Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Season 1, Episode 18, Aired
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Episode Summary

Betty is in for some wild drama when Marc's mother stops by, given that the latter doesn't seem to know that her son is gay and Betty acts as his girlfriend to help him keep his secret. Meanwhile, Daniel and Alexis are forced to work together when Claire names them both co-editors-in-chief.moreless
9.3
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EPISODE RATING: Superb
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Fan Episode Reviews (16)

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  • First and only episode I've ever seen of this show, but it was pretty great!

    9.3
    "Superb"
    By Liz8710, Jul 07, 2008 Report Abuse
    Having never seen the show before but having read some things, I was most affected by the storyline between Marc and his mother. After seeing him as a snarky person talking to Betty it was truly heartbreaking when his mother said she didn't want to know him if this was the life he had chosen (to be gay I loved the moment when Henry was muttering under his breath all of Betty's favorite things as he walked away; he had the sweetest expression, and they were quite adorable together. I appreciated the fact that Daniel was willing to let Alexis win and I enjoyed his letter that was not going to appear. I like the dynamic between Betty and Daniel, especially when he was teasing her about Marc, but also when he was saying that he appreciated her pep talks.moreless

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  • Marc and Betty pretend to be going out.

    9.4
    "Superb"
    By Black_Grace, Aug 17, 2007 Report Abuse
    Great episode! Betty is in for some wild drama when Marc's mother stops by, given that the latter doesn't seem to know that her son is gay and Betty acts as his girlfriend to help him keep his secret. Meanwhile, Daniel and Alexis are forced to work together when Claire names them both co-editors-in-chief. I just hate Alexis! I want to punch him in the face! If I was Daniel I would trip him while they were running. That would be so funny. I still don't get why he gived up so quick. He could of still tryed like Betty said.moreless

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  • ugly betty is such a good show!

    9.7
    "Superb"
    By mr-boombastic07, Apr 14, 2007 Report Abuse
    I thought this episode was hillerious. betty helped mark by pretending to be his girlfriend when his mum come to visit. amanda had helped mark before and enjoyed pretending to be his girlfriend.I thought it was so funny how marcs mum was so shocked about betty's family.I felt sorry for mark when he told his mum about him being gay and for how she reacted to him. anyway i wouldnt like to see Wilhemnia as the new editor of mode. and i think it would be great if betty and mark become good freinds and mark starts to give betty info about all wilhemnia's and alex's devious plans to become editor of mode. cant wait till next episodemoreless

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  • Poor Marc

    9.6
    "Superb"
    By gfkoz, Apr 14, 2007 Report Abuse
    Oh my sweetboy: ) This episode makes the serie more in our life. It's like something we all know in our lifes or aomething we can hear from someone. The characters are like normal people on our normal lifes, not just a tv series. And because of that I like this show. No matter where they live(penthouses or Queens town) we can feel the goods and the bads in their lifes. They can be rich but they dont have someone to spent their money with. They can be laugh or dont take everything serious, in this episode like Marc, but in their orijinal lifes we cant know what they live. It's good, and I think this is the most important point about why this show continuous is.moreless

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  • More about Marc

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By MoonToTheTide, Apr 09, 2007 Report Abuse
    Is Marc actually a person?! The answer is... yes! Yeah, I'm as surprised as you. I guess Marc isn't just a super annoying fasion industry guy. I feel really bad for him, but, in the end, he was better off without his mom. I hated that woman, she was a terrible, terrible person... kind of like most of the people in Betty's world. I didn't really like watching her be such a fruggen biggot, but, in the end she left and hopefully will never make another appearance on the show. It was an important message on the show to add with it's other morales. A very nice episode I think.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

    ADD TRIVIA
    • We're introduced to Nick Pepper in this episode and if you listen to the DVD commentary you learn that he was named after an executive from ABC. Edit
    • From a deleted scene from "Don't Ask Don't Tell", Betty asks Marc: "Your real name is Weiner?" Marc answers: "I had to change it. A gay kid named Weiner? I wanted to beat myself up.") This would have explained the difference between his mother's and his name. Edit
    • When Wilhelmina pours Claire a drink, the cup disappears and then reappears between scenes. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • International Airdates: Norway: May 9, 2007 on TVNorge Bulgaria: November 13, 2007 on Nova TV Latin America: May 8, 2008 on Sony Entertainment Television Greece: July 24, 2008 on ANT1 Edit
    • Featured Music: 'Boys Wanna Be Her' by Peaches 'Chariots Of Fire' by Vangelis 'Orange Sky' by Alexi Murdoch Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Marc: (to Jean) I am..uh..breaking up with Betty. Jean: Oh, thank God! Marc: Wait, you didn't like her? Jean: Marc, honey, let's be honest. With that hair and that face, what were my grandchildren going to look like? Edit
    • Jean: So, Hilda, you're a single mom. That must be hard. How long ago did you and your husband split? Hilda: Oh, we were never actually married. You know: Prom night, condom breaks, long story. (Betty and Marc flinch) Hilda: Actually, no. That's pretty much it. Edit
    • Marc: We'll always have that fake pregnacy scare! Amanda: Oh, that was a real scare you idiot, it just wasn't yours! Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Marc: It has fluorescent lighting. I refuse to be looked at under this merciless glare. Wilhelmina: Patience, Blanche. This is a reference to Blanche Dubois from Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire. In the play, Blanche was portrayed as refined and was appalled by her sister's poor living conditions. Several times she placed shades over lights to hide her facial flaws. Edit
    • Betty said "Justin is upset because Dreamgirls didn't get the 'Best Movie'", and then Justin said "What is Babel anyway?". They're talking about the 2007 Academy Awards. Babel, a movie about people from different countries conected by a terrorist attack, got the award nomination for 'Best Feature Film', unlike Dreamgirls, the film version of the musical about 3 singers in the '60s and the '70s. Edit
    • The FREE CLAIRE t-shirt Justin wears is very similar to one used in The OC to front a FREE MARISSA campaign when she was forced to attend Newport Union. They wanted to campaign to have her allowed back to Harbour like Justin wants Claire released from prison. It is also similar that both feel justify in their actions for killing Fey and shooting Trey. Edit

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