Modern Family: Games People Play (4x23)

So... something very strange happened and I lost all my notes from this episode. It has also been several days since I watched it, so I can't even do this very well from memory. I'll touch on what I do remember, and I'll comment on the episode's overall effect on me. But unfortunately that's about all I can do!

Okay, so, my least favorite part of the episode was the Jay/Gloria/Manny plot. Manny is missing his backpack so Jay and Gloria go along with him to try to find it at Phil and Claire's place, and then at Cam and Mitchell's, when that doesn't pan out. At the second house, they find evidence of a game night, and Gloria and Jay are insulted that they weren't invited. We later find out that they were, but Manny forgot to give them the invitation.

The episode started to address the hilarious idea of Gloria and Jay being horrible party guests, but then it fell flat when it turned out just to be a mistake on Manny's part. I recall some funny jokes about Gloria snooping in everyone's stuff, as well as the fact that she can apparently break into people's homes with ridiculous ease. This thread wasn't horrible but it was just a bit lackluster.

Then we have Mitch/Cam/Lily. Lily is doing really well in a gymnastics tournament, and it brings out the competitive sides of her dads, especially Mitchell, who takes things a little far as he basically cheers for the failures of the other little girls. I liked this plot because it had a lot of genuine moments mixed in with the laughs. I particularly thought it was precious how Lily helped the girl whose bun was in too tight. It was a great payoff when Mitch and Cam lectured the whole audience about what a bad thing that was to do, since they misunderstood the situation.

Also, I like that Lily is actually good at gymnastics. Every once in a while, it's alright to have a kid be genuinely talented at something. There are still lessons to be learned other than the lesson of the gracious loser, or that trying your best doesn't always mean success. Sometimes it does mean success, when you find that thing you can really connect to. I hope they explore Lily's talents more in the future.

And finally we have my favorite plot, which was the Dunphy family's story. Phil brings home an RV and wants to have the family go on a trip in it over the summer. They hop in for a shorter drive, which Claire is thankful for. She wants Phil to see how much of a nightmare the kids are in the car. However, they act beautifully together until Claire actually provokes an argument. Phil is pissed because he just wanted to spend some time with the family, but it all ends up alright - forced into a small space like that, the family actually talks about real stuff, like Haley's difficulty finding a job and Luke's trouble in school.

This thread was hilarious and touching. It brought the family together and showed that sometimes siblings can actually get along. I have two little sisters myself, so Claire's interpretation of events was really funny to me. Claire is a lot like my mother, actually, so in general I enjoy her in this show.

I'm sorry this is so sort... I really did like this episode, so I'm sad that I lost my notes for it. Oh well. We shall see what the finale brings!

8/10