Should you watch it, wiki it, or wait for the recap? Watch it.
Phil and Claire discover that Haley and Andy, Jay and Gloria’s nanny, have been meeting in secret, while Cam’s attention seeking tendencies go overboard when a news crew decides to interview him. Meanwhile, Manny struggles with learning Spanish, and Jay and Gloria are at odds about Gloria’s mother tongue.
“Queer Eyes, Full Hearts” is the seventh episode of the sixth season of Modern Family, and takes a look at an oft-forgotten aspect of Gloria’s character – her Spanish roots. It also rears its PG13 head here with references to Haley and Andy having sex and Haley’s new gay boss.
With such elements, I suppose “Modern Family” will never get to air in Singapore, or be broadcast on any Asian channel (though I could be wrong, we’ll see). Sometimes these elements aren’t critical to the story (for eg, Haley’s excuse to her mother), but when it works, it works well. The message of acceptance and defeating stereotypes was a good one to weave in though.
Highlights
Haley’s character development
Haley gets a job and shows that she is a mature, responsible adult! I like how Haley has gone from being the uber dumb bimbo, to a talented woman who knows how to make use of her strengths. It prevents her from being a one-note character, and gives her additional fodder for future storylines. Cam will definitely be drawn in to that fashion design plot at some point.
Also, Andy (Adam DeVine) and Haley – it looks like there’ll be trouble brewing in the future, but in a positive way. Maybe we’ll finally see another wedding (Cam and Mitch’s wedding don’t count, they’re already married) in the series!
Cam learns to give Mitch his time in the spotlight
As funny as Cam’s attention seeking tendencies can be, sometimes he does get carried away and this leaves us feeling irked by his selfishness. At least in this episode, he learns to look at it from his partner’s point of view, and even makes the effort to give Mitch the spotlight in the court room. Unfortunately, his tendencies draw the attention back to him anyway, giving us the treacle cutting moment.
Dynamic between Phil and Andy
One thing about the potential Andy-Haley relationship is that Andy is like a younger version of Phil, and you know what they say about people falling in love with significant others who remind them of their parents. Andy also works as an older surrogate son for Phil, giving them more interactions to play off on.
Letdowns
Alex’s subplot is pointless
It’s a gag, to be sure, but it had no pay off or set up. Why is Alex studying like crazy? Isn’t she smart enough to take care of her health? What is this leading up to? And yes, Alex falls asleep at the end, but wouldn’t she have done so naturally anyway?
Jay and Gloria plot was rather transparent
You could see where this was heading a mile away. The conflict is between Jay and Gloria, so ultimately he would be the one learning Spanish, not Manny. It wasn’t all that funny to begin with. But it does provide a sweet moment at the end, I’ll concur.
“Queer Eyes, Full Hearts” is one of the better episodes this season, and it furthers the character development of our cast. The best comedy is grounded in character, my mentor always told me, and that’s where the comic moments in this episode come from.
Leave a Reply