Modern Family: Stand By Your Man (10x18)

I found many parts of this episode to be delightful and charming, and a few to be... duds.

Cons:

Mitchell and Cam's plot thread is one of those that I wanted to enjoy more, but it never really clicked together for me. The idea that Cam wouldn't be more upset about Mitchell forgetting their anniversary doesn't really track with the character as I understand him. I suppose I should give props for this story being unpredictable when it comes to the opening scenario, but I couldn't help but think it would be more fun to see Cam planning some elaborate anniversary thing, and Mitchell forgetting, and all of the shenanigans that would come out of that. Instead, the forgotten anniversary is almost entirely unnecessary to the plot. Why can't Mitchell just show up for line dancing because he wants to surprise Cam, instead of it being because he feels guilty?

When we get to the actual line dancing thing, every joke is very predictable. Mitchell shows up, but he's embarrassing - his clothes are wrong, he doesn't know the dances, he can't chug beer... we get it. I wanted something a bit more original.

There were aspects of Jay's story that I actually didn't mind this week, but I didn't much enjoy the beginning parts, where Gloria and Manny are trying to help him practice for being on TV. It felt forced, like those scenes were just in there to pad out the time, and ultimately I would have liked more time with Jay actually on the show, instead of the lead-up to it.

Pros:

The one thing I did like about Mitchell and Cam's story was the moral at the end, when Cam is honest with Mitchell that he kind of doesn't want him to come along to his line dancing nights. It's okay for them to have their own things - that's what's going to let them stay married for a long time!

I have no idea why it amused me so much, but Jay's scenes with the Shop TV host were just precious. It was a totally predictable setup and payoff, with Jay being flummoxed and awkward, but then Gloria calling in pretending to be a random caller, and getting him to open up by talking about Stella. I think the thing that sold the scene for me was the actress playing the host. She was so good at playing fake, performative enthusiasm, and what really made it work was seeing her turn on her work persona the moment they went live. She was pretty funny, and it was actually a little bit sweet to see Jay getting so excited and happy about his dog beds.

Phil spends some time with Dylan, Luke, and Alex's boyfriend Bill. He wants to impress them and become a mentor for them, but things predictably go awry. In the end, the three young men encourage Phil and tell him how much of a mentor he is to all of them, and how he's a great example to look up to. I liked that this plot thread didn't go exactly where I thought it was going to go. I thought that Phil was going to put on the MMA fight, and have to pretend to be "manly" and enjoy it, and the lesson would be about being his dorky self and letting the guys appreciate that. Instead, it was slightly different. He tried to share The Karate Kid with them after he couldn't buy the MMA fight, and they all mocked the movie instead of taking wisdom from it. It was so funny when Dylan was the one to put together that Phil wanted to be their mentor like Mr. Miyagi. Dylan is the definition of a low intelligence, high wisdom character.

I also like how Bill, a character we don't know a lot about, came across in this episode. He is effortlessly bad-ass, telling cool stories about his manly exploits that Phil can't hope to compete with, but he's not doing it to be impressive. He's totally guileless about his own accomplishments, and immediately tries to turn the spotlight on Dylan for his work as a nurse. That's nice. This story felt like a more successful version of the cabin story we got last week with guys sharing their feelings. I think it's important to see men being vulnerable and open about their emotions, and somehow, even though this was a very sitcom-y scenario, this version of that idea felt more true to life. Think about it: just the fact that Phil wanted to bond with his daughter's boyfriends so bad shows what a good father and role model he really is.

Finally, there's this mini subplot with Claire and Lily that I quite enjoyed. The episode basically hangs a lampshade on the fact that Lily is often underutilized. When Cam learns that Claire is staying with Lily, he comments that he doesn't think he's ever seen them talk before. Sure enough, Claire is a little afraid of Lily, and Lily thinks that Claire doesn't like her, and is intimidated by her "cool aunt." The two eventually work out the situation, and Claire has to explain to Lily that she's not actually all that cool. Lily admits she might not be cool either, and they agree to embrace that reality together.

Lily doesn't talk like an actual child, but I actually found something oddly true to life about this little plot thread - kids and adults who are family but don't grow up in the same house can sometimes have a hard time navigating their relationship. What sort of role should Claire play to her young niece? I think that's an interesting story to explore. Also, it's always funny when Lily says stuff that genuinely terrifies her adult relatives. Filling a bucket with boiling hot water to dump on her dads? Yikes!

That's all I've got for now. This season is wrapping up, and after only one more season, this show will finally be taking its bow. I can still have fun with episodes once in a while, but I'll admit I'm ready for the end!

7.5/10