BWW Recap: Phil Meets Grill (and it Ain't Pretty) on MODERN FAMILY

So, guys. The dog ate my recap and I- nope. Just kidding. April Fool's. (Sorry... I had to do that, and that was the only thing I could think of!) Here's what went down with our favorite TV family this week:

It's Jay's birthday, and Phil's got him a grill as his gift. As anyone would expect with from Phil (especially in front of Jay), the big unveiling doesn't go as well as he planned. And, unfortunately it doesn't get any better - just worse - from there, as he turns on the rotisserie feature and the food starts flying right off the grill. Literally. Phil needs a shield, and Jay suggests getting out his old grill. One down. :-( Having completely BOTCHED Jay's birthday gift, Phil presents Jay with a generous check for the down payment on their house, which Jay paid for when they bought it, completely unbeknownst to Phil for all these years. Unfortunately, it doesn't muster Jay's emotions one bit. Awww... though Jay rejecting Phil is certainly one of the humorous highlights of this series, you can totally tell Phil's crushed. He tries so hard. Maybe next time.

Gloria's busy preparing a trick for Luke, to catch him drinking out of the tequila bottle. I can totally tell this might not end up the way she wants it either. And it doesn't - at least not at first; Luke's one step ahead and through an intricate plan devised with Manny, they snag the bottle from the counter. But Gloria's another step ahead of him, as she's filled the thing with water. And they don't know that. So, Manny and Luke drink the placebo tequila thinking it's alcohol, and, needless to say, things go downhill from there. Now, it's not the funniest of plots we've seen from these two, but it is really nice to see these two cousins/pals going into more mature territory as they mature. Reminds us, again, they're not kids. They grow too.

Cam inherits a "handsome sum" from his uncle Cyrus, and he and Mitch decide to buy the upstairs unit. The catch? Unbeknownst to Mitch, Cam's already spent the money... on faux fur coats for him and Lily. Oh Cam! Unable to return the coats, he devises an intricate plan (again, Oh Cam!), where he'll convince Mitchell to delay buying the house until he has enough time to sell the coats. But joke's on him, 'cause Mitchell's already given away the money, as a way to pay back Jay for buying him a house when he first went out on his own.

Not before a bicker-y brother-sister discussion with Claire though. And can I say, I'm glad these two are back paired together!! I love them. Such a fun dynamic. They're the only two that really know cantankerous Jay intimately (Gloria, yes... but she was a second wife, remember) and it's fun to watch them muse about their childhood and Jay's attitude while they were growing up. It's really the only place we'll get it... 'cause you know cranky Jay won't be spilling any information unless he has to.

But back to the story; yes, Mitch has spent the money, and his plot with Cam comes to a climax when they both reveal what they've separately done with the inheritance. If you can move past the fact that again, it happens too fast, the banter back and forth is pretty clever (You didn't even know my Uncle Remus - hahahaha!; The fur is from Schwartzman's, the same store you and Lily just love to browse in every Sunday after brunch.) A solid effort, and the writing touches on details of character, so that's a nice plus. Not much too special from this specific plot, but the way it plays into the wraparound at the end is very well done.

Next, Andy, through confessional, reveals that he indeed heard what Haley said to him at the hospital a few weeks ago - and he's willing to give it a shot!! (Yaaay!) But Haley's back... with a new guy! WHAT!? Though I have to say, as crushed as Andy is, what follows with the two of them (regarding Joe's nap time and the juice box) is pretty funny - just hurts that Haley's oblivious. And then, she reveals that she's into more of the chase and the fun stuff rather than anything serious... ugh. Damn it, just please be on the same page, you two! "It's good that you know what you want," Andy tells Haley before she leaves. "Before anyone got hurt." Awww. Heart. Broken.

And finally, after Claire upsets Alex by not making a huge deal when she's accepted into CalTech, she's determined to right that wrong (and all other times she's ignored her daughter) by giving Alex all her attention and fussiness. It doesn't go the way she planned it though, and Alex is more standoffish than ever. A lousy, throwaway plot, yes, or so it seems. The thing about this plot line is that it doesn't seem like it's going anywhere, but in that very special MODERN FAMILY way, it's used to tie all the storylines together.

First, we get a heart-to-heart talk between Jay and Alex. Holy crap! Get these two together more often! Though he's a bit of a cranky wus, Jay's actually really intelligent and wise, as he tells his granddaughter, the reason she's gotta go to CalTech is because "the family needs a leader and I can't do it forever." For extra measure - he'll admit it was a pleasure - he rolls her out in his car to witness the adults fighting over the money they lost to Jay. You think any of these fools are gonna take on that leadership role? Nope. It's all you, kid. His face says it all.

Second, it's really refreshing to see Alex super vulnerable and scared. Not that I'm taking delight in her nervousness, but she's no longer seeing herself as the smarty-pants she used to be in Seasons 1-5. She's out of her comfort zone, and it's nice to see her dealing with those emotions. Additionally,

Haley's no longer the bratty, texting teenager in the corner - she's got her own grown-up storyline with Andy - and Luke and Manny, as I mentioned earlier, are exploring new adventures as well, suited for their now older selves. As Alex has always been mature for her age, how do we allow her to "grow up"? We show her as she really sees herself, rather than as how others perceive her to be (and that's kind of the point with her rejecting Claire's over-the-top praise). It's been a nice touch to the character, and I've appreciated its addition in the previous seasons, but I really think the writers are nailing it this year (namely in this half of the year), especially as she transitions to college. And there's no way Alex is backing down or getting arrested, so.... she's just gotta face it and grow up... and the writers are dealing with that quite wonderfully. Of course, it's a fantastic performance by Ariel Winter here too! Speaking of growth... wow! That girl has such depth.

All in all, not the best plot-wise, but man, the Haley-Andy relationship and Alex's character development both really knocked it out the park this week!

SOME FAVORITE QUOTES

- Phil: What was that?

Claire: I think that was my fault.

Phil: Me too. Why?

- Cam: (re: returning the jacket) That's a hard thing because the sales lady said I looked like Doctor Zhivago.

- Jay: A little early for tequila, isn't it?

Gloria: It's for Luke.

Jay: I'm not sure that's better.

- Jay: It's a grill. I got a grill.

Phil: You had a wife too. Didn't mean you couldn't trade up.

- Andy: (re: how he's feeling) Better. Turns out you don't even need an appendix. I don't even miss it anymore. It's like Circuit City.

- Cam: I mean what kind of store policy is that? I can't return a coat that I put on one time at home?

Lily: Getting out of the shower.

Cam: Yeah. You didn't help by pointing that out.

- Claire: Hey! Is there a future doctor in the house?

Alex: Yeah, I think he's upstairs feeling up Haley.

- Claire: (toasting Alex) To my brilliant daughter...

Lily: (to Haley) So, not you.

STRAY OBSERVATIONS/THOUGHTS

- Did you all catch the April Fools' Easter eggs in this episode? I don't even know if I caught them all, but I did find one, and I thought it was great work on the producers' part. Anyone know which one it is? Comment below!

- The series won Favorite Family TV Show at the 2015 Kid's Choice Awards this past weekend. Nice to know this show is doing just as well with younger viewers as it is with the older ones!

Photo Credit: Twitter / ABC

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