With Modern Family on air for more than eleven years, there were bound to be many conflicts that arose between the characters — they are one big family after all. There have also been many rivalries outside the circle, which have provided the viewers with much comedy and drama.
However, do you ever look back and think some of these rivalries make no sense? Did the writers just include them to make a couple of filler episodes or for something more? From Cam and Senor Kaplan’s to Luke and Manny’s, keep reading to discover what the 5 best rivalries are (& what 5 didn’t work).
Worst: Alex And Sanjay
For years, fans heard that Alex and Sanjay had engaged in an academic rivalry, where they competed to get awards and finish on top of the class. This rivalry extended into high school, where Alex and Sanjay competed against each other to be their year’s valedictorian.
However, this rivalry then turned romantic when Sanjay admitted that he had feelings for Alex - which she admitted to having all of a sudden aswell (“Patriot Games”). Of course, fans knew that the relationship wouldn’t last with the two at different colleges and their intuition was proven right when Sanjay cheated on her. It just seemed like a last-minute decision to give Alex a storyline.
Best: Cam And Señor Kaplan
One of the show’s newest rivalries occurred between Cam and Señor Kaplan, which started after the football coach had usurped Kaplan’s role as their favorite faculty member. However, tensions between the two increased after Kaplan and Cam engage in a dance-off, which Cam ended up winning.
The relationship between the two didn’t improve either when Kaplan decides to get revenge on Cam in the episode “Spring Break”. Here, Kaplan makes it look as if Cam was trying to hurt him to avoid public embarrassment. He also takes pleasure in Cam’s humiliation, which causes the two to fight after Gloria turns his mic on to reveal the truth.
Worst: Claire And Gloria
Although Claire and Gloria are close now, at the very beginning their relationship was tense and a little hostile. Claire has often been intimidated by Gloria because of her good looks and appearance. She also struggled with the age gap between the Columbian and her father, particularly as Gloria is younger than her.
However, this tension exploded in “Coal Digger” when Claire and Gloria fight over their kids. As they settle their differences, Luke then reveals he overheard Claire saying she believed Gloria to be a “Gold Digger”, which reignites the argument that Claire doesn’t like her. If Claire would have spent some time with Gloria beforehand, then maybe this could have been avoided.
Best: Luke And Lily
The rivalry between Luke and Lily has to be one of the most relatable of all. With Luke being the youngest member of the Dunphy-Pritchett-Tuckers, he is used to all the attention being focused on him. Therefore, when Lily officially becomes a member, Luke naturally feels threatened.
It is only until “When Good Kids Go Bad” do fans see the rivalry begin, with Luke insisting their conflict “wasn’t over” after Lily shoves him after Cam gave him some attention. From here onwards, the viewers are then able to hear Luke’s comments on what an emotional monster she is. It’s like a classic sibling rivalry.
Worst: Sal And Lily
The rivalry between Sal and Lily is one no one fully understands. Similar to the one she has with Luke, Lily competes with Sal for the affections of Mitch and Cam. However, does nobody else think that it is stupid for a grown woman to be acting jealous over the attention her best friends show their child?
Especially after Sal became a mother herself and knows how priorities change. Although their scenes are entertaining, this rivalry would have been stopped immediately in the real world because no one would allow their child to be insulted by a friend and they wouldn’t allow their child to be disrespectful. It doesn’t make any sense.
Best: Jay And Earl
The title for longest rivalry on the show belongs to former best friends, Jay and Earl. The conflict between the two businessmen began before the airing of mockumentary, with Jay revealing that Earl had simply up and left him one day after bad-mouthing him to the rest of the office.
Since then, there had been a deep resentment between the two, with the pair trying to sabotage each other’s businesses. It got so bad that their rivalry extended into their family, with Earl trying to drive a wedge between Jay and Mitch, and Jay using Manny to “vandalize” Earl’s home. It’s a shame there wasn’t resolved in the end.
Worst: Gloria And DeDe
A weird rivalry that occurs on the show is between Gloria and DeDe. It’s not like viewers don’t understand why the relationship is always strained since DeDe is Jay’s ex-wife. But why do they keep interacting with her when DeDe proves to be a toxic influence.
She causes a scene at Gloria and Jay’s wedding, and ruins Lily’s birthday party by attacking Gloria too. Gloria didn’t hold back her personal feelings as she admits in “Good Grief” that she had used DeDe’s toothbrush on Stella because of the way she was treated.
Best: Gloria And Sonia
Probably one of the funniest rivalries in the show has to go to Gloria and Sonia. This all started in the episode “Fulgencio” when Gloria and Sonia come to blows after Jay revealed that he was initially interested in the younger Ramirez sister.
Since Sonia has believed that Gloria had stolen her life, she has attempted to seduce Jay and kidnapped Manny to try and get to their wealth. Although they reached an impasse in “A Tale Of Three Cities”, Gloria still continues to ruins her sister’s happiness - especially when she chases away Sonia’s fiancée after mistaking him for a gold digger.
Worst: Manny And Luke
Why in the world do the writers continue to pit these two against one another when they are meant to be “family and best friends”? Every time the writers want to cause drama between the two, it always involves a girl. The first time they fell out, Manny is upset to find Luke was “flirting” with lab partner and crush (“Integrity”).
Skip forward five years and this storyline has just been repeated in “The Last Christmas”, only this time Luke has begun dating Manny’s ex-girlfriend. It gets to the point where these awkward love triangles should be put to bed so that it does not affect the whole family dynamic.
Best: Phil And Gil
The best rivalry in Modern Family has to be Phil and Gil’s. Everyone knows how much Phil detests the rival estate agent after Gil targets his family and steals his thunder. For instance, Gil deliberately ruins Phil’s presentation to embarrass him in front of the kids (“Career Day”). He also nearly causes a rift between Claire and Phil when the two argue about Claire accepting a job offer at his business.
Another memorable episode being “The Feud” when their rivalry extends into the family and we nearly have a Dunphy-Thorpe war. Ultimately, Phil proves the victor this time around when he ends up getting Lily to spread her lice to his opponent. No one ever gets tired of this relationship.
