BWW Recap: We Almost Lose the Dunphys on This Week's MODERN FAMILY

Hey y'all. Welcome back and happy new year! It's time to dive into ModFam 2015!

On the first episode of the New Year, the Dunphys experience a near-collision at an intersection that makes each one of them reconsider the way in which they live their life; and they each vow to make a difference, which, of course, lead to a variety of cockamamy consequences.

Claire wants to spend more time with Mitchell, so she takes him rollerskating; a humorous plot, and probably the most enjoyable of all of the ones before the first commercial break. Lot of great one-liners in here, and I love how the Mitchell-Claire brother-sister relationship is being expanded. One of my favorite relationships on the show - is it the only two-gendered adult relationship that isn't marital?! - and I think this week really encapsulated why.

Meanwhile, Luke completes his bucket list, and Alex, moved by Haley saying, "I thought I lost you" when Alex hugged her, wants to spend more time with her sister - but that's clearly easier said than done when Haley takes her for a less-than-flattering makeover. These two were too rushed - smushed together as essentially one plot that overlapped without nearly enough time to develop them each as their own. Luke's bucket list plot got - what? - one line of introduction, and one small line of dialogue before being pushed to the sidelines in favor of Phil's alpaca. Not enough at all.

That said, Claire's entrance and the brilliant delivery of the line, "I'm just gonna pop into the family room" was so neatly positioned and timed; it worked so well, the hurried nature of what preceded it didn't matter.

Manny, who was in the car as well, pledges never to ride in a car again. Great that his plot gets Jay and Gloria involved. Nice way to branch out in an otherwise Dunphy-centric episode. And, of course, Jay tries to "boost Manny's confidence"... with disastrous results. Fortunately, it's Gloria to the rescue and she gives him the boost he needs. A very funny plot that was extremely well-executed; Gloria's confessional was very cleverly written, and the switch at the end of Jay preferring to walk home... simply genius! The best plot of the night.

Phil demands control of his life, and on the way to a racquetball game with Cam, stops by the house Gil Thorpe sold (and the washing machine place that sold Cam the machine Mitchell wanted) to give them both a piece of his mind. He ends with buying an alpaca (yes, the one mentioned above) - and declares he has full control... until he spills the milk and points out, "In the blink of an eye, you can lose everything that matters to you." The sentimental music plays in the background - our cue for a moral to the episode.I'm a little mixed on this now; obviously, I get the moral and if you watch each plot line individually, it makes sense - each one has that moral: Claire and Mitch, Haley and Alex, Manny and Gloria and Jay, and Phil and Cam - but the lack of everyone coming together in the end and having it be for the end of just Phil's plot line (after only about 10 minutes) made the reveal of the moral seem... yes, I'll say it... a bit rushed. Do you all agree?

But overall, a very enjoyable episode. Cleverly written and well-executed - now, how many times can I say that in a recap?

SOME FAVORITE QUOTES

- Claire: I've got a conference call at 1:20, then Luke's tutor comes to the house; 2:45 sales meeting and I still gotta get Alex to Judo.

Mitch: And yet you somehow found time to bitch at me.

- Claire: We got in an accident.

Mitch: Oh my God!

Claire: We almost got in an accident.

Mitch: That seems like a really important distinction.

- Haley: (re: Alex in pain after makeover) If it were easy, everyone would be hot.

- Gloria: (to the police, on the phone) White. Yes, I'm sure. Why is it so hard for you to imagine that a criminal can be white when most of the.... Ah, the bicycle. Yes, yes, it was white.

- Manny: The universe is cold and unfeeling. The only constant is chaos.

Jay: Was that place out of chocolate chip pancakes again?

- Jay: I watched DeeDee coddle Mitchell when he was afraid of the dark. 'Til he was seven, he'd only blink one eye at a time. Gave a lot of girls a very wrong idea.

- Phil: (to Gil) Oh, by the way, if you ever speak disrespectfully again about my wife, I'll kill you. (laughs) Sorry. That sounded like a joke. I will actually kill you.

STRAY OBSERVATIONS

- Glad the Haley/Alex Facebook photo war is back! Great continuity. Remember that from Season 4?

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