"Monsterating"

So, you may have noticed that I haven't really been doing the episode recapping like I used to. There are a few reasons for this; one, that recapping is totally a time drain because I have to watch the episode multiple times, and two, that I've been more interested in focusing on broader-picture stuff ever since the Glee Christmas episode brutally murdered the recapper in me. It's not that there aren't episodes that I'd love to talk about - I'm planning a post on this turbulent season of How I Met Your Mother in the coming weeks - I just often don't have the time or energy. But this week's episode of Modern Family was one of the worst of the entire series, and included all of my main issues with the show, so it will not be ignored and we're gonna talk about it RIGHT NOW. Because REALLY???!!! Try to at least pretend like you deserve all those awards.

To begin with, though, let's throw out a positive. One of my main complaints about Modern Family used to be Manny. He was so overly precocious and grossly sexualized and given waaaaaay too much screen time. This problem has been fixed this season (probably in response to critics, because I know I'm not the only one who felt this way), with Manny taking more of a backseat and acting more like a regular-yet-unique preteen. A good move on the writers' part, because it allows him to play the straight man against more insouciant characters like Luke and Gloria. So props are to be had for this adjustment.

And that is the only good thing I have to say.

"I'm gonna miss you, you know."

So, Tomorrowland. Wow. This episode blew me away. This is what we've been waiting four long years for...to see Don Draper absolutely, authentically happy. At the beginning of this season, I wrote that "I doubt Don Draper has ever asked himself what he really wants." Thankfully, since this ended up being the season of "what I want versus what's expected of me", we got Don Draper asking himself that question and, miracle of miracles, finding the right answer.

It is a testament to Jon Hamm's superb acting abilities that I was able to actually watch Don fall in love with Megan and realize that love for himself. He acts differently around her than with any of his other women; he is a bit timid, respectful yet desirous, and, at first, obviously "scared". Maybe it's accentuated by the fact that I'm going through a bit of romantic confusion myself at the moment, but I felt all of the characters' emotions so strongly and effortlessly last night. When that scene with the milkshake where it really clicks for Don fades into the scene in his apartment where The Sad Man Cave is drenched in the so much sunlight it becomes almost unrecognizable...it was clear that things are looking up. By trying to be a better man, Don has become one.