S09.E12: Dear Beloved Family

[formerlyfreedom]

Gloria has to rush Phil to the hospital for an emergency surgery after he experiences some intense stomach pains and rallies the entire family to be by his side.

[readster]

I really hope it is a "real emergency" like a bleeding ulcer or something. If it turns out to be gas or something, that would just put Phil in the department of over reacting too much once again. 

[readster]

I have to say this felt like a classic Modern Family episode, but I have said it before and I'll say it again. They have no idea what to do with the kids except for Joe. I mean Alex is feeding stray cats in an alley while she is at college? Hailey can't function without modern technology? Manny dyes his hair blonde and then pierces his right ear? Umm.... yeah ok. Seriously, I wanted to know what the hell was up with Alex and those cats and really Haily is at the point if it wasn't for her phone she would not be able to do anything? When a few weeks ago not having a phone made her actually try and do something? I be happy if they just wrote off all the kids with the occasional appearance by Luke at the club moving up to management and just mention of everyone else and just have Joe. Because they have no idea what to do with them anymore. Because you know, not like the writers were ever in their early to late 20s once? Cracked up with Phil and his various messages over the years and always a pleasure to see Fred Willard. 

[hoodooznoodooz]

I liked this episode. Suddenly, I am finding Gloria much funnier (not the lyre, harp, angels part during the drive to the hospital, though) in recent episodes.

Joe is terrific. Nice job rolling backwards off the sofa, if not a stunt double.

Fred Savage was sweet and funny. So concerned about the recycling bins.

Mitch cutting the correct wire. 

The pants woven through the wheelchair spokes.

Cam's Etsy order shipped!

[OutOfTheQuestion]

Just chiming to say that Phil's "oh, I'm in heaven" after waking up to see Claire was incredibly sweet

[biakbiak]

This was a great episode!

[hoodooznoodooz]

Also Phil requesting surgery bear just to keep Claire busy with a project to distract her a little was really sweet. He knows her so well.

And Claire said many sweet things about Phil to Manny!

 I enjoyed the phone camera POV after Phil dropped it in the toilet. 

[seacliffsal]

I found this episode too similar to previous story lines.  An unexpected third for Mitch and Cam?  Las Vegas.  Rush to the hospital?  Multiple episodes.  Cam being so overwhelming?  Almost every episode.  I also didn't understand why the entire family was called to the hospital.  The Dunphy family?  Absolutely.  Jay, Cam and Mitchell?  Not immediate family and not necessary for something that was not necessarily life-threatening.    

It got to the point where I started fast-forwarding Cam and Mitch scenes.  

I'm kind of liking Joe and Luke the most at this time.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

40 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

I also didn't understand why the entire family was called to the hospital.  The Dunphy family?  Absolutely.  Jay, Cam and Mitchell?  Not immediate family and not necessary for something that was not necessarily life-threatening.    

Agreed.  Actually, I wouldn't even tell the kids to go at this point.  Claire should be enough. Phil had acute stomach pain, not cardiac pain.

Edited January 11, 2018 by ItCouldBeWorse

[Mrs. Hanson]

15 minutes ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

Agreed.  Actually, I wouldn't even tell the kids to go at this point.  Claire should be enough. Phil had acute stomach pain, not cardiac pain.

Plus the wheelchair racing in the hallway?  I am sure hospital staff LOVES that kinda thing.  Nursing staff loves it when you make their workplace a place of game playing.  I am close with my sibs but if my brother went to the hospital with acute stomach pains we would hear about it later - no worries.  If it was serious his wife would call.  

[CleoCaesar]

These people spend way too much time together.

[stcroix]

This was my favorite show back in the first few seasons.  This is sadly my last season-- it feels like interns are coming up with and writing the story lines.  I miss Modern Family :(

[tennisgurl]

I actually liked this one pretty well, it had some really funny scenes and some sweet ones as well. 

Phil giving Claire something to do so she wouldn't worry all day was really sweet. he really does know her really well. As was Claire hugging Manny and talking about how great Phil was while getting a little emotional. I know that what Phil had wrong was pretty minor, but its still surgery, and Claire is a worrier by nature. 

The videos of Phil saying goodbye to his kids during his many supposed brushes with death were hilarious, especially Phil on a plane during Y2K. "Its happening! Its happening...oh wait its just the movie starting...oooooh A Bugs Life". 

Also enjoyed Joe and his adorable existential crisis. How is it that Joe seems to be the only kid on this show they actually know what to do with now? 

[Robert Lynch]

And the chemistry between Ed O'Neal and Little Joe is great. I know Ed always had chemistry with his cast members on previous shows, but this shows him what a good actor Ed is. Those big eyes on Joe talking about death and being immortal....oh, Joe. Never realized for Fred Savage to part of the Mitch and Cam storyline, but I remember he did direct an episode for this show. So this must have been their Thank You to Fred, I guess.

[aemom]

5 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

The videos of Phil saying goodbye to his kids during his many supposed brushes with death were hilarious, especially Phil on a plane during Y2K. "Its happening! Its happening...oh wait its just the movie starting...oooooh A Bugs Life".

And the last one was from the recent episode when he was hiking in the woods and all those bad things happened to him. Nice job with the continuity.

[Delphi]

 GOOD GOD, do I hate Cam... like I get that all the adults are supposed to have flaws but Cam is so overbearing and dramatic its way too much.   Me and my partner point out hot guys to each other, we don't freak out over every single guy that the other expresses interest in. 

 

That said, I love the chemistry between Hayley and Luke which I think exists pretty much just because of how close the actors are.   They don't even need dialogue its just there, which I love. 

[DrSpaceman73]

I had the same reaction to everyone else in terms of Phil being in the hospital and they all come rushing there.  Why exactly? 

Also agree the Mitch/Cam story was pretty much like the Las Vegas episode (my favorite of the series)

It was a better episode than last week, had some funny moments. 

I am no fan of Manny's in general, but didn't think his hair was so bad he couldn't go outside for weeks.  Especially on a college campus in California.  That is probably the norm, or close to it. 

[xander874]

Considering Fred Savage is one of my childhood crushes, I wouldn't say no to a happy ending from him. I was actually surprised that there was so much intimacy stuff with Cam and Mitch. And Joe is no my favorite character. He is so cute and has great comedic timing.

[Mrs. Hanson]

3 hours ago, Delphi said:

Me and my partner point out hot guys to each other, we don't freak out over every single guy that the other expresses interest in. 

Heck, me and my hubby talk about who we each want to have in a plural marriage with - Eva Green for him, Colin Firth for me.   We are married, not dead or blind.

 

3 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

It was a better episode than last week, had some funny moments. 

The one time I laughed:  "They are going to shave me!"  "We can't let those be his last words!!!"  "WE LOVE YOU PHIL!"  "I love you too - they are going to shave me!"

[ElectricBoogaloo]

3 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

I am no fan of Manny's in general, but didn't think his hair was so bad he couldn't go outside for weeks.  Especially on a college campus in California.  That is probably the norm, or close to it. 

The really stupid thing is that when Claire arrived, Manny was wearing a hat so he already had a solution to his hair problem. WEAR A HAT AND LEAVE YOUR ROOM. Yes, California is warmer than most of the country but people still wear hats all year.

And if he really hated his hair color, all he had to do was go to the store to get some hair dye. There are temporary ones and semi-permanent ones that wash out so they’re safe to use on recently bleached hair.

Option #3: shave your head. 

All of these seem like better options tham hiding in your dorm room for lord knows how long. 

Realistically he lives in a regular dorm room so he has to leave his room to use the bathroom and shower. If you are already being seen by people in your dorm, you might as well leave to go to class, do laundry, etc. 

[Tanichka]

Didn't they do this already, when Phil had kidney stones & had to be taken to the hospital?

[readster]

4 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

The really stupid thing is that when Claire arrived, Manny was wearing a hat so he already had a solution to his hair problem. WEAR A HAT AND LEAVE YOUR ROOM. Yes, California is warmer than most of the country but people still wear hats all year.

And if he really hated his hair color, all he had to do was go to the store to get some hair dye. There are temporary ones and semi-permanent ones that wash out so they’re safe to use on recently bleached hair.

Option #3: shave your head. 

All of these seem like better options tham hiding in your dorm room for lord knows how long. 

Realistically he lives in a regular dorm room so he has to leave his room to use the bathroom and shower. If you are already being seen by people in your dorm, you might as well leave to go to class, do laundry, etc. 

Yep and even with the ear ring, what's to worry, but remember this is Manny. He still thinks people care about his theatrics and he feels he is going to piss off Gloria if he tries anything different. 

[Mrs. Hanson]

17 minutes ago, readster said:

Yep and even with the ear ring, what's to worry, but remember this is Manny. He still thinks people care about his theatrics and he feels he is going to piss off Gloria if he tries anything different. 

He could have easily gone and put in colored streaks as well.   I feel kinda bad for the character of Manny - he used to be witty and amusing now he just weird.

[AnnaRose]

6 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

The really stupid thing is that when Claire arrived, Manny was wearing a hat so he already had a solution to his hair problem. WEAR A HAT AND LEAVE YOUR ROOM. Yes, California is warmer than most of the country but people still wear hats all year.

And if he really hated his hair color, all he had to do was go to the store to get some hair dye. There are temporary ones and semi-permanent ones that wash out so they’re safe to use on recently bleached hair.

Option #3: shave your head. 

All of these seem like better options tham hiding in your dorm room for lord knows how long. 

Realistically he lives in a regular dorm room so he has to leave his room to use the bathroom and shower. If you are already being seen by people in your dorm, you might as well leave to go to class, do laundry, etc. 

Yes!  That whole thing was so bizarre and silly!

2 hours ago, Tanichka said:

Didn't they do this already, when Phil had kidney stones & had to be taken to the hospital?

That's what I was thinking.

[DrSpaceman73]

The other thing......why were they picking up each others kids before going to the hospital, why didn't they just get their own kids? 

Someone picked up Lilly for Mitch and Cam, Mitch and Cam picked up Joe, I believe,.......just very confusing

[Angeleyes]

Phil having surgery was way too soon from the Chris Martin episode. If you recycle storylines within the same season maybe it’s time to get new writers or wrap things up for good on this show. 

I’m glad Fred Savage got to be in this episode since he’s so often directing for them. 

[readster]

11 hours ago, Angeleyes said:

Phil having surgery was way too soon from the Chris Martin episode. If you recycle storylines within the same season maybe it’s time to get new writers or wrap things up for good on this show. 

I’m glad Fred Savage got to be in this episode since he’s so often directing for them. 

They've fallen into the "Home Improvement Trap" That's when the writers who didn't know what to do with a character in an episode (mostly Jill), they would be sick. They fell on Jill being sick a lot of episodes or one of the boys having something because hey were comfortable writing it. It's like with Hailey, they don't know what to do with her character so writing her as a ditz or obsessed with her phone is their safety piece. Just with Manny or Alex doing something that not only doesn't make sense, but has no resolution. Like with Alex feeding the stray cats and saying: "We'll hang out next time." That just made no sense. 

[Marley]

Maybe it’s time for this show to end because it’s completely sucked this season.

Csm and Mitch’s scene was horrible. So ridiculous and not what would happen. Cam gets worse and worse each episode.

Msnny continues to get worse as well. Horrible actor and horrible storylines for him. He was only ok to watch when a kid. As an adult he sucks.

Not sure why I still watch lol.

[Mrs. Hanson]

5 hours ago, Marley said:

Maybe it’s time for this show to end because it’s completely sucked this season.

Csm and Mitch’s scene was horrible. So ridiculous and not what would happen. Cam gets worse and worse each episode.

Msnny continues to get worse as well. Horrible actor and horrible storylines for him. He was only ok to watch when a kid. As an adult he sucks.

Not sure why I still watch lol.

I think it is guaranteed through the 2018/19 season.  Why I watch I am not sure either.  I keep hoping it will get better but oh so disappointed!!!  

Bolding mine:  He was cute as a kid with his quirks but as a young man he is just not that great an actor and no way no how could two gorgeous parents make Manny.  Why Jay agreed to send him to some expensive school to study playwriting (is that it?) is beyond me.  I have a dear friend who is sending her daughter to an expensive out of state school to study.....wait for it......sculpture.  I am like wow you are nicer than me.

Edited to add:  I just read on Google News that the 2018/19 season will be the last, according to producers.

Edited January 13, 2018 by Mrs. Hanson

[SnarkySheep]

IMO the episode would have been much better had we not JUST had Phil in the hospital!! My family saw the episode description on the DVR and was all, "Wait, is this a repeat?" 

They should either have not had the previous hospital ep (in order to make this one, the freakin' 200TH EPISODE, have a bit more oomph) or simply had someone else, such as Claire, be the one who fell ill. 

[Toothbrush]

I loved that Jay's first reaction to someone going to the hospital was panic that it was Stella. Most people would think about human loved ones first. Jay sure loves him some Stella! And who can blame him? 

[Gulftastic]

Fred Savage's gleeful little face when he thought he was in for a threeway was my favourite thing.