The Wow Factor is the eighteenth episode of the fourth season of Modern Family. It aired on March 27, 2013.
Summary
Mitchell seeks to help Lily deal with a playground bully but goes too far in the process. Jay finds himself in trouble with Gloria when she finds him at a movie theatre during his babysitting time with Joe. Cam and Claire are at odds over their home renovation and seek to influence Cam's lesbian friend to side with their visions for a backyard idea; and Phil's plans to show Alex and Haley the joys of home improvement hit a roadblock.
Synopsis
Mitchell meets a handball bully at Lily’s school. He plays the game after being taunted by Milo the Menace and promptly loses. To impress Lily and compensate for past bully experiences, Mitchell enlists Luke to become his coach. Mitchell takes the bully on again with a side bet – if Milo wins, the kid gets $20k and if Mitchell wins, a three turn rule will be implemented. Mitchell wins, but people were less impressed as he starts celebrating like he won the Super Bowl. Needless to say, he’s not welcome at drop-offs in the near future.
Jay suckers Gloria to take Manny to a four-hour Moby Dick reading in the guise of much needed mother/son time. In exchange, Jay will take Joe to his play time. Jay takes one look at the scene and Joe’s slumbering cuteness and heads to see a movie. During the movie, Joe wakes and starts crying. Claire’s old friend volunteers to take Joe outside. At this moment, Gloria and Manny pass by and spots a stranger holding Joe. Gloria is livid Jay lied, except she fibbed to escape the book reading. She tells Jay that relationships need time to be built. Later, we see Jay reading to Manny holding Joe with a puppet on one hand.
Phil wants to teach Haley and Alex to be self-sufficient and handy. He shows them how to change light bulbs and restart the heater – except he breaks it. He sends the girls out for equipment and Skypes his father. The interaction reminds Phil that being needed as a dad is an honor.
Claire and Cam are in charge of flipping a house and have tricks to get their way. When Cam has an idea for the “Wow Factor” by installing an elaborate fountain in the backyard, the two realize each other’s tricks. Cam enlists Pam, a lesbian contractor whose son is Lily’s classmate, to be the tiebreaker. Pam votes based on common sense – the house is being flipped so there is no need for the fountain. Cam constructed the fountain anyway so Pam and Claire can see it. They are wow-ed until the “fish of gold” (gold fish) Cam put in the fountain gets sucked into the pump and fish carcasses start flying.
Cultural references
- Luke confuses Louis Armstrong with Neil Armstrong.
- Phil says that his daughters will say "Help me dad, you're my only hope," a reference to Princess Leia's line in Star Wars.
- Manny goes to a Moby-Dick reading.
Continuity
- Pam, one of the lesbians from "Schooled", returns.