MODERN FAMILY Recap: ‘Two Monkeys and a Panda’

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I love when MODERN FAMILY mixes their hilarious brand of comedy with real family poignancy and last night’s episode was a great example of that.

I also loved that all three families received practically equal airtime this week. After the past two weeks seemingly being all about Phil and Claire, it was nice to venture in to Cameron-and-Mitchell-land and, to a lesser extent, Jay-and-Gloria-land.

Jay and Gloria’s storyline revolved around the fact that Jay went ahead and bought the two of them spaces in his dream crypt, which sounds a lot creepier than I meant it to. What’s not to love about it, though? They would be four spaces down from Bugsy Siegel! But Gloria wanted to be buried in the ground where God could find her, not in a drawer. I loved the elderly couple wanting to get to know their eventual neighbors, which was the perfect setup to Jay questioning what Gloria would do with her life after he passed on. Would she remarry? Manny’s assurance that Gloria loved Jay and that he wasn’t a putz and her eventual agreement was sweet and really shows what a loving family they really are.

As for Claire and Phil, it was a funny contrast to have her harried and running around town while Phil lounged at the spa. While Claire was furiously driving from store to store trying to find a replacement sweater for Haley since Alex accidentally ripped hers, Phil was chatting with his new girlfriends while getting a facial. When Claire called him, at first I thought he was crazy to put her on speaker, but then I realized this was about teaching Phil a lesson in how to talk to his wife. He shouldn’t always try to solve her problems; sometimes she just needs someone on her side. Although his moment of martial harmony after he came home didn’t last long when Claire failed to notice his fresh-from-the-spa face and hands. It’s probably for the better, too, because if I were her, I would have been really mad at him for spending the day being pampered while I had to mediate arguments between the kids. But I guess she was okay with it after he went to make dinner, like she had asked him to earlier.

Meanwhile, at Cameron and Mitchell’s house, Cameron is trying to figure out how to deal with telling Lily she was adopted (yay!). After deciding to write her a book, he finds her adoption certificate where her first name was listed as Lily, middle name Tucker, and last name Pritchett. He accuses Mitchell of doing it on purpose, which surprisingly, he did. Turns out Super Dad Cameron was actually unsure about becoming a parent before they adopted Lily, so Mitchell was worried he would leave them and they would forever be reminded of him if “Tucker” was part of her last name. I said last week I didn’t like the fact that Cam and Mitchell had been having so many petty arguments lately, but this was so much more than that. This argument and eventual resolve even left me a little verklempt! Mitchell writing “Two Monkeys and a Panda” and then reading it to Cameron and Lily was touching and I’m glad it caused them to make up. And I loved Lily clapping at the word “adopted”! So cute!

Now on to some favorite lines of the evening:

• Phil – “If you don’t use them, then all our money just goes to charity.”

• Mitchell – “What did Oprah do now?”

• Cameron – “Alright, go get your gavel, Judge Judy.” (This line was my absolute favorite!)

• Claire – “More than anything, I want my girls to stop fighting and be close. I want them to share clothes, and do each other’s hair and gossip about boys. Like I used to do with Mitchell.”

• Manny – “Jay, haven’t you noticed the spring in my step?”
Jay – “Oh, kids say cruel things, doesn’t mean you’ll turn out that way.”

• Gloria – “Don’t be so sure! With all that bacon that he eats…”
Jay – “Well, I’ve got to give my cholesterol pills something to do.”

• Cameron – “I’m also going to write a little storybook. Something I can read her at bedtime. It’s called ‘Two Monkeys and a Panda.’ She’s the panda because she’s Asian.”
Mitchell – “And we’re monkeys because?’
Cameron – “I can draw monkeys.”

• Mitchell – “I fill out all the legal forms ever since you signed up for a 12 year gym membership!”
Cameron – “The more you spend, the more you save.”

• Gloria – “Ta-da is for when you do a flip or where the magician cuts the pretty lady in half, not when you show someone where you want to shove their dead body.”

• Manny – “Today, I made a joke about THE WIGGLES — it went right over her head.”
Jay – “I don’t know what that is.”
Manny – “It’s a expression. Means she didn’t get it.”

Now it’s your turn. Let me know what you thought about this kinda-serious episode of MODERN FAMILY by commenting below!