Ed O’Neill could’ve gone down in history as one iconic TV dad (Al Bundy from Married…with Children) and called it a day, but just for good measure, he’s been playing another one on Modern Family for the past decade. Jay Pritchett is a classic example of a “boomer,” albeit slightly more progressive (not without putting up a fight) than the ones being mocked by millennials in meme form.
The Dunphy kids call Jay “Grumpa,” and he certainly lives up to that nickname with his curmudgeonly ways. So, here are 10 Modern Family Episodes That Hilariously Brought Out The Curmudgeon In Jay.
Airport 2010
In the season 1 episode “Airport 2010,” Jay thinks that Gloria is flying him out to Hawaii for his birthday. But when they get to the airport, he’s dismayed to discover that she invited along the rest of the Dunphy-Pritchett-Delgado-Tucker clan along for the ride.
He was looking forward to just relaxing by the pool with a bunch of Robert Ludlum thriller novels that he’d downloaded onto his e-reader, but now, he’ll have to spend time with his extended family. All he has are his Ludlums, until Luke accidentally sits on his e-reader, shattering the screen. Jay cries out, “My Ludlums!”
Clean Out Your Junk Drawer
Catherine O’Hara guest-starred in the episode “Clean Out Your Junk Drawer” as the author of a self-help book who comes to the Dunphys’ house for a group therapy session with Phil, Claire, Mitch, Cam, Jay, and Gloria. Some of them are more than willing to open up emotionally and engage in the therapeutic activities.
But others – namely Jay – are not. Having been raised with very masculine traits, Jay is uncomfortable talking about his feelings; he prefers to push them deep down. And on top of that, he’s missing a football game to take part in this therapy, so he’s extra mad.
Moon Landing
Episodes that pair up Jay and Cam are always hilarious, because they have enough in common to warrant spending time together (they’re both sports fans, they’re both very masculine), but they’re different enough (Cam is a drama queen, whereas Jay bottles everything up) to make a great “odd couple” pairing.
In the season 1 episode “Moon Landing,” we see this pairing in action for the first time. They go to the gym together for a game of racquetball, and in the locker room, as they’re getting undressed, they accidentally press their bare butts together. Naturally, this makes Jay very uncomfortable.
The Old Man and the Tree
With Christmas quickly approaching, now is the perfect time to binge-watch Modern Family’s holiday-themed episodes. In “The Old Man and the Tree,” Jay takes Manny out into the woods, determined to cut down his own Christmas tree. Jay doesn’t believe in fake trees, whereas Manny insists that a fake tree is a lot easier.
Throughout the episode, Manny is proven right, as Jay runs into nothing but problems as he tries to cut the tree down. He eventually returns home with a tree that’s missing half of its leaves and branches. Fun fact: This episode was directed by Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston.
The Cover-Up
In “The Cover-Up,” Manny helps Jay set up his own web series called “Jay Talking,” in which he shares his opinions on various topics. At first, he’s having a blast, thinking it’s a hit despite his relatively dismal viewership. However, when he starts getting targeted by an online troll, he discovers the downside of Internet fame.
Jay has never been great with technology – just look at the time Manny tried to show him how to double-click on his tablet – but his discovery of trolls takes the cake. And the fact that the troll turns out to be his arch nemesis Earl Chambers is the icing on that cake.
Fifteen Percent
We first met Jay’s friends in season 1’s “Fifteen Percent.” Cam bumps into them and tries to make small-talk (unpopularly comparing them to “a scene out of Jersey Boys”) before Jay introduces him to the guys as “a friend of my son’s.” Jay is as accepting as he can be when it comes to Mitchell’s sexuality, but he feels the need to keep up appearances around his friends, fearing that they won’t be as open-minded.
Cam finds it amusing, but Mitch is offended, so he confronts Jay about it. To get back at his dad, he tells him his friend Shorty is gay. So, Jay opens up to his friend, only to end up writing him a check after some major miscommunications.
Bringing Up Baby
In the season 4 premiere episode “Bringing Up Baby,” Gloria waits for the right opportunity to tell Jay that she’s pregnant on his birthday. Meanwhile, Phil and Jay’s friends take him out for a fishing trip. They put a bag on his head and zip-tie his hands to maintain the surprise. This is fun at first (for everyone but Jay), but then Jay falls off the pier into the lake.
And later, when he’s dried off and they’re out in the water, he rolls off the back of the boat and gets left behind. When Gloria finally tells him about the baby after this miserable ordeal, it’s the best news he could hope for.
Playdates
Jay hates being set up for a friendship, but he had no choice when he had another kid, because as the kid makes friends, the parents are forced to become friends with each other. When Gloria arranges a playdate for Joe with another kid his age, she tells Jay that he’ll like the dad, because they have a lot in common.
Jay is dismayed to discover that the other kid’s dad is old – a decade or two older than him, in fact – and feels insulted to be put in the same category as him. As it turns out, the other dad is actually more in touch with modern times than Jay is.
Fulgencio
Jay was the happiest guy in the world after Gloria gave birth to Joe, but that happiness was short-lived. The following morning, in the episode “Fulgencio,” Gloria’s extended family shows up to see the baby, and they don’t plan on leaving any time soon. Gloria’s mother insists that they call the baby Fulgencio, but Jay refuses (“The initials are F.U. Pritchett – which is exactly the way it feels right now!”).
Mother-in-law humor is about the most clichéd area of the comedy landscape, but there’s a different angle in Modern Family in that Jay is closer to his mother-in-law’s age than his wife’s.
Yard Sale
Jay Pritchett really hates yard sales. He hates having people lurking around his house, bartering over items worth 50 cents. In the episode “Yard Sale,” he is forced to host one for Manny and Luke’s school fundraising.
Throughout the day, Jay is driven crazy by the leeches hanging around his yard, pilfering through his stuff. A customer tries to buy his toaster, which isn’t for sale (the guy just found it in the kitchen), and then asks if “the pot-bellied pig” is for sale, in reference to Stella. Jay promptly kicks him off his property. No one badmouths Jay’s adorable dog.
