Modern Family Episode 1.03 Come Fly with Me

A few of our favorite Modern Family members splinter off into some pretty unusual pairings and Cameron introduces Mitchell to Costco, aka nirvana.

When Phil attempts to connect with Haley's boyfriend, Claire wonders why he never tried that with her dad. So Phil heads over to Jay's for a little one-on-one time. If you look up "awkward" in the dictionary, you may see a picture of these two trying to bond. Nevertheless, Jay enlists Phil's help in putting the final touches on a model airplane. The men then head out to a field for a little flight time. Phil drives Jay crazy with his repeated requests to fly the plane. Jay won't let him man the controls, but does offer to let Phil play "thread the needle."

The object of "thread the needle" is to have Phil hold a hoop high above his head as Jay flies the plane through it. Sounds like a plan, right? Jay sends Phil to the far side of the field. Believe us when we say that, as far as Jay's concerned, Phil can't go far enough. Unfortunately, the plane comes in a little low and totally nails Phil in the face. Our favorite modern dad is down! It's painfully hilarious.

Claire argues with Alex about wearing dresses. Gloria offers to take Alex shopping and the two engage in a series of extremely honest discussions; something Alex is not accustomed to doing with her mom. Of course, we're thinking there's such a thing as being too honest when Alex asks Gloria how many men she's slept with.

We learn that the reason Alex doesn't like wearing dresses is because that's Haley's thing and she wants to be her own person. She's the smart one. Gloria convinces her that she can be both smart and pretty and have her own identity no matter what she wears, even if it's a dress. BTW—the answer to Alex's earlier question is eight.

Manny is supposed to be on a playdate with Luke, but ends up chatting with Claire, which is fine with her. Claire loves that she has a family confidant who will listen to her concerns, sympathize with her plight and even offer some advice about Alex. Claire says, "Wow, sometimes it's hard to remember you're only 10 years old." "And three-quarters," Manny corrects while wearing a very mature-looking milk mustache.

"Mitchell is a snob." Those are Cameron's words, not ours. It seems Mitchell may feel he's above shopping at a place like Costco. He scoffs when he discovers the store has a wine section just past the tires. But Mitchell is totally giddy when he comes across the paper shredder he wanted. It's confetti and crosscut, which you have to admit, is pretty cool as far as shedders go. Soon the guys need a flatbed truck to hold everything Mitchell buys.

"I was in a plane crash," a bloody-nosed Phil cries as Jay helps him into the house. Claire thinks her dad did it on purpose because he never liked Phil. This forces Jay to suck it up and tell his son-in-law he truly does like him. Loopy from painkillers, Phil is overwhelmed and gives Jay a big, long, heartfelt hug. Now it looks like Jay's the one who needs the painkillers.

After totally cleaning out Costco, Mitchell and Cameron come by to catch Phil and Jay embracing on the couch. Gloria thinks this would be a good time for Jay to acknowledge that he also likes Cameron. Looks like we have the makings of group hug! Manny gets in on the action, too. It's a very funny exchange, one that we're sure Jay can't wait to forget. That'll be hard though, as Mitchell is capturing the moment on his brand spanking new camcorder. It was on sale…at Costco.