by Grace Alexander

Created on: April 15, 2010

* Spoiler Alert! *

The Ugly Betty finale has been awaited with bated breath - will Betty and Daniel end up together? Or will Betty take the job in London that she's always dreamed of? The episode opened with a familiar TV scene - plenty of black clad, umbrella holding people at a rainy - not to mention illegal - funeral… for a dog. Interrupted by authorities, the mourners scattered, and Amanda's darling Halston ended up in Betty's freezer.

Meanwhile, Betty (America Ferrara) was trying to figure out how to tell her boss Daniel (Eric Mabius) about her impending move to London, but he found out through the grapevine before she could divulge the news. Daniel originally acted undisturbed, but did an about-face and burned the letter releasing her from her contract. Betty appealed to Daniel's mother Claire for help.

Claire (Judith Light) tells Daniel to declare his feelings to Betty, but that doesn't go as planned. Meanwhile, Betty's family is against her plans. Betty's father is worried about his baby girl moving to London, which he has been convinced by the internet is filthy, dangerous, and full of unkind people. Hilda also wants Betty to stay for reasons of her own.

Wilhelmina (Vanessa Williams) is in a coma after being shot, but awakens to find her long lost love by her bedside, temporarily released from jail. She plans to let the shooting go, but Claire visits her in the hospital and tries to bribe her, making Wilhelmina furiously vow to take her company. She later relents, and instead of outing Taylor as the shooter, claims she shot herself by mistake while cleaning her gun at a press conference. Claire is shocked that Wilhelmina has apparently decided to bury the hatchet.

Back to Betty, who is agonizing over her desire to go to London. She confides in her nephew, who encourages her to follow her dreams. She confronts Daniel, and informs him that she is definitely leaving. Daniel reluctantly signs the form releasing her from her contract.

At Betty's goodbye party (transformed by Amanda into a 'Goodbye Halston' party),  Daniel doesn't show, which causes Betty to break down in tears. She is discovered by Wilhelmina, who wonders why Betty is 'throwing it all away', but gives Betty her blessing. Back at the main celebration, Amanda and her father each realize the other knows about their father/daughter relationship.

Daniel shows up belatedly, and his mother pushes him again to talk to Betty and beg her to stay. He refuses, then startles Wilhelmina by stepping down and making her sole editor of MODE. "What are you going to do?" she asks. "Start over," he replies, cryptically.

It's a happy ending after all. Daniel's 'new start' turns out to include a transatlantic move - he's moving to London, and announces his plan to take Betty out on a date. Betty accepts, and then tells him she's looking for a new assistant.

Ugly Betty broke ground on many levels, being a celebration of Hispanic culture in a prime time slot, and also prominently featuring an M-F transgender character played by Rebecca Romijn.

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