Modern Family: I'm Going to Miss This (11x16)

This was fine. Very nostalgic. Appropriate for a penultimate episode of a long-running sitcom. It didn't really make me feel any feelings, though?

Cons:

Manny, Jay, and Joe have the weakest of the plot threads, as Manny and Jay get over-competitive about wine tasting. They find a commonality in Jay's appreciation for the wine, and Manny's competitive spirit. There were gay jokes that felt totally out of place, and the whole thing ended on a weak joke of them both walking away without seeing who won the contest, and then Manny running back to check. I didn't despise watching this, but I didn't feel like it had anything new or moving to say, and it didn't make me laugh.

While there were some funny moments in the Dunphy plot, I thought Claire afraid of being labeled as a grandma was a little overplayed. The instant she started to be worried about it, I was already bored. I did like that Phil seemed far less concerned, though!

Pros:

The appeal to sentimentality worked pretty well in the case of Mitchell and Cam's plot thread. They are preparing to move and preparing for the new baby, but Mitchell is having a hard time with the new house. Gloria encourages him to say goodbye to the old place, which he does by singing "Time of My Life," and lo and behold, the baby comes early! Predictably, Cam and Mitchell are both frantic, and Lily manages to keep a level head and calm them down, leading to a sweet moment when the three of them behold their newest family member.

I think this worked because Lily pointed out a pattern and then we saw the resolution of that pattern. Cam and Mitchell freak out, they escalate, they start to turn on each other, but then when it really matters, they find peace and they get the job done. I love that Cam spends the episode coming up with elaborate ideas for the baby reveal, but at the end of the day, he decides that the family of four should spend some time together alone. I also liked that ending joke where Mitchell says he's finally realized what the house was missing all along, and then it ends up being about the lighting, not the new baby.

The other plot thread with the Dunphy family, while maybe not perfect, also did a good job of playing off of sentimentality, and it also provided a lot of comedy and chaos. My favorite moment was a really stupid one, where Dylan sets a basket of eggs on a precarious spot on the back of a chair, and the whole scene goes by with the camera lingering on the basket. You keep waiting for disaster to strike, but in the end Phil picks up the basket and walks away with it, no harm done. I just liked the subverted expectations there.

I also liked the three Dunphy kids getting in to some shenanigans together. While their parents, Dylan and the kids are out, Haley, Alex, and Luke decide to throw a party, and it causes chaos and property damage. Now, they're trying to fix it on the fly. What I love is that they actually succeed! They manage to switch out the damaged rug, etc. without Phil and Claire any the wiser. They would have gotten away with the whole thing if it wasn't for the snake who laid eggs in their fireplace. One of the eggs goes missing amid the chaos of an Easter egg hunt, leading to Phil hopping around as the "Easter Bandit" to find the egg that's about to hatch into a baby snake.

The resolution includes Claire ready to embrace her grandma status, just as the kids prove they definitely still need her, as they come running for her help with all of the chaos that abounds at the party. It was silly and sweet and I do really like this family. Plus, Phil gets to keep the baby snake!

That's about all I've got for this one... see you next week for the finale! I'm definitely ready to say goodbye - I wonder if they can manage to make me feel emotional?

8/10