What I’m Watching: Modern Family

Modern Family: Season 3, Episode 8 “After the Fire” (B+)

Here we had a brilliant comedy episode that was firing on all cylinders. Jay throwing his back out was merely the beginning, which led to a surprisingly relaxing massage from Phil and Jay’s accidental blurting out of affection. I liked how annoyed Jay was and that it turned out that Phil didn’t even hear him. What was truly moving was Jay’s advice to Phil about taking the new job: “Do you want this? Then gamble on yourself.” Claire’s frustration with Gloria’s bonding with Mitchell was most worthwhile for the scene it provoked where Gloria flat-out told her that she liked Mitchell more, mainly because he liked her back. Cam’s attempted manliness never goes as planned, and his truck-driving abilities were not terribly impressive. Alex and Haley starting a fight to get sent out of the house rather than help was clever, though I suppose being sentenced to accompany Cam wasn’t much better than actually having to help. Cam’s apology was awkward as always, when he discovered that the girls didn’t have faith because he was Cam rather than because he was gay. It’s never boring to see Haley proven wrong when it comes to her feud with her sister, and Alex letting her hair down worked wonders when it came to getting the plane back. Anytime that Luke and Manny are together is a delight, and Manny’s frustration with his use of foul language and Luke’s ability to be a bad influence were among the highlights of that particular plotline.