‘Ugly Betty’: Where do you stand?

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Right now, I’m firmly in Camp Gio.

It’s like in “Lost,” Gio is Locke, the guy with the real answers. He’s the guy who keeps things interesting, who gets things done. But Henry, like Jack, is just so darn noble and likable that you completely understand the folks who stayed on the beach with him. (It’s not that much of a stretch!)

Seriously, though, I’m not pro-Gio because I’m not a fan of Henry -- who, for the record, is infinitely more likeable than Jack -- but Henry’s evil baby mama is about to tear him away from Betty forever. And as far as second choices go, who isn’t totally charmed by our newly buzzed sandwich boy? C’mon, the pint-sized tough guy swoons over carriage rides.

But poor Betty. A hopeless romantic with a perfect hopeless romantic boyfriend and a hopeless romantic boyfriend-in-waiting. Wait a minute, she’s not poor Betty. She’s got two well-meaning guys pining for her. Yet with Henry’s departure looming, you feel the pangs of her incoming sadness already. (Geez, Henry, couldn’t you not have impregnated your girlfriend when you were hot for Betty?)

That’s the brilliance of the “Ugly Betty” writers. Non-fans dismiss the show as silly cartoon fun -- and it is! -- but the situations are never easy, the characters each struggle with different forms of loneliness, and at the end of the day even the she-devil Wilhelmina has a big ol’ heart beating at her center. (Recall episodes that include her estranged daughter.)

Take Gio. He’s a wise ass, but he’s also lonely and smitten. He managed to give Betty a sort-of Queens version of her birthday fantasy, complete with a welders’ firework display, but not before relaying Henry’s message to Betty that he couldn’t make it to their dinner. He fights fair, people. What’s not to like? (Feel free and tell me in the comments section below.)

I predict next week’s episode -- finally! the Henry-Gio smackdown we’ve been waiting for is going to be a one-two punch of hysterical laughs and heartbreak. Ah, the delicious agony in store. (But the ultimate loss? There’s only four episodes of the season left.)

-- Denise Martin