The Box and the Bunny

"The Box and the Bunny" is the second episode from the American dramedy series Ugly Betty, which aired on October 5, 2006. Although this is the second episode overall in the series, it is listed as the third episode on the first season DVD release, while "Queens for a Day" was listed as episode 2. The episode's title is a reference to the music box that Bradford took from Fey's apartment, and Betty's pink bunny that Amanda kidnaps and abuses. It is also the first episode to be produced in Los Angeles.

Plot

As Betty begins her first day at MODE as Daniel's assistant, she is given the ins and outs on what to expect now that she and Daniel have become a team. Things start when Bradford tells Daniel that as the editor-in-chief he should take charge of the 'book' - the mock-up of the upcoming issue before it hits the stands. Daniel decides to let Betty in on how the setup is prepared by taking her to the meeting. Here he tells the staff, including Wilhelmina, that he will review the issue personally and orders that he be given the 'book'. This issue will feature digitalized photos of movie star Natalie Whitman, who is none too happy with how they will alter them because she has gained weight, although Betty admires her just as she looks. While running an errand for Daniel, including a stop for lunch in the cafeteria where she shows off her homemade empanadas and talk about the mock-up with the "Uglies" (to which Zelda mentions to Christina that she would be great on the cover of National Geographic after she brings up about if she was on the cover), Betty notices her pink bunny is missing from her desk. This sets up a recurring theme in this episode, with Betty receiving several e-mails with pictures of the bunny being battered, and Amanda taunting Betty.

Just as Daniel is giving the mock-up the once-over, Amanda distracts him with tickets to an opera (that she says is as boring as heck, but there is a room upstairs where they can 'do naughty things' and not get caught), so he agrees to go with her and leaves the 'book' in the office. After Daniel leaves for the evening, Betty goes into the office and takes it upon herself to take the 'book' home.

At home Betty shows the issue to her family, but is distracted by Gina, who is furious with Betty over destroying her TV (see previous episode) and now wants $4,000. We also learn that there is bad blood between Gina and Hilda. When Hilda grabs the 'book' and threatens to hit Gina, Gina notices the 'book' (or as she calls it, "The Dead Sea Scrolls") and sees a way to get her money. That night, by using her 'juvie' skills, she sneaks in and takes the 'book'. The following day Betty receives a ransom note under the door saying that she'll get the book back if Gina gets her $4,000. At Gina's place, Gina and Hilda (who sneaked in through the back door) resume their catfight, resulting in Gina's hairpiece being ripped off. Hilda sarcastically says that now she and Betty owe Gina $4,000... and fifty cents. Daniel calls, and at first Betty decides to cover her tracks by lying to him but when she comes clean he decides to help Betty by paying Gina to get the issue back. Unfortunately Wilhelmina gets wind of this (via a text message from the chauffeur who picked Betty up) and sends Marc to retrieve it.

When Betty and Daniel (who stalls a staff meeting so he has time to recover the mock-up) arrive to get the 'book', Gina tells them that she got a LCD TV after someone else showed up to claim it. While there, Betty sees Walter fixing Gina's set but he insists that he still has feelings for Betty. When Walter turns the TV on, they learn that a story involving the missing 'book' has found its way onto the TV channel Fashion TV. After telling the truth to Bradford about what has happened, Betty is left with no choice but to quit (good news for Amanda). Then Natalie shows up and says that she wants the real photos of herself to be published in MODE and that Betty should keep her job (another setback for Amanda). As expected Daniel upstages Wilhelmina by having Natalie appear on Fashion TV, where she explains why she wants the public to see her just the way she really looks. After taking the mock-up off Wilhelmina's hands, Daniel has just enough time to look properly through it before it is published.

Meanwhile Bradford decides to take a personal interest in the Fey Sommers scandal (Bradford and Fey dating) by telling the private detective he plans to sneak into Fey's apartment to see what he can find. In the process Bradford finds a photo of himself and Fey together, along with a music box, which he takes with him. Bradford destroys the photo by burning it, casting suspicion about his own involvement with Sommers. As for Wilhelmina, she once again visits the mystery woman to see if she can get more info on how to take down the Meades in her plot to take over the company.

As Daniel goes over the mock-up, a woman phones to tell him that he should be proud of his father.... and warns him that he should be careful when he is around him... then hangs up.

Other notes

In the episode Bradford is reading the German newspaper "Berliner Zeitung" (actually the July 21, 2006 edition of the more distinguished "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" with a fake "Berliner Zeitung"-head) while talking to his private investigator, Steve, in the park. When Steve asks why he is reading the paper knowing that he doesn't speak German, Bradford replies that he doesn't need to...he owns the newspaper! This seems to be a reference to the German telenovela "Verliebt in Berlin", which is also based on "Yo soy Betty la fea". Germany's Sat. 1, which aired "Verliebt", started broadcasting "Betty" in that country in April 2007, but would cancel the show after two weeks because of low ratings, making it the only country to cancel the series. But in May 2010, sixx, a digital cable network for women owned by ProSiebenSat.1 began airing Ugly Betty under its original title. Sat.1 also gave Ugly Betty another chance as well with airing the show on Sunday afternoons starting August 8, 2010. In contrast to its premiere title which was Alles Betty (Everything Betty), the series was renamed Betty – Allein unter Models (Betty – Alone among models) when it aired on Sat.1

In one scene Justin, mentions The Devil Wears Prada, after he claims to have seen the movie seven times. The mentioning of "Prada" would be referenced later on in several episodes during the first season. There has been a lot of debate over the comparisons over "Ugly Betty" and "Prada" ever since.^[1]

Ratings

The episode would pull in 14.2 million viewers (down from 16.1 million for the first episode) in the United States, making it the second most watched episode in the series^[2]

References

Also starring

• Kevin Sussman - Walter
• Ava Gaudet - Gina Gambarro
• Stelio Savante - Steve
• Elizabeth Payne - Masked Woman
• Cicily Daniels - Zelda

Guest stars

• Sarah Jones - Natalie Whitman
• Jack Plotnick - Natalie's Publicist
• Lucy Davis - Fashion TV Host
• Corinne Dekker - Nancy
• Jeff Ellingson - Jeff
• Michael Edward Rose - Edgar
• Scottie Thompson - Photo Editor