With Claire immersed in a ridiculous competition with Jay over their respective boy's school project, Phil called on Gloria to help him with an important seminar for his new position on "Modern Family" (Wed., 9 p.m. EST on ABC). But while Phil seemed content to practice over and over again with Gloria and Haley to make sure everything went off perfectly, the girls figured they had it. Instead, they decided to get their hair and nails done.
Unfortunately, Gloria parked in a no parking zone and her car was towed while they were inside, leaving them stranded at the salon, and Phil stranded at the seminar. Forced to introduce himself, things seemed to actually be working in his favor. But Haley forgot to put the coupon under a chair to determine the winner of a free mousepad, which caused some problems, and Gloria wasn't the plant in the audience set up to ask Phil a "key" question.
So he improvised, and the presentation was ultimately a disaster. Would it have worked with the girls in attendance? It looked pretty shaky regardless, but it was definitely a mess without them. When they finally showed up, Gloria took the blame to let Haley off the hook. But then she got upset when Phil refused to get mad at her -- as she sees yelling at one another as a sign of familial love -- she she pushed him until he was yelling, which made her happy and him even more confused.
It was real progress in their relationship, as Haley was right to say that Phil had been putting her on a pedestal. He even literally put her on one this week. Maybe this fight will help them grow closer, just as Claire and Jay fighting and competing over the school project brought them closer.
Watch "Modern Family" every Wednesday at 9 p.m. EST on ABC.
TV Replay scours the vast television landscape to find the most interesting, amusing, and, on a good day, amazing moments, and delivers them right to your browser.