Ugly Betty is a miracle in so many ways. The first network TV series with a Latina lead, it has taken a popular Colombian telenovela, Betty La Fea, and moved beyond this traditional genre, arriving at an incredible cast, neverending plot twists, a Golden Globe and a Peabody. Co-produced by Salma Hayek and Ben Silverman, this dramedy has an important message: beauty can be found where you least expect it.

Summarizing the first 18 episodes of the season would take forever and be oh so confusing, so I’m just going to share mis cosas favoritas, my favorite things from the show before I talk about tonight's episode.

I love that everyone who comes in contact with Betty is changed by her unwavering morals, fierce loyalty, and giving heart. Her friendship with her boss, Daniel Meade, and the way it has grown as the season progresses is so powerful.

I love the power of Betty’s family. They manage to capture all the wonderful things about a tight-knit Latino family, complete with dysfunctional Thanksgiving dinners, warm and wonderful holiday traditions, sibling rivalry, and unconditional support and love. Betty’s sister Hilda is a piece of work with her tight clothes, outgoing personality, and fierce maternal instincts. Their father is empathetic, kind, and giving, and I love that he is always cooking for them, nurturing his family. And my favorite, Betty’s nephew Justin. The fact that they chose to portray an effeminate young boy whose family accepts him for who he is and wants to be is nothing short of extraordinary. The episode where he put the athletic cup over his eye and ran across the room shouting, “Look! I’m the Phantom of the Opera!” I almost died with laughter.

I love that Justin’s father, who started with a stereotypical macho response to his son, learns to love and appreciate him as he is. (And it doesn’t hurt that he is played by Kevin Alejandro, a total papi chulo and star of the new show Drive).

I love the world of Mode that they have created with all its colorful characters and outrageous scandals, making it a ripe breeding ground for telenovela plots.

Okay, enough of my gushing, on to tonight’s episode, the 19th of the season entitled “Punch Out.” Okay, deep breath, and here we go:

Distraught that his mother is in jail for murdering Fay Summers (his father’s mistress), and that his transgender sister, Alexis, is taking over Mode, Daniel regresses to his party boy ways, sleeping with every attractive woman who crosses his path (and given his job that is a helluva lot). Trouble is brewing when a sleazy, celebrity tell-all book author named Quincy Combs (who seems to belong to the Truman Capote school of fashion) starts sniffing around Mode for a book on the Meade family.

Alexis meets with Quincy, anxious to trash her father. Quincy tells Alexis about a secret room which probably contains Fay’s final diaries which might help with her mother’s defense case. In her search she learns from an earlier diary that her father regretted his cruelty to her, and Alexis realizes that her rage for her father is misplaced.