Episode no. Season 7
Episode 18 Written by Vali Chandrasekaran Original air date April 6, 2016 | Directed by Steven Levitan Production code 7ARG17 | |
"The Party" is the eighteenth episode of the seventh season and the 162th episode overall of the American sitcom Modern Family. It aired on April 6, 2016 on American Broadcasting Company (ABC). The episode is directed by Steven Levitan and written by Vali Chandrasekaran.
Plot
Luke (Nolan Gould) and Manny (Rico Rodriguez) are in charge of babysitting Lilly (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons) when all of the adults have planned a wild night.
Claire (Julie Bowen) was offered a free spa week-end for two but since Phil (Ty Burrell) is too ticklish it’s Gloria (Sofía Vergara) who goes with her. When the two arrive, they decide to phone the boys in order to see if everything is OK. But when she hears that they baked cookies, Claire rushes back to the house, followed by Gloria since their oven is broken and it’s not possible for them to bake anything. Luke tells her that Manny made a mistake and that they made pancakes in order to make them leave. Unbeknownst to them, Manny and Luke had planned a party and bribed Lilly in order to make them more confident. Lilly moved the party upstairs so the mothers didn't have to find out about it.
But their project is over when Phil goes with Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) to a nerd projection and also rushes back to the house when he does not have any news from Luke. The duo hopes to be ready to see the film, but they accidentally ate pot gums which makes them stoned and delirious. They spend the night searching for clues that a party took place in the Dunphys' house.
Jay (Ed O'Neill) and Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) have better luck when they have to watch a sports game in a bar. They bet two strangers that their favorite will win and then try to give their money back by daring them to various games including table football (France: Babyfoot) and pool. As they run out of ideas, they go to the Dunphys' house in order to play ping-pong. That’s when Claire almost makes them for party guests and Luke and Manny are almost relieved but a guest crashes the pong table in order to go to another party, making Claire know she was right. For Jay and Cameron, however, it was a good moment as they became closer.
As the parents discuss in the living room, Phil, though he remains stoned, makes them realize that they’re not as perfect as they imagined, and they conclude that though the boys deserve to be punished, they also would have done the same thing as teenagers.