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The One That Got Away
Original Air Date: May 25, 2011
Karen Belgrad – Associate Editor
karenbelgrad@
thetwocentscorp.com
Last week’s Modern Family had the feel of a season finale. From what I gather, the network flipped the order of these last two episodes, so I wondered if this week would be strong enough to be a season finale. Guess what? It totally was!
My favorite episodes have always had the cast coming together or splitting off in non-couple pairings. Tonight we got Cam and Manny, Gloria and Phil, Claire and Mitchell, and Jay and everyone! So let’s review how our odd couplings interacted this evening.
This week we come together to celebrate Jay’s birthday. All he wants to do is go fishing alone, so any viewers knows that there is no way he’ll be able to do that.
Claire and Mitchell have decided to recreate a childhood photo as Jay’s present. They go back to their childhood home where Claire keeps declaring “We used to live here” anytime Mitchell points out a foible, such as parking in a permit zone or trespassing into the backyard. And since I love a good Princess Bride reference, Mitchell finally says “I don’t think that does what you think it does.” Once in the yard, pigtailed Claire and sailor-suited Mitchell encounter a large dog that scares them literally up a tree. I have to say, I love the sibling interaction between the two. It is really believable that the two of them grew up close, with some bickering, and have so many personality similarities in their adulthood.
Manny is stressing over an unseen girl (Tera? Tara?) that he has a crush on. Apparently she is quite the softball player, and Manny is pretty well documented as being not the athletic type (he uses his tennis racket as a bubble bath frother). Cam gives him a few pointers and becomes his go-to guy for the day. In line at the bakery to pick-up Jay’s cake, Cam tells a nervous Manny that all he needs to do is say to Tara/Tera is “You are the prettiest, smartest, funniest girl in the sixth grade. I know you’re only eleven, but I can’t stop thinking about you. I’ve loved talking to you online; I think we should become boyfriend and girlfriend.” The other patrons of the bakery only hear Cam’s side of the phone call and, after some dirty looks, boot him from the bakery.
Phil is at the mall looking for a gift for Jay when he runs into his college/cheer rival Glen Whipple (guest star Rob Huebel). Phil mopes that he’s always felt inferior to Glen, and seizes on running into Gloria as way to show him up. He manages to make Glen think Gloria is his wife, expecting the jealousy to set in. But to his surprise, Glen is nostalgic about Claire and thinks she was the perfect girl. And in a standard sitcom moment, Phil realizes what he has with Claire. Does this mean the “Phil leering at Gloria” jokes may stop?
Jay is pulled away from his magical plans to pick up Stella from the dog groomer, get Mitchell and Claire out of the tree, and pick up the cake from the bakery. The best moment of the whole episode is when he has the youthfully dressed Claire and Mitchell in the back seat of his car, and he parentally lectures them about their childish behavior. He asks the still sailor-suited Mitchell if “You think that’s funny Popeye”. And then his kids crack up when he discusses his new pants and how he almost “wrecked ‘em” (rectum).
Back at the Dunphy home, Haley and Alex are charged with putting together a DVD of the family saying lovely things about Jay. It’s a trip down memory lane as we see scenes from several past episodes. Nothing is really complimentary, so Luke offers to edit it for them, as soon as they get him chocolate milk with salt. There’s not much to save, and at the end the video ends up being cribbed down to seven words (Dad, Jay, Jay, Grandpa, we love you), with Alex not even making the final cut.
At the birthday dinner, Stella destroys the cake. Cam tells Manny about a special memory with his own dad and batting practice. Cam looks crushed when Manny goes to Jay for help though, rather than him. Phil repeatedly tells Claire how lucky he is to have her. And Gloria gives Jay a lip-shaped phone (sexy phone = saxophone). But to restore his special day, Manny drags his boat into the pool for a little fishing and beer. Jay opines that the old him would have complained about wanting his real day on a lake and not in a pool. He misses the old him.
Mitchell tells Cam how great it was to grow up with Claire and how much they helped each other deal with their crazy parents. Despite a rough day with a screaming Lily, the two decide they want another child, which Cam hopes would be a boy.
Line of the episode:
Jay (to the dog groomer): “You have a little bit of an attitude, you know that? You know who did your job back in my day? A hose.”
In an odd side note, while babysitting for a friend today, I saw an episode of Sesame Street from last November. And Ty Burrell (Phil) was there to teach everyone about hexagons. Well, in my mind, the three couples on this show make up the perfect six sided geometric shape!
This may not have been as much of a finale moment as Alex’s graduation, but two weeks in a row, the families were brought together for special events. And, in my TwoCents, they were some of the strongest episodes of the second season.
But those are my TwoCents! What are your TwoCents? Share your comments, feedback, and differing opinions below!
TheTwoCents 
I read an interview with Julie Bowen where she spoke of the graduation being the finale. Jays bday last year was Hawaii, but they flipped the episode order then too!
Sent from my iPod
you are right karen – the finale was supposed to be the graduation. Alex was also supposed to get suspended when she broke in w/hayley but they scrapped it. I like how it all turned out. Well except for “sexy phone.”