Modern Family - Episode 2.01 - The Old Wagon - Recap

The Hollywood Reporter said that Modern Family’s season premiere had 12.6 million viewers, which is 19% higher than last fall and the biggest rating ever. If you’re like me, you think this is well deserved, because Modern Family has to be one of my favorite television shows ever. Ever.

The brilliant comedy began with Phil in the garage nearly injuring himself because of the car in the garage. Phil wants to keep the car, but Clare challenges him to sell it by saying she doesn’t think he can. They decide to clear out the inside of the car as a family, and once they begin going through old items left in the car, Clare becomes very emotional by reminiscing on the past. Phil eventually finds a buyer, but decides to take the family to Granger Point in the car one last time, just like they used to when the kids were younger.

Gloria is dealing with Manny, who has a girl over for homework. He says they are just friends, but there seems to be more too it. Gloria speaks about how Columbian women become attached to their sons, but says she is not one of them; she later takes back this remark, when Gloria feels threatened because Manny liked chocolate milk with salt more, which was Kelly’s idea. Later Manny cancels plans with Gloria to join Kelly and her parents for dinner and a movie.

Mitchell and Cam decide they want to build a princess castle for Lily. Cam admits, privately, that he fears building anything with Mitchell, because Mitchell isn’t as handy as he thinks himself to be. Cam gets Jay to help, and they eventually just tell Mitchell the truth, and Mitchell leaves upset. When Jay and Cam take a break to have lunch, Mitchell sneaks back and completes the castle by himself, but ends up locking himself inside the Castle. Jay and Cam return and let Mitchell believe he fooled them into thinking he’s not locked in, but when a bird flies into the castle Cam comes to Mitchell’s rescue.

In the end: while at Granger Point, Luke becomes nauseous and when they finally get the family out of the car, it begins to roll away. Phil jumps on the hood in an attempt to save it, but when everyone sees it’s about to roll off the edge, he jumps off. Manny returns from his “date” early, because he says he feel Kelly doesn’t “get him,” and says there is another woman he’d rather spend his time with. Gloria thinks she means her, but when he pulls out the phone to call another girl from school, she flips out and says that he ends with one woman and goes to the next, because “men are all animals!” Mitchell manages to get himself locking into the princess castle once more, this time with Lily as well, and Cam must once again come to the rescue.

The episode ends with Phil doing a camera confessional and saying “It’s tough to say goodbye. Nobody likes change, but part of life is learning to let things go.” They then show Gloria watching Manny chat on the phone, Mitchell giving up and handing Cam a hammer, and the Dunphy’s walking back from Granger point and reflecting on the night.