'Modern Family' Season 6 Episode 19 Recap: Grill Interrupted

In this week’s episode of “Modern Family,” the family is celebrating Jay’s birthday. Jay’s kids all planned surprises for him but all of their plans backfired on them. Meanwhile, the family patriarch shows everyone why he’s still in charge and who he thinks will take the reins from him as the leader of the family in the future.

Phil Dunphy is excited to show his father-in-law the new high tech grill that he ordered as a surprise birthday present. When the grill arrives and Phil shows it to Jay, he is extremely disappointed when Jay doesn’t get so excited about it. Jay says he wants to stick to his old-fashioned grill instead of figuring out all the complicated functions of the new one.

Meanwhile, Mitch and Claire discuss what they can do for their dad. The two of them recall how much their dad helped them with the down payments for their respective houses and ponder the idea of paying him back. When Jay overhears them having the discussion, he asks what it’s all about and Mitch is forced to admit that he is planning to pay back the down payment that Jay loaned him many years ago.

Phil hears Mitch and Claire arguing about the money and figures out that Claire was also given money to help pay for the Dunphy house. He concludes that their family owes Jay money and this must be the reason why his father-in-law never really bonded with him. He decides to pay Jay in an attempt to finally have a more comfortable and open relationship based on mutual respect.

Unfortunately for Phil, he and Claire can’t really afford to pay Jay back. As for Mitch, he had just paid Jay with money that his husband Cam had just inherited from a recently deceased relative. Both of them end up in holes that they dug for themselves while Jay suddenly finds himself with enough money to buy himself a mid-life crisis sports car.

Speaking of crisis, Alex finds herself in a rut after she gets accepted into Caltech. She is overcome with anxiety because she feels like she might not be good enough to attend one of the best schools in the country. While Mitch, Cam, Phil and Claire are all arguing about their monetary issues, Gloria is busy dealing with Manny and Luke who have both been caught drinking tequila.

Jay points out all the craziness that’s going on in the family and tells Alex that he knows she won’t back down from the challenge of entering Caltech. He also tells her that he believes she will be the one to take over his role of becoming the leader in the family when the time comes. Alex starts to regain her confidence, and upon observing her family, she realises that her grandfather is right. She’s the smart and level-headed one in the clan after all.

To finally resolve things with the couples, Jay hands out cheques to Mitch and Claire. He lets them keep their pride and saves them from embarrasment by saying he's giving out gifts to all his children. They both pretend to play along and take back the money they could not afford to pay him to start with.

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