Knock'Em Down(Modern Family)

"Knock 'Em Down" is the twentieth episode of the sixth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 140th episode overall. It originally aired on April 22, 2015. The episode was written by Rick Wiener and Kenny Schwartz, and directed by Beth McCarthy Miller.

Plot

Jay (Ed O'Neill) accepts to join Cameron's (Eric Stonestreet) bowling team for the night. However, Cam lets slip that in order to play, he told his team that Jay was gay too. As a man named Martin (Oliver Platt) who dislikes Cameron tells him that he knows that Jay is straight, Cam lets him believe that Jay is in fact attracted to him. Jay and Cam win the game. However, when Martin nervously approaches Jay and asks him out, Jay's conscience lets him do the right thing and he softly admits to Martin that he is actually heterosexual. This ultimately disqualifies Cameron's team, allowing Martin's team to win.

Haley (Sarah Hyland) invites Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Gloria (Sofia Vergara) to go clubbing with her one night. Whilst the night begins well, as the time passes, both Mitchell and Gloria fall asleep, realizing that they're no longer young as they were. Haley wakes them up and they convince themselves to try again and to join her, only to give in and change their opinions mere moments later.

Phil (Ty Burrell) has trouble while trying to sell a house due to a sculpture which decorates a neighbor's home. Phil finds out that Ronnie (Steve Zahn) and Amber (Andrea Anders) dislike the statue too and they ask Phil and Claire (Julie Bowen) to join them at restaurant for dinner that night. At first, Phil and Claire object, but they eventually accept and discover they share a lot of common things with the LaFontaine couple. On their way home, Ronnie, Claire and Amber decide to destroy the sculpture. Phil, who is the only one who objects, actually becomes responsible for destroying it after accidently crashing into it with Ronnie's car. As a cop walks by, he recognizes Phil who lets him believe that the four were just eating and that the accident wasn't their fault.

At the end of this episode, Alex (Ariel Winter) sees her parents talking with the LaFontaines and tells Luke (Nolan Gould) that art is the best way to connect to people. When she learns that he was actually trying to draw the sculpture, she advises him not to speak to her again, and Luke labels her a hypocrite.

Reception

Ratings

In its original American broadcast, "Knock 'Em Down" was watched by 8.85; down by 0.58 from the previous episode.^[1]

Reviews

"Knock 'Em Down" received positive reviews from TV critics.

Gwen Ihnat of The A.V. Club awarded the episode a B grade, saying "Modern Family so often starts with the standard sitcom trope, but the show really excels when it rises above the norm and takes a different turn. This happens in two out of three of the shuffled-character plots in this episode". Despite being critical of the Haley-Gloria-Mitchell subplot, she did however praise Sarah Hyland's performance, stating "Sarah Hyland, as usual, does her game best, offering them the cocktails of their relative peoples, mojitos and cosmos, and suggesting that they go dancing in the daytime instead.". ^[2]

Ashley Bissette Sumerel of TV Fanatic also praised the episode, awarding it a 4.2/5. She heavily praised the Cameron and Jay plot, saying "These are my favorite kinds of stories for Jay. I love seeing him break out of his comfort zone, especially as he becomes more and more open-minded". She also praised the Haley-Gloria-Mitchell subplot and haley's characterization, saying "It says something about the close relationship she has with all of them that they can share these experiences, and it may also be another way we can define this family as a "modern" one". ^[3]

Lisa Fernandes of Next Projection also enjoyed the episode, awarding it an 8.1/10. She praised the Jay and Cameron storyline, saying "Most of the best chunks of the storyline come from Oliver Platt’s appearance as Cam’s latest rival, where he manages to wring a deadpan acerbicness from his rotely written character". She also praised Julie Bowen's performance, by saying "Julie Bowen’s funny, elastic performance is the best one here, though Steve Zahn continues to apply a cool sense of reserve to his every appearance as the LaFontaine paterfamilias". ^[4]

References