524 replies to this topic

[mswyrr]

These two have such potential together. They're good for each other's careers, but it's not just business. They've been there for each other emotionally, too. The warmth of friendship growing between them is lovely to see. They're both young and new to their jobs, but they could be a real powerhouse in the magazine business in a couple years. I look forward to watching it happen, and hoping for a little romance!

[Marquis]

Thanks for opening the thread!

I am more of the friendshipper variety though, and hope to see a great friendship instead of romance. It would be cool if/when Betty leaves Mode that their friendship carries on long after they stop working together and they still have each other's back. I'd love to see that.

[Edsel Love]

I'd love to see him take her along when he graduates from Mode to Meade, only giving her a title and authority. Deputy rather than Assistant, perhaps.

[downboundtrain]

I hope it never turns into romance. That would be too predictable and blah. I'd rather the two of them just be a kick ass editorial team.

[gingerfirst]

Yep, Count me as someone on the friendship train. These two have such awesome chemistry as equals and friends. I hope they never have Betty develop a crush on Daniel. I think I would cringe too much and I don't know if I would be able to continue to watch the show. Though ... everyone else really rocks the house so I don't really know. I love them together, they both seem really genuine when they are alone (Daniel especially, but Betty seems way more confident when it is just the two of them - almost like she does in Queens). I would love it if Daniel spent more time with Betty in Queens so he could grow to admire Betty's own unique style (I like her outfits - sue me) and expand his own horizons a little.

[nilyank]

I love them as friends and hope that they go with the crush/relationship route. Plus, I think that Daniel is just seems so much older than Betty. Maybe in 5-10 years, it would be okay, but for now just keep them as friends only.

[susan vance]

Am I the only one convinced that Betty and Daniel are totally mfeo? There are many things that draw me to the show, but their connection is one of the big ones. I'm convinced they're kindred spirits and totally Meant To Be, and I'm excited to watch them get there. Right now, of course, he's too shallow/self-involved, and she's a little too deferential and eager, but sometime down the line, when she gains a little confidence and he gains a better perspective? Totally meant for each other!

And of course the journey there will be full of one-sided yearning (probably for both of them, at different times) and misunderstandings, and I gotta tell you, I can't wait. When executed well, I love that stuff, and in my opinion, Ugly Betty has handled just about everything well so far. I have high hopes!

In conclusion: Betty/Daniel 4eva!

[kc2win]

I think if their friendship can help each of them become a stronger and better person, then that's better than any kind of romance between them.

[Irlandesa]

I don't know if I ship them. I think they have a really great vibe and might even have romantic chemistry. So far they haven't really played up a romantic chemistry. There hasn't been flirting or moments of sexual tension which is just fine, especially at this point. I'm willing to see where the show goes.

Edited by Irlandesa, Oct 15, 2006 @ 8:40 PM.

[whyistherumgone]

I'm on the train called 'Digging their friendship, but if something were to happen later on, I wouldn't mind'. Odd name for a train, huh? lol

I mean, I LOVE how their relationship is developing. Love it. The chinese food thing was adorable. The little smiles and everything - adorable. But I really wouldn't mind their feelings developing into something more. But ONLY IF it happens slowly. And I am talking slooooooooooooooooooooooowly. Like not anytime during the first season and a half-slow. Done any sooner than that, it wouldn't be realistic. It has to be agonizingly slow. But if it does happen that way, I will be able to point out little moments from these first episodes on and say 'Yeah, can totally see the seeds being planted there'. And it MUST start from Daniel's side, IMO. Waaaay to cliche to have the assistant pining away for her boss. Even for this show. Ick.

People have been saying that, even now, only 3 episodes in, they're having a hard time buying Daniel as a womanizer. I don't think that's a mistake on the writers' part or the casting department's part. I think that's exactly the point. They've already begun to 'bring Daniel down a notch' in terms of that. Showing that while he is handsome, he's not unattainable.

Not to mention the fact that based on the other versions of the show, I just don't see how they can get around that part of the story. It's kind of important. I mean, they've changed a lot of things around, taken out some characters, added in some new ones, but I don't see how they can completely avoid the whole Betty/Daniel romance thing. I just don't.

But as I said, for right now (and for a loooong while), I am just digging their cute bond.

And also, thank God they didn't establish Betty having any kind of crush on Daniel during the first episode. Would have ticked me off. Wouldn't have made any sense, seeing as how Daniel was trying to get her to quit, and it would have turned me off the show from the start. The fact that they seem to be handling this the right way, makes me hopeful that they will continue to do so, whatever direction they choose to take their relationship in.

Edited by whyistherumgone, Oct 15, 2006 @ 7:43 PM.

[susan vance]

I think if their friendship can help each of them become a stronger and better person, then that's better than any kind of romance between them.

I love the friendship that's developing between them, too, and I think it will do exactly that - make each a stronger and better person. I don't think that friendship and romance are mutually exclusive, though. In this case, I think that their developing friendship could lead to a really satisfying love story.

I believe that friendship is important, and that male/female friendships are underrepresented on television, but this is one case where I'd be disappointed if the show didn't go with a romance between the characters. I think it would introduce conflict that's in keeping with the premise of the show, allowing the characters to grow in interesting ways. Daniel would have to grow out of his shallow, artificial upbringing to recognize Betty in a romantic way, and I think the show is presenting that as an important part of his character's growth. Betty would have to develop enough self-confidence to believe that she is worthy of someone like Daniel (which, in my mind, she definitely is), which is something Betty is definitely struggling with.

Also, they're both so cute! Wouldn't they be cute together? Really, that's what it comes down to for me.

[gingerfirst]

Okay, I'm changing trains ... I want on the 'digging the friendship but possibly leading to romance down the track' but if and only if whyistherumgone's idea of it coming from Daniel and not Betty comes true. In fact word to your entire post whyistherumgone. I just hope this show lasts that long.

[mswyrr]

Another big WORD to whyistherumgone's post. Damn, that would be perfect! I can't imagine a better way for it to evolve. We'd get a whole lot of friendship and character growth, and then romance too. Like the cherry on top of the sundae of awesome writing. And the slow progress would work wonderfully with the American series format. If the writers take their time, they won't have to eke out the storyline for years by doing stupid "Will they or Won't They?" scenarios, declarations of love left on answering machines that get erased, or any of the other gimmicks that are de rigeur in television romance. They can come by content for their four or five seasons honestly.

I particularly love your idea about having the romance start with Daniel. I would squee like I have never squeed before to see Daniel become the sort of guy who can see what an smart, kind, adorable and sexy girl Betty is all on his own. And just imagine how cute and flustered she'd be when she first found out. Heh.

And also, thank God they didn't establish Betty having any kind of crush on Daniel during the first episode. Would have ticked me off. Wouldn't have made any sense, seeing as how Daniel was trying to get her to quit, and it would have turned me off the show from the start.

Yeah, that would have been pathetic. The fact that she wasn't struck by his pretty and his (admittedly dubious) power at the magazine is important. It would have been disappointingly shallow of her if she had been, and it would have wrecked the basic conceit of the show: that is, that Betty's values lie outside the system of privilege the people at Mode recognize, not just that she can't compete within it. If she had crushed on her boss right off because he's cute/rich, her values wouldn't have been different from anyone else at the magazine. On the other hand, if she'd got a crush on him because of who he is as a person while all she knew of him was his humiliating her, womanizing like a sexist pig, and running her ragged would have been a possibly psychologically authentic story about a masochistic girl named Betty that I wouldn't want to engage with.

The fact that they seem to be handling this the right way, makes me hopeful that they will continue to do so, whatever direction they choose to take their relationship in.

Indeed. I'm usually wary of trusting creators, but the PTB on this show are quickly winning me over. I just hope ABC lets them do things their way, and doesn't stick their noses in too much.

Edited by mswyrr, Oct 15, 2006 @ 10:07 PM.

[Irlandesa]

Great post, whyistherumgone (love that name, by the way.)

I'm glad they didn't go with a crush given how the show began.

As to your spoiler tags, I guess it's weird to post in this thread after having seeing the other versions. You're right, whyistherumgone, I don't see how they can avoid the romance aspect. This version is different enough that if they had no plans of going there, they probably wouldn't have needed to purchase the rights to the telenovela. That said, Betty not having a crush on Daniel when he starts the seduction could be great. The guys never had to work very hard in the beginning because the girls had their crushes.

[mswyrr]

Irlandesa said,

I guess it's weird to post in this thread after having seeing the other versions. You're right, whyistherumgone, I don't see how they can avoid the romance aspect. This version is different enough that if they had no plans of going there, they probably wouldn't have needed to purchase the rights to the telenovela. That said, Betty not having a crush on Daniel when he starts the seduction could be great. The guys never had to work very hard in the beginning because the girls had their crushes.

I can see how the romance is pretty definite, but do you think the seduction is required, too? The thought of Daniel manipulating Betty that way is really horrible and repulsive. It's a lot more cruel than anything he did in the Pilot. They've made him so much nicer than his character in the other shows, maybe it doesn't have to happen?</grasping at straws>

Edited by mswyrr, Oct 15, 2006 @ 11:55 PM.

[Munchiewoman]

And it MUST start from Daniel's side, IMO

I was nodding along with the whole paragraph and thinking it would be great if they had a really really slow progression and wondering if they could have it start with Daniel first and then you said the same thing. I'd love it. Because I don't think Betty would ever even contemplate him that way because she would think he's so out of her league. And I think Daniel is going to realize somwhere that the person he can be himself with, the person he wants to tell a new idea to, the person he enjoys seeing most is Betty. And he's going to fight it. And it can go on this way naturally for a very long time, developing a deeper friendship all along the way.

It kind of reminds me of Scarecrow and Mrs. King that way. Their romance developed out of their very deep friendship.

[Mrs McClaggan]

I know the Betty/Daniel ship has history on his side, but he's her *boss, which makes it just wrong in my eyes. Could just be me.

I have plenty of friends who are men, but that kind of relationship seems so rare on television. I think it would take cojones for the writers to develop a genuine friendship between Daniel and Betty that didn't turn into romance.

[Munchiewoman]

I think the boss thing doesn't bother me because he so obviously is struggling and needs her, so I see an equalization coming. I predict he'll start thinking of her as his friend and partner rather than his employee (though I wouldn't doubt there will be times when he treats her as just an employee and that's going to sting.)

[oakgal]

Oh! I'm not that familiar with the original. So, the two characters are supposed to get together? Okay then.

I like whyistherumgone's idea too. Verrrrrrry slowly. And certainly started by Daniel. The absolute last thing I would want is Betty to be all crushing on him and have to be further humiliated at work. We get enough of that already.

I like them together though---AF and EM have a nice easy chemistry.

[whyistherumgone]

Ok, when he said he didn't want to lose her tonight, not once but twice, I have to admit, I grinned like a fool and I think I let out a bit of a high pitched sound. I will not, however, call it a squee! I just...no.

[Dana Girl]

I didn't want a Betty/Daniel relationship, but Eric Mabius has just made Daniel so damn lovable.

And it MUST start from Daniel's side, IMO.

Right. If Daniel fell for Betty I think I'd eat up with a spoon.

[QuicheSan]

Ok, when he said he didn't want to lose her tonight, not once but twice, I have to admit, I grinned like a fool and I think I let out a bit of a high pitched sound. I will not, however, call it a squee! I just...no.

The first time, definitely. The second felt a bit like overkill. It's only the fourth episode! Let's draw this out a little more, you know?

Still if a guy said that to me (regardless of the context) in just that tone, I would probably melt in a puddle. Moreso if he looked like Daniel.

[Trini Girl]

The first time, definitely. The second felt a bit like overkill. It's only the fourth episode! Let's draw this out a little more, you know?

Oh, totally.

What was with Daniel telling Betty he doesn't need to know everything? It's only weird because 2 episodes ago they made a big deal about not keeping info from him.

[Munchiewoman]

Saying it twice was weird. It's like they decided the scene deserved to be in a different spot and forgot to take it out once, because it was almost exactly the same each time.

But it still made me all schmoopy. And I noticed Betty reacted differently in each scene. When she was still feeling guilty for not 'fessing up, she barely reacted to it, but after she told, she got all grinny and shy-like.

I also loved the way Daniel paused and pushed the door shut a little when she said she was seeing Wilhemina. I like that he doesn't want to lose Betty - I think he's already starting to feel she's the only person he can trust and relax with at that magazine. Sweet.

[Rant]

I admit it, I swooned a little when Daniel told Betty he didn't want to lose her... the first time. The second was unnecessary; it may have been worded differently, but it sounded the same to me.

Right. If Daniel fell for Betty I think I'd eat up with a spoon.

Must. Resist. Writing. Fanfiction. /agonized

[Mrs McClaggan]

Whew, glad I'm not alone in thinking one "I don't want to lose you" would have been plenty. I thought "I don't need to know everything" was interesting. Did he mean that if he knew, he, Daniel, would be forced to fire her? Or that if he knew, it might make him think less of her?

[mswyrr]

Must. Resist. Writing. Fanfiction. /agonized

Oh, please don't resist, Rant! At least, not if doing it won't terribly upset your schedule or anything. I think a lot of us would love to read it. I agree with everyone here who wants the show to take a slow pace with any shippiness between Betty and Daniel, but at the same time, fanfic is a great place to jump ahead into the shippy ideas without compromising the canonical story, you know?

Speaking of fic. During the week between Queens for a Day and Fey's Sleigh Ride, I missed the sweet Betty and Daniel interaction so much, I wrote my own.

ETA: Thanks, oriond13! I'm so grateful for this show; it's been a long time since I've had such great characters to work with. Writing Daniel and Betty is amazingly fun.

Edited by mswyrr, Oct 20, 2006 @ 9:04 PM.

[whyistherumgone]

Eric Mabius a Daniel/Betty shipper?

Here's an excerpt with some quotes from Eric from the article The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Betty!

The original “Betty La Fea” focused on a romance between Betty and her boss. It also ended after two years, so in the interest of keeping “Ugly Betty” on the air for many years, there won’t be too many initial sparks between Ferrera and Mabius. At the beginning of the series, he’s got a bevy of ladies to juggle, and the show’s producers have instructed Mabius to start working out, because many shirtless scenes are coming.

Though nothing immediate is on the horizon, even Mabius hopes his character sees the beauty in "Ugly Betty". “I don’t see how it can’t happen but we don’t know that yet. I certainly think it’s possible because there’s an inevitable trust that’s established, and admiration and confidence in one another as people. You see that Betty and Daniel make one another better, who they are, more complete. It’s like she has a gap and I have a gap and together we sort of create this whole. When things get charged and excited like that, of course the emotional attachments are inevitable. But I’m not writing the show.”

All shipping aside...awwww.