Must See Monday: Modern Family Valentine’s Day Episode Ranking

In any television show you watch, there’s always something that the writers do that brings the show to an entirely different level. Whether it’s a specialty with certain characters or storylines, television shows are often at its best when sticking to what they know. While Modern Family has changed comedy and the way people across the world view what a family is and can be, it also has a strength. One of the best things the show does is Valentine’s Day specific episodes. They always prove to be hysterical and never fail to disappoint. Even though the show hasn’t done an episode solely dedicated to the day every season, what they have done is simply great work. Because Valentine’s Day is still on everyone’s minds, here is my ranking of Modern Family’s Valentine’s Day episodes.

 

What’s made Modern Family Valentine’s Day episodes so amazing is the fact that the writers created alter egos for Claire and Phil as an escape from their “normal” lives for one night. The episode starts there, meeting at the same hotel bar they always do, but Claire faints and is taken to the hospital. Elsewhere, Jay and Gloria try and have a kid free night while Cam and Mitchell find a way to liven up their mundane lives. While still good, the main hype surrounding Julianna and Clyde, Claire and Phil respectively, is sort of a let down when Claire is sent to the hospital and faces a health setback.

 

Seeing Gloria’s family trying to adapt to her new lifestyle is always fun to watch and this episode was no exception. Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Stephanie Beatriz guest stars as Gloria’s sister who hits on Jay behind her back, something nobody believes. Phil and Claire reunite as Clyde and Julianna, only for Claire to figure out that Phil is in love with Julianna, making her “kill” the character to try and win back her husband. It’s great to see how people can get caught up in fantasies sometimes and how hard it truly is to come back down to reality when you’ve found a place where you can get everything you want and more.

 

Modern Family’s second V-Day episode deals with Phil and Claire trying to make up for the disastrous night in “My Funky Valentine” but become so into it that they swap cards with another couple, which leads to some painfully awkward and funny moments. Jay and Gloria’s constant fighting, annoying, at first, is just a testament to how much they actually love each other since they both want to top the other when it comes to giving gifts or surprising the other and this episode was no exception. Ultimately Gloria wins in a game of deception, topping Jay by giving him a motorcycle and intentionally ruining the night because she already found out what his plans were.

 

The introduction to how Modern Family handles Valentine’s Day shenanigans set a high standard that was hard to follow. We’re introduced to Claire and Phil’s alter egos, Julianna and Clyde Bixby, who plan to have a romantic night, but many missteps ensue, finally cumulating in Claire’s jacket getting stuck in the escalator and her flashing the entire lobby, unfortunately including Jay and Gloria. Both Manny and Jay are stuck in funks when the former sends a disastrous message to a girl he likes and Jay being made fun of by a comedian because of his age. The episode comes together by showing that even when people try and perfect things and give it their all, shit happens and you just have to go with it.

 

Modern Family airs Wednesday’s at 9 PM on ABC