Modern Family: All Things Being Equal (8x20)

Ehhhhh whyyyyyy. I seriously hate it when sitcoms take on a political or social issue and they're not willing to go far enough to actually do anything good with it. This episode was a bummer, although it did have a couple of successful elements.

Cons:

Okay, so, the girls are going to a women's march. Gloria, Claire, Alex, Haley, and Lily all pile into the car, but they are stopped by a flat tire. They decide, in the spirit of feminism, to try and change the tire themselves. They are helped by a bad-ass girl named Joey who spouts off feminist one-liners like "we're stronger together." But then she steals Gloria's car. This was a super obvious punchline, and actually undermines the whole message. It wasn't offensive in its lameness, necessarily, but it was a bit of a letdown.

Now let's talk about the offensive part: Luke and Manny are volunteering at the march, and Luke ends up bonding with a feminist named Danielle, a girl who Manny apparently has a crush on. As Danielle talks to Luke about the issues facing women, Luke is blown away by all of this stuff he'd never thought about before. She really gets through to him, and Luke is genuinely supportive. And then, the punch-line. Danielle says that she will be celibate until women achieve true equality, and Luke runs off, giving up on her instantly. I hated that they went that route. I was so excited to see a moment of true growth for Luke's character, as he made a genuinely human connection with somebody, and seemed interested in learning more about a complex social issue. But... nope! Teenage boy wants sex, so all character development goes out the window. Also, Manny had the unfortunate trend in this episode of acting like he deserved women's attention because he was a feminist. Kind of missing the point on that one, Manny.

Pros:

Jay and Phil, meanwhile, argue over who should work at their new parking lot as the ticket taker. Phil hires Joan, a very chatty woman who everybody loves, but who takes too long to get through the line. Jay wants to fire her, and eventually does so without Phil's blessing. When Jay steps in to try and manage the booth himself, he finds it's harder than it looks, and Phil shows up with Joan to save the day.

Initially I was going to put this plot thread under "cons" as well, because Joan's character made me a little uncomfortable at the end. She basically shows up and, as a black woman, solves the dispute going on between Jay and Phil with some wise words. A little unfortunate, to say the least. But the thing is, for the majority of the story, Joan was just a delight. I love how she knew everybody who came through the parking garage, and how she had everybody's family members memorized. Also, Phil taking a shine to such a woman was pretty hilarious. I'd actually like to see her come back and maybe get more of a character arc, although I doubt that will happen.

The girls on their way to the march did have a few really funny lines, including Haley knowing exactly who Marie Curie was, because Alex talks about her a lot, and Gloria lamenting after the car gets stolen: "my makeup was not insured."

The funniest plot thread goes to Mitchell and Cam for sure. Pam is still staying upstairs with the baby, and it seems that Mitchell has really bonded with Pam, and has a magic touch with the baby. Cam is jealous of this new relationship between Mitchell and his sister, and it all comes to a head when Cam sees Pam kissing Mitchell in a moment of sleepy confusion. Pam breaks down and says she's a total mess, and Cam and Mitchell tell her that she doesn't need to go through this alone.

When this plot thread started, I was pretty bored with it. Oh, so Cam is jealous of Mitchell and Pam, misunderstandings, anger, reconciliation. Right? Wrong. I loved the moment when Cam saw Mitchell and Pam kissing, and then immediately talks to Mitchell about it, horrified and yet slightly amused in an offended sort of way. I just loved that there wasn't some prolonged misunderstanding plot here. And there were so many funny moments, like all the comparisons between Cam and Pam's upbringing and The Wizard of Oz, including a tornado that lifted their house off the ground. Also, Cam attempts to bond with the baby by distinguishing himself as his "real uncle," while Mitchel is just "some guy I met at a party." Hilarious!

So, there you have it. I was really disappointed in the way this episode handled feminism. I felt like they were so close to landing a genuine story, where Luke actually has his eyes opened, but instead they went for a cheap laugh. Ugh. I wish this show would either die gracefully, or find a way to reinvigorate itself...

6.5/10