'Modern Family' Episode 4 Recap: Phil Dunphy Forces His Family To Stay In One Hotel Room Following A Mold Infestation At Home
'Modern Family' Season 06 Episode 04 Recap: 'Marco Polo'
Season 6 of ABC's Emmy Award winning series "Modern Family" is in full swing and this week's episode is entitled "Marco Polo." As the title suggests, the group game Marco Polo plays a role in the episode where the Dunphys found themselves forced to stay over at a hotel after a mold infestation was found in their home.
Phil, Claire and their kids Haley, Alex and Luke are forced to stay over at a nearby hotel for a night while awaiting for treatment to be done for a mold problem in their home. Unfortunately, only one hotel room was available meaning all five family members needed to stay in one room. Phil and Claire shared a bed while Haley and Alex shared the extra bed. Luke was forced to sleep in the tub just so everyone can fit in the room
Phil tried to make his family see the upside of the situation and said that it's just like camping. Claire and the kids unfortunately didn't share his enthusiasm especially when the Nigerian family next door happened to have two dogs that just won't stop barking. Phil didn't let the setbacks bring him down and still pushed for his agenda of bonding with the family by inviting them to play Marco Polo. Everyone resisted and just started complaining about the situation.
Luke showed the family a new cologne that he got called "Sex Grenade" and started spraying himself with it saying that the divorced dads in the hotel swore that it can attract women. The spray mechanism malfunctioned and Phil saved the day by jumping on the wayward spray bottle until it ran out saving the girls from getting the cologne all over them.
Meanwhile, Claire slipped out and said that she's going out for a run. When Phil stepped out of the room, he spotted Claire getting into another room next door. He discovered that she had taken another room for herself. She confessed that she just needed some space to herself since their room was too crowded. When they told the kids, they all decided to move and leave Phil alone in the original room.
Phil, feeling dejected by the abandonment by his family, headed over to the hotel bar where he met two divorced guys. He told them about what happened with Claire and the kids and the way he told the story made them think that he was also divorced and Claire had left him for good. They then suggested that he should seize every opportunity to have fun when the Nigerian neighbour passed by and invited him for a swim. Next thing he knew, Phil was stuck in the pool trying to explain the rules of Marco Polo to the Nigerian couple and their kids.
Meanwhile, Alex discovered that the hotel was half empty the whole time and Phil put everyone in one room on purpose. The three kids started thinking about it and they realised that Phil only said that there was only one room so that the family could stay together and bond. They realised that instead of appreciating his efforts, they shut him out and then they saw that he's stuck trying to play Marco Polo with the Nigerians.
The kids decided to talk to Claire and when Phil went back to his room feeling even more depressed after a failed attempt to teach the Nigerians the game, the kids and Claire went into the pool. They started shouting "Marco!" to catch Phil's attention. Phil looked down at the pool and saw his family waiting for him to play the game. In the end, they all came around and found a way to have fun together. The only downside was, in his attempt to communicate, Phil accidentally invited the Nigerian family to come stay over at their house, barking dogs and all.