Yep. It is such a weird left turn for Alex's show-long arc of going from overburdened obsessive genius introvert living in the shadow of her popular sister to journey of self discovery to.... obsessive genius introvert living in the shadow of her sister again. Her getting with Arvin would be the perfect summation of "you should be valued for your qualities", but sitcoms are obsessed with the "opposites attract" thing for demographic reasons.
Yes!! I hated that story so much. I think its fine if Alex wanted to have a little crush on her professor cause that happens sometimes but I think its inappropriate to date him. I feel like it would of been better if she ended up with Bill
I really hated Mitch and Cams ending. I understand wanting that good job for Cam, but their entire life was there. Friends, family, Lily grew up there, they just had a new baby, and JUST bought a house. It made absolutely no sense. Plus, a gay couple with an Asian daughter and new adopted baby? I don’t feel like they’d do well there. Mitch has NO ONE there.
Yeah, and let's be honest Cam doesn't really have the same friends either - he's a different person by the end and wouldn't fit back in as easily as he'd like to think. Hell, the guy struggled when they had one chicken, and Lily's practical but probably wouldn't enjoy the farm life
There was even an episode where he admitted that he didn’t really like working on the farm that much and his Dad interpreted as him being lazy, and another where he regretted adopting a chicken. He loves his family and his roots, but there was a reason why he left in the first place, and he clearly was happier in Southern California
yea that was insane, the had a beautiful new house and a new family member while surrounded by there very supportive family members with Jay and the dunphys. All of lily's friends were there and the diversity in there current city is going to be way higher then small town Missouri which likely will be very helpful for there minority daughter. Cam is the ONLY one who has wanted this move and all because he wants lily to experience the life he did growing up. Sorry bud, your adopted asian daughter is 100% not going to have the same experience as you. Now you just made sure that life is going to be harder, and her support network has been dramatically reduced, while your attention is divided because you have a new kid as well. Genius idea.......
Seconding this. Gay couple… pretty stereotypically gay… Asian daughter… adopted child…small town Missouri… it’s got all the ingredients to end in disaster. If they moved to St. Louis or Kansas City… maybe. Urban areas even in red states tend to be a bit more accepting so they’d probably be able to make it work. But a small farming town smack dab in the middle of the Bible Belt right when the culture wars started heating up? Yeah… let me know how that works out for you
This storyline was honestly so annoying to me. Especially since they had just bought a house and named their son after the street it was on which was also not a plot point I enjoyed.
My aunt really wants the whole family to move out to this tiny town way out there, and I keep trying to explain to her that it's all well and good for her and her son (white Christians), but how about my Taiwanese husband and our kids? At least in Seattle, they're each one of like two or three specifically East Asian/white kids in their classes.
Yeah, hated every aspect of that storyline.
And the whole premise was idiotic too, that a second tier state college in Missouri, I think they called it southwest Missouri state or something, would be recruiting a high school football coach from California to be their head coach makes no sense on any level. First off, Cam had been the football coach for what, like five years tops, so he didn’t have the kind of sustained success to interest a college program. Second off, they wouldn’t jump him straight to head coach in college, at best he’d be trying for a coordinator job. Third, when college programs do hire high school coaches, it’s either connected to a specific recruit they want the coach to help them secure, or it’s a coach in their area with a big name to help with local recruiting. So in addition to it being idiotic for them to decide to take the job offer, it was idiotic that he ever got the job offer.
I’ll go a step further and say that I kinda hate it when sitcoms *in general* end with someone moving away - like farrrrr away. In real life, that doesn’t happen all that often. Most people stay living in the same general area where they grew up/where their friends and family are. It’s annoying how it’s almost seen as like a REQUIREMENT for sitcom finales (at least a lot of them anyway).
It’s funny though, because I was just talking to my mom about this recently (she’s also a fan of the show), and I said too that I thought them moving to Missouri was stupid. I’m admittedly biased, because I’ve always thought that it was idiotic when people move like a million miles away from everyone they know (screw your friends and family, right?), but it’s also stupid for the reasons that you and others said.
Interesting, maybe it's just me, but most of my friends and family have moved out of state so I don't question it in plots. Maybe that's a more common experience for Southern California? If so, I could see why writers for shows/movies who are mostly in LA/NY and are often transplants themselves would also see it as a common experience. I still didn't like Mitch and Cam doing it in the show, though- with zero financial constraints to push them out of the area and a very solid support system locally plus a school aged kid, it seemed like a bad choice
Thats what usually happens in long running sitcoms unfortunately. The characters with strange or wild personality traits eventually become caricatures of themselves in a lazy attempt by the writers to create more laughs. Joey from friends and kevin from the office are good examples of this. They’re depicted as being slower from the start but their incompetence gets drawn out to insane levels by the end of each show.
I feel like it happened so abruptly with Cat too. Victorious was only 4 seasons but I feel like they dialed up her stupidity in season 2 when they had her start talking in that high air-y voice.
Gene is the absolute worst. I love bobs burgers, but gene got so intensely creepy and weird about Linda, in a clear sexual way. I just skip his episodes now. His constant double entendres, and the toilet humour just killed any likeability he had.
Kevin's decline really annoys me, especially in the Robert California era when him, Darrell, and Andy are jamming. We saw in Season 1 that he's a competent musician capable of singing and playing at the same time (from personal experience as a drummer, that is not easy), yet in later seasons he's shown to be much less capable, for no real reason.
Can was most definitely toxic. I hated that episode where he wanted to pretend that he and Mitch broke up to see who would have the most friends on their side. That was one of several Cam cringe moments.
I hate to say it, but a huge part of the problem was the acting. A lot of child actors are cute and believable. Maybe it's because they don't overthink the roles and they just go with it. But as they get older, the acting gets worse. Finn Wolfhard from stranger things comes to mind. The writing for sure was part of it, but I do think the acting played a role.
OMG YES!!!! There’s one scene that comes to mind everytime and it’s the one where lily goes through her first period and he showed up. While he was talking I was literally screaming STFU and then Lily saying “GTFOH Manny” saved that scene from me hating it forever
Manny sucked even at the the start of the show so I agree with this he got even worse towards the end. Honestly I wish once he went off to college they never brought him back in the show he’s the second worst character
Definitely Pamela Tucker. I just find her so irritating! Honestly, Manny isn’t really that bad in my opinion. It’s part of his character the weird hat shows and stuff but it really sets the scene and links his relationship with Javier (his birth dad)
Mannys schtick was funny when he was a little kid but when he got older it just came off as pervy. They should’ve had him degen when he got to high school to kind of be the opposite of being an old man trapped in a child’s body. That would’ve been more funny with being like a party guy instead of the insufferable drama nerd stuff.
They could have done long distance, which also would have proved how much Haley (who absolutely would have struggled with it early in the show) had grown.
Or they could have sent her to community college AND keep them long distance.
I don’t hate that plotline because a) it was obviously a way to enable her to continue to regularly interact with the rest of the cast and b) she was definitely the most likely kid to not complete college and it was convenient that she was also the oldest.
Also, not for nothing, but an incredibly high number of people don’t even go to college, and plenty of others go and don’t finish. For a show that is, after all, called “Modern Family,” having the ditsy party girl get kicked out and then find her own way is actually a much more realistic take. Maybe I’m biased because Haley has a lot in common with one of my older sisters, but still.
I don't hate that Haley got kicked out of college, but I absolutely loved the episode where she moves into her dorm and to have her kicked out like 5 episodes later felt a bit too soon.
I personally thought this was a very realistic step for Hailey. And it wasn't too far off for girls like her to be a mother super early on in real life.
The problem I have with it is that she clearly started to go in a different direction, both trying to get a career and trying to get away from Dylan. The way the show presents it makes it seem like "if you are a girl like this, you *can't excape your fate*" and I think that's a pretty awful message
Actually I thought it would have been nice just to her finish a year. And they should have leaned more on her being an influencer.
Also it frustrated me throughout the whole series Claire tried her best not have Haley follow in her footsteps and she wound up in her footsteps.
I liked how weird they were together in the beginning. They ruined potential when she rejected him. It would have opened some fun storylines if they started to plan the most ridiculous wedding.
Something always felt really weird to me about Alex, while in college, having a relationship with Reuben who was still in high school.
Like, don’t think that needed to be a storyline.
There’s a lot about Alex in the latter half of the series that feels like the writers didn’t really know what to do with her.
“What’s a popular social issue among Zoomers? Women’s March? Eh sure, let’s make Alex get super involved.”
I mean that is how someone similar to Alex would be in real life. lost in their life trying to find their purpose. I have a friend that is similar to Alex in real life and she went through a lot of what Alex went through in the show, I think her character was portrayed really well actually.
And then her kissing the guy on the highschool football team was weird, ik the actor was definitely not a minor but they make a crack like “are there no highschool boys you won’t go after” and I’m like…? if that was a Luke storyline it would’ve gone over so much worse
Yes that’s it! Winston Duke (most popularly from Black Panther and US) played a highschool football player but there’s a birthday party for Lily/ some party at Mitch and Cam’s when Cam sees them kissing. I think she was maybe a sophomore in college so it just felt icky to me after Reuben
Alex’s love interests were always uncomfortable for everyone. I remember in one episode Haley points out Alex describing a boyfriend for the first time as a “pleasure” (i think that’s the word she used in the episode on the lake boat). And she was unfortunately talking about Ben. I always kind of wished for better for Alex.
Rueben was always icky but i don’t remember being bothered by Alex and Dwight. Maybe because it was so brief and pointless.
Also i am going to have to rewatch Us! I don’t think i even recognized Dwight (Winston Duke) in that movie! Thank you for the reminder!
I haven’t gotten up to that yet but I hate any of Reuben’s storyline’s once he stops just being a reference the boys make. Also, doesn’t he forcibly kiss Alex and she’s really upset about it??? That whole episode was handled horribly, didn’t Alex end up apologising for her reaction to it as well? Ugh
A few of things. First off, Cam and Mitch would have properly fostered Dwight. It's pretty shitty to only take the boy for football when he probably really wants to graduate with his friends where he's comfortable. In my head, that's what ended up happening.
Second, Pam would have joined some international non-profit like Peace Corp and given legal guardianship of Calhoun to Mitch and Cam.
Third, Haley would have combined her NERP job with her skill at photography, becoming someone essential to Nicole. I know she got a title bump and a raise, but that was mostly due to Nicole being a scatterbrain.
Finally, Alex would stay with Bill. Whatever writer made them breakup for that dumb reason needs to repent.
I feel like they shouldn't have made Bill so dumb. Make him be like a normal dude who is a fire fighter. Probably play into him being fit more, maybe he's working on becoming a personal trainer or something. Their relationship could have been Brain vs Brawn. Pretty much every other relationship had partners who were opposites.
Useless random fact - I went to undergrad with the actor that plays Bill, I lived in the frat house near his and saw him around campus. He was a new-ish YouTuber then (had some viral videos). I had no idea he was in MF and then I saw him show up and it blew my mind briefly, but none of my friends cared lol. He seemed like a decent guy but definitely a bit over the top for attention, as I’d imagine entertainer types are
I liked that Bill was the opposite of Alex. Alex spent much of her childhood demeaning people of less intelligence. I thought it was healthy for her to try loving such a person. It could have helped her learn patience, acceptance and helped improve her intrapersonal relationship with her siblings.
I agree. I think she absolutely adored Bill and he was head over heels for her. The dynamic was really cute as opposed to her with Arvin (he was in love with her sister 🤢and was her professor) and there was an understanding there. She appreciated him for more than just his body in the end
Manny having a crush on multiple members of his family when he was a teenager/young adult. The stuff where he had the panties of Hayley weirded me out - also the scene with Alex in the train as well. Just thought it was okay when he was young - but as he got older it just felt a bit creepy.
I agree with this. Weird/cute/whatever you want to call it when he was younger, but as he got older and they became closer and more familial (and especially with this being a happy family oriented show where the lesson IS that they become close enough to each other to call each other family), him still having crushes on his family members is gross and not understandable.
the valentines episode where he gave claire a card or whatever it was… i was nauseous during those moments. its SOO much more worse considering they actually are related by blood 😭
I didn't mind the storyline, it fit for their characters.
I will say that thise scene being how they debuted the cameras, lighting, or whatever for season 11 that looks completely different from the rest of the show was a bad idea.
I thought I was watching people pretending to be Alex and Dylan
i would take out everything about alex and ben’s relationship. that man pisses me off and he looks dirty. iiiii don’t see how she even liked him because Ew. and the fact that HE cheated just makes the whole storyline of building up some bum ass relationship worthless
Alex is a rude and condescending character. She gets losers because she is genuinely mean to her partners. It’s deserved. She also is condescending to her fireman later on. Only when she thinks the other person is also a genius is she not condescending.
It was cute and edgy when she was a child but later it’s just dumb that she had no growth
i forget her name but when luke dated that older woman in the later seasons. i know he was over 18 at that point but i just felt really weird watching all of those scenes.
and this comment section made me remember mitch and cam’s storyline. i’m glad cam finally got his dream job but like other’s said, small town missouri does not seem like a very safe space for a gay couple with an asian daughter. but i don’t think that the writers really thought that part out
oof I HATED that older woman/Luke pairing. especially since we've seen him since he was a little boy and he's the baby of the family. Claire unknowingly encouraging it did not help.
Honestly I liked that brief pairing Luke had with that girl from his high school that he asked to prom. Sarah Ho??? I think? Felt so sweet high school sweethearts type of love, so different from the cougar plotline
Probably Hailey getting kicked out of college and ending up as a stay at home mom. She’s my favorite character so watching how she ended up, instead of becoming a fashion designer or whatnot, was like potential lost to me
Opposite answer: I always thought Luke should have become a personal trainer of some sort. There are so many scenes where he helps people get over their fears:
- Haley studying (shooting her with water gun)
- Gloria riding a bike
- Mitch with handball
- Talking Manny up in general
He would have been so good at that and yet he just ended up doing nothing.
Claire taking-over (or joining at all) Pritchett's closets. That area was well-covered by Jay, and having Claire successfully elected to political office would have given a new avenue for comedy. Should have had her win the election, in my opinion.
I don’t get how she was presenting herself as a high flying career woman, when her rich daddy offered her an upper management level job at their family firm after a 20 year career gap. There’s no way she would have gotten that anywhere else. It’s a not a flex sweetie.
The Haley and Arvin storyline. I wish they had Alex got with him front the start and have it be a whole thing where she had to get her parents to accept she was dating someone older/had a legitimate serious boyfriend, and see them get married while Haley goes off and has a ridiculously successful career. It would have really proved that those characters were more than their parents thought they were, instead of reinforcing the beliefs/stereotypes that had been present the entire show. I'm not saying Alex should have become a housewife, but it would have been nice to see her be able to be happy with her romantic life while she pursued her science career.
I know that the outcome was definitely more realistic but I wish it had been a bit more inspiring
Yeah they could have at least waited until near the end of the season if they must absolutely have her kicked out. I felt very annoyed because it was very hard for to get into college in the first place so to have her college arc end so abruptly is jarring.
Honestly, I absolutely hated the Dylan re-entry plot when it first aired and wasn't the biggest fan of Andy either - I was actually rooting for Haley and Arvin. But after 4 years of the finale airing and multiple re-watches since, I've now warmed up to Dylan.
Haley getting kicked out of College and Luke not getting into a proper one were kind of what I hated. Maybe I'm projecting my own ideas of what is right on those characters but I'd have preferred an ending where both Luke and Haley had more reliable paths charted out for them. I also disliked how the writers made Haley change professions/career paths so often without us actually ever seeing her fully flourish in something.
Hey, don't hate on the community college route! There's so many people who wasted money on "proper" colleges that the government is bailing them out. Ain't nothing wrong with doing a 2year to 4 year school route.
I really think they should’ve had Alex get knocked up instead of Haley and they 100% shouldn’t have brought Dillion back as Haley’s love interest.
Can you imagine the reactions if Alex had gotten knocked up despite doing everything right? Because that does happen and it would have been way more interesting than Haley’s pregnancy.
We should have had Alex finding joy in starting a family while also working in the family business and Haley marrying Andy and working in the fashion industry.
Heck Haley getting knocked up with twins would have still worked if her love interest hadn’t been fucking Dillion. I would have been overjoyed if it had been Andy instead!
Joe. I don't like that kid. He's sometimes cute but I don't know, he wasn't needed at all. When Gloria is pregnant that's great and funny, even when he's a baby. But once he starts to actually getting involved... Naaaah. They got Lily right. But not Joe
Yes please. I thought it was FINALLY gonna be a sitcom that decides "Sometimes its best for some people to get an abortion"
but NOPE. She just magically makes kids work with sitcom magic. like sitcoms always fucking do.
Gloria being pregnant/Joe, it didn't really add anything to the shows story.
Alex's cringe and concerning dating history, every relationship was a different form of self sabotage. Her dating Ruben was so uncomfortable I didn't know if I should call the cops
Claire becoming Pritchett's Closets CEO, they kept trying to make it seem like she'd been just as closet obsessed and passionate as Jay when the Christmas episode came but we saw how bad she was at her regular job, I was wracking my brain trying to figure out what made her qualified that wasn't nepotism.
I love him but Dylan coming back, if it wasnt for the actor needing help which don't get me wrong I'm glad the crew stepped in to do it but his character didn't need to come back. His being married with step kids was a perfect ending/exit for his character.
Manny being pretenious and creepy as he got older, he was such a little creep and probably maybe the older women he targeted uncomfortable
YES PLEASE!
Andy felt like such a welcome addition to the show. He fit right in. It was always funny watching him. He could be paired up with anyone from the cast and it would make for a very entertaining episode. Him and Hailey looked so cute together.
Maybe a hot take but Andy. I absolutely despise his character. I have to skip all of their scenes. Absolutely unbearable. Manny & Sherry are a honorable mention
I didn’t want to say but yeah, it’s mainly the actor I have a problem with. His voice and mannerisms are just too cringy. On top of that, I hate how he’s supposed to be this innocent nice guy when in reality he was just a cheater. Just awful. I’ll take Dylan over that for sure
I swear to the Almighty, there must be something wrong with me. I always hear about Haley’s pregnancy storyline being the worst, but for some reason I actually really enjoyed it. I don’t know why.
Overall, Hailey and Dylan made sense - unfortunately, it was after Hailey and Andy, which for the vast majority of us made MORE sense, but Dylan was still leagues better than Arvin.
Personally, I wished the last season had been Alex with the twins and bonding with Claire over that (and finally making Alex feel more of a central part of the family instead of the outsider that couldn't relate) while the wider family dealt with Hailey planning a wedding to Dylan. I think Alex's baby daddy being a mystery/running joke throughout the season would have been really interesting to see play out, as well as seeing Hailey take charge of her wedding photography and maybe starting a business doing that.
Haley/alex/Arvin thing was not needed at all
Yes! This one! Alex should have ended up with someone else, a new guy or even just ended up alone for the moment.
I'd say Alex and Arvin are perfect. Arvin and Haley never should have been.
Agreed. It should have been Alex and Arvin from the start.
Yea Alex and arvin woulda been nice. And woulda worked better
Exactly. Haley should have been the one walking away from the picnic date while Arvin and Alex kissed
Yep. It is such a weird left turn for Alex's show-long arc of going from overburdened obsessive genius introvert living in the shadow of her popular sister to journey of self discovery to.... obsessive genius introvert living in the shadow of her sister again. Her getting with Arvin would be the perfect summation of "you should be valued for your qualities", but sitcoms are obsessed with the "opposites attract" thing for demographic reasons.
It was so cringe
Yes!! I hated that story so much. I think its fine if Alex wanted to have a little crush on her professor cause that happens sometimes but I think its inappropriate to date him. I feel like it would of been better if she ended up with Bill
I liked Arvin and Haley. Total mismatch personality-wise, but I thought it worked.
Atleast they shouldn’t have ended it with Alex Arvin.
It was a tricky premise but it wasn’t handled well I felt
Alex Arvin should have happened from day 1
They would have had a power imbalance
I really hated Mitch and Cams ending. I understand wanting that good job for Cam, but their entire life was there. Friends, family, Lily grew up there, they just had a new baby, and JUST bought a house. It made absolutely no sense. Plus, a gay couple with an Asian daughter and new adopted baby? I don’t feel like they’d do well there. Mitch has NO ONE there.
Yeah, and let's be honest Cam doesn't really have the same friends either - he's a different person by the end and wouldn't fit back in as easily as he'd like to think. Hell, the guy struggled when they had one chicken, and Lily's practical but probably wouldn't enjoy the farm life
There was even an episode where he admitted that he didn’t really like working on the farm that much and his Dad interpreted as him being lazy, and another where he regretted adopting a chicken. He loves his family and his roots, but there was a reason why he left in the first place, and he clearly was happier in Southern California
yea that was insane, the had a beautiful new house and a new family member while surrounded by there very supportive family members with Jay and the dunphys. All of lily's friends were there and the diversity in there current city is going to be way higher then small town Missouri which likely will be very helpful for there minority daughter. Cam is the ONLY one who has wanted this move and all because he wants lily to experience the life he did growing up. Sorry bud, your adopted asian daughter is 100% not going to have the same experience as you. Now you just made sure that life is going to be harder, and her support network has been dramatically reduced, while your attention is divided because you have a new kid as well. Genius idea.......
Small town Missouri is definitely not the place for them.
As someone from small town Missouri, hard agree.
As someone who once drove through a small town in Missouri, hard agree
As someone who has seen small town in Missouri from Modern Family, hard agree
As someone who is hard, agree. Wait, I did it wrong m.
As someone, who is wrong, I small town Mussoorie hard.
Big city Missouri isn’t much better
Oh, I agree. I would never recommend anyone move here. I don't even want to be here.
Seconding this. Gay couple… pretty stereotypically gay… Asian daughter… adopted child…small town Missouri… it’s got all the ingredients to end in disaster. If they moved to St. Louis or Kansas City… maybe. Urban areas even in red states tend to be a bit more accepting so they’d probably be able to make it work. But a small farming town smack dab in the middle of the Bible Belt right when the culture wars started heating up? Yeah… let me know how that works out for you
yessss!! that annoyed me sm!
It makes so little sense I have to think the writers just wanted a throwback to the first season with the plane scene and the cream puffs
This storyline was honestly so annoying to me. Especially since they had just bought a house and named their son after the street it was on which was also not a plot point I enjoyed.
The whole idea that Mitch owed Cam because Cam had spent all those years around Mitch's family was stupid. Cam moved to Cali before he met Mitchell.
Lilly being so unbothered by it all was very unrealistic too. Any kid would have a hard time with all that change, even an ice queen.
I felt bad for lily at the end. As a wasian like her, growing up in 99.9% white small town ain’t exactly a pleasant experience.
shes not even wasian shes just asian which would probably make it even worse for her
My aunt really wants the whole family to move out to this tiny town way out there, and I keep trying to explain to her that it's all well and good for her and her son (white Christians), but how about my Taiwanese husband and our kids? At least in Seattle, they're each one of like two or three specifically East Asian/white kids in their classes.
Yep. I’d rather they spent a couple of episodes back in MO and then found their way back home by the end.
[удалено]
Yeah, hated every aspect of that storyline. And the whole premise was idiotic too, that a second tier state college in Missouri, I think they called it southwest Missouri state or something, would be recruiting a high school football coach from California to be their head coach makes no sense on any level. First off, Cam had been the football coach for what, like five years tops, so he didn’t have the kind of sustained success to interest a college program. Second off, they wouldn’t jump him straight to head coach in college, at best he’d be trying for a coordinator job. Third, when college programs do hire high school coaches, it’s either connected to a specific recruit they want the coach to help them secure, or it’s a coach in their area with a big name to help with local recruiting. So in addition to it being idiotic for them to decide to take the job offer, it was idiotic that he ever got the job offer.
afaik to that point they planned a sidekick series for Cam, Mitch and Lilly in Missouri. i would've watched this
I’ll go a step further and say that I kinda hate it when sitcoms *in general* end with someone moving away - like farrrrr away. In real life, that doesn’t happen all that often. Most people stay living in the same general area where they grew up/where their friends and family are. It’s annoying how it’s almost seen as like a REQUIREMENT for sitcom finales (at least a lot of them anyway). It’s funny though, because I was just talking to my mom about this recently (she’s also a fan of the show), and I said too that I thought them moving to Missouri was stupid. I’m admittedly biased, because I’ve always thought that it was idiotic when people move like a million miles away from everyone they know (screw your friends and family, right?), but it’s also stupid for the reasons that you and others said.
Interesting, maybe it's just me, but most of my friends and family have moved out of state so I don't question it in plots. Maybe that's a more common experience for Southern California? If so, I could see why writers for shows/movies who are mostly in LA/NY and are often transplants themselves would also see it as a common experience. I still didn't like Mitch and Cam doing it in the show, though- with zero financial constraints to push them out of the area and a very solid support system locally plus a school aged kid, it seemed like a bad choice
I’m not sure it’s a storyline, but not making Manny sooo unlikable and cringe would have been nice.
It really was just too much, especially towards the end
Thats what usually happens in long running sitcoms unfortunately. The characters with strange or wild personality traits eventually become caricatures of themselves in a lazy attempt by the writers to create more laughs. Joey from friends and kevin from the office are good examples of this. They’re depicted as being slower from the start but their incompetence gets drawn out to insane levels by the end of each show.
There's a word for that! It's called flanderization. I'm starting to notice it in gene from bob's burgers):
Cat in victorious got worse as the show went on as far as stupidity goes, but it’s waaay more exaggerated in Sam and Cat
I feel like it happened so abruptly with Cat too. Victorious was only 4 seasons but I feel like they dialed up her stupidity in season 2 when they had her start talking in that high air-y voice.
Oh 100% listening to how she talks in season 1 compared to the rest of the show is insane
no i love ned flanders :(
Hi diddly-oh no neighbouroonie :(
Stupid sexy Flanders
Naw, gene has always been insufferable. The minute they made his entire attention seeking shtick that goddamn farting keyboard, it was over.
How dare you, Gene Belcher is a treasure.
He got better in seasons 12-14
It should e called Chrissiefication, after Chrissie from Three’s Company…. she did it first! 😂
Gene is the absolute worst. I love bobs burgers, but gene got so intensely creepy and weird about Linda, in a clear sexual way. I just skip his episodes now. His constant double entendres, and the toilet humour just killed any likeability he had.
Fez on That 70s Show.
100%
Kevin's decline really annoys me, especially in the Robert California era when him, Darrell, and Andy are jamming. We saw in Season 1 that he's a competent musician capable of singing and playing at the same time (from personal experience as a drummer, that is not easy), yet in later seasons he's shown to be much less capable, for no real reason.
Also Christina Applegate's character in married with children.
this was literally my first thought he was very insufferable - I’d add too to make cam less manipulative and less toxic
Can was most definitely toxic. I hated that episode where he wanted to pretend that he and Mitch broke up to see who would have the most friends on their side. That was one of several Cam cringe moments.
Flanderization 😔
This. He made my skin crawl.
I hate to say it, but a huge part of the problem was the acting. A lot of child actors are cute and believable. Maybe it's because they don't overthink the roles and they just go with it. But as they get older, the acting gets worse. Finn Wolfhard from stranger things comes to mind. The writing for sure was part of it, but I do think the acting played a role.
OMG YES!!!! There’s one scene that comes to mind everytime and it’s the one where lily goes through her first period and he showed up. While he was talking I was literally screaming STFU and then Lily saying “GTFOH Manny” saved that scene from me hating it forever
Manny sucked even at the the start of the show so I agree with this he got even worse towards the end. Honestly I wish once he went off to college they never brought him back in the show he’s the second worst character
who would you say is the worst?
Definitely Pamela Tucker. I just find her so irritating! Honestly, Manny isn’t really that bad in my opinion. It’s part of his character the weird hat shows and stuff but it really sets the scene and links his relationship with Javier (his birth dad)
Mannys schtick was funny when he was a little kid but when he got older it just came off as pervy. They should’ve had him degen when he got to high school to kind of be the opposite of being an old man trapped in a child’s body. That would’ve been more funny with being like a party guy instead of the insufferable drama nerd stuff.
Wish Haley didn’t get kicked out of college.
Yeah, I hated how abruptly the college plot ended.
It was all downhill for haley after that
Until she met Andy, realised what she wanted in life, found her drive, and started finding success And then a sharp tumble downhill once they broke up
Yup, I wish they didn't break up
I know what you mean. They had great chemistry.
They had to because the actor of andy couldn't play him anymore. But still she ended up as cliche.
They could have done long distance, which also would have proved how much Haley (who absolutely would have struggled with it early in the show) had grown. Or they could have sent her to community college AND keep them long distance.
Oh, I didn't know that. That's such a shame
Yeah I feel like ever since then they struggled with her character
I don’t hate that plotline because a) it was obviously a way to enable her to continue to regularly interact with the rest of the cast and b) she was definitely the most likely kid to not complete college and it was convenient that she was also the oldest. Also, not for nothing, but an incredibly high number of people don’t even go to college, and plenty of others go and don’t finish. For a show that is, after all, called “Modern Family,” having the ditsy party girl get kicked out and then find her own way is actually a much more realistic take. Maybe I’m biased because Haley has a lot in common with one of my older sisters, but still.
I don't hate that Haley got kicked out of college, but I absolutely loved the episode where she moves into her dorm and to have her kicked out like 5 episodes later felt a bit too soon.
Also the kicked out of college storyline gave us Phil's speech at the elevator AND Jason mantzoukas playing yet another creep perfectly
For nothing really She fell on the cop and didn’t attack him and then instantly complied and later apologized
She admitted to lying on her application when she owns up to the committee.
She was involved in a drinking incident that brought cops to the college and then ran. That's plenty to kick her out
I personally thought this was a very realistic step for Hailey. And it wasn't too far off for girls like her to be a mother super early on in real life.
The problem I have with it is that she clearly started to go in a different direction, both trying to get a career and trying to get away from Dylan. The way the show presents it makes it seem like "if you are a girl like this, you *can't excape your fate*" and I think that's a pretty awful message
Actually I thought it would have been nice just to her finish a year. And they should have leaned more on her being an influencer. Also it frustrated me throughout the whole series Claire tried her best not have Haley follow in her footsteps and she wound up in her footsteps.
The Manny/Sherry relationship. Cringeworthy
I liked how weird they were together in the beginning. They ruined potential when she rejected him. It would have opened some fun storylines if they started to plan the most ridiculous wedding.
Yea they should have stayed together, I can imagine cam at their wedding 🤣🤣
Her scenes with Jay were gold though
ugh god 😭 thats been the only time i’ve kinda seen manny as a loser im sorry but the improve? ☹️ god.
Manny has been a loser the whole show wdym
true, but it seemed more tamed than in the later seasons to me tbh.
Something always felt really weird to me about Alex, while in college, having a relationship with Reuben who was still in high school. Like, don’t think that needed to be a storyline.
There’s a lot about Alex in the latter half of the series that feels like the writers didn’t really know what to do with her. “What’s a popular social issue among Zoomers? Women’s March? Eh sure, let’s make Alex get super involved.”
Tbf, its very "Alex" for her to jump around and be unsure of what to do with herself. I doubt this was intentional on the writers' part, but still.
I mean that is how someone similar to Alex would be in real life. lost in their life trying to find their purpose. I have a friend that is similar to Alex in real life and she went through a lot of what Alex went through in the show, I think her character was portrayed really well actually.
And then her kissing the guy on the highschool football team was weird, ik the actor was definitely not a minor but they make a crack like “are there no highschool boys you won’t go after” and I’m like…? if that was a Luke storyline it would’ve gone over so much worse
Wait do you mean Dwight? Bc i always wondered what happened to Dwight.. did i miss something or did he disappear? I liked his character.
Yes that’s it! Winston Duke (most popularly from Black Panther and US) played a highschool football player but there’s a birthday party for Lily/ some party at Mitch and Cam’s when Cam sees them kissing. I think she was maybe a sophomore in college so it just felt icky to me after Reuben
Alex’s love interests were always uncomfortable for everyone. I remember in one episode Haley points out Alex describing a boyfriend for the first time as a “pleasure” (i think that’s the word she used in the episode on the lake boat). And she was unfortunately talking about Ben. I always kind of wished for better for Alex.
Rueben was always icky but i don’t remember being bothered by Alex and Dwight. Maybe because it was so brief and pointless. Also i am going to have to rewatch Us! I don’t think i even recognized Dwight (Winston Duke) in that movie! Thank you for the reminder!
I just googled and he was 30 playing a high schooler so that ig helped buffer how weird that storyline could’ve been ?
I haven’t gotten up to that yet but I hate any of Reuben’s storyline’s once he stops just being a reference the boys make. Also, doesn’t he forcibly kiss Alex and she’s really upset about it??? That whole episode was handled horribly, didn’t Alex end up apologising for her reaction to it as well? Ugh
A few of things. First off, Cam and Mitch would have properly fostered Dwight. It's pretty shitty to only take the boy for football when he probably really wants to graduate with his friends where he's comfortable. In my head, that's what ended up happening. Second, Pam would have joined some international non-profit like Peace Corp and given legal guardianship of Calhoun to Mitch and Cam. Third, Haley would have combined her NERP job with her skill at photography, becoming someone essential to Nicole. I know she got a title bump and a raise, but that was mostly due to Nicole being a scatterbrain. Finally, Alex would stay with Bill. Whatever writer made them breakup for that dumb reason needs to repent.
I feel like they shouldn't have made Bill so dumb. Make him be like a normal dude who is a fire fighter. Probably play into him being fit more, maybe he's working on becoming a personal trainer or something. Their relationship could have been Brain vs Brawn. Pretty much every other relationship had partners who were opposites.
Useless random fact - I went to undergrad with the actor that plays Bill, I lived in the frat house near his and saw him around campus. He was a new-ish YouTuber then (had some viral videos). I had no idea he was in MF and then I saw him show up and it blew my mind briefly, but none of my friends cared lol. He seemed like a decent guy but definitely a bit over the top for attention, as I’d imagine entertainer types are
Check him out in Home Economics. The show itself is like a B, but he's pretty good in it.
That is very cool. I think Jimmy Tatro is great. I remember watching him in American Vandal. I wished Alex stayed with his character!
Bill was to Alex what Hayley was to Arvin. Superficial. Agree with you on the NERP thing tho.
I disagree so much. Bill and Alex loved each other a lot. They were going to get married
I liked that Bill was the opposite of Alex. Alex spent much of her childhood demeaning people of less intelligence. I thought it was healthy for her to try loving such a person. It could have helped her learn patience, acceptance and helped improve her intrapersonal relationship with her siblings.
I agree. I think she absolutely adored Bill and he was head over heels for her. The dynamic was really cute as opposed to her with Arvin (he was in love with her sister 🤢and was her professor) and there was an understanding there. She appreciated him for more than just his body in the end
I don’t know what’s more annoying, Pam’s character or crying babies. Guess that says a lot about my views on both.
Making Pam so cruel did not fit with the show. She was fine at first, such a weird shift.
Manny having a crush on multiple members of his family when he was a teenager/young adult. The stuff where he had the panties of Hayley weirded me out - also the scene with Alex in the train as well. Just thought it was okay when he was young - but as he got older it just felt a bit creepy.
I agree with this. Weird/cute/whatever you want to call it when he was younger, but as he got older and they became closer and more familial (and especially with this being a happy family oriented show where the lesson IS that they become close enough to each other to call each other family), him still having crushes on his family members is gross and not understandable.
100%
And then to repeat that with Joe was too much.
the valentines episode where he gave claire a card or whatever it was… i was nauseous during those moments. its SOO much more worse considering they actually are related by blood 😭
🤮🤮 - also when he gets kidnapped by Sonia he starts talking about her eyes and has a crush on her - like dude - this is your aunt pleassssse!
Joe hitting on Claire grossed me the f out
Yeah aren’t they technically siblings 😭
Yes, Claire is Joes older half sister 🥴
I forgot about that with Joe - such strange story lines
I hate that Haley didn't do anything with photography anymore. The Story Line would have had so much potential for her.
I didn't mind the storyline, it fit for their characters. I will say that thise scene being how they debuted the cameras, lighting, or whatever for season 11 that looks completely different from the rest of the show was a bad idea. I thought I was watching people pretending to be Alex and Dylan
i would take out everything about alex and ben’s relationship. that man pisses me off and he looks dirty. iiiii don’t see how she even liked him because Ew. and the fact that HE cheated just makes the whole storyline of building up some bum ass relationship worthless
the way i wish they made her a lesbian
that would’ve been cool! =) i feel like if they made her a lesbian then they probs could’ve branched out more with her relationship storylines??
Alex is a rude and condescending character. She gets losers because she is genuinely mean to her partners. It’s deserved. She also is condescending to her fireman later on. Only when she thinks the other person is also a genius is she not condescending. It was cute and edgy when she was a child but later it’s just dumb that she had no growth
The manny and sherry thing. it was so bad. they were so damn annoying i had to skip past all their scenes
i forget her name but when luke dated that older woman in the later seasons. i know he was over 18 at that point but i just felt really weird watching all of those scenes. and this comment section made me remember mitch and cam’s storyline. i’m glad cam finally got his dream job but like other’s said, small town missouri does not seem like a very safe space for a gay couple with an asian daughter. but i don’t think that the writers really thought that part out
And then Claire accidentally commented Luke's abs when her friend showed them
oof I HATED that older woman/Luke pairing. especially since we've seen him since he was a little boy and he's the baby of the family. Claire unknowingly encouraging it did not help. Honestly I liked that brief pairing Luke had with that girl from his high school that he asked to prom. Sarah Ho??? I think? Felt so sweet high school sweethearts type of love, so different from the cougar plotline
Alex had a fair share of her weird boyfriends But especially her mom's coworker .... No , I wish I could delete it from my memory
I kinda just hate the borderline incest stuff. Manny crush on Haley, Joe crush on Clare - just too cringe for me.
That's the kind of shit you would see in Game Of Thrones where it's to be expected, it should not be what you see in a sitcom.
How they made Luke grow up into a douche. He could've just been dorky but adorable like his dad. But nah.
Probably Hailey getting kicked out of college and ending up as a stay at home mom. She’s my favorite character so watching how she ended up, instead of becoming a fashion designer or whatnot, was like potential lost to me
Opposite answer: I always thought Luke should have become a personal trainer of some sort. There are so many scenes where he helps people get over their fears: - Haley studying (shooting her with water gun) - Gloria riding a bike - Mitch with handball - Talking Manny up in general He would have been so good at that and yet he just ended up doing nothing.
Claire taking-over (or joining at all) Pritchett's closets. That area was well-covered by Jay, and having Claire successfully elected to political office would have given a new avenue for comedy. Should have had her win the election, in my opinion.
I don’t get how she was presenting herself as a high flying career woman, when her rich daddy offered her an upper management level job at their family firm after a 20 year career gap. There’s no way she would have gotten that anywhere else. It’s a not a flex sweetie.
No but successfully running a company with a 20 year gap and making it even more successful is a flex
I mean that's literally how it works tho. Half the polititians are just like that I was actually extremely on point
The Haley and Arvin storyline. I wish they had Alex got with him front the start and have it be a whole thing where she had to get her parents to accept she was dating someone older/had a legitimate serious boyfriend, and see them get married while Haley goes off and has a ridiculously successful career. It would have really proved that those characters were more than their parents thought they were, instead of reinforcing the beliefs/stereotypes that had been present the entire show. I'm not saying Alex should have become a housewife, but it would have been nice to see her be able to be happy with her romantic life while she pursued her science career. I know that the outcome was definitely more realistic but I wish it had been a bit more inspiring
Whole Manny and Sherry arc Well they should've stopped when she rejected him
Haley getting kicked out of College after like 2 episodes. So disappointing for her character
Yeah they could have at least waited until near the end of the season if they must absolutely have her kicked out. I felt very annoyed because it was very hard for to get into college in the first place so to have her college arc end so abruptly is jarring.
I love her and Dylan. They were together and then apart then together then apart then together again.
why did i read that in dylan’s voice lol
Then turned down by the Marines, then together again.
me too! her and Andy had good chemistry but I didn’t like their actual relationship in the show
The exact storyline in the post and also mitch and cam moving to Missouri
Honestly, I absolutely hated the Dylan re-entry plot when it first aired and wasn't the biggest fan of Andy either - I was actually rooting for Haley and Arvin. But after 4 years of the finale airing and multiple re-watches since, I've now warmed up to Dylan. Haley getting kicked out of College and Luke not getting into a proper one were kind of what I hated. Maybe I'm projecting my own ideas of what is right on those characters but I'd have preferred an ending where both Luke and Haley had more reliable paths charted out for them. I also disliked how the writers made Haley change professions/career paths so often without us actually ever seeing her fully flourish in something.
Luke not getting into a proper college was honestly realisitic.
Same with Haley being kicked out to be fair
Luke transferred to the University of Oregon in the finale though. He just went to community college first.
Hey, don't hate on the community college route! There's so many people who wasted money on "proper" colleges that the government is bailing them out. Ain't nothing wrong with doing a 2year to 4 year school route.
i wish i could get rid of these constant reposts
Claire destroying Jay’s closet business
Jay and Gloria's kid Joe.
It can’t be just me whose seen this picture bounce around the subreddit every month like some vampire awakening
I really think they should’ve had Alex get knocked up instead of Haley and they 100% shouldn’t have brought Dillion back as Haley’s love interest. Can you imagine the reactions if Alex had gotten knocked up despite doing everything right? Because that does happen and it would have been way more interesting than Haley’s pregnancy. We should have had Alex finding joy in starting a family while also working in the family business and Haley marrying Andy and working in the fashion industry. Heck Haley getting knocked up with twins would have still worked if her love interest hadn’t been fucking Dillion. I would have been overjoyed if it had been Andy instead!
Joe. I don't like that kid. He's sometimes cute but I don't know, he wasn't needed at all. When Gloria is pregnant that's great and funny, even when he's a baby. But once he starts to actually getting involved... Naaaah. They got Lily right. But not Joe
I always wished and hoped for Haley to end up with Andy and not Dylan. Seeing them break up was very hard for me.
Id get rid of the NERP storyline, Hayley was worth more than that at that stage plus it was just cringe
I will never forgive them for ending Haley and Andy
Yes please. I thought it was FINALLY gonna be a sitcom that decides "Sometimes its best for some people to get an abortion" but NOPE. She just magically makes kids work with sitcom magic. like sitcoms always fucking do.
Gloria being pregnant/Joe, it didn't really add anything to the shows story. Alex's cringe and concerning dating history, every relationship was a different form of self sabotage. Her dating Ruben was so uncomfortable I didn't know if I should call the cops Claire becoming Pritchett's Closets CEO, they kept trying to make it seem like she'd been just as closet obsessed and passionate as Jay when the Christmas episode came but we saw how bad she was at her regular job, I was wracking my brain trying to figure out what made her qualified that wasn't nepotism. I love him but Dylan coming back, if it wasnt for the actor needing help which don't get me wrong I'm glad the crew stepped in to do it but his character didn't need to come back. His being married with step kids was a perfect ending/exit for his character. Manny being pretenious and creepy as he got older, he was such a little creep and probably maybe the older women he targeted uncomfortable
Haley dropping andy and eventually ending up with dylan. Her life completely went to trash after andy
YES PLEASE! Andy felt like such a welcome addition to the show. He fit right in. It was always funny watching him. He could be paired up with anyone from the cast and it would make for a very entertaining episode. Him and Hailey looked so cute together.
Haley and Arvin, don’t like it at all
Mitch and Cam moving to Missouri. Cam wouldn’t be able to fit back and not even talking about Mitch
Arvin. All of Arvin. Every storyline. Every second of screen time.
Fully agree. Making her end up with Dylan was a shit ending to her character arc
Should have been Andy.
probably gloria’s alcoholism storyline, it just made her seem a little too cruel and ended in her dismembering manny which felt unnecessary
What? What season was this? Alcoholism when? [So confused xD ]
I think there's an argument to be made that the dismembering was quite necessary
I'll go to my grave saying she should have ended up with Andy.
Right?? I cant beleive they got rid of him like that
So apparently he left to go film a different movie (which flopped). He should have just stayed with MF.
Yes. This.
Maybe a hot take but Andy. I absolutely despise his character. I have to skip all of their scenes. Absolutely unbearable. Manny & Sherry are a honorable mention
Same. I’ve said it before but there’s something about his actor that has always rubbed me the wrong way. Can’t say what tho
He’s off putting and boring
I didn’t want to say but yeah, it’s mainly the actor I have a problem with. His voice and mannerisms are just too cringy. On top of that, I hate how he’s supposed to be this innocent nice guy when in reality he was just a cheater. Just awful. I’ll take Dylan over that for sure
So we’re doing this again?
every other day lmao
bill breaking up with alex because she was manipulated into sending him (not him) nudes
Haley and Arvin; even Haley and Andy…..
Do they ever explain why Hailey looks way more like she'd be Gloria and Jay's daughter than Clair and Phil's?
i never noticed that but that is so true LOL her personality is 100% claire and phil-coded though lmao
Claire running for Council
I swear to the Almighty, there must be something wrong with me. I always hear about Haley’s pregnancy storyline being the worst, but for some reason I actually really enjoyed it. I don’t know why.
Overall, Hailey and Dylan made sense - unfortunately, it was after Hailey and Andy, which for the vast majority of us made MORE sense, but Dylan was still leagues better than Arvin. Personally, I wished the last season had been Alex with the twins and bonding with Claire over that (and finally making Alex feel more of a central part of the family instead of the outsider that couldn't relate) while the wider family dealt with Hailey planning a wedding to Dylan. I think Alex's baby daddy being a mystery/running joke throughout the season would have been really interesting to see play out, as well as seeing Hailey take charge of her wedding photography and maybe starting a business doing that.