Episode Report Card Jessica: C+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT After Hours
By Jessica | Season 1 | Episode 7 | Aired on 11.08.2006
In Queens -- that far off land -- Hilda gives Ignacio the wad of cash from Santos. Ignacio would rather not be indebted to Santos "after everything he put [Hilda] through." Hilda sort of shrugs. "What did you have to do for the money?" Ignacio asks. Hilda tells him that Santos is coming to see Justin. Tonight. Ignacio snorts that she's asking for trouble, and Hilda totally rolls her eyes. I'm kind of with her. She's making this sacrifice so that Ignacio doesn't get hauled back to a Mexican prison. I don't see him coming up with any bright, money-making ideas.
Back at Mode, the empowered ladies of NYW are hard at work in Daniel's conference room. Salma, gesticulating wildly, accidentally walks right into a caterer, who's coming in with carts of Indian food. Which none of the Empowered Ladies ordered. Salma pats the caterer in apology and looks over at Daniel in his glass office. She smiles. He still has his nose stuck in her book. Daniel is a slow reader.
Salma fixes Daniel a tray, and brings it into his office. "You obviously made it to the tenth chapter, where I mention Indian food as an aphrodisiac," she purrs. Daniel apologizes for the "whole breast thing," and tells her that he's enjoying her book. "But do you really think men are going to be obsolete in a thousand years?" he asks. Salma absolutely does. "Maybe sooner! That doesn't mean I wouldn't miss you," she tells him. Daniel starts telling her how impressed he is by all her accomplishments, but chokes on how hot the food is. Which is funny, seeing as he ordered it. Salma waits for him to recover, and then asks him if he "rides." Daniel furrows his brow. "'Ride' what?" he asks. Why, her motorcycle, of course!
Hotel restaurant. Because the chi-chi trendy menu is transparent, we can see Walter's flustered face as he reads it. "Red wine reduction. Why would I want my food reduced?" he wonders. Betty thinks that perhaps it has less calories? I think she really needs to start reading the magazine which employs her, simply so that she doesn't say those sorts of things if and when Daniel takes her out with clients, the way Wil does Marc. See, that's another thing. Marc is basically the Betty equivalent in Wil's office. Yet she can take him places -- as she does in this episode -- and he can TRULY assist her in a way that's helpful to her, while Daniel does (or can) not do the same with Betty. She's smart and valuable to him in many ways, but I think that in this arena -- representing Mode in public, which is absolutely part of her job -- she is a liability, and she doesn't seem to realize it, or care. Sure, the Mode POV on things like clothing and beauty may be shallow and ridiculous, but she does work there, and as someone who is at times a public face for the company, it is part of her job to represent its values, whatever they may be. If she is morally opposed to them -- which she doesn't really seem to be -- she didn't have to take the job. If she wants to keep the job -- and I can see that she needs money -- maybe it would be smart for her to take a good look at the way she's coming across at work. Not that I would want or expect her to pull on the formal shorts, but I don't think it's insane to expect her to not wear AN AQUA TAFFETA GOWN to ANY restaurant, especially when she's there as a Mode employee. Anyway. Betty suggests to Walter that they get the tasting menu, and then gets back to taking notes. She wonders if Walter would call the place romantic, or appropriate for business? Walter says that he would call it pretentious. Which is not untrue, but he's so annoying. Betty seems to think so, too, since she snaps that she's never done this before, and she'd really appreciate his help. "I don't know anything about this stuff," he tells her, and repeats that he really wants to go upstairs and watch a little cable. "I can help you review the TV reception," he offers. Betty gives him a dirty look. "What?" Walter whines.