Warning: Spoilers!
We all keep secrets, especially from our families. On the latest “Modern Family” episode, “Virgin Territory,” everyone’s secrets were revealed.
First, my favorite plot of the week, Luke and Manny being “bad boys.” It’s always hilarious when these two are together, because Manny’s sensitivity plays so well off of Luke’s madness. Luke hates Lily and after getting Manny on board they plot to take her down. And by taking her down, I mean they set up a trap to make it look like she made a mess. When that doesn’t work out, they decided to take the car for a spin down the street passed Manny’s crush’s house. This scene is so funny. Seeing Manny gangster roll past a little girl’s lemonade stand was great. Doing it again in reverse was almost as funny. I want these two together more. They’re funny on their own, but hilarious together.
Jay and Mitchell have been at odds a lot lately. Last week Mitchell was mad at Jay, and this week Jay is mad at Mitchell. It’s back and forth. This fight is over a golf game where Jay thought he hit a hole in one 20 years ago, but a young Mitchell actually just kicked the ball in, because he was bored. This is supposed to end in another heartwarming moment between father and son, but it doesn’t quite work out that way. Overall, it was a sub-par plot for these two.
Another constant back and forth: Gloria and Claire. Gloria desperately wants to connect with Claire (again) and tries joining her for yoga. It seems like Claire is avoiding and lying to Gloria. It’s pretty typical of Claire, so I didn’t really see where this one was going. Turns out, to a shooting range. Claire’s secret is that she lets off steam by shooting things, and she didn’t want anyone to know. We see that Gloria is actually probably the best companion to take, since she already knows how to shoot.
Cam went solo this week on the search for a missing piece of Tupperware. After falling victim to Luke and Manny’s trap for Lily, he faked a back injury to get some time alone to scan the Dunphy home for an unreturned dish. He ended up with a real back injury by the end of it, but he found the Tupperware. This seemed like just a vehicle for other, plots but I wish they did more with it.
Finally, Phil discovers Haley isn’t a virgin anymore. It’s never really said, though, which was kind of weird. He is crushed at first, but surprisingly okay with it. Very surprisingly, the Phil Dunphy we know doesn’t go his typical route of overreacting. He crashed chaperoned college mixers, because he thinks ginger ale is alcohol. Either way, it was nice for Haley to admit she has a cool dad. Also, this whole thing happened in a doll hospital, which was really weird, especially when Alex started fussing with the doll that looked just like her.
Overall, pretty good episode with some good laughs. I’d like to see them switch up the pairings a bit. Excepting the Luke and Manny, of course.
Samantha Gillis can be reached for comment at [email protected].