Ugly Betty: What Happened to Alexis?

It's Fashion Week, and Ugly Betty is celebrating with an episode chock full of goodies. Every character gets something fun to do. Henry pops and locks, Marc and Amanda chase after a truly hideous, Jubilee Jumbles award-winning bubble skirt, and, as a special gift to us, there is lots of Justin. The cutest gay-in-training on TV has a great time as Wilhelmina's emergency backup Marc, and while I would have loved to see some more Marc/Justin interaction, I can't really complain, because Justin doesn't get used nearly enough. And if that wasn't enough for your Fashion Week gift bag, Ugly Betty gives you little, satisfying rewards like Tim Gunn (on screen for about ten seconds, but we'll see him again next week), and the return of Fabia, who you'll remember from the pilot. Unfortunately, there's always something pretty but useless in any gift bag, like the iPod you already have two of, and that something in this episode is Katharine McPhee, who shows up long enough to be told, "You're Katharine McPhee!" You know how on '80s sitcoms, when some famous person would show up as themselves, and, after standing there grinning self-importantly for two minutes while the crowd screams, they'd then be fawned over by the cast of the show? That's basically Kat's scene, except she pimps her album. Priorities. Also, Hilda acts like an idiot and kisses Daniel, but I can't be mad at her, because I think she's finally on Team Henry - which is the only team to be on. Way to come around, Hilda.

Meanwhile, the Meades have the big stories of the night. Bradford's ready to name Daniel as his successor – of course at the Mode fashion show, where Alexis is also planning on making her debut. And Alexis apparently has some serious problems with her family, for all the destroying of them she did in this episode. Daniel she encourages to hit on her, until she reveals her secret and taunts him as his brain blows a fuse, but it's Bradford who gets the worst of it. She tells him about her gender reassignment in front of the press and everyone at the Mode fashion show – right before he gets arrested for Fey's murder! All of which completely ruins Christina's fashion show, by the way. Is there some beef Alexis has that we'll learn about later? Because of all we know about the Meade brothers, it's the underappreciated, overshadowed Daniel who should be resorting to massive, baroquely plotted revenge. After all, Alex Meade was already going to be the heir to Meade Publications, before he disappeared. Why all the plotting? Maybe the evil was injected along with the hormones?