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For others with the name 'Fulgencio', see Fulgencio (disambiguation).

"Fulgencio" is the thirteenth episode from Season 4 of Modern Family, it aired on January 23, 2013.

Summary[]

Gloria's mother, Pilar, and sister, Sonia, have made the voyage from Colombia, and they come bearing traditions, baby names and a whole lot of family baggage. Meanwhile, no one seems to have confidence that Phil will be able to help with the kids' problems, but there just might be a method to his madness. And Lily has picked up some bad habits, so Mitchell and Cameron try their hardest to mind their Ps and Qs to set a good example for her.

Plot[]

Jay loves the fact he brought home a baby, but eventually you wake up to that sound. Yes, the in-laws. Gloria's mother, Pilar, and sister, Sonia, were in town, although to Sonia, Pilar may as well have been the evil stepmother from Cinderella. But it's the day of Fulgencio's christening. Fulgencio Umberto Pritchett. Well, that's his name according to Pilar (after her late husband and late father). (JAY: His initials are FU Pritchett!) Neither Jay nor Gloria wants it, so Gloria sends him in to deal with her mother, whom she says likes Jay. And Jay did, only to find out Pilar always hated him, even though he has paid for her all travels to and from Colombia. Pilar lashes out at Jay for what she thinks is his treatment of her daughter like a piece of meat, all while brandishing a pistol. Luckily, Manny enters the room with a crucifix to act as a human shield for Jay. Perhaps Gloria should borrow Manny when Sonia finds out she had an offer for a job in the States and Gloria stole the envelope from her.

With Claire running around trying to help with the christening, the kids are upset she couldn't solve any of their problems. Apparently, they don't go to Phil to solve their problems, and he takes offense to this. He figures that since he smoothed over a problem with his billboard (by saving the balloons’ owner's son from falling and getting injured), he can solve anything with kindness. Well, it turns out Phil really isn't good with fixing problems. Luke accidentally called one of his teachers “mommy” and Phil goes to the boy who spread the word around in school, calling him one of the "cool kids" and asking him to get the others to lay off. He then calls his neighbour to thank her for hiring Haley to take care of her car (that Haley crashed into her beloved lemon tree) while she was gone, but mistakes her deep voice for her non-existent husband. And then he finds the girl Alex said was competitively hosting the same kind of party a week ahead of her and complimented her on her teeth. No, none of that worked. It just made things worse.

Cameron and Mitchell has problems with Lily. She had taken to being snarky, referring to them as “ladies” when they’re tardy and asking Cam and Mitch if they need a Wah-mbulance when they start getting emotional. Thinking she picked it up from their own behaviour, they try not to say anything bad about anybody, not even when their friend, Crispin, wants them to insult his boyfriend's bad perm job. But they were trying to lead by example, which offended him and got them evicted from his party. The same one Sting is revealed to be attending, much to Cameron and Mitchell’s dismay.

Jay discusses his problems with his mother-in-law with Claire. While Claire is practically inhaling the new baby because they have that great smell when they're newborns, she figures out Jay was upset that Pilar hated him no matter how much he tried to do for her.

CLAIRE: Doesn't that sound familiar?

JAY: Son of a bitch! I'm Phil.

Jay decides that that was his best course of action. Since he tolerates Phil more when he doesn’t go overboard getting Jay to like him, he'd do the same with Pilar. He decides he wants a few words before the christening, over the priest's protests, particularly given his remark to Mitchell who had some purple underwear hanging out of his pants that the petty Cameron decided not to tell him about after their fight earlier about who was to blame for Lily's snarkiness. Jay talks about how the birth of his new son being the best thing that ever happened to him.

CLAIRE: (to a depressed Mitchell) I bet that feels good, huh?

Jay tells about how he met Gloria in a diner while getting his car washed and waxed. He sent over a piece of pie, and Gloria comes over to talk to him a few minutes later. But it turns out he originally sent the pie to her friend, who was in the bathroom and missed it. Gloria was the one who instead came forward to thank him and talk to him. Yes, Jay originally gave that pie to Sonia. Phil thought this simple twist of fate was funny, but Gloria and Sonia? Not so much. Sonia attacks Gloria for stealing her life while the rest scramble to separate the sisters (this time, Phil's got Sonia). They get out of the line of fire, and Sonia demands to get out of Colombia and away from her mother. And Sonia would be there for Jay should "anything" happen to Gloria. Gloria says Pilar can come live with them, which Jay nixes immediately because Pilar hates him and is armed.

A fight continues out at the pews between Phil and the kids, but Claire tells them to stop being so dramatic, calling for them a Wah-mbulance. Oh, so THAT'S where Lily got that from. Claire has been driving her to dance class all week, so she must have picked up Claire’s snarky attitude then.

Jay gets everyone to be quiet. ("We're in a house of GOD, dammit!") He tells Pilar off about her martyr act, given she's been keeping Sonia under her thumb. But he points out Pilar is doing so because she’s afraid to go on with her life, and should go find happiness.

JAY: I don't think I knew what happiness was until I turned 60!

MITCHELL: (bad timing again) And the hits just keep coming.

Jay says Pilar could visit any time she wanted (within reason), and Jay promises to help Sonia get her own place. He even offers to send Manny to visit Pilar...but he wouldn't be a priest because he likes girls. (JAY: He can't get them, but he likes them.) And now it is time for the christening. Phil and Claire are godparents, and thus had to declare that they reject Satan and all his works and empty promises. As Phil willingly declares so, a montage in a style reminiscent of The Godfather movies reveals Luke’s absence from the christening. Masterminded by Phil and driven around by Dylan, who had also tried to help Haley with the car moving, Luke shot the balloons blocking Phil’s billboard, ruined the neighbour's precious lemon tree with her camper, sent Alex's rats into the competing 60's party to ruin it, and placed a stuffed zebra's severed head into the bed of the kid who spread the rumours about him. Revenge is Phil Dunphy’s, and the christening proceeds without incident. Jay agrees to call the baby Fulgencio Joseph Pritchett.

GLORIA: (whispers) Thank you, Jay.

JAY: We are never going to call him that.

After the christening, Claire is happy, although a bit suspicious, that all of the kids' problems were solved without her help. She brings this up to Phil, who mysteriously evades per the style in The Godfather.

PHIL: (recently made by Michael Corleone) "Don't ever ask me about my business, Claire." Then Luke slowly shuts the door in her face.

Main Cast[]

(The characters striked out do not appear in this episode)

  • Jay Pritchett
  • Gloria Pritchett
  • Manny Delgado
  • Joe Pritchett
  • Claire Dunphy
  • Phil Dunphy
  • Haley Dunphy
  • Alex Dunphy
  • Luke Dunphy
  • Mitchell Pritchett
  • Cameron Tucker
  • Lily Tucker-Pritchett

Guest Starring[]

Trivia[]

  • This marks Pilar’s and Sonia's first appearance.
  • It is revealed that Phil and Claire are Joe's godparents.
  • It is revealed that Gloria's father, Fulgencio, is deceased when Gloria says to Pilar: "I know that you miss him".
  • Umberto is the name of Pilar's father, who is also deceased.
  • Phil reveals another one of his reality ads, a Philboard.

Continuity[]

  • This episode aired six years before "Whanex?"
  • This is Crispin's last episode, excluding his mention in "ISpy".

Cultural References[]

  • The closing scenes parallel the climactic scene of The Godfather, when Michael Corleone makes baptismal vows at his godson's baptism while his men assassinate the Corleones' enemies, including the Dons of the rest of the Five Families of New York's Mafia, on his orders. The ending also parallels The Godfather's ending when Michael's wife Kay is asking him about the murder of his brother-in-law Carlo Rizzi.
    • The severed zebra head in the bed and the kid's reaction reference an earlier famous scene in The Godfather: When film studio president Jack Woltz refuses to do a favor for Vito Corleone by casting his godson Johnny Fontane, he is horrified when he awakens to find the severed head of his prize racehorse in his bed.
  • Phil also references Don Vito's famous line "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse".

Gallery[]

To be added

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