Modern Family Review: The Last Halloween (Season 11 Episode 5)
On Modern Family Season 11 Episode 5, “The Last Halloween,” not everyone is into the holiday, but the ones who are make it a (mostly) satisfying last haunted hoorah.
Between Cam, Mitch, and Lily and Alex and Luke, we get a little bit of non-holiday-related commiserating over what-could-have-beens. These moments are fine, but ultimately forgettable against the rest of the episode.
Phil, ultimately, carries the episode with what is one of his best planned and executed pranks yet. His masterpiece is not entirely believable (who buys a home and leaves it vacant for 11 months, 2 weeks, and 3 days?), but it’s good.
Ida May is a bit of Norman Bates, a bit of Boo Radley, and a bit of every other not-quite-haunted house story—but just kooky enough to give it that Phil Dunphy touch. You have to admire someone with that much commitment and attention to detail.
We spend the whole episode building up this idea that Claire is fearless and unshakeable, which is definitely on brand for the type-A matriarch. It’s fun to see her forced to drop her guard and get bested.
Plus, in this moment, we get a rare glimpse into what Claire and Phil are like as romantic partners—not just parents. Get on with your twisted selves!
Claire: I was wondering what we were gonna do for the next 30 years of our lives without the kids in the house, and now I know. You’re getting twisted. I like it. Game on.
In other twisted moments, Gloria is having a hard time coming to terms with getting old. She gets her Halloween fright when she’s correctly assumed to be Jay’s wife out in public.
Dressed as Elsa (possibly as an excuse for Disney/ABC to promote Frozen II, which comes out in a few weeks), Gloria tries to get in touch with her youth while partying in West Hollywood (WeHo).
Her scenes are among the better of the episode’s, but definitely not as strong compared to Phil’s Halloween prank.
Poor Gloria is left by Cam and Mitch to party by herself in WeHo, giving us the fun little bit with the glasses and shawl, as she’s escorted by a “boy scout.”
Still not sure why she’s not irritated that Jay shows up to the party—not to join her, but on a candy bar hunt.
Anyway—it’s nice to see Gloria getting to feel like a queen again at the end of the night; albeit, not the kind of queen she’s used to being (not as far as she’s concerned). Honestly, though, who is mistaking Sofía Vergara/Gloria for a drag queen?
Some additional thoughts:
- I could have used some kind of a refresher on Bill. We met him a couple of times last season, but he hadn’t made enough of a recent impact (or been mentioned this season so far) to make us feel bad when he dumps Alex for a ridiculous reason.
- The candy bar plotline is weak; however, it does give us some Manny-Jay bonding time that has been years in the making. If I’m not mistaken, Manny has never called himself Jay’s son before—nor has he referred to him as “Dad.”
- I half-expected Dylan to take the babies trick-or-treating just to get some free candy for himself. What were he, Haley, and the twins up to in this episode? Where were those baby costumes?
- Since when is Lily a cheerleader? I speak from [short-lived] personal experience when I say that non-cheery people can be cheerleaders, but this definitely seems too far out of character.
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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Kaitlin Willow
Kaitlin is an aspiring novelist who works in digital marketing. When she's not writing, you can find her snuggled on the couch with her poodle-terrier mix Benny—either reading a book or rewatching New Girl for the 17th time.