BWW Recap: Technology (and Claire's Paranoia) Take Center Stage on MODERN FAMILY

It's an exciting episode of MODERN FAMILY this week - and this one takes the "modern" to a whole new level. Yes, as the much-hyped promos throughout the week have shown us, this episode was shot exclusively using the iPhone (and the occasional MacBookPro in some shots). It created an interesting dynamic. My recap, as always, is below:

The episode opens up in the middle of an argument between Haley and Claire, and Claire's trying to patch things up via iChat before she boards a flight, and she's trying to piece together where Haley might be.

Through conversations with Mitch, Cam, and Jay, some initial clues are revealed: Haley borrowed a suit from Uncle Mitch 'cause a friend needed it for a wedding, and Lily reveals Dylan was also over while Haley was babysitting her the previous night.

Claire logs onto a fake Facebook page and the truth (or is it?) is revealed: Haley's married.

Cut to after commercial break. Claire's got a whole bunch of Yahoo ads, including "How long before you file a missing persons report?" and "How to GPS track a cell phone"... doubly funny not only because it's there in the first place (paranoid much, Claire?) but because why would you have to Google that in the first place. Shows how technologically un-advanced Claire is.

They ask Dylan, but he's in the dark as well (but that's not saying much.. haha!)

Further investigation leads Claire to believe Haley's in Vegas. And then (for the sake of not spoiling) through a series of mishaps, more clues, and another couple rounds of FaceTime roulette, the truth is revealed. But, of course, I'll save that a surprise.

What I liked most about this episode is the way the subplots were weaved into the Claire-centric story, and the clever way Claire was pushed aside to make room for the subplots, despite them all taking place on her computer.

For example, in the Pritchett-Tucker household, it's Mitchell's birthday, and while Claire forgot and scrambles to search for Ralph Lauren shirts for her brother ("I can't wait to open it and check the date on the invoice," Mitchell snarkily replies - HILARIOUS!), Cam intervenes and shares his gift to Mitchell, a hat. :-) The dialogue re: the hat was fantastic, not only because it was funny, but because it allowed Mitchell (and that sub-plot) to stay involved cheap shots throughout the half-hour - Shalom, Yentl (and as a result, Babs). The episode was obviously focused on Claire's dilemma, so this was a nice way to keep Mitchell involved through an iPhone. And, even in technology land, these writers still pack a comedic punch!

The other somewhat major subplot, took place at the Delgado-Pritchetts, where Gloria is cutting Luke's hair. Yeah, it turns out exactly how you think it might - not the best. The good news is, again, it yields some pretty funny one-liners, which are cleverly placed to tie into the main plot, so it's a great way to keep Luke in the loop as well, without having him be directly involved in the Haley's-getting-married subplot.

Other sub-subplots used that involve Claire in a slightly more direct sense: Alex needs her college essay proofread, and Cam's desperate to get through to his sister-in-law how much he needs a souvenir tub of Garret's cheese and caramel corn.

Another aspect I liked about this episode is that, in addition to being insanely creative through the use of the iPhones, it's also a mystery - a sort of Clue-esque Whodunnit for the digital age. When the episode opens, we don't really know what's going on, and the episode is structured in a way that we fill in the blanks as it goes along (i. e. the video at the beginning, Phil picking up the video game, verbal clues i. e. the cufflinks and polo shirt).

And finally, I also have to say Claire's at her best this episode; not only by what she says, but also, by what she does on her computer. My favorites were the Organization Porn Pinterest page, and the hilarious selection of "Return to Pooh Corner" while looking at Haley's baby pictures, and then she's eating the popcorn... GUT-BUSTINGLY FUNNY, if only 'cause it's typical Claire. Remember, SPOILER... this comes right after Gloria says Claire's a terrible mother. No kidding... I actually laughed out loud. Hard. :-) What a fantastic actress Julie Bowen is!

Jay's pretty funny here too; O'Neill nails the perfect stereotypical non-tech-savvy grandpa. This line - one of my favorites - certainly says it all: "The minute they got rid of rotary phones, everything went to hell."

Much like the episodes of the later seasons (I've spoken about this in recaps previous), this episode worked because we know these characters so well. Because certain "rules" and characteristics have already been established in a traditional format, we feel comfortable enough to allow ourselves to watch them be broken (like, seeing an episode through one character's perspective and through a computer screen). Plus, as the creators have said in multiple interviews leading up to this week's outing, they needed a way to inject the show with something fresh. Well, guys, you did it and it paid off tremendously! :-) Very creative, and extremely well-executed. A+. One of the best yet! Don't believe me? Just Google it.

SOME FAVORITE QUOTES (Some spoilers ahead!!)

- Haley: (to Claire) Leave me alone! I have a lot on my plate!

Claire: Yes, yes, I can see that, honey. You left it in the sink.

- Jay: (to Claire, trying to understand FaceTime) Does this mean when we talked the other day that you knew I was in the can?

Claire: I do now.

- Cam: (re: Claire picking up popcorn) It's the one thing you had to do in Chicago.

Claire: You are so right. I'm sorry that I let myself get distracted by my job.

Cam: Okay, I'm looking for sweet and salty, Claire. Not bitter.

- Claire: (to Cam, re: Haley) Why did she want a suit?

Cam: Uh, a friend of hers needs it for a wedding and Mitchell needs to stop dressing like he's in a barbershop quartet.

- Claire: Oh my God!

Alex: What?

Claire: Please tell me that's some kind of mistake!

Alex: Where?! Which paragraph?!

- Dylan: (re: Haley) I don't know where she is. But I can sense that she's okay. It's like we share the same brain.

Alex: Who has it now?

- Claire: I'm in!

Alex: What? What was it?

Claire: Snoopy.

Alex: Wow. And that could be your new nickname.

- Phil: (re: finding Haley) If it helps, I can alert my magician contacts in Vegas. Although they are better at making girls disappear than they are at finding them.

- Cam: (to Lily) Honey, what did I tell you about being selfish? Aunt Claire needs to speak to other Daddy just as soon as she gets me my popcorn.

- Phil: I know we're not there yet, but I've been researching annulments.

Claire: Oh, we are there, because you let our child get a mohawk!

- Mitch: Haley married Andy.

Cam: What?!

Luke: What bet did he lose?

- Luke: Haley pregnant and me in a mohawk?! This year's Christmas card is gonna rule!

- Mitch: Oh my God, I think I just talked myself into liking this hat, because I keep seeing myself in it, and I'm like, "Who is that handsome Yentl-man?"

- Jay: (to Claire, over phone) Hang on, Gloria's talking to me. Some of it's in English.

STRAY OBSERVATIONS

- Loved the flashbacks and nods to previous seasons! :-) I know we have those throwbacks in other episodes, but with the structure of this episode, something about it all just made them work especially well tonight.

- I watched this episode on my computer rather than on the television. Think it made it easier/more cool/less jolting, as this was a computer-based episode. Would it have been different watching the computer on television? I don't know. Just a thought... what do you think?

- Nice touch adding those real baby pictures of Sarah Hyland. Too cute.

Episode MVP: Claire (and Jay). See above for why.

Photo Credit: ABC