"Grill, Interrupted" is the nineteenth episode from Season 6 of Modern Family, it aired on April 1, 2015.
Plot Summary[]
Jay's birthday brings everyone together for his birthday and Phil is beside himself over the super cool gift he got Jay, a high-tech outdoor grill. Claire and Mitch decide they will "offer" to pay back the money Jay loaned them ages ago as their gift not really thinking he will take them up on it, and Gloria teaches Manny and Luke a lesson about drinking, while Andy gets really awkward with Haley when she brings over her new doctor boyfriend. Alex gets an acceptance letter from Caltech, but Claire misinterprets Alex's apprehension about attending one of the top schools in the country, thinking that she didn't show enough excitement over the acceptance. Jay and Alex have a touching moment together at the end when he tells her that she can handle school, and will need to be the leader of the family.
Episode Description[]
Gathering at Jay's (Ed O'Neill) house for his birthday, Claire (Julie Bowen) and Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) decide to pay their father back the money he loaned them for the down payment on their respective houses. Mitchell intends on using the money that Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) has received from a recently deceased distant relative, and Phil (Ty Burrell) starts to believe the money problems are what have caused the slight rift between himself and Jay. After Phil's present (a new, state-of-the-art barbecue grill) backfires, he, Claire, Mitchell, and Cameron all begin arguing in the driveway about the various monetary issues that have surfaced that day.
Luke (Nolan Gould) and Manny (Rico Rodriguez) come up with a plan to steal and drink a bottle of Gloria's (Sofia Vergara) tequila. Before they can take it, she swaps it out with water so she can teach them a lesson, leaving Luke and Manny suffering a placebo intoxication. When they are "drunk" enough, Gloria makes them believe that the bottle of tequila had a deadly worm inside it that was probably got drunk by them. The only way to kill the worm once you had drunk it, is by taking an ice-cold bath, something that Luke and Manny rush to do. Gloria appears and takes a photo of the boys being in the tub together, threatening them to post it online if they attempt to steal from her or get drunk underage again.
Meanwhile, Andy (Adam Devine) wants to talk to Haley (Sarah Hyland) about his feelings, since it is the first time he will see her after the events of "Closet? You'll Love It!", where Haley told him that he has a shot with her while she thought he was sleeping. Andy is nervous and Haley appearing with her new boyfriend Will (Nick Ballard) does not help the situation. A series of mishaps leaves Andy and Haley in bed together and, later, Haley removing her clothes due to a drink spillage, but Will does not suspect Andy, nor feeling threatened by him. When Haley leaves the room, Will asks Andy to help him come up with a message for a card for Haley, but once Will leaves Haley struggles to read the handwriting. She asks Andy to read it to her and gets frustrated about how clingy Will is already after only two weeks of dating. Haley kisses Andy on the cheek and heads downstairs, leaving him both disappointed and hopeful.
Alex (Ariel Winter) finds out she has been accepted into Caltech, but she is acting strangely after her parents' reaction. Claire blames herself for never praising Alex's achievements because she expects them from her and begins to overtly praise Alex in front of the whole family, leaving Alex embarrassed and irritated. Jay later finds her with a bottle of vodka in his new car in the garage, where Alex expresses worry about being the least intelligent person at her new College and talks about how scared she is. Jay reassures her that she will do great at College and drives her out of the garage into the yard in front of the bickering family. He tells her that the family needs a leader and one day he will not be around to do it anymore, implying that in the future she will be the one to keep the family in check because she is the only one who can do it.
Main Cast[]
(The characters striked out do not appear in this episode)
- Jay Pritchett
- Gloria Pritchett
- Manny Delgado
- Claire Dunphy
- Phil Dunphy
- Haley Dunphy
- Alex Dunphy
- Luke Dunphy
- Mitchell Pritchett
- Cameron Tucker
- Lily Tucker-Pritchett
Guest Starring[]
- Adam DeVine as Andy Bailey
- Nick Ballard as Will
- Pierce Wallace as Joe Pritchett
Continuity[]
- Fourth episode to revolve around Jay's birthday ("Airport 2010", "The One That Got Away", "Bringing Up Baby").
- Andy's eleventh appearance.
- Alex gets accepted into Caltech, the university that she and her family previously visited in "Do Not Push".
- Jay's Robusto and Phil's grill were previously seen in "Spring Break".
- Alex was previously considered as a leader by her family in "The Long Honeymoon".
- Andy and Haley mention Andy's appendicitis several times, which happened in "Closet? You'll Love It!".
- Andy is the fourth recurring character to have an interview scene, after Andre in "Treehouse", Dylan in "Baby on Board" and Pam in Schooled.
Trivia[]
- This is the first time that Andy has an interview scene. He is also the only recurring character to be interviewed by himself.
- Alex finally gets accepted into Caltech.
- Manny was born in Florida.
- This episode uses the old theme song/intro from Season 1 and Season 2.
- The painting in Jay's entrance goes through 3 changes in footwear. First, sneakers, then boots, then slippers.
Cultural references[]
- The title of the episode is a reference to the film Girl, Interrupted.
- Lily and Cam get fur coats to look like Eva Gabor and Dr. Zhivago.
- Phil mentions Instagram and selfies.
- Haley references Hugh Hefner.
Goofs[]
- Phil is outraged to find out he’s owed Jay money for 20 years for the down payment on the Dunphy house, yet in the episode “Treehouse” which aired 4 years earlier, Phil tells his neighbor Andre (Season 3) that they have lived in the house for 12 years, meaning Phil had only “owed” Jay for 16 years.
Gallery[]
Videos[]
Promo[]