Should you watch it, wiki it, or wait for the recap? Wait for the recap unless you have a lot of time.
Mitch has some unexpected trouble with Lily’s new playdate, Syndey, even while Cam has to make the difficult decision of benching Manny for an upcoming school football game. Meanwhile, Claire, ever eager to win her father’s approval, goes for a client meeting while Phil and Luke cover up some unexpected revelations in Mitch and Cam’s wedding video.
“The Cold” is the third episode of the sixth season of Modern Family, which focuses around a virus that spreads across all three families. By the time the events in this episode occur, though, only Claire has the cold, and it hits her the worst – she has the worst symptoms across the board.
The script is tightly packed, and it sees the return of Andy (Adam DeVine) and a possible recurring character in the form of Lily’s friend Sydney (Aubree Young). Alex hardly appears in this episode (then again, she had the spotlight in the previous ep). It also revisits the theme of Jay being a stern and demanding parent, and how this has gone on to affect his kids in their parenting styles, but it doesn’t bring anything new to the table.
Highlights
More of Haley and Andy
So remember the will-they-or-won’t-they dance that Haley and Andy had last season? It just went up one level in this episode, with a kiss. I’m just glad that the sisters are getting smarter boyfriends (remember how Dylan was dumber than a sack of flour?). Although Andy comes across as a bit of a goody goody, at least he’s got some intelligence, and this could set the scene for a good ending for Haley.
A very tight ensemble piece with a communal gathering at the end
The episode ends with a gathering at Jay’s house, and the better episodes in the series usually end like this. All the plot threads come to a head and are resolved in the last Act, lending that air of togetherness and familial relations to the show. It leaves you with good vibes, whenever you see the cast end the episode together. Thank goodness there’s no weird VO this time.
Phil and Luke’s video editing escapades
It’s fun to see Phil’s other hobbies, such as magic and video editing, and how Luke is following in his footsteps, and possible exceeding his own abilities as well. The father-son moments are few and far between in this series, simply because there’s no other proper father-son type bonding in the series. There’s no permutation that allows for this, unless you count guest stars. Also, it’s gratifying to see how Luke has moved on from being embarrassed by his father, as he was a season ago.
Letdowns
Phil’s video plot not resolved well
The problem is that Phil sets out to deceive the family, and the standard resolution for this type of plot is to come clean. Phil fortunately/unfortunately manages to hide his secret from the family, which leads to a broken Aesop – should we lie to our family members to keep up a pretence? Also, it feels lazy, like the producers didn’t want to deal with the ramifications of a confrontation between Phil and the family.
Sydney is as annoying as Lily
It’s no secret that I find Lily a stinking little brat, but Sydney is worse. She’s a suck up and she’s a high-pitched whiny kid. I hope she’s not a recurring character, but I don’t want to waste my time being irritated by two Lilys.
Overall, “The Cold” doesn’t advance the character or plot development of the series, and feels like a very average, very mediocre episode for the series. You can skip this one if you’re really in a rush.
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