What I’m Watching: Modern Family

Modern Family: Season 5, Episode 15 “The Feud” (C+)

This episode didn’t really cover any new ground, and that which it did address wasn’t terribly funny. Phil losing his election as social chair to Gil could have been entertaining, but having an actual medal that Phil had to take off and give it to the greedy Gil made it a bit too literal. The one part of that storyline that I did enjoy was discovering that Jay’s nemesis Gunther turned out to be none other than Gil’s father, creating a three-generation rivalry for the Thorpe and Dunphy-Pritchett families. I was pleased to see John Heard, who was nominated for an Emmy over a decade ago for playing corrupt cop Vin Makazian on “The Sopranos,” as the elder Thorpe. Lily’s lice was quite quickly pronounced, and Claire’s endless scratching was quite obvious. Phil having Gil give Lily a piggyback so that he can get lice was mean-spirited and destructive in a way that he usually isn’t, which made it less amusing. Manny being concerned about his squeaky shoes only to be nicknamed “Pink Top” was unproductive, and Gloria’s convenient red face was forced. Haley and Alex getting trapped for the entirety of the episode while moving the mirror was slightly enjoyable, though it was really just a setup for that final scene where Lily was walking down the stairs with the ski mask on and Claire looking like a crazy person with her hair ruffled. Far from the show’s best episode, and let’s hope for a better effort in the future.