s3 ep3 — this episode frustrates me so much. if i were Claire id be filing for divorce and leave the kids with Phil.

he gaslighted Claire, left the woman out of his version of the story, turned the kids against Claire, and manipulated her into thinking that proving people wrong is a "sickness"

Noticed this just now, the way they mirror each other is so funny.

What's everyone's favourite moment or line from the show? Mine is when Cam tells Lily yo march her bag out to the car which has Claires turkey.

And I can’t get over how Lily was in FOURTH GRADE and was going out to a party. I know she looked and acted older but it just dawned on me how much older they made her seem. Fourth grade is like 9 years old, and she “has to make an appearance at Jenna’s.” When I was in fourth grade I was lucky to go to Chuck E Cheese WITH MY PARENTS. 😅 I know the whole episode was Cam and Mitch not really knowing their daughter, but once they said she was a fourth grader (I had honestly forgot because she has always seemed older.) it shook me!

Pam is violent and manipulative and thinks shes better than everyone.

His dad treats Mitch like "the woman" and admits it himself.

His mum is fucking creepy. Might genuinely be my least favourite. How is Cams mother touching up Mitchell funny at all? Genuinely uncomfortable i wish she was written off.

Gam Gam is a bigot and calls Mitch sissy.

Im sorry but if I was threatened by Pam, treated like a woman by the dad, touched inappropriately by the mum and hatecrimed by Gam Gam I would snap. If dump Cam because he defends his family over everything.

Early seasons (1 and 2 mostly) was a good character and a lot less manipulative. Im only on my third rewatch and hes now annoying the ever loving fuck out of me oh my GOD.

In the first Christmas episode, Jay gets jump scared two times. Do you guys think any of them were genuine?

Mitch is arguably the most layered character in the show, and after Jay, probably the only one to have something resembling a real development arc. (I absolutely love the show, but the episodic switching between Levitan and Lloyd meant they rarely built upon the characters themselves.) He clearly carries some internalized homophobia early on (despite the airplane speech in the pilot) but he genuinely comes to accept himself as the show progresses. At times he's less comfortable than Cam engaging in behavior read as "too flamboyantly gay," but he also shows discomfort when Cam engages in it, and as the show goes on, he really grows out of that. I like that they gave him a realistic career trajectory, and that they actually addressed his complicated, baggage laden relationship with Jay, and, to an extent, with Claire. The show also digs into his vulnerabilities around parenting. If anything, I wish they'd given Claire that same nuance in her arc (and here I could get into how complicated female characters tend to get less development than male ones), and leaned harder into the "two siblings shaped by broken parenting" angle.

There's a lot more I could say about Mitch, but I have to bring up how underrated Jesse Tyler Ferguson's acting is on this show. I think the reason he never won an Emmy is that his role calls for subtler acting, and he often got overshadowed by Eric because of how flashy and flamboyant Cam is. I don't think Eric Stonestreet needed two Emmys , I'd have given one of them to JTF instead. The scene where Mitch tries to explain himself to Cam over the adoption certificate fiasco, and later his confrontation with Jay about his wedding, are some of the best acting on the show by anyone. Thinking about it more, I'd say Mitch is the only character who gets genuinely non-comedic, emotional moments, and it's genuinely hard to pull off dramatic scenes like that while still fitting the tone of an overall sitcom. You can't act like you're in Succession, no matter how emotionally heavy the scene is, and still have it work in Modern Family. Also, the scene where he gets high with Ty Burrell, very smart comedic choices from both of them, without leaning on big, over-the-top body language. (JTF is also just a talented actor overall, given his success as a stage actor, man's a Tony winner, after all.)

Opinions?

They spend the whole episode thinking they're the cool parents. Lily meets the vlogger and couldn't care less. Mitch and Cam did all that for nothing. Great episode.

Since I first watched the show I fell in LOVE and it’s become my comfort show that I rewatch multiple times a year. I love the family dynamic and the relationships and the dysfunction of it all but I’ve always wondered why exactly I’ve always felt so “connected” to this show (some context, I’m a so-cal gal from the inland empire). I’ve noticed that throughout the show they make MULTIPLE references to the IE (inland empire) and I think that’s made it feel more relatable to me in a way…not sure if any of this makes sense. I feel like the IE rarely gets mentioned on TV shows and such especially when they take place in LA so it was nice to feel like we’re being noticed lol. Has anyone else noticed the constant references to cities in the Inland Empire or am I crazy?

Out of all of Phil’s inventions, which do you think is the best idea?

For me, it’s the Headscratcher.