Modern Family: Dear Beloved Family (9x12)

Okay... this was... fine, I guess, but I kept identifying moments where it could have been much more than fine, and I started to get annoyed at the missed opportunities.

Cons:

The premise is that Phil is rushed to the hospital and has to have his gall bladder removed. The whole family rushes to his side in his moment of need. This is supposed to spawn a general anxiety in the family about death, as we see how everybody handles their worry. But... it just didn't go far enough. Don't get me wrong: I'm not talking about killing Phil off or even suggesting that such a thing was a real possibility. Please. I know what this show is, and I'm not trying to turn it in to something it's not. But there's a way to tackle a more serious subject in a sitcom without breaking the tone. Do you guys remember when Marshall's dad died in How I Met Your Mother? I'm just saying, there could have been a bit more tension to the story than there was.

I have no idea what's going on with any of the kids in this story. Manny, Alex, Haley, Luke... they're all just treading water. The show clearly doesn't know what to do with them at all. We don't get to see Luke and Phil share any sweet father-son moments, we don't get even a hint that the kids are worried about their dad... and Manny is off having a crisis because he dyed his hair blond. He doesn't even blink an eye about his uncle being in the hospital. It all feels so... detached.

Pros:

The most successful plot thread goes to Claire this week. Phil needs his "surgery bear," a stuffed animal he has taken with him to every hospital visit, and has apparently played an important role in his relationship with Claire. Claire, of course, doesn't even know what the bear looks like. She spends the episode running around trying to find it - first in her own house, then among Joe's collection, and then in Manny's dorm room. She eventually finds the bear, and Phil tells her that he sent her to find it because he knew she'd spend the day freaking out unless she had something to occupy her mind.

This was really effective for two reasons. The first is that they didn't go down the cliche trope of Claire lying to Phil and then scrambling around to cover it up - she tells him straight up that she forgot the bear, and Phil doesn't get overly upset about it. Of course, in the end Phil just wanted to give Claire something to do. There's no one item or symbol that's as important as their relationship. Secondly, it was an effective way of showing how scared Claire actually was. She's panicking about the bear, but really she's panicking about her husband having emergency surgery. She hugs Manny after they have a talk about his hair, and she holds on just a bit longer than usual, because she really needs a bit of comforting. Claire and Phil's marriage is quite sweet. Every once in a while this show will throw in an episode where they behave poorly towards each other, and it's always jarring, because this episode is a more accurate representation of their wacky antics and deep love.

Cam and Mitchell's plot thread was okay. Some good physical comedy, some continued exploration of their less-than-stellar relationship... I loved the masseuse guy with the parrot who keeps asking where the ex-boyfriend has gone, I loved the fact that Cam went overboard by inviting this guy over but he didn't dissolve into histrionics either. It was a nice balance, some funny comedy, and Mitchell and Cam do kiss and make up by episode's end. It feels more like a temporary fix than a real solution, and I like the way their story continually emphasizes that they love each other, but that they have real problems they're going to need to deal with.

Jay and Gloria take opposite extremes in telling Joe about death - Jay insists that science will cure everything and he'll live forever, while Gloria tells him that he could die at any time, which pushes poor Joe into a deep depression. There wasn't a ton of super meaty material here, but it was pretty fun.

Modern Family is definitely showing its age. I know I've been saying that a lot lately, but it's true. When an episode like this comes along, I really do wish that the show would be a bit more daring and take some more chances to mix things up and breathe new life into the show. Oh, well. I suppose things could be a lot worse!

7/10