Tree's A Crowd

"Tree's A Crowd"
Season	11
Episode	8
Total Episode Count	240
Written By	Ryan Walls
Directed By	Julie Bowen
Production Code	BARG07
Air Date	December 4, 2019
Episode Guide
← Previous	"The Last Thanksgiving"
Next →	"The Last Christmas"

"Tree's A Crowd" was the eighth episode from Season 11 of Modern Family, it aired on December 4, 2019.

Plot Summary

The Dunphy house is bursting at the seams when Dylan's hippie mom moves in and Claire's lonely stepdad, Jerry, wants to pay them a visit. Meanwhile, Jay and Gloria attempt to help Manny get over his big breakup with Sherry.

Episode Description

At Phil and Claire's house, Phil tries to impress Claire with some magic tricks until Farrah shows up. They explain that she moved in with them, and they just can't bear her anymore. Claire receives then a phone call from Jerry and asks Phil to lie for her, which he can't because he is a terrible liar. But Claire changes her mind when she finally realizes that Farrah could finally leave the house. However, though Jerry and Farrah finally manage to settle their differences, Dede's tree which is now at Claire's backyard is present and prevents Jerry from moving on in his relationship unless Phil helps with some magic.

Meanwhile, as Manny still mopes over Sherry's loss, both Jay and Gloria decide to help him, Jay by introducing him to Brandi a girl he just picked up and Gloria by asking Luke to help her. Luke agrees to talk to Sherry but ends-up kissing her while seeing her at an improv show. Though he honestly confesses his mistake, Manny prepares to punch him but is stopped by Jay who feels sorry for him and admonishes Luke, telling him to leave.

And meanwhile, Mitch and Cam have brunch with Campbell and Molly, a lesbian couple which search a spearm donor. Both agree to give their, but can't decide which one should sacrifice. As they go to Campbell and Molly's house, they learn that they replaced them with Nathan, a youngest male who poses with them in a selfie.

In the post credit tag scene, Claire is seen talking with the tree again, but is it Phil present ?

Main Cast

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

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

Guest Starring

• Ed Begley Jr. as Jerry
• Rachel Bay Jones as Farrah
• Hillary Anne Matthews as Sherry
• Lauren Adams as Campbell
• Jen Kirkman as Molly
• Hanna Basulka as Brandi
• Cole Gerdes as Nathan

Trivia

• Haley, Alex, Lily, Joe and Dylan do not appear in this episode, though Lily, Joe and Dylan are mentioned by Mitchell, Gloria and Claire.
• This is the first episode to show Farrah without her son. Whether she is a single mom, separated, divorced or widowed remains unknown.
• Manny becomes the only kid who appears in episode in which Farrah and Sherry appear. Luke is the only kid to appear in episodes featuring Jerry.

Continuity

• This episode aired exactly six years after The Big Game.
• This is the third episode to feature "tree" in the title after The Old Man & the Tree, and When a Tree Falls.
• Jerry returns from Putting Down Roots and Farrah returns from Blasts from the Past and Can't Elope.
• Sherry's sixth appearance.
• This is the second episode Julie Bowen directed after Red Alert
• Manny's behavior is odd in this episode, because in the previous, he mentioned a certain Jessica and he also dated Gretchen in Blasts from the Past, while he was in couple. And here, he says he misses Sherry.
• This is the third episode in which Manny and Luke fight after Coal Digger (off screen) and Integrity.
  • From a personal standpoint, Luke seems to like fights as he also fought with
  • Haley in The Incident, Alex in Putting Down Roots and Dylan in The Last Thanksgiving (though in the latter case, Dylan actually "accidentally" injured him).
• Jay says that Manny loves Luke like a brother, something Phil said to Mitch in Kids These Days.
• With this episode, every Dunphy kid had a plot with Jay, Gloria and Manny. Haley had two in CHiPs and Salsa and A Game of Chicken, Alex had one in Daddy Issues and Luke had one in this episode. The reverse also is true, because Manny had two with the Dunphys in Three Turkeys and The Day We Almost Died.
• Lesbian characters reappear after Schooled,The Wow Factor and Unplugged, though this time, it may be just one time talking characters not recurring or silhouette characters.
• In Perfect Pairs, broadcasted earlier, Mitch and Cam also had brunch with a gay couple and a character also spit out a drink, (Jay spits out his coffee in this episode).
• Cameron becomes the only parent not to met Jerry directly beginning with this episode, if you count the characters who are parents since the beginning.
• This is the second episode to contain a word that is censored, after Double Click and the fourth to contain nude scenes after Lake Life,The Long Goodbye and Catch of the Day.
• Gloria tells Jay that he does not care about people but this is isn't true as Jay cared about Manny multiple times since we saw that in The Bicycle Thief,Undeck the Halls,Dance Dance Revelation,Door to Door, Egg Drop,Weathering Heights,The Long Goodbye,Daddy Issues and I Love a Parade. In this episode, and Won't You Be Our Neighbor as well as Chirp he also refers Manny as his son.
• Jay also cared about Joe in episodes The Verdict,Do It Yourself, Basketball, Royal Visit, On the Same Paige and Did the Chicken Cross the Road?
• Phil says he is a terrible liar, something which is confirmed in The Cover-Up
• Jerry has now a beard.
• This is the fourth episode in which Manny and Luke are the only kids to appear, after The Bicycle Thief,  Dance Dance Revelation and Snow Ball .
• This is also an episode in which neither Claire nor Phil share any scenes with Luke.
  • Claire never interacted with him in The Wow Factor,Rash Decisions,Sarge & Pea, In Your Head , A Sketchy Area , Red Alert and Stand By Your Man.
  • Phil never interacted with him in Spring-a-Ding-Fling,The Long Goodbye, and No Small Feet
    • For the latter, Luke actually says something, but we only heard him during the Phil and Claire scene, and he has his own plot, without Phil appearing physically or vocally in it.
  • Both never interacted with him in Fight or Flight,Playdates,Written in the Stars,Putting Down Roots and Whanex
• Manny wears a peignoir after Integrity and Blindsided, both episodes in which he depresses and has Jay to comfort him. Not counting Marco Polo because Gloria does not appear physically in the scene where Jay comforts him.
• Jerry, Farrah and Sherry's last appearance.

Cultural references

• Mitch references the famous "She's my daughter! She's my sister!" scene in Chinatown.
• Jay says Canadians have ducks on their money (actually, a loon is not a duck) and sell milk in bags.
• Jerry follows the monarch butterfly migration.
• Jerry mentions a sexual escapade in Taos; Taos, New Mexico is a notable cultural and artistic center.

Reviews

• The A.V. Club gave it a C+.[1]

Gallery