Modern Family Review: Sarge and Pea (Season 8 Episode 11)

With Modern Family Season 8 Episode 11 “Sarge and Pea,” we gain insight as to why Mitchell and Claire are the way they are.

The episode also shows how Gloria and Phil are dealing with Manny and Luke going off to college. To add even more to an already full episode, Cam confronts a parent at Alex’s cafe.

Throughout the entire episode, there are running gags (Jay carrying around a coffee machine) and jokes (Haley placating when someone says she’s pretty), but it would have been better to not have them at all and focus on the emotional depths “Sarge and Pea” have to offer instead.

Modern Family did well with separating the characters. Gloria and Phil are always a fun duo. Claire and Mitchell are both catty and entertaining.

Alex, Haley, and Cam don’t hang together often so they’re an unpredictable trio. There’s an opportunity to shake things up when the characters are outside their immediate families.

Jay, Claire, and Mitchell are at a wedding (it’s all introduced very quickly), and DeDe is there but doesn’t know anyone. She predictably ends up sitting at the Pritchett table. Much to Mitch and Claire’s surprise, DeDe and Jay aren’t arguing, but looking at each other fondly and using old nicknames, Sarge and Pea.

We know from watching Modern Family for the past eight seasons that Claire and Mitchell don’t have the best relationship with their parents.

Jay and DeDe’s fighting certainly caused Claire and Mitch to have issues growing up and created neuroses in each of them. Claire even yells at Mitch to stop shutting down when DeDe asks him questions at the wedding while he accuses her of controlling everything.

DeDe and Jay’s friendliness unsettles their children. When Claire calls them out on it, asking where were Sarge and Pea when they were growing up, DeDe and Jay shock their kids by apologizing for their past behavior.

It’s a real, genuine moment, and we can see it on Claire and Mitchell’s faces. They both tear up, and we know that this is something they have waited to hear for a very long time but never thought it would happen.

What makes this more of an emotional payoff, is that the episode ends. It isn’t cheapened by a joke or a wry look.

The closing credits, though, shows Gloria’s Star Search reel which is utterly fantastic.

The other emotional scene of “Sarge and Pea” is between Gloria and Phil. Throughout the episode, Gloria tries to prepare Manny for college by pranking him.

She makes light of the situation (and deeply annoys Manny in the process) but realizes how hard it’s going to be when Manny leaves. It’s always been the two of them.

Phil, on the other hand, is Luke’s cheerleader. He tells Luke that he can do anything he sets his mind to, and he believes in him. Phil’s optimism and belief in Luke is his downfall, though.

Phil is undoubtedly a great dad, but he is inadvertently making Luke feel worse when he can’t succeed in the ways Phil believes he can.

Luke and Manny are also having a moment together—each complaining about their parents and then admitting that they hope to go to school together. It’s actually refreshing to see Luke not act so dumb and to be less cocky.

With these two plots, this episode of Modern Family would have been light on laughs but would be rich with tender moments, character development, and character introspection. Those things would be enough to call “Sarge and Pea” a great yet understated episode of Modern Family.

But no, there has to be one more, inconsequential plot.

Cam is angry at a parent who blocked his view of Lily at a ballet recital with her giant iPad. He thinks he recognizes the woman at Alex’s café and then pretends to be her blind date to verify that it’s her. Haley ends up pretending to be the woman when the real blind date comes.

It’s not a terrible B-plot, but it’s unnecessary and brings down the episode as a whole. Alex, once again, doesn’t have much to do. Cam is actually quite mean, and it’s unbecoming.

We all get frustrated with people, and Cam feels like he missed out on a big moment in Lily’s life, but it just wasn’t nice, especially when we see that the woman isn’t that bad.

We also haven’t seen Lily properly in an episode in forever and didn’t actually see Cam lying to her about her big moment. If that were the case, then maybe this storyline would have connected a bit more.

Overall, “Sarge and Pea,” is a good episode. It’s just too bad that Modern Family doesn’t know when to pull back.

Quick Bits

• Gloria’s pranks are awful but she has so much fun with them.
• Who leaves their bag and iPad unattended in a café?!
• When will poor Alex go back to school? If she’s not going to have a storyline, then at least have the girl in school.

What did you think of this episode of Modern Family? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Modern Family airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on ABC.

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