What I’m Watching: Modern Family

Modern Family: Season 5, Episode 4 “Farm Strong” (B+)

The 100th episode of this show came and went without much fanfare, but I think that’s fine since this show does well enough with a regular episode and doesn’t need a special showcase to celebrate an anniversary. The fact that Cam is dramatic is no surprise to anyone, but it’s more interesting to learn that he perceives his sister to be the “Pam of the family” just like everyone else thinks that he is the “Cam of the family.” Them both being engaged was ultimately a happy ending once they were able to accept the situation. Cam being alerted to several harsh truths by his family members was more funny than mean, which was good. Jay testing Gloria’s vision to encourage her to get glasses was great, and I liked the final agreement they came to: “I won’t be able to hear her, and she won’t be able to see me. We’ll be together forever.” The jokes about Gloria on this show are often repetitive and centered on her accent, and the bits about her vision, namely forcing her to read quickly when she clearly couldn’t, were quite amusing. Claire going to Luke’s soccer game when she had agreed with Phil not to go only to see him have the best game of his life was a lot of fun, and it’s always a blast to see Phil catch Claire doing something wrong and act all offended and devastated. That’s one of the things that Ty Burrell is best at, and why Phil is one of this show’s strongest characters.