What I’m Watching: Modern Family

Modern Family: Season 8, Episode 7 “Thanksgiving Jamboree” (B-)

This episode wasn’t all that funny, but it was relatively entertaining, and I think that’s about the most that can be expected from this show at this point. It’s true that only Cam should have been excited about the Thanksgiving jamboree, and so Claire was right to suspect that Mitchell was trying to make up for something bad that he did when he was enthusiastic and in costume. Giving away the Fizbo costume definitely ranked as something that Cam would normally have found unforgivable, yet he breezed it off right away because, predictably, he blew their Hawaii vacation money on planning an extravagant and realistic jamboree. I’m glad that Nathan Fillion’s Rainer is back, though his inability to speak in anything other than weather metaphors is sure to become tiring quickly. Haley thinking that Phil was trying to guilt her into staying by telling her to have a good time was fun, and the best part of that scene was Phil recalling his frequent electrocutions, reminding me of when he crushed a valuable trading card from mint condition to completely worthless in mere moments many seasons ago. Running into the divorce lawyer who represented their ex-wives resulted in an amusing interaction with Jerry and Jay, and it’s a good thing that they didn’t let him die, though it appears to have just been gas anyway. Speaking of beating death, Joe’s lesson about the goat dying was an important one, and now he managed to convince Jay to stop smoking so that he wouldn’t die. I enjoyed the flirtation between Dwight and Alex, a couple I never would have predicted but wouldn’t mind seeing blossom for a little while.