Jane's headed to Paris! Or, is she?

Gray called on her trusty assistant this week to bring the precious Lookbook to her in Paris. How is Jane supposed to pull off that last minute trip? Help from her devoted friend, Billy, of course!

Over the past reviews, I've mentioned that Jane By Design is at times cliche and fairly unoriginal, but I've still enjoyed the hour because the characters are charming and fun to watch. Tonight's episode changed that somewhat.

Unfortunately, there were no surprises here. Well, there was one, but that didn't make up for the episode as a whole. My biggest issue? "The Lookbook." Of course, she lost the it. Duh. Who didn't see that one coming? Annoying!

Isn't it be possible for something to go right for Jane... ever? Or, if there needed to be a stumble, why not something unexpected? I think they tried to pull that off by having India end up with the book in un-nefarious circumstances and giving it to Jane.

India was so sure of herself and the future downfall of Gray and therefore Jane. As much as I dislike India (which we're supposed to), she did the right thing here. And I have to give her credit for that, even if she felt it wouldn't matter. Will she be kicking herself when she finds out that Gray's been named Creative Director?

My other issue with the show in general is Billy's devotion to Jane. What has she done to earn that kind of dedication? He asked his new girlfriend to lie for Jane. He took a phone call and got a week's worth of detention for her. He searched everywhere for the Lookbook for her. I liked Billy in the beginning, but now he is coming across as a lackey.

In addition to his relationship with Jane, he maintained a secret relationship with Lulu at her request. Lackey! And, now with his brother, Tommy. I was proud of him for refusing to help Tommy. It was a start in the right direction, but given his phone call with Jane... I think he gave in! That's disappointing, if true.

As much as I love the Jane-Billy relationship, I have issues with it. I'd like to see Jane put his needs before her own. I don't think she even realizes the consequences he is enduring to help her. That needs to change.

Despite my irritation there were several great moments, the best being the phone call between Jane and Billy at the end. They have such an amazing friendship. Who wouldn't want that? I have to believe that the relationship wasn't always so one-sided. The world would be a much better place if everyone had a "Jane-Billy" relationship with someone else.

Am I being too harsh on the show? Do you think Billy ended up helping his brother? Is he headed down a bad path?

Odds and Ends

• Passport: When the trip first came up, I wondered how she could go to Paris without a passport. Too convenient that she had one?
• Lulu is turning around. She is acting like she truly cares about Billy and is putting his feelings and their relationship first. She's growing on me.
• Dodgeball? Really? Ben is so out of touch. How long until he gets in trouble on the job? I continue to love the building relationship between Rita and Ben.
• How awkward was that Nick and Ben conversation at the baseball field? Wow. It looks like Jane and Nick are moving towards possibly trying to date again. Can't wait!
• For initially being a plain Jane, she has everyone wrapped around her finger, even if she doesn't realize it. Jeremy was too easily convinced to play India to help Jane.
• It will be fun to see the reactions of India and Jeremy when they find out Gray is now Creative Director!
• Let's take a look at next week's episode, shall we?

Carla Day is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter and on Google+.