MODERN FAMILY RECAP: MESSAGE RECEIVED

Pickles! Who doesn’t love pickles? Pickles are one of my favorite food groups but Manny isn’t a fan. We began with Manny refusing to eat a sandwich Jay made for him because there was a pickle touching his bread. Jay wanted Manny to just try the pickle because (like me) he didn’t know anyone who doesn’t like pickles. Gloria called Jay out on his “Try something new” idea and told him he should try her grandmother’s blood sausage. Jay was grossed out and didn’t want do it. Gloria said he should prove to Manny that he isn’t a hypocrite. So Jay said he would try the blood sausage if Manny ate the pickle and Gloria had to rub Stella on her belly (apparently Stella’s nipples freak Gloria out) since she never has. Now everyone had something to try and they all did it at the same time. Jay and Manny both gagged at the taste of the pickle and the blood sausage and Gloria was freaked out by Stella’s belly. Cheers to trying new things!

As the RSVP’s for the wedding started coming in, Mitch and Cam worried that they might have overdone their wedding plans and budget. Cam didn’t want to cut back on the wedding, but didn’t know how they were going to afford it. They decided to sell something valuable for extra money. Mitch had an old Spiderman comic that was in mint condition that could be worth some serious cash, and Cam had an old belt buckle that his grandfather gave to him that was worn by Wyatt Earp (or so he thought).

They went to a pawn shop and Cam emotionally gave the appraiser the belt buckle and left because it was so hard for him to part with it. Good thing he did leave, because Mitch found out that the belt buckle was a fake that gas stations sold. His belt buckle wasn’t worth more than $20.  He told the appraiser about his comic book and found out it could be worth almost $5000! Whoa! When Mitch got back in the car with Cam he didn’t have the heart to tell him the truth about his belt buckle. Mitch told him that he decided to sell the comic book and couldn’t sell that buckle knowing how much it meant to Cam.

Mitch went to Jay’s to get his comic book and walked in on them right after they were all freaking out about trying something new. On his way out, Mitch dropped the comic book and it got dirty and he got mad! Cam tried to tell him it would be alright, but in frustration he let the truth slip. Mitch said his comic book was worth $5000 and Cam’s belt buckle was a fake and not worth anything. Cam gasped and realized the timing was a little off. He wondered what else his grandfather lied to him about.

Gloria suggested to Mitch to let Jay help them with the wedding, but Mitch didn’t want any help. Jay said that maybe the issues they were having were a sign that they needed to scale back on the wedding, and just invite family and a few friends. Mitch was offended because he didn’t think he would have made that suggestion if he weren’t gay, and he was right. Jay admitted that he thought the whole wedding idea was weird. He wondered if he was supposed to walk Mitch down the aisle or if there would be a father/son dance. Cam and Mitch were shocked by this because he has been supportive of their relationship up to this point. Jay said he should be able to be himself too, why should Mitch be able to be himself but he couldn’t? Jay was uncomfortable with it. Mitch was hurt and told him if he was so uncomfortable, he didn’t have to come to the wedding. Ouch. Cam and Mitch left and Gloria stood there shaking her head in disappointment.

Over at the Dunphy’s, Haley found a box of Claire and Phil’s old things in the basement. The kids went through the box and found Phil’s answering machine. They listened to the messages (one was Mitch trying to explain why he didn’t want to go out with Phil’s girl cousin…hilarious) and there was a message from Claire. As soon as she heard her voice, Claire tried to stop the message but it was too late. The kids heard Claire tell Phil that she was pregnant and it happened after a concert. Haley was grossed out and couldn’t believe that’s how she was conceived.

Haley came up with a joke to play on her parents. They took the message from the old machine and left it on Phil’s answering machine so he would think Claire was pregnant now. Phil got the message while he was playing golf and rushed home to be with Claire. Claire and Phil figured out the kids played a prank on them and Claire was pretty impressed that they were able to pull it off. They decided to play a trick of their own as payback.

As soon as they heard the kids come in the house, they pretended to have a big argument about the baby and how they can’t screw up another kid. Alex and Haley feel horrible that they were fighting and realized their joke backfired. Then Claire says that she never would have married Phil if she wasn’t pregnant and Phil took that seriously. He was hurt and went upstairs and it got real. The kids felt so bad.

Claire and Phil were in the bedroom and Phil wondered if she regretted marring him. She told him that she felt lucky to be married to him and her ex-boyfriend never made her laugh. They kissed and made up. The kids were listening outside the door and they were relieved to hear their parents make up. Once they heard the door lock, they flew down the stairs. They didn’t want to hear anything else after that.

We ended with a montage of Mitch looking sad after leaving Jay’s house and of Jay looking concerned with his phone in his hand. Manny was secretly eating a pickle (I knew he liked them!) and Gloria rubbed Stella’s belly when no one was around.  Families have ups and downs, but they come back together in love. I can’t wait to see how this issue with Jay and Mitch resolves.

Modern Family airs Wednesday nights at 9/8c on ABC.