tender moment to reflect on their 35-year marriage and love. But these poignant moments made his passing all the more jarring, as evidenced by Claire silently being transported to Rikers and Daniel, Alex (and Betty) staring off blankly in his former hospital room.
At least Bradford discovered Willie's affair before agreeing to the bedside matrimony - although I'd have been tempted to be married by the online-ordained (Rev.?) St. James, with marital melody emanating from his cell phone. And thankfully we didn't have to wait very long for Daniel to discover the reason of Betty's "betrayal." Upon spying Ignacio at the hospital, my first desire was for him to tell Daniel. But better for Claire to tell him that, as well as what Ignacio and Hilda had done for her and Yoga. (How perfect a job for Hilda: to give Mrs. Meade an '80s bridge-and-tunnel, big-hair makeover to match her passport.) I just love it when the powerful (and powerfully rich) Meades need the help of the "lowly" and "unsophisticated" Suarez family!
So that brings us to Betty and Daniel. They basically made up, and Betty got her job back. But thanks to an imagined conversation with her day-one, poncho-wearing doppelganger, Betty realized "Mode" had influenced her too much over the last year in (lying, stealing, deceiving) ways she wasn't comfortable with, and decided to stay away, despite Bradford imploring her to remain by Daniel's side. But we all know she'll be back; at the very least, we know that she can't "stop helping those you care about," to quote Claire Meade, and the fact that she cares for Daniel is an understatement.
The best and funniest moments of the night were those with Betty and Henry - watching them work together, each bossing the other at intervals, Henry flirting with L'Amanda (ha!), aka
Mo'Nique, and reveling in their escape from Bradford's suite through the air duct. He gave us a rare glimpse into the fun-lovin' playa (must've been watching Kenny) that is Sugarstick: "I'm sweet like sugar, soft like suede, but unlike a piano, I never get played." But then the geek was back with a scientific metaphor for their romantic chemistry that L'Amanda didn't understand.
Yet
nothing can slow down the evil Wilhelmina! Amid several new schemes tonight, she (with Marc in tow) kept rolling with each change of events. Was she not perfect in Fey's secret sex room? Something tells me that whip is now in her possession. Look out, bodyguard Dwayne (real-life ex-husband
Rick Fox)! Also true to form, she appeared with no hint of sadness in the episode's last scene, leaning over Bradford's dead body only to concoct her latest scheme and offer some kind of devious proposition to a young doc in the hospital's morgue.
Chuckle-worthy lines:
- "Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Diego"
- "Oh, Balls!"
- "Stay away from that damn light, Dad!"
- "You're a weenie." "You're taking a
writing class?"
Enjoy more great Betty
lines in our Online Video Guide.
