Modern Family: Heavy is the Head (8x14)

This episode had too much going on, and none of the plot threads had any connecting theme. I didn't hate everything they were going for, but very little of it actually stuck the landing.

Cons:

Claire and Gloria's plot thread was the most inane. Claire is stressed at work, and Gloria tries to give her a good birthday present by having a masseuse come to her office. Claire doesn't like massages, and is stressed by trying to answer everybody's questions about the downsizing the company is undergoing. Gloria ends up telling off Claire's employees, and that ends up being the perfect gift.

I'd love to have more exploration of Claire and Gloria's relationship. Or maybe more of a serious story-line about Claire and her job. But this episode didn't end up amounting to much. It just sort of sat there and pulled time away from the other potentially more interesting stories.

The plot of land that Phil and Jay purchased is right on top of a sewer line, meaning it's not usable for any commercial project. At first Phil is crushed, but then they come up with the idea to pave over it and turn it into a parking lot. Problem solved. I was miffed at this story line because it took the great buildup with Phil following his dreams, and it turned it into a dead end. You would think this would be an opportunity to explore the complexities of Phil and Jay's relationship, but it just peters out. Kind of a bummer.

Alex is making friends with her fellow baristas, but things go wrong when she accidentally gets promoted to assistant manager, and suddenly her friends don't want to hang out with her anymore. I liked some things about this plot thread, but the concept is pretty cliche, and I hate that Alex, who has apparently gone back to school, is still not being given anything meaningful to do.

The same goes for Haley - I really liked her little thread in this episode with Manny, but I hate that her life is at such a stand-still. Why are all the children in this show stuck in such a rut? I'm just realizing this - It's been eight years since this show started, meaning that characters who used to be little kids like Alex, Luke, and Manny, are now young adults - and this show does not seem to know how to write young adults. Most of these characters are stuck in limbo!

Cam and Mitchell's plot was mostly just slapstick with no real heart behind it. I liked the slapstick, but it's been a while since they've gotten anything substantial to do, so I wish we could give them a serious story line at some point.

Pros:

As I said, I did enjoy Cam and Mitchell's slapstick. Cam is afraid of an MRI machine, hilarity ensues. I don't have anything particularly nuanced to say, but I definitely chuckled!

Haley wants to prepare for going to comicon with Rainer, since she lied and said she loves Game of Thrones. I like that we see Manny start with the plot of the first episode, and go all the way to the end of season six. It's a fun little joke for people who are familiar with Game of Thrones. And of course Haley's Daenerys outfit is amazing.

Alex's plot thread had one hilarious joke - her friends have been calling her "A-Dawg," and when she gets the job as an assistant manager, they say she's now more like "Adolf." Alex's response: "I think you're really minimizing that atrocity."

I'm not sure what else to say. It's not like I strongly disliked this episode or anything. It's just that about five minutes after watching it, I'd pretty much forgotten everything that happened. That's never a good sign. Modern Family is one of those shows that's going to limp on for several more years, coasting on the good will its first few seasons bought it. But eight years is a long time. It might be too late to get the magic back at this point.

5/10