MODERN FAMILY RECAP – THE DAY WE ALMOST DIED

Happy New Year! Modern Family is back with a new episode that explored how a near death experience can affect people. This episode was shot a little different than the average Modern Family episode, but it was just as entertaining.  Let’s get to it!

Phil was driving the minivan with Claire, Haley, Alex, Luke and Manny all piled in. Phil was jamming to his song “I can’t go for that..no no..no can do!” and refused to turn down the  radio. It was complete chaos in the car and Claire referred to it as a quiet morning. Manny was talking to Luke who had headphones on, Claire was yelling at Mitch on the phone to get a birthday present for their mom, and Haley was begging Phil to turn the radio down. Suddenly a large truck ran the stop sign and Phil swerved to miss it and the van spun around before stopping. OMG! They almost died! This moment impacted everyone involved in different ways.

Claire went to Mitch’s office and apologized for yelling at him on the phone. She didn’t want to be a control freak anymore (that is not going to last), she just wanted to be free and have fun. She made Mitch take off the rest of the day so they could hang out at the beach and go roller-skating. Mitch just wanted to go back to work and finish his day and Claire managed to control how they had fun even though she wasn’t trying to be controlling anymore.

Haley and Alex walked home together. They had a moment in the car after the incident where they hugged and Haley said, “I thought I lost you.” Alex thought it was so sweet. They don’t really hang out much and Alex thought they should have some quality sister time. Haley suggested makeovers and Alex cringed but agreed.

When they got home from their makeovers Alex’s lip and eyebrows were bright red (from being waxed), she had on high heels that she couldn’t walk in, and she couldn’t see because Haley took her glasses. She looked a hot mess and it was pretty funny. Then Haley dropped her phone and said, “I thought I lost you again.” Alex realized that Haley was talking to her phone in the car and not Alex. Bummer!

When the incident happened, Luke practically missed it. He was into his headphones, once the car stopped he asked, “why are we stopping?” He decided he didn’t want to miss anything else and he would start to tackle his bucket list (that had like 5 things on it).

Manny walked home and told Gloria and Jay what happened. Gloria said he needed some ice cream and he agreed. Manny was afraid to get in the car, so they were driving along the side of him as he walked. Finally Jay made him get in the car and then he made him drive! He wanted him to face his fear head on! The thought of Manny driving was scary to me. After Manny chased after a man who he thought tried to take Gloria’s purse (she made it up so he would drive), it was Jay’s turn to walk home. Manny’s driving scared him half to death.

Phil had the best reaction of all. He acted like it didn’t affect him at all. Everyone was alright, no harm no foul. Well Phil put on his man pants and got a backbone. Phil was in the car with Cam who was going on about how they delivered a white dryer when he ordered an eggshell dryer and Mitch didn’t stand up for him. Phil was listening to Cam, but he was clearly on a mission. He stopped at a house that he represented but Gil Thorpe (Guest star Rob Riggle), his rival realtor, stole from under him. He walked right in and told the couple that Gil was ripping them off, and then gave them some sleeping pills that they might need because the house was haunted, and list of priests in the area. He stood up for Claire and told Gil if he ever made another rude comment about his wife, he would kill him. Go Phil! It is about time he stood up to Gil. Then he told Cam they were going to get his eggshell dryer next. He was so stern and manly, it was exciting to watch and Cam definitely took notice.

At the appliance store, Phil demanded an eggshell dryer and refused to leave without it. The salesman said they had one in the back but he needed help loading it on the truck. This new confident Phil had Cam wondering the same thing I was, “Is Phil Sexy?” This new Phil was definitely manly. Then Phil asked Cam to help him with something, and he got a big Alpaca (which totally reminded me of the Toy’s r Us Giraffe) and put it in the back seat of the van. Nice. That pet will not last long, Claire won’t allow it.

Once Phil got home, the reality of how serious the almost-accident could have been, and he got really emotional. The family hugged him, including Jay who felt he almost died from Manny’s driving. One thing I love about this show is no matter how crazy or over the top it gets, the family truly loves each other and that is what it is all about.

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