Once again, the families are left separate with three distinct plots. One of these days I'm going to tally up the percentage of episodes with separate plots and compare them with last season, because something feels off. Anyway, there wasn't anything that bothered me about any of the plots, except that the format is inherently weaker than when the entire family is together.
Phil and Claire are mainly off doing their own things, as Phil goes to the spa and learns about women, while Claire runs around town trying to find the same sweater of Alex that Haley rips. It doesn't turn out well, but Phil, armed with knowledge of what Claire wants, is there to make her feel better.
Jay wants to buy a "drawer" for him and Gloria when they're dead, but this brings up an important issue: what if Jay dies long before Gloria does? That's certainly a possibly given their age difference. What if Gloria got remarried? Jay doesn't buy it and accepts what may happen in the future, which is very nice and understanding.
Cam and Mitchell fight over Lily's name, which is not hyphenated as Cam discovers. The plot explores Mitchell's former insecurities about the relationship and it really could have been extended. After enjoying Cam and Mitchell tonight, despite them still having little to do, a thought occurred to me. When it's an individual plot without the other family members, the two are better when there is literally no one else they talk with other than themselves. From my recollection, whenever they interact with other people, it just turns into a silly mess.
"Two Monkeys and a Panda" wasn't that funny to me, but I liked how it went deeper than the surface, exploring the various relationships to a degree we don't usually see.
Score: 8.9/10
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
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