I know I’ve said it before, but I’m “over the moon” for Phil Dunphy. How did such a loving, sweet man end up with such a crazy, at-times unappreciative family? When the Dunphys’ next-door neighbor Walt died unexpectedly, only Phil’s reaction to the news resonated with me. From Claire’s weird coping mechanism in which she delivered the news of his death with a creepy Joker-esque grin on her face to Luke’s looting of his television set, both of their reactions felt odd and unnatural to me.
The theme of this week’s Modern Family titled “The Last Walt” seemed to be more about exploring the various relationships between children and their fathers, from Walt and his estranged daughter to Phil and Alex, Jay and Mitch and Cam and his father, Merle, portrayed by guest-star Barry Corbin. Maybe there is no such thing as the perfect father-child relationship. Maybe it’s an ongoing process involving give and take.
While Phil may not be the brightest dad in the crayon box, he is probably the most sincere because he tries so hard and seems to care so deeply (especially when compared to gruffer dads like Jay and Cam’s dad). I was truly touched by him wanting to create a perfect day of bonding with Alex so she would remember him as a wonderful father. As a girl who grew up never knowing my father because he was fatally shot when my mother was three months pregnant with me, Phil is the embodiment of my ideal dad – everything I hoped my dad would’ve been if given the chance here on Earth.
I had never heard the story of Apollo 17 astronaut Eugene Cernan prior to this episode, or if I had, I didn’t commit it to memory. Coming from a person who wanted to be an astronaut from first-fifth grade and who would still love to have a star named for her, this is a surprising admission. I learned about his touching tribute in the following conversation between Alex and Phil during their father/daughter day:
Alex: “Dad, why are you acting like this? Is this about Walt dying?”
Phil: “No, it’s about what he didn’t do when he was alive: have a special bond with his daughter. I don’t want to be that kind of dad. I want to be Eugene Cernan.”
Alex: “Who’s Eugene Cernan?”
Phil: “Apollo 17 astronaut. Last man on the moon. Coolest dad of all time. When he was leaving the moon, he reached down and wrote his daughter’s initials into the lunar surface. Since there’s no atmosphere…”
Alex: “They’ll be there forever. Wow, so every time she looks in the sky she’ll know there’s a message just for her.”
Phil: “Exactly. That’s why dads everywhere hate Eugene Cernan.”
Sighs. I think that’s one of the grandest and most creative gestures of love I’ve ever heard of and I’m really envious of that guy’s daughter. I was also envious of Alex, as Phil scrawled her initials in the Moonbeam Diner’s moon logo. It may not withstand the sands of time as distinctly as the initials on the lunar surface and it wasn’t even clear whether or not Alex saw him do it, but that is a moment of television history I will never forget witnessing.
Memorable Quotes:
Phil: “I think we should break it to him slowly. First we’d say, ‘Luke, your friend Walt has a cold. You shouldn’t go over there.’ Next day: ‘Bad news. Walt’s in the hospital but he’s still crackin’ jokes with the nurses.’ Next day: ‘They’re trying an experimental drug. Fingers crossed.’ Next day: ‘His body rebelled. He’s in a coma.’ Next day he rallies. Next day: coma. Next day: coma. Next day: coma. Next day: eye flutter.”
Phil: “It happened yesterday. He finished writing an angry letter to the Post Master General and he just fell asleep. It was very peaceful. Not the letter, that was full of threats.”
Claire (about Luke & Walt): “That is so sweet and so sad. Wow, he’s so much more sensitive than I ever thought. They had a special bond. I wouldn’t be surprised if one day he wrote a book like Tuesdays with Morrie.”
Phil: “I never read it. Did that guy steal Morrie’s TV?”
Jay (about Cam’s dad): “I’ll tell you why I don’t like that guy and I could never say this to Mitch. He treats my son like the wife in the relationship. Always has.”
Phil: “You can’t expect me to see a sign that says ‘World’s Greatest Milkshake: 50 Miles’ and not drive to it.”
Phil: “I just wanted a special day with my daughter, you know. Like the time we gave an old man a dramatic send-off at the beach. Or…or the time we drove 100 miles for the world’s greatest milkshake. … The time we delivered a baby. We were the only ones there. She was so close. The sound of a pin dropping could induce labor.”
Mitch: “That’s so funny. What did your dad not like about my dad?”
Cam: “Oh, well you know Jay. He’s a teddy bear but sometimes he can kinda come off as a tough guy.”
Mitch: “Yeah, that’s true.”
Cam: “As an actual tough guy, you can kinda see how that would rub my dad the wrong way.”
Mitch: “Huh, I could see that, but you know, my dad’s actually pretty tough himself, so.”
Cam: “Oh yeah, city tough. You know, not farm tough.”
Mitch: “Uh-huh. You mean cities where there are gangs, as opposed to farms where there are ducks.”
Clacked by Kim Tibbs
on Apr 19, 2012 @ 18:38 EST5EDT
