S10.E02: Kiss and Tell

[paulvdb]

Airdate: October 3, 2018

Quote

Haley needs a little help deciding whether or not to tell Arvin about her kiss with Dylan and goes to Mitch and Cam for their advice. Meanwhile, Gloria suspects Manny's Canadian girlfriend is made up and wants to find out the real truth.

[Artsda]

I loved this episode, all the family together for the entire episode.

Dylan back again is great and his bettering himself for Hayley. 

"There are too many actual real reasons for us to see each other. We cannot afford to hang out by mistake."  Best line! LOL

[partofme]

I loved this episode.   I think the show is a lot funnier this season than last.   So happy Dylan's back.

[Everleigh]

I liked the episode overall.

And I loved that the episode paid homage to Mean Girls and aired on October 3rd (unofficial Mean Girls day). 

[nilyank]

I always loved Dylan, so I am happy that he is back and he is trying to make himself better for Hayley.

Also happy that things are going well with Alex and her hottie fireman boyfriend.

But I absolutely loved Phil MeanGirling Jay and then the reveal later about Jay's feelings for Phil.

[tennisgurl]

Mean Girls Day reference! On that very day! I just wish that Phil was wearing pink. Anyway, it was still so fetch.

I really liked most of the plots this week, and most of them landed. Except for the Manny plot, which seemed like something that should have happened several seasons ago. One of Mannys constant plots has been him chasing girls after all. 

I gotta say, its nice to see Dylan again, and that he actually is trying to grow as a person. He is still my favorite boyfriend on the show, and I can see them ending up together. 

30 minutes ago, Artsda said:

"There are too many actual real reasons for us to see each other. We cannot afford to hang out by mistake."  Best line! LOL

That was hilarious, its my new bar for funny lines this season!

[SoMuchTV]

My 20-something daughter said “oh ! It’s October 3rd!” I had (and still have) no idea what she’s talking about, even though I’m sure I watched mean girls at some point. 

[DrSpaceman73]

I liked this episode

As others have mentioned before and here already, the family all together and not separated helps out the stories

Do not like the Haley storyline though.  For one because Dylan, while I like him, was best for her at a different time in her life.  Not now.  And two, this is twice now she is helping to cheat on someone during a relationship. 

It was sweet what Dylan stated though, about trying to be a better person until he deserves her, or however he said it

Phil and Jay meangirls though was the best

Would not shock me at all if Manny was gay, or more likely bi.  And if that girlfriend is still fake. 

[CleoCaesar]

I'm watching Mean Girls on MTV as I type this post. It's a classic for a reason.

Haley regressing back to Dylan is so disappointing. And I like Dylan. I just preferred the Haley that was more normal and mature when she was with Andy, not this dumb, vacuous Haley.

Really good episode in the scenes with the adults.

[Everleigh]

31 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

My 20-something daughter said “oh ! It’s October 3rd!” I had (and still have) no idea what she’s talking about, even though I’m sure I watched mean girls at some point. 

[biakbiak]

On a random note I loved Claire’s coverup.

i just feel like going back to Dylan is just a tired retread.

[Everleigh]

The episode was solid but Manny's seemingly made-up but actually real girlfriend was something I could have done without, especially since they did pretty much the same thing with Alex a couple of seasons ago, right down to the suspicious-sounding name. Teddy Keys in her case. 

[Traveller519]

It looks like we're into wrapping up our characters, and I'm perfectly happy with that. We're getting some resolution on Phil and Jay's relationship. Cam is being forced to address his insecurity. And Dylan is back.

I'm okay if the show decides to take a victory lap for this final season. It probably should have happened a few seasons back, but we know how network TV works

[Bobbin]

Dylan trying to be a better person for Haley seems to include his no longer being goofy and clueless, just serious. He does now come across as someone who would do well in nursing school. Maybe he'll inspire Haley to be better grounded, too. I'm glad he's back, for wherever this arc leads, partly for the character, but mostly for actor Reid Ewing's own story. I wish them "both" well.

A great episode, everyone involved (except Joe), and Phil finally got to hear honest praise from Jay. And Jay finally got an honest critique on his cooking skills (or lack thereof)! A lot of references to how long they've all been together (and on the air). A warm-up to the countdown?

Edited October 4, 2018 by Bobbin
Added thought.

[VCRTracking]

I liked the episode too. Phil and Jay's relationship is always one of my favorite running jokes.

Alex has such a spotty love life than I'm happy she's getting some!

[Tosia]

I really don't care about Hailey's love life.  She and her brother are dumb as rocks.  

That said,  I guess I'm over this show.  Don't care about Alex either ---too much retread without progress.  

[readster]

6 minutes ago, Tosia said:

I really don't care about Hailey's love life.  She and her brother are dumb as rocks.  

That said,  I guess I'm over this show.  Don't care about Alex either ---too much retread without progress.  

They really shot themselves in the foot having both Haley and Luke being morons and Alex being the cliche: "middle child" and being the smart and yet completely bitter one of the family. It wasn't like she was ignored and everyone focused on kids 1 and 3. Just, they didn't know how to relate to her. However, after 10 years you can see just how they really made it where both Haley and Luke, you just wonder how they are even still alive at this point. At least with Dylan, he has not only caught a clue but also realized he is an idiot by himself. 

[hoodooznoodooz]

I loved, paraphrasing, “This is a bit much. I mean, I’m desensitized to it, but I saw Luke walk into a wall.”

[Blakeston]

8 hours ago, Everleigh said:

The episode was solid but Manny's seemingly made-up but actually real girlfriend was something I could have done without, especially since they did pretty much the same thing with Alex a couple of seasons ago, right down to the suspicious-sounding name. Teddy Keys in her case. 

As soon as they made it clear that this was going to be a "is Manny's girlfriend real?" plot, I groaned. Especially because that Teddy Keys storyline was a blatant copy of the Frasier episode where he dates a supermodel and no one will believe him.

I was kind of relieved, though, that it was focused more on the possibility of him being gay. Realistically, someone with his personality would constantly have people assuming he was gay, so they might as well acknowledge that.

And I thought it was funny at the end when she said, "This is not the first time I've had to do this." It makes me feel bad for any men IRL who actually have Canadian girlfriends.

[AriAu]

The writing was crisp and as clever as ever, I laughed out loud several times and smiled (or smirked) at the appropriate times....this is  a sitcom so those are all really good things. Probably the funniest episode in a few seasons. They were also consistent to the characters, which is good, but especially good when they brought the funny with it. Jay being menacingly funny, Phil literally strutting around (Ty Burrell is a very gifted physical comedian), Luke being a goof, Mitchell and Cam (as usual) acting like there is no reason that they are together, and Dylan being completely clueless, yet caring...and having the best clueless lines. Plus, almost no lines for Lily always helps.

Where was Joe and Pam's kid?
 

Quote

 

It looks like we're into wrapping up our characters, and I'm perfectly happy with that. We're getting some resolution on Phil and Jay's relationship. Cam is being forced to address his insecurity. And Dylan is back.

I'm okay if the show decides to take a victory lap for this final season. It probably should have happened a few seasons back, but we know how network TV works

 

Obviously, this means the series will end with Haley and Dylan's wedding, which is a great chance to bring back all the supporting characters like DeDe (I hope they flash back to The Incident), Pepper, Phil's dad, the neighbors, Cam's parents, Andy etc...Should be about a 4 part episode!

[biakbiak]

1 hour ago, AriAu said:

Where was Joe and Pam's kid?

They were there. Joe was playing with Manny in the pool and Pam’s kid was playing with Cam in the first scene. And in the final scene Pams kid was on Mitchell’s lap and Joe was sitting on a bar stool by Luke and Gloria. 

Edited October 4, 2018 by biakbiak

[CleoCaesar]

Gloria: "My first boyfriend at his age, he wasn't ready to sleep with me."
Cam: "Mhmmm... And what does he do now?"
Gloria: "He runs a bed and breakfast."
Cam: "With...?"
Gloria: "His good friend Steven! ...Shut up!"

[Everleigh]

3 hours ago, Blakeston said:

As soon as they made it clear that this was going to be a "is Manny's girlfriend real?" plot, I groaned. Especially because that Teddy Keys storyline was a blatant copy of the Frasier episode where he dates a supermodel and no one will believe him.

I was kind of relieved, though, that it was focused more on the possibility of him being gay. Realistically, someone with his personality would constantly have people assuming he was gay, so they might as well acknowledge that.

And I thought it was funny at the end when she said, "This is not the first time I've had to do this." It makes me feel bad for any men IRL who actually have Canadian girlfriends.

Yeah in Alex’s case it seemed simply that her parents didn’t think she could have multiple boys interested in her, so at least they put a twist on the retread with Manny. 

When I was in junior high, a boy came back from break with a “girlfriend” he met on vacation and told everyone they had sex. Next thing you knew, 3-4 other boys also had “vacation girlfriends” that they totally had sex with while away. This whole Canadian girlfriend thing made me think of those poor stupid boys who actually thought they were fooling people with fake girls who lived thousands of miles away. 

[AriAu]

Quote

This whole Canadian girlfriend thing made me think of those poor stupid boys who actually thought they were fooling people with fake girls who lived thousands of miles away. 

I immediately thought of this

[WhosThatGirl]

Eh. I’m not getting the Dylan love. And also didn’t feel this either. The only thing I liked was the fact that it referenced mean girls on mean girls day.

Also I wish that Haley being “in love with two people” was Dylan and Andy. As much as I don’t like Dylan I don’t mind her being a person she’s still in love with but the fact that the other person is Arvin is confusing to

me. I feel like she didn’t build much with him, at least not on screen. I wish it was Dylan and Andy.

[Eataton]

1 hour ago, WhosThatGirl said:

Eh. I’m not getting the Dylan love. And also didn’t feel this either. The only thing I liked was the fact that it referenced mean girls on mean girls day.

Also I wish that Haley being “in love with two people” was Dylan and Andy. As much as I don’t like Dylan I don’t mind her being a person she’s still in love with but the fact that the other person is Arvin is confusing to

me. I feel like she didn’t build much with him, at least not on screen. I wish it was Dylan and Andy.

I agree it should be Dylan and Andy. Dylan is closest to her in brains but I think Andy was the most normal and probably best for her. Am I the only one who thinks Dylan seems kinda gay? I could see the love as a gay best friend but romantically?

[WhosThatGirl]

1 minute ago, Eataton said:

I agree it should be Dylan and Andy. Dylan is closest to her in brains but I think Andy was the most normal and probably best for her. Am I the only one who thinks Dylan seems kinda gay? I could see the love as a gay best friend but romantically?

 I never thought he was gay but I thought the show made it clear the last time they dated  that they weren’t a great fit. Then two seasons ago they had him married and Haley was all”wait what?!?” And now  were here. I don’t fully get the need to bring him back.

Ive always thought Andy and Haley were the best match but.. I always felt like I was alone in thinking that.

[ljenkins782]

8 hours ago, Blakeston said:

As soon as they made it clear that this was going to be a "is Manny's girlfriend real?" plot, I groaned. Especially because that Teddy Keys storyline was a blatant copy of the Frasier episode where he dates a supermodel and no one will believe him.

I was kind of relieved, though, that it was focused more on the possibility of him being gay. Realistically, someone with his personality would constantly have people assuming he was gay, so they might as well acknowledge that.

And I thought it was funny at the end when she said, "This is not the first time I've had to do this." It makes me feel bad for any men IRL who actually have Canadian girlfriends.

It's a blatant rip-off of the Brady Bunch with Jan's fake boyfriend "George Glass." 

The dumbest part of it for me is the fact that Manny was on a cross-country road trip simply to transport someone's car, how did he have time to meet and spend enough time with anyone to call them a girlfriend? 

I loved Adam Devine in Pitch Perfect and other things, but couldn't really stand the Andy character so I don't mind that it's Dylan that they're reviving. And Arvin is irritating and has nothing in common with Haley, so sending him off for good is fine too.

I've been a little disappointed with Ed O'Neill's acting in the first two episodes, he's usually the least corny of any of them, but there's been something a little cartoonish about Jay in these last two shows. 

[quangtran]

1 hour ago, WhosThatGirl said:

Ive always thought Andy and Haley were the best match but.. I always felt like I was alone in thinking that.

Alone? To me Andy and Haley is by far the most popular pairing (I personally never cared). Their "will-they-won't-they" storyline was the only time the show was able to bring out the hardcore shippers (which usually only happens with shows like Scandal and Supernatural).

45 minutes ago, ljenkins782 said:

It's a blatant rip-off of the Brady Bunch with Jan's fake boyfriend "George Glass."

I consider the fake boyfriend/girlfreind storyline to be too common in comedies to be considered a rip-off, and consider it more of a trope. I remember Ugly Betty doing the girlfreind from Canada joke a few times.

1 hour ago, Eataton said:

Am I the only one who thinks Dylan seems kinda gay?

I personally don't get that vibe, but Reid Ewing will probably ping on someone's gayday given that he's comfortable out in real life.

Edited October 4, 2018 by quangtran

[WhosThatGirl]

14 minutes ago, quangtran said:

Alone? To me Andy and Haley is by far the most popular pairing (I persoanlly never cared). Their "will-they-won't-they" storyline was the only time the show was able to bring out the hardcore shippers (which usually only happens with shows like Scandal and Supernateral).

I consider the fake boyfriend/girlfreind storyline to be too common in comedies to be considered a rip-off, and consider it more of a trope. I remeber Ugly Betty doing the girlfreind from Canada joke a few times.

I personally don't get that vibe, but Reid Ewing will probably ping on someone's gayday given that he's comfortable out in real life.

I’ve read things where people didn’t like Andy and Haley. I really did. I never understood why the show let him go/I know the actor himself is pretty busy, but I always feel the show could have made him a regular to lock him in. Haley going back to Dylan just.. is not all that interesting to watch. At least not for me.  Also it’s odd they let Andy go because theshow always seemed to be writing him as her ending partner. The constant comparisons to Phill and him. It always made me think that’s who she is going to end up with.

And I don’t get Arvin. And especially not this torn between two lovers story they are now going for

with Haley. I mean Dylan makes.. some sense as I said , but she’s torn between him and Arvin?!?! Really? 

Edited October 4, 2018 by WhosThatGirl

[Enigma X]

I am not a Dylan, Andy, or Arvin fan. They all suck.

[incandescent]

I know Nolan Gould has been more miss than hit in recent years, but I genuinely laughed when he jumped in the pool to avoid insulting Jay's grill skills.

[lynxfx]

I've been watching it seems out of habit, but this episode was the first time in quite awhile where I found myself laughing. Great ep and hopefully it isn't an anomaly and this season sees the show back on top.

[biakbiak]

I like Arvin but that might be my Chris Gore love.

[WhosThatGirl]

Wow. Everyone really seemed to have really liked this episode and I feel sad I didn’t.

Hm. I just can’t get over the fact that they’re using Arvin as one of the two people Haley is in love with. I mean Arvin is funny and seems nice but their relationship seems to have been built off screen. At least for me. We didn’t see much of a bulls up, except for a few dates here and there and when she met his parents and passed out and they said I love Yous. 

Also I have to say it.. since it’s between Arvin and Dylan it’s painfully obvious  that she’s picking Dylan. Right? I mean I’m sorry but they really aren’t giving us much of a biting our fingernails moment with the two guys she’s stuck between. 

[Enigma X]

I really enjoyed the Mean Girls homage. That was funny.

 

I know Nolan Gould's acting is choppy, but, unlike Manny and Lillie, I like Luke for some reason. In fact, I have always liked all the Dunphy kids. 

 

A longtime ago I was watching a rerun of the Facts of Life where no one believed Natalie had a boyfriend. At the time, I thought that must have made the actress feel so crappy. The Facts of Life storyline made it seem as if she was not attractive enough to get a boyfriend.

[ljenkins782]

Just now, Enigma X said:

I really enjoyed the Mean Girls homage. That was funny.

 

I know Nolan Gould's acting is choppy, but, unlike Manny and Lillie, I like Luke for some reason. In fact, I have always liked all the Dunphy kids. 

 

A longtime ago I was watching a rerun of the Facts of Life where no one believed Natalie had a boyfriend. At the time, I thought that must have made the actress feel so crappy. The Facts of Life storyline made it seem as if she was not attractive enough to get a boyfriend.

Well, also there was the fact that the boyfriend was named "Snake." ;) 

I also like Luke, much moreso now than when he was a kid. Not an outstanding actor or anything, but not a bad one either, IMO. The Dunphy kids are definitely the best of the child actors on this show. 

[Enigma X]

Just now, ljenkins782 said:

Well, also there was the fact that the boyfriend was named "Snake." ;) 

I also like Luke, much moreso now than when he was a kid. Not an outstanding actor or anything, but not a bad one either, IMO. The Dunphy kids are definitely the best of the child actors on this show. 

Yes. I can't remember if Snake was actually real though. LOL.

[biakbiak]

2 minutes ago, Enigma X said:

Yes. I can't remember if Snake was actually real though. LOL.

Very real, Natalie lost her virginity to him. 

[MoreCoffeePlease]

Quote

On a random note I loved Claire’s coverup.

$375 according to wornontv.net.  Yowza.

[LeisureTime]

I liked this episode but for me the biggest laugh of it came from Gloria's "But you said at the bar her name was Olive Cocktail Napkin!" I'm not Gloria's biggest fan, but that was hilarious. Everything else was fine.

I'll be a little disappointed if Dylan/Haley is endgame though. Like others have said, they were great as a high school romance, but I just like Haley so much better with Andy and Arvin. Because Andy makes their relationship seem really similar to Phil/Claire and there's something about that that's kind of cute. And Arvin is a classic case of opposites attract. You know, I love that they're the pairing you'd think WOULDN'T work, because they exist on opposite poles, but at the end of the day each one pulls the other closer to the middle, and it just works.

But it's probably not to be. I feel like we're either going full-on Dylan/Haley, all the way to the end, or Andy will swoop back in and sweep her off her feet. I just hope there's no wedding interruptus in that case. Things I think I'd like to see before it's all said and done though: A Dunphy grandchild and Luke getting something real to do.

[ljenkins782]

28 minutes ago, LeisureTime said:

I liked this episode but for me the biggest laugh of it came from Gloria's "But you said at the bar her name was Olive Cocktail Napkin!" I'm not Gloria's biggest fan, but that was hilarious. Everything else was fine.

I'll be a little disappointed if Dylan/Haley is endgame though. Like others have said, they were great as a high school romance, but I just like Haley so much better with Andy and Arvin. Because Andy makes their relationship seem really similar to Phil/Claire and there's something about that that's kind of cute. And Arvin is a classic case of opposites attract. You know, I love that they're the pairing you'd think WOULDN'T work, because they exist on opposite poles, but at the end of the day each one pulls the other closer to the middle, and it just works.

But it's probably not to be. I feel like we're either going full-on Dylan/Haley, all the way to the end, or Andy will swoop back in and sweep her off her feet. I just hope there's no wedding interruptus in that case. Things I think I'd like to see before it's all said and done though: A Dunphy grandchild and Luke getting something real to do.

I have no problem with this type of couple when it actually plays out in a way that's obvious to the audience. Sam/Diane from Cheers, Maddie/David on Moonlighting, Dwayne/Whitley on A Different World, Tony/Angela on Who's the Boss, etc, those couples organically moved toward the middle with each other and made sense. These two? Their entire relationship is predicated on the idea that a man saw a woman for 30 seconds and decided he was going to end up with her based on his own "calculations" regardless of her thoughts or wishes (which...awesome message right there, I'm sure women are just dying to watch stories like that at this point in time) and since then, all we've seen of them is him lying to his parents about her occupation and that weird goodbye where she didn't get his jokes. No chemistry to start with and no evidence of anything building from that point. And their relationship hasn't even generated any kind of comedy, which is the biggest fail in a sitcom situation.

If anything, I guess Andy was her opposites attract relationship that tried to show them pulling each other toward a middle ground. 

As for what happens to the kids, I wonder if they'll pull a switcheroo and have it be Alex who ends up pregnant first. 

[Bobbin]

4 hours ago, LeisureTime said:

Things I think I'd like to see before it's all said and done though: A Dunphy grandchild and Luke getting something real to do.

Ditto on the grandchild. Nolan is a musical prodigy (and a Mensa member) in real life. I wish they'd let him show off his talents -- having musical skill wouldn't be out of character any more than Claire dazzling Phil with magic or Jay having a soft side (that picture of Claire and Mitch in their red dance costumes he keeps on his end table). I miss sweet, goofy 10 year old Luke ("Luke! Stay! Stay!!" and "I like this doctor. I didn't even have to take my pants off! I found that out late."), but children grow up, and few writers know what to do with their characters, especially in a comedy series, the downside of success.

[nilyank]

I love Dylan and all the Dunphys.

Despite liking Claire as a character, she has been a really negative about Dylan since he first showed up. Sure he is goofy and not as bright as she might like, but he has always cared about Hayley, got along great with Phil (who adores him) and has grown up in many ways including getting into nursing school and working to make himself better for Hayley.

I would be thrilled if at the end of the show, Dylan and Hayley are happy together and Claire has to eat her words about how wrong she was about them. Like Jay had to about Phil.

[CleoCaesar]

4 hours ago, ljenkins782 said:

As for what happens to the kids, I wonder if they'll pull a switcheroo and have it be Alex who ends up pregnant first. 

I really, really hope none of the Dunphy kids are pregnant/get anyone pregnant. They all seem to have an emotional age of about 12, and I can't imagine any of them being parents now.

[WhosThatGirl]

I still hope this is the last season, and if it is, the series finale will probably include a time jump and one of the Dumphy kids will probably have a kid or one on the way.

They really need to give Luke something to do, I agree. But I think that also needs to happen with Alex too. I mean sometimes we see her at school  and with the firefighter boyfriend but no real plot development. Haley seems to be the only Dumphy kid that gets a story and her siblings piggy back off it. 

Edited October 6, 2018 by WhosThatGirl

[SrOfficial]

Yay, Dylan!  I hated Andy.  No chemistry, whatsoever.

[DrSpaceman73]

I am not a big fan of any of the potential Haley pairings. 

And its a shame for a young woman such as her the best they can do is a classic and trite love triangle, emphasizing as they have all series that there is nothing more to her than how she looks and what male she is paired off with

I really don't get the point of the whole Manny storyline thrown in the very end of last season of him driving across country by himself to deliver someone's car.  It seems to random and pointless.  And unfunny.  Was it really to just introduce a new girlfriend?  They couldn't come up with a better way for that to happen?  He is in college, is he not?  Couldn't he just say he met her in college and she lives in Canada?  Kind of baffling, such a needlessly complicated set up for that.  Maybe more will come of it later, but I kind of doubt it

[tribeca]

On 10/4/2018 at 5:52 PM, Eataton said:

I agree it should be Dylan and Andy. Dylan is closest to her in brains but I think Andy was the most normal and probably best for her. Am I the only one who thinks Dylan seems kinda gay? I could see the love as a gay best friend but romantically?

It’s funny I always thought Andy seemed gay.   

 I am kind of tired of Haileys love life.    It would be nice for the other kids to have a story line.  

[Angeleyes]

The fake girlfriend thing is a retread for this show. They already did the storyline a few seasons ago when Phil and Claire refused to believe Alex had a real boyfriend.