Modern Family

Modern Family

Episode 2: Schooled

Episode 3: Snip

By: Carlos Uribe

Modern Family is a show about three branches of a family.

Spoilers Ahoy!

Schooled:

In Schooled, Haley moves to college and is embarrassed by her family. She has to say goodbye to her siblings, which is disappointing since Alex and Luke could have easily made Haley's embarrassment even worse. Phil and Claire try their best to have a smooth move-in but they can't help and keep messing up. It all culminates in a scene where Phil accidentally grabs Haley's roommate's butt, thinking that it's Claire's in a classic Phil misunderstanding. It isn't until they leave and Haley is left alone that she realizes just how much she's going to miss them. It has a nice and sweet ending when she calls them to thank them for anything and when it's also revealed that she's wearing a shirt that she had earlier derided. This was a plot where the emotional ending was actually earned and where the character's feelings didn't feel forced. This was also the funniest. This left this main plot as the best of this episode's plots.

While Haley goes to college, Lily starts going to kindergarten. She's happy to go off and play at the playground but quickly runs into a hair-pulling boy. Cam threatens the boy and this leads to a large meeting with the principal's office. The conflict escalates when the parents turn out to be lesbians. The series points out that while people assume that gay men and lesbians are practically the same thing, that doesn't actually mean they have anything in common. This means that while they could peacefully resolve their differences with a straight couple it's different with a lesbian one. The principal decides that the best way to get the kids to behave is to see the parents treat each other with respect. The parents refuse but the kids end up becoming best friends regardless. The bond of having children does provide something in common for the lesbians and the gay couple that allows them to come together and at least not hate the others existence. It's a plot that was not only funny but managed to reveal something that most people don't really seem to realize and that's that gays and lesbians aren't necessarily in the same club together.

The final plot of Schooled deals with Jay and Gloria. Manny practically forces them to take parenting classes because he's worried about the baby's well-being. When he was little, he was forced to be the man of the house and he had to ensure his own safety. Jay and Gloria aren't able to take the parenting class as they believe that it doesn't really have anything to offer them. While this isn't completely false, it's obvious throughout the episode that the two are going to need to realize that they could both significantly improve as parents. Jay and Gloria manage to talk down a worried Manny into not being as panicked about this new baby as much as possible. It's a story that helped to continue Manny's worried plot from the season premiere but it was the weakest of all three plots in this episode. It was funny but it didn't have as many laughs. It was probably a good thing that this plot wasn't given that much screentime.

Snip:

The episode's title refers to the Phil story. Gloria's pregnancy has led Phil and Claire to realize that they might accidentally have another baby as well. They're counting the days until Luke goes to college (or somewhere) so that they'll finally be free from the responsibility. They'll be able to travel and have a lot of free time. In order to ensure that nothing happens, the two decide that Phil will get a vasectomy. The plot moves forward and the episode ends with them deciding against it. Phil doesn't want it because he's afraid of the pain and what people will think of him. Claire doesn't want it because while she gets frustrated by her kids throughout the episode, she gets reminded of the good moments that make parenthood worth it. The two decide to hold off getting the vasectomy until Luke leaves them in five years. If they just happen to have a baby in the meantime, then that wouldn't be the worst accident in the world.

Gloria's pregnancy also means that she's starting to show. She refuses to accept it or to wear maternity clothes. This leads to a situation where her clothes are barely fitting her. It isn't until her clothes start to literally rip apart that the moment of truth comes. She has to rush to the maternity store so that she's properly clothed. The show tries to connect her denial of her appearance with her fear of raising the baby but it doesn't really work. It's a funny story but it also works to give away the ending. While Gloria is eating lunch with Manny, he brings up that his music teacher has been let go. He's disappointed because he wanted the lead role in the musical and he had been sucking up to the teacher to guarantee it. Why is this important? Because the Cam and Mitchell story had completely revolved around Cam getting a music teacher. Guess what? Cam used to be a music teacher before he became a stay-at-home dad.

Now that Lily's at kindergarten, Cam has too much time on his hands. He spends eight weeks creating a mermaid costume for the cat. Whenever Mitchell brings up the possibility of getting a job, Cam's father issues rear their ugly head. Cam believes that Mitchell is calling him lazy because that's what his dad used to think of Cam. Cam wasn't lazy; he just didn't like farm work. Mitchell tries his best to trick Cam into getting a job but this fails when a random gay character gives it away. The episode ends with Mitchell being able to get through to Cam: Mitchell doesn't think Cam is lazy but that Cam needs something to do. Cam decides that he'll get a job and this leads to him becoming a music teacher once again.

Other Notes:

Jay is afraid that they're going to have a girl instead of a boy because he doesn't get girls. This makes sense plus everyone knows raising a boy is easier. What people forget is that a girl is often better at taking care of you when you're old.