Modern Family: Child’s Play

Last night’s episode of Modern Family wasn’t my favorite, but it still had some delightfully awkward moments.
OK, let’s talk about my favorite plot – Mitchell’s shocking discovery that he may have fathered a child during a tryst with his high school girlfriend at a reunion eight years ago. Yep, Mitchell used to sleep with girls. Well, one girl. And at his ten-year high school reunion he went back for more…in the nurse’s office, which is kind of gross. Anyway, when Mitch and Cam ran into his ex she acted super weird and cold. Can’t imagine why! Oh wait, I can. It was because he never took her phone calls after that romantic evening in the nurse’s office.But when Mitch spotted his ex planting a kiss on a small redheaded boy, he freaked out.
I loved Cam’s reaction to the idea that Mitch might have a son. Eric Stonestreet went from being devastated to being supportive really well – not too over the top, but still with Cam’s usually dramatic flair. Things got weirder when Mitch and Cam went to see the ex. (I like the actress who played her, but the character was so boring that I’m not even going to bother looking up her name.) She was oddly resistant to even letting Mitch meet “Bobby”, but eventually relented…and I gotta say, I didn’t see this one coming. Bobby was actually her husband, a redheaded little person who Mitch had only seen from behind. And they’d brought him a gift! A “Little Slugger” baseball glove. I liked how well-done the punchline here was. It could have been kind of PC, but since Mitch and Cam had been so genuinely convinced that Mitch had a kid, it ended up being just flat-out hilarious. They came off looking like asses, but I’ve always thought Mitch and Cam are at their best when they’re dealing with ridiculously awkward scenarios. 
Meanwhile, Jay created an awkward moment of his own when he essentially broke up with a couple he and Gloria had met in Cabo. It was funny to see Gloria save face by telling the couple that Jay had dementia, but the storyline never really played out to its full potential. 
I felt the same way about Phil and Claire’s storyline. It began as their concern that Alex wasn’t taking enough study breaks and then quickly turned into insecurities about their own intelligence. Alex is one of my favorite characters and I was disappointed that we didn’t get to see more of her this week. It was fun to see Phil and Claire try to secretly prove their intelligence to Alex’s smart classmate’s friend, though. Many of Phil and Claire’s storylines revolve around Claire being uptight and Phil being doofy, so it was nice to see them on the same level this week.
All in all I thought it was an OK episode – not the best, but not a total dud either. What did you think? 
Check out some of the funniest lines and moments from “Our Children, Ourselves”:
  • Lily stealing
  • “You’re so gay you can’t even think of real girls’ names.” – Mitch, when Cam lists names of characters in musicals as girls he once slept with
  • Cam telling Lily “You naughty little girl!” when she steals and Mitch replying “Well, that’s what happens when you give me Kahlua.”
  • “They probably already heard me, his hobby is listening.” – Jay
  • “Tell me about it, I’ve got a clingy 5th grader, I can’t shake.” – Manny
  • The look on Cam’s face when Mitch mentioned his false alarm scare about going bald.
  • Claire: “Any sequel three and higher.” Phil: “Oh yeah, they usually get a new cast around five. That’s when the magic really happens.”
  • “I’m still thinking about all the Sanjays. I don’t know any, but I know three Miltons.” – Phil
  • Phil and Claire sneaking snacks and wine coolers into the movie theater.


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