Modern Family: No Small Feet (9x10)

Are we never going to be free of Pam?

Cons:

I liked several things about the plot with Cam, Mitchell, Pam, and Bo, but the fact that Pam has not exited the scene is not one of them. I'm still annoyed by her whole character and her presence on this show.

Alex and Luke had a weird little subplot where they sell Alex's used shoes to foot fetishists online. This had potential to be funny, but it sort of dropped off with no real resolution. Same thing with Manny - his contribution this week is that he keeps showing up at his parents' house to steal luxury items, and makes excuses as to why he's there. Not a terrible idea, but it just didn't really lead to anything.

Pros:

The funniest part of Cam and Mitchell's plot was that they've both been coming home on lunch breaks to give their cat medication, and they now have a truly bizarre Pavlovian response to talking about sick cats and antibiotics, because they've been having sex on these lunch breaks. That was just such a funny, off the cuff detail to include. It adds to the dysfunction of Cam and Mitchell's relationship at the same time as it makes you root for them a bit more. You can see the cracks in the foundation, though - when Bo first turns up, Mitchell and Cam both separately believe for a moment that the other has hired someone to join them and spice up their sex life. Another detail I enjoyed was that Bo truly is a screw-up, but he's not a stereotypical southern lay-about like I think we were all picturing. He's this very charming, attractive con artist type. Good choice for the character!

Pritchett's Closets has been included in a fancy international closet expo, and Claire and Jay are both very excited. Tensions arise, however, when each believes that the other is not giving them enough credit for the accomplishment. When Jay shows up to the office and gives a presentation about his founding of the company, Claire feels that her father is stealing her thunder. On the flip side, Jay feels that Claire is ignoring his contribution. In the end, they both acknowledge how proud they are of each other, but in order to do so they basically have to coerce one another into giving compliments. That's hilarious, and feels so true of Jay and Claire's characters. Jay's video on the history of the company was also pretty great.

Phil is having trouble selling a house because the prospective buyer thinks that it's haunted. Gloria comes in to cleanse the house of the troubled spirits. Turns out, there were bees in the walls. This is a plot thread that I almost put in the "cons" section because again it didn't really go anywhere or teach me anything. But it was simple good fun. Phil and Gloria are hilarious characters and I always enjoy it when the show finds a way to pair them together. In particular it's nice to have a plot with them where we don't have to go in to Phil's creepy attraction to her. Also, the prospective buyer was great. When she meets Gloria she says she instantly trusts her, and then she realizes why: "we were once cats together." She then quickly tells Phil she's just kidding, she's not that crazy, before immediately asking Gloria about the ghosts. Ha!

That's it! This feels like an odd episode to end on as the show goes on hiatus for a couple of weeks, but it wasn't a bad one by any means.

8/10