Modern Family recap: The Cover-Up

It’s never good to keep secrets — especially when it comes to relationships, even one as sturdy as the Dunphys’. Which is why…

Lesson of the Week

Everyone is guilty of something — and sometimes, people are more alike than they think.

Phil encounters a new client who’s attractive and well-spoken and (gasp!) black — and given his attraction to black women, he’s reluctant to tell Claire the truth. So instead, he spins that the woman, Angie, is in fact an overweight, Irish senior citizen he can’t tolerate all all. On the other hand, Claire heads to yoga class with Gloria so Gloria can feel more comfortable with the instructor she’s pretty certain is hitting on her and winds up catching the yoga instructor’s eye. Just like Phil, she tells a little white lie to cover up the attraction. When the two realize they’ve both been keeping their infatuations secret out of fear, they realize they might as well come clean.

Meanwhile, Jay is struggling to understand why an Internet commenter is particularly insulting about his videos (his series, “Jay Talking,” has been attracting a whopping 40 or so viewers each episode!). He enlists Manny’s help, gets Alex to get her friends to track down the commenter’s location, and realizes that the commenter was simply the alter ego of Earl, a former closet business rival. When the pair find out that they have more opinions in common than they thought, they learn the same lesson as Phil and Claire: They’re not so different after all.

Finally, Lily, the girl unafraid of jumping into the pool during a severe storm, fears riding a bike, flying on planes, and eating mayonnaise. The first fear irks Cam the most — as he puts it, Vietnamese girls her age are already riding bikes — and he contributes both a broken arm and a brain injury to get her to ride away. In the end, it’s Mitch who’s afraid to continue worrying about their daughter while Lily gets motivated to ride alone when she sees her friends riding without any parental supervision. Just make sure to keep that helmet on, Lily!

Most Unexpected Combo

Claire and Gloria

It’s not too unexpected — who else was Gloria going to ask to go to yoga with her? — but their dynamic, in which Gloria is jealous of Claire, is unexpected. After all, Gloria should be the one their yoga instructor, Ra (it’s short for Ira, natch), is interested in, thanks to, well, her being Gloria and the fact she’s in yoga pants. But Claire gets all the attention — attention that Phil would certainly not approve of:

Family MVP

Claire

She really is “on fire,” as she mutters to herself at the end of the episode. Aside from Ra, Angie’s spouse also clearly takes notice of her. That’s a boost of confidence the overworked Claire could use.

Honorable Mention: Jay. Hey, 43 viewers is pretty impressive for a rambling video hosted on some random streaming website! And you know what? “You can keep your hashtags; I’ll have hash browns” is such a Jay line and also proof he should try talking to Kimmy Schmidt sometime.

Kid MVP

Manny

Yup, Manny gets it again. He not only helps Jay set up his online video series — “Sorry, Internet, he’s your problem now,” he quips — but he also helps Jay confront Earl and capture it all on video. In the end, he acts as a peer mediator, helping the two talk about their feelings (as in hatred) toward each other and where that could possibly stem from. Even though the final result wasn’t peaceful — Jay refuses to let Earl co-host his video series, so Earl says he’ll make his own commentary video called “Earl of Wisdom” — Manny enlightened Jay and helped him move forward with his minor fame.

And in non-Jay-related subjects, Manny also took the negative reviews of his performance in the school production of The Sound of Music very well. “I want to climb ev’ry mountain and jump off” is a ridiculously harsh review! Good for Manny for taking it the way he did.

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Funniest Phil Line

“Only because she’s beautiful, and you get a little crazy.” Sure, Phil called Claire “crazy” at the worst moment, but this line was just so honest, you couldn’t help but laugh at him. Yes, at him, not with him.

Snarkiest Lily Moment

There were several tonight: First, when she replied, “What pavement tastes like? I don’t think so,” to Mitch’s attempt to make her want to find out what biking feels like, it was so sassy she capped it off by revealing she knows her parents refer to her as the “dust ruffle.” Still, maybe the funniest thing that happened with this story line was Cam’s commitment to showing Lily that bicycling isn’t dangerous. The only danger? Shirtless joggers who cross the biking path and cause crashes and broken arms — something Mitch picks up on as soon as Cam returns after his demonstration clutching his elbow. Poor Cam. (Also, the fact that he assesses the damage of his head injury by reciting the names of his grade-school teachers just seems so perfect and so Cam.)

Best Out-of-Context Screencap

Did Everything Turn Out Okay?

Yes. Phil and Claire told each other what happened and made good with Angie, helping Phil keep a client. Cam’s head injury seemed to heal by the end, and Lily wound up fearlessly riding her bike. Jay found out who was trolling his videos and walked away with the knowledge that he could turn off the comments. Thanks, Internet Genius Manny!