 |
| "The Butler's Escape" | |
|---|---|
| Modern Family episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 4 |
| Directed by | Beth McCarthy-Miller |
| Written by | Bill Wrubel |
| Production code | 4ARG04 |
| Original air date | October 17, 2012 |
"The Butler's Escape" is the fourth episode of the fourth season of the American sitcom Modern Family , and the series' 76th episode overall. It aired October 17, 2012. The episode was written by Bill Wrubel and directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller.
Phil (Ty Burrell) can not accept that Luke (Nolan Gould) wants to quit magic and he tries everything to change his mind about it but it does not seem to work. The real reason Phil does not like Luke's decision it is because that is the first time his son does not share the same interests with him and he is afraid he is losing him. At the end, he tells Luke that he can decide whatever he wants to do and he will support him.
In the absence of Haley (Sarah Hyland), Alex (Ariel Winter) takes on a high-handed role as the new big sister in the house. Claire (Julie Bowen) can not understand why her little daughter is acting like that the last few days and tries to figure out why and what is happening. Later she realizes that Alex's strange behavior is because she misses Haley.
Gloria's (Sofia Vergara) snoring keeps Jay (Ed O'Neill) and Manny (Rico Rodriguez) awake for days. They are both exhausted and try to find a way to get some sleep. Jay has a meeting in San Francisco and he takes the opportunity to sleep one night away from Gloria. The meeting ends up earlier than he thought, so he has to come back home. Instead of this, he goes to a hotel without telling Gloria that he is back. Gloria though finds out and she goes to the hotel thinking that Jay has an affair. Not having a choice, Jay tells Gloria the real reason he wants to sleep at the hotel.
Mitch (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Cam (Eric Stonestreet) struggle to deal with their reversed roles as Cam takes on his new job as a music teacher. Now that Cam is teaching again, Mitch has to do everything at the house, including taking care of Lily (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons). But he is not very successful, so he calls Claire to help him out. Meanwhile, the kids at school do not seem as excited as Cam is with teaching. Both Mitch and Cam seem to have a horrible day and they both agree that they just need time to adjust to the new reality.
In its original American broadcast, "The Butler's Escape" was watched by 12.28 million; down 0.03 from the previous episode. [1]
"The Butler's escape" received mixed reviews.
Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club gave a B− grade to the episode saying: "This season is off to a strong start, even if this week’s episode represents more of a holding action or slight backtrack than a confident step forward." [2]
Leigh Raines of TV Fanatic rated "The Butler's Escape" with a 4/5 stating that Claire was literally everywhere on that episode. "Claire was on fire in this episode! She was schooling Jay, fixing things for Mitchell and setting up her daughters for the mutual destruction that would ultimately restore balance in her household. Her obsession with Gloria's weight actually cracks me up. At least she realizes her stepmom is super hot." [3]
Mathew from Polentical gave a good review to the episode saying that it was "a fun escapist ride". [4]
Britt Hayes of Screen Crush also gave a good review to the episode. "The role-reversal with Cam and Mitch has been an ongoing thing for a few weeks now, and here’s hoping they keep it up because if there’s anything more delightful than Cam and Mitch, it’s Cam and Mitch trying to do things they aren’t comfortable with and giving their relationship more depth as they help each other and bond." [5]
Dalene Rovenstine of Paste Magazine rated the episode with 6.8/10. "It wasn’t a bad episode, but it wasn’t great. [...] All in all, as stated before, it wasn’t terrible, but we’ve definitely seen this show much stronger." [6]
Michael Adams of 411mania rated the episode with 6.5/10. "There was just nothing spectacular about it. It had funny dialogue and moments, and the heart warming moment at the end (this week's was Phil and Luke) but there was nothing that made it different from any other par episode." [7]
Denise Chang of No White Noise rated the episode with 2.5/4 saying that the episode was not as exciting and as memorable as she wanted it to be. "The main idea behind the story line is pretty much the same and this week’s funny moments didn’t do enough for me to consider it a twist on the same old story line. [...] It’s only the fourth episode of the season and I definitely can’t wait to see the characters grow even more throughout." [8]
Shayelizatrotter from The Comedy Critic gave a C+ grade to the episode saying that it didn't meet her expectations. "I would have to say that this episode was rather weak overall and needed storylines with more physical humor and comedic one-liners." [9]
Zach Dionne of Vulture rated the episode with only 1/5 saying: "This episode contained barely any elements the show does well, and highlighted almost all its dull and ugly facets." [10]
"Aunt Mommy" is the 15th episode of the third season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 63rd episode overall. It was aired on February 15, 2012. The episode discusses the antics surrounding the surrogacy of Cam and Mitch's second child. There are problems surrounding the issue of which father would be the child's biological child, so Claire offers them her egg. This would mean that both fathers share genetics with the child, but it would mean that Mitchell's child would be the child of his sister as well. Another plot line within the episode entails Manny getting hurt while Jay was trying to convince him to play football because he thinks his son is too similar to his mother. Overall, the episode received positive reviews, but was not viewed by as many people compared to the previous episode. The episode was written by Abraham Higginbotham & Dan O'Shannon and directed by Michael Spiller.
"The Last Walt" is the 20th episode of the third season of the American sitcom Modern Family and the series' 68th episode overall. This episode originally aired on ABC on April 18, 2012. It was written by Dan O'Shannon, Paul Corrigan & Brad Walsh and directed by Michael Spiller.
"Bringing Up Baby" is the first episode of the fourth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 73rd episode overall. It aired on September 26, 2012. The episode was written by Paul Corrigan & Brad Walsh and directed by Steven Levitan.
"Schooled" is the second episode of the fourth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 74th episode overall. It aired October 10, 2012. The episode was written by Steven Levitan & Dan O'Shannon and directed by Jeff Melman.
"Snip" is the third episode of the fourth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 75th episode overall. It aired October 10, 2012. The episode was written by Danny Zuker and directed by Gail Mancuso.
"Open House of Horrors" is the fifth episode of the fourth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 77th episode overall. It aired October 24, 2012. The episode was written by Elaine Ko and directed by James Bagdonas.
"Arrested" is the seventh episode of the fourth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 79th episode overall. It aired November 7, 2012. The episode was written by Becky Mann & Audra Sielaff and directed by Gail Mancuso.
"Mistery Date" is the eighth episode of the fourth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 80th episode overall. It aired November 14, 2012. The episode was written by Jeffrey Richman and directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller.
"When a Tree Falls" is the ninth episode of the fourth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 81st episode overall. It aired November 28, 2012. The episode was written by Ben Karlin and directed by Steven Levitan.
"Diamond in the Rough" is the 10th episode of the fourth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 82nd episode overall. It aired December 12, 2012. The episode was written by Dan O'Shannon, Becky Mann & Audra Sielaff and directed by Gail Mancuso.
"New Year's Eve" is the 11th episode of the fourth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 83rd episode overall. It aired January 9, 2013. The episode was written by Abraham Higginbotham & Jeffrey Richman and directed by Fred Goss.
"Party Crasher" is the 12th episode of the fourth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 84th episode overall. It aired January 16, 2013. The episode was written by Danny Zuker & Christopher Lloyd and directed by Fred Savage. This episode is when Gloria's water breaks and has a baby on Manny's birthday.
"A Slight at the Opera" is the 14th episode of the fourth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 86th episode overall. It aired February 6, 2013. The episode was written by Paul Corrigan & Brad Walsh and directed by James Bagdonas. For his performance in the episode, Nathan Lane received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.
"Heart Broken" is the 15th episode of the fourth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 87th episode overall. It aired February 13, 2013. The episode was written by Danny Zuker and directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller.
"Games People Play" is the 23rd episode of the fourth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 95th episode overall. It was aired on May 15, 2013. The episode was written by Ben Karlin based on a story by Danny Zuker and it was directed by Alisa Statman.
"Best Men" is the 17th episode of the fourth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 89th episode overall. It aired February 27, 2013. The episode was written by Dan O'Shannon and Abraham Higginbotham based on a story by O'Shannon, Higginbotham and Bianca Douglas. It was directed by series co-creator Steven Levitan.
"The Wow Factor" is the 18th episode of the fourth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 90th episode overall. Modern Family is an American television mockumentary family sitcom created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan for the American Broadcasting Company. It ran for eleven seasons, from September 23, 2009 to April 8, 2020. It follows the lives of Jay Pritchett and his family in suburban Los Angeles, including his second wife, her son, their son, and his two adult children and their husbands and children. It was aired on March 27, 2013. The episode was written by Ben Karlin and directed by Levitan.
"Career Day" is the 21st episode of the fourth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 93rd episode overall. It was aired on May 1, 2013. The episode was written by Paul Corrigan & Brad Walsh and it was directed by Jim Hensz.
"My Hero" is the 22nd episode of the fourth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 94th episode overall. It was aired on May 8, 2013. The episode was written by Abraham Higginbotham and it was directed by Gail Mancuso.
"Goodnight Gracie" is the 24th and final episode of the fourth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 96th episode overall. It aired on May 22, 2013. It was written by Steven Levitan and Jeffrey Richman, and directed by Levitan.
