After the Fire (''Modern Family'')

"After the Fire" is the eighth episode of the third Season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 56th episode. It aired on November 16, 2011. The episode was written by Danny Zuker and was directed by Fred Savage. The episode chronicles the family's misadventures while trying to do good deeds.

Plot

After a neighbor's home burns down, the whole family rallies and organizes a community drive to help do some good. But things do not seem to be going well for them.

Jay (Ed O'Neill) throws his back while he is trying to carry a box. Phil (Ty Burrell) is offering to massage him to make him feel better. During the massage though, Jay tells Phil that he loves him but he regrets it right away. Phil rushes out the room and Jay does not know what to do to "fix" what he did. Later it is revealed that Phil did not even hear what Jay told him, since that moment he got a very important message on his phone about his work and he was not listening to Jay.

Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) is doing some posturing with a huge moving truck while he is trying to prove Haley (Sarah Hyland) and Alex (Ariel Winter) that gays can drive a truck after something they said. The only thing he manages to do though it to hit other cars and gets them trapped in the truck before they ask help for someone.

Claire (Julie Bowen) discovers that Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) spends a lot of time with Gloria (Sofía Vergara) and she accuses him that he is turning Gloria into mom. Mitchell tries to convince her that she is wrong about it with not much success.

Meanwhile, Luke (Nolan Gould) and Manny (Rico Rodriguez) get their hands on a helicopter toy that was donated. Some other kids though take it from them and they can't take it back. They first agree to leave it but they are afraid Gloria's reaction when she finds out so they try again with no luck. They manage to take it back with Alex's help before someone realizes what they did.

Reception

Ratings

In its original American broadcast, "After the Fire" was watched by 12.91 million; slightly down from the last original episode.^[1]

Reviews

"After the fire" received generally positive reviews.

Christine N. Ziemba from Paste Magazine rated the episode with 8/10 saying that there were moments of surprising absurdity, something that is welcomed, in the episode. "For the first time in a while, there were genuinely touching moments in at the end of Modern Family. These moments didn’t feel forced, so kudos to the cast for knowing when to hold back on the humor—a mark of a great sitcom."^[2]

RyanTalksTV.com said that the episode was very good. "Actually, I’d go as far as saying it was pretty damn close to perfect. Every story tied in very well with one another, and let’s be honest… you can’t go wrong pairing Jay and Phil or Luke and Manny!"^[3]

Leigh Raines of TV Fanatic gave a 4/5 grade.^[4]

Contrariwise, Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club gave a C grade to the episode saying that it's not always a good idea to put all the characters together. "Tonight’s episode is proof that getting the whole ensemble together isn’t always the best idea."^[5]

References

1. ↑ Gorman, Bill (November 17, 2011). "Wednesday Final Ratings: 'The X Factor,' 'The Middle,' 'Suburgatory' & 'Modern Family' Adjusted Up". TV by the Numbers. 
2. ↑ Ziemba, Christine (November 17, 2011). "Modern Family Review: "After the fire" (Episode 3.08)". Paste Magazine. 
3. ↑ Ryan Talks TV (November 16, 2011). "'Modern Family' Review: "After the Fire"". Ryan Talks TV. 
4. ↑ Raines, Leigh (November 16, 2011). "Modern Family Review: Fizbo and Fires". TV Fanatic. 
5. ↑ Bowman, Donna (November 16, 2011). "After the fire". A.V. Club. 

External links

• Afterbuzz's discussion about "After the Fire" on YouTube
• "After the Fire" on IMDb
• "After the Fire" at TV.com
• "After the Fire" at ABC.com