Modern Family: The Graduates (8x22)

Yeah, okay, this was an alright episode. Maybe not one of the greatest episodes this show has ever done, but it had a lot of heartfelt moments as well as some good laughs. Let's get started.

Cons:

The fact that this episode is a graduation episode for Luke and Manny is fine, but it does sort of highlight one of this show's ongoing problems. We did a graduation episode for Alex, and it felt like the start of a new chapter for her character. In reality, she's been floundering with no direction for seasons and seasons now. I'd love to believe that in the next season, Luke and Manny will truly be spreading their wings and exploring new avenues of their lives, but if history is anything to go by, I'm worried they just won't have anything to do.

Whenever Manny's father pops in to the story, it always feels a little forced. Just like every other time we've seen him, Javier is there to make sure that Manny and Jay have a cute father/son moment. Not complaining about the sentiment on its face, but... did we really need Javier to come in to make that happen?

Phil crying over a slideshow of Luke growing up was funny, but I felt like the buildup didn't have a good punchline. Seeing him emotionless at Luke's graduation wasn't particularly funny or rewarding.

Pros:

I think the most successful story of the night was actually the subplot with Lily. Cam and Mitchell discover that Lily is a gifted student, and the teachers want her to skip a grade. Lily's dads are confused, as they had no idea their daughter was doing so well. Turns out, she's also quite popular and well-adjusted. They debate whether moving her up is a good idea, but eventually Lily tells them that she wants to skip a grade, and so the decision is made.

It's nice to have Lily get a story arc. I hope they actually continue to develop this in some way. Lily has graduated out of being "little kid with one-liners" to being about the age that Luke and Manny were when the show started. There's more you can do with her now, and I appreciate them taking advantage of that. I loved Cam and Mitchell's increasing confusion and slight dismay in learning how accomplished their daughter is. "She's popular?!" "I don't get it. Is she... fun?" Not only is this stuff funny, it also opens up some possibilities for the future. This is an area in which Lily's parents can't relate. What if Lily grows up to be a bully instead of being bullied, like they were? It would be interesting to see how that worked out.

Haley and Alex try and get Phil "all cried out" before Luke's graduation so that he won't be embarrassing. I didn't find this stuff all that funny, but I did like Haley, Alex, and Claire all getting misty-eyed at the graduation. We don't get a ton of development between Luke and his sisters, so this was a nice moment to remember the bond of sibling-hood!

Luke buys his parents a very cheap, very gaudy car as a thank you for being great parents. Claire drives it around for a while, but is super embarrassed by it. In the end, Phil and Claire hand the keys over to Luke. Luke then reveals that this was his plan the whole time. He knew his parents wouldn't just let him get a car, but he also knew they wouldn't keep it if he bought it for them. Clever boy. This plot thread didn't lead to anything all that rewarding in terms of comedy, but I do like the idea of Luke pulling a fast one over on his parents because they don't believe him capable of being that clever.

Then you've got Manny, who goes to a strip club with Javier as a special father/son bonding adventure. The next day, Manny enlists Jay's help to find his missing cap, gown, and special sash for graduation. They find a stripper using them in her routine, but manage to get them back in time for Manny's graduation. Manny and Jay have a father/son moment and Manny has his first scotch. Like I said, Javier's presence may have been a little forced, but I'm always happy to see Manny and Jay bond.

Javier actually had a funny resolution moment as well. Gloria is all ready to yell at him for taking Manny to a strip club, but he keeps cutting her off as she starts to say mean things, and pays her very high compliments, telling her she's an amazing mother and thanking her for doing such a great job with Manny. Bewildered, her anger fizzles out. That was actually kind of sweet. I like seeing Gloria appreciated like that.

And so the guys have graduated. I'm not sure how I feel about the fact that Modern Family has been renewed for two more seasons, although I'm hardly surprised by the news. For a while now, this show has been floundering, and I'd say this season is demonstrably not as strong as some of what the show was capable of in its earlier seasons. Still, I have a good time with it more often than not. Onward to next year!

7.5/10