“Modern Family” settled into its comfortable groove with its third episode — nothing wrong with knowing where your strong spots lie and making use of them when you are eight seasons in.
In “Blindsided,” Luke and Manny run for student council president, Haley turns into a social media club promoter, and Cam and Mitch take in the former’s star football player.
Let’s review the episode, shall we?
When Cameron finds out that Dwight, a star player of the team he coaches, will be moving to Florida, he panics and invites the kid to stay with him and Mitch — without asking his husband. Of course, Mitch is bothered by this and isn’t too happy with another house guest. No one really asks Lily but she isn’t pleased either. Soon enough, Mitch tells Cam that he needs to ask Dwight to move out. When they’re all at a game, fellow parents seek out Mitch to tell him how much they appreciate the fact that the guys took in Dwight. Mitch feels bad about asking him to move out just when Cam is about to announce to everyone this decision.
As for the school kids, Luke is badly failing and will have to rely on extracurriculars to get into college so he decides to run for student council president and his only opponent is Manny. Claire trains Luke to become more like him while Jay and Gloria urge Manny to be more personable and dress like Luke. In the end, the two realize they don’t need to change themselves to win and give a speech together at the game. Ultimately, though, due to low voter turnout, Luke wins the title.
Alex is home due to her bout of mono and has to remain quiet for a couple of days as per doctor’s orders, so the poor girl communicates only through writing. When she could speak no one would listen to her, can you even imagine what happens now? Meanwhile, after getting fired from her previous job, Haley starts her own club promoting business through social media. Phil tries to believe in her skills but fails, taking her to meet his mentor Merv (played with extreme enthusiasm by Martin Short). Haley realizes he doesn’t believe in her and to prove him wrong, she invites her “team” to publicize a house Phil has been having a tough time to sell.
While the episode isn’t too unique or special, it delivers exactly what we expect from “Modern Family” — picking a theme and building storylines for characters that revolve around it. This week’s theme mostly feels like trust-thy-family. There are conflicts and resolutions peppered with some laughs and a great guest-star. With “Blindsided,” the show has made itself at home once again.
What did you think of this episode? Are you bummed about Alex being sidelined quite often? Is Haley finally doing something she is good at and can maybe not live with her parents anymore? Is it time for Cam and Mitch to maybe adopt a second child? I feel like they’re ready in their own way.
The next episode, “Weathering Heights,” will air on October 12 and will feature Nathan Fillion’s return to primetime after “Castle.”
