Modern Family Review: A Game of Chicken (Season 11 Episode 6)

Modern Family Season 11: Episode 6, “A Game of Chicken,” is enjoyable as a whole, but, ultimately, it lacks the spark we expect from the show.

Gloria tries to secure the twins’ eternal fates, while Claire and Phil try to secure Luke’s career path—and, in true Dunphy-Prichett fashion, nothing goes as planned. 

The baptism storyline, I think, is done well for a sitcom. It’s not overly kitschy and doesn’t toe the line of offensiveness, which is important for topics like religion in a show that tries to remain pretty PC.

Gloria: Today, I’m having the babies secretly baptized—both into Catholicism, and into the crazy things we do to each other in this family. 

What works best about this storyline is the candid discussion about religious beliefs at the end, where Gloria concedes and lets Haley and Dylan do what they think is best for their family. 

And it’s nice to see typically ditzy Haley articulate her thoughts on life and connection to nature, as she tries to make sense of her place in the world. I, for one, have enjoyed seeing her character start to evolve as a strong, independent thinker this season.

It’s really the supporting players and their brief, unaddressed comments, who keep the scenes engaging, like Dylan’s mention of the Jim Jones documentary, his notion that Poppy is possessed, or Jay’s nicknames for the father of his great-grandchildren. 

Jay calling Dylan “What’s His Name” and “New Phil” is so in character for him—and, also, same. For whatever reason, I have a hard time remembering Dylan’s name, too. 

I have a harder time trying to figure out what is happening to Claire. The moment she realizes Luke and Scooter have something good on their hands is strange. Honestly, I don’t buy Luke as a medical software inventor (it’s only slightly more believable than Brittany turning out to be a math genius on Glee)—but, hey, good for him. 

Claire: It brings me absolutely no joy to say this, but, Luke, I’m impressed. 

Julie Bowen’s delivery is funny in itself, but I’m tired of ice queen Claire. Where’s the supportive, if overly enthusiastic, mom of seasons past? 

And speaking of Claire, why the fall from grace in her career?

The IMDb description says, “Claire deals with the fallout from the smart closet fiasco,” but all she does is write a few checks—including one to a shaman who led a group of female interns and a male employee of Claire’s on a vision quest (which is problematic but written for laughs, presumably). 

We see her ignoring her employee the entire episode, and then she just quits after giving Luke permission to quit school. I’d predict some consequences from this rash decision, but she essentially encountered none after a major security breach, so who knows.

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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