The Fall Issue
Production Number: 3-24 (episode 65)
First Aired: Thursday, May 21, 2009
Recurring Characters: Sarah Lafleur (Molly), Christopher Gorham (Henry Grubstick), David Rasche (Cal Hartley), Daniel Eric Gold (Matt Hartley), Ralph Macchio (Archie Rodriguez), Alec Mapa (Suzuki St. Pierre), Christine Baranski (Victoria Hartley)
Guest Cast: Rachel Dratch (Penny and Mindy Meadows), Wass Stevens (Bounty Hunter), Antonio Sabato Jr. (Himself), Rachel Maddow (Herself), Nigel Barker (Himself), Robert Verdi (Himself), Amy Ziff (Screaming Woman), Ryan Raftery (Ryan)
Betty tells Hilda about a recent dream in which she was eating a hotdog in a park and she heard Henry's voice. It turned out not tobe Henry, though, but was actor Antonio Sabato, Jr., who grabbed her and kissed her. Matt then appeared and called her a cheater. Betty thinks that the dream means that she should be honest and tell Matt about the kiss she shared with Henry, but Hilda tells her that this would be a mistake. Everyone is excited because Mode's Wedding Issue has been nominated for a MAMA (Magazine and Media Association) Award. Wilhelmina is furious when she gets to the office and sees that Claire has comandeered the press conference that she herself was going to hold for various members of the media. Wilhelmina interrupts Claire's Q-and-A by saying that she has been thinking about taking a trip to Madison, South Dakota, because she has heard that it is "a wonderful place to find your inner child." She then asks if Claire has been there recently, or perhaps in the early 80's. Daniel asks Betty if editor Penny Meadows has turned in her piece on Yves St. Laurent yet. Betty is reluctant to go to Penny's office because she is a mean woman, but Daniel won't let her off the hook. Betty goes to meet Matt for coffee at a cafe across the street from Meade Publications, so she can confess that she kissed Henry, but she is interrupted when Penny slips off a ledge on the 28th floor and plunges to her death, just a few yards from where Betty and Matt are sitting. Betty offers to arrange a memorial service for Penny's friends at Mode, but Daniel doesn't think that Penny had any friends. As Daniel wonders how they are going to deal with Penny's workload, Betty struggles to suggest that she would like to be considered for Penny's job, but Daniel beats her to the suggestion. He says that he was already thinking about offering her the now-vacant position as Feature Editor. Betty feels that celebrating, considering the way in which her new position became available, would be inappropriate, but the Suarezes can't restrain themselves. Justin is still waiting to learn whether or not he has been accepted to the LaGuardia School for the Performing Arts. Amanda tries to sabotage the future of Marc's replacement, Ryan, by giving him bad advice on how to deal with Wilhelmina, but Marc catches her in the act. Claire stops by Wilhelmina's office to discuss the information that Victoria had recently divulged. Claire tells Wilhelmina that when she found out that she was pregnant by her husband's best friend, Cal, she left town to terminate the pregnancy. Then she had a nervous breakdown that kept her hospitalized for about a year. Wilhelmina tells Claire that she wants her to step down from her Senior Vice President position or she will tell Cal about Claire's little visit to South Dakota. Willi then tells Claire that she wants her to announce her resignation at the MAMA Awards ceremony. Marc and Wilhelmina then reminisce about some of the dastardly deeds they have accomplished together over the years. Matt calls Betty to give her another opportunity to admit that she kissed Henry, but Betty thinks about Hilda's advice regarding the damage that such a confession could do, so she says nothing, which makes Matt feel even more unsure about where he stands with her. Amanda squeals when she sees Penny walk into her own memorial service, but it turns out to be Penny's twin sister, Mindy. Marc then arrives and announces that he will carry on Penny's legacy when he starts his new job as Feature Editor, which is the same job that Daniel already promised to Betty. Daniel and Wilhelmina then argue over the disputed position, but the only decision they can come up with is for Betty and Marc to compete for the job. They both have to take all of the research that Penny had done for the Yves St. Laurent article and whichever one writes the best feature will get the editorial position. Justin receives a letter from the performing arts school stating that he has not been accepted for the upcoming semester. Betty learns from Amanda that Penny never worked at the office, she always worked at home, so the files that she needs will only be found in Penny's apartment. Matt comes to take Betty to lunch and he asks her if she saw Henry again before he left. She admits that she did see him, but she says that it was no big deal. Matt then reveals that it seemed like a big deal to him, because he saw their goodbye kiss. Betty says that the kiss didn't mean anything, but Matt isn't convinced that this is true. Marc and Betty both end up at Penny's apartment, but they have a difficult time finding anything useful. Mindy catches them rooting through her sister's belongings. They tell Mindy that they want to complete Penny's story as a tribute to her, but Mindy takes her sisters pages of notes and tosses them out the window, saying that Penny always hated Mode. Betty and Marc then commiserate over a pitcher of margaritas at Marc and Amanda's apartment. The two competitors then decide to join forces and the next day they both present their letters of resignation to Daniel and Wilhelmina. They don't really want to quit, but since neither one is able to complete Penny's article, they want to pressure Wilhelmina and Daniel into making a decision. Betty tells Matt that she loves him and she wants to be with him, but he is still struggling with his feelings of insecurity. Daniel discovers that Molly's fever is returning, but she insists that he should go ahead to the MAMA Awards and she will rest for a while and then meet him at the ceremony. Betty is surprised as she is escorting Justin through the crowd at the awards ceremony and she literally bumps into Antonio Sabato, Jr. Justin wants her to tell the actor about the dream she had, but she refuses to tell the tale. Marc has a little chat with Justin and tells him that the trick to surviving a public high school is to find your niche, and if you can't find one... make one. Matt tries to get advice from Cal about his situation with Betty. Matt says that he is thinking that he should forgive Betty, but Cal tells Matt that he will probably always be competing with Henry, so he should take all of his feelings and focus them on work. Wilhelmina suggests that she and Daniel should flip a coin to decide which assistant will be promoted. Heads... the job goes to Marc. Tails... the job is Betty's. Daniel then pulls Betty aside to tell her that she will be getting the promotion. As happy as Betty is, she is still sad for Marc, knowing how disappointed he will be. When Mode wins its MAMA Award, Daniel can't find his acceptance speech (which Marc stole for Wilhelmina), but just as Willi is about to step in, Daniel sees Molly and he improvises a few words about the love that went into the issue. After he finishes his speech, Daniel realizes that Molly wasn't really standing next to Betty, as he thought she was. He decides to rush home to check up on her. Wilhelmina asks Claire when she is going to announce that she is stepping down from her position, but Claire says that she is not going to do any such thing. Willi asks Claire how she thinks Cal will react when he learns the truth, but Cal then steps up and says that he already knows all about the situation and it is none of her business. Claire then says that she and Cal have been talking and they have decided that they will be reevaluating Wilhelmina's position in the company. Matt asks Betty if she still loves Henry, and he can tell from the look on her face that she does. She tells him that Henry is in her past, but she will probably always have feelings for him because he was her first love. She says that Matt should understand because he probably still has feelings for his own first love, but he then catches her off guard by telling her that she is his first love. He then tells her that their relationship is over, but she will be seeing him every day, because Cal offered him a job at Mode and he accepted the position as Betty's new boss. Wilhelmina turns to a private detective to track down Connor Owens so she can get her hands on the money he had stolen so she can gain leverage over Claire and Cal. The man asks her if she wants Connor dead or alive and she replies that she really doesn't care. After the man leaves, Wilhelmina is then startled to discover an unexpected visitor in her apartment. Daniel gets home just in time to see an emergency medical team wheeling Molly's body out to an ambulance. Claire looks at the yellowing adoption certificate of the son that she gave birth to in Madison twenty-something years earlier. Daniel calls Betty to tell her that he needs her, and she rushes to his side to comfort him.
Trivia:
• Christopher Gorham (Henry) is credited for this episode, but he does not appear. His voice is heard—saying Betty's name—during the dream sequence in the opening scene. Christine Baranski (Victoria) is also credited, but does not appear in this second hour of the two-hour, two-episode season finale.
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