Phil Dunphy is everyone’s dad. There’s at least a few aspects of Phil’s character that every dad can relate to, whether it’s his goofiness or his dorky hobbies or the fact that he procrastinates D.I.Y. jobs.
One thing about Phil that all dads can relate to is how much he loves his kids. Phil would do anything for Haley, Alex, and Luke. Although he doesn’t find it as easy to get along with Alex, he still puts in just as much effort. He’s one of the kindest, most caring characters on the small screen right now. So, Modern Family fanatics, here are Phil’s 10 sweetest storylines, ranked.
Attempting to bond with Alex (The Last Walt, season 3)
While Haley spent her childhood going to open houses with her dad and Luke has a bunch of the same interests as him, Phil has always struggled to bond with Alex. As the genius of the family who doesn’t care much for mindless fun, Alex is the toughest kid for Phil to relate to.
In season 3’s “The Last Walt,” he tries desperately to bond with Alex and create a memory that they’ll cherish forever. At first, he thinks it’ll be delivering a baby in a diner, because the waitress is nine months pregnant, but in the end, they create a new memory based on a story about an astronaut.
Biting his lip while Haley dates a man twice her age (Party Crasher, season 4)
In season 4’s “Party Crasher,” Haley starts dating a man who’s twice her age, a scumbag jean designer who is divorced with kids he never sees. (He’s played by Jason Mantzoukas from The League and Big Mouth.) Claire insists that Haley is only dating him to get a rise out of them, and that if they object to the relationship, she’ll just want to spend more time with him, because that’s what she used to do when Jay disapproved of her boyfriends.
However, in the end, Phil can’t bite his lip any longer and launches into a tirade about how much he cares about Haley, unaware that she’s within earshot.
Wanting an iPad for his birthday (Game Changer, season 1)
Some critics complained that the season 1 episode “Game Changer” was a half-hour commercial for the iPad. But to be fair, the iPad is the perfect birthday present for a suburban dad like Phil.
In the episode, Phil’s birthday lands on the iPad’s launch date, and all he wants is an iPad. Claire promises to get up really early and go down to the store and get one, but she ends up falling back asleep and doesn’t wake up until they’ve sold out. Phil is miserable for the rest of the day, until Luke manages to get him an iPad and he rejoices.
Trying to build a treehouse for Luke (Treehouse, season 3)
Building a treehouse is one of the most common father-son bonding experiences. Phil and Luke give it a try in the aptly titled season 3 episode “Treehouse,” but Luke finds that his dad is more consumed by the endeavor than he is.
When Luke storms off in the middle of the project, figuring it’ll never get done, he suggests that Phil is really building the treehouse for himself and not for Luke. This really makes Phil think, and leads him into a friendship with Andre, played by Kevin Hart. As it turns out, Luke just said it to get Phil off his back. He meant nothing by it.
Making Halloween fun and kooky (Halloween 3: AwesomeLand, season 6)
Modern Family’s Halloween episodes are always a blast, because it’s Claire’s favorite holiday, and she’s such a control freak that her enjoyment has made it everybody else’s least favorite holiday. In season 6’s Halloween episode, “Halloween 3: AwesomeLand,” Phil gets to take over Halloween at the Dunphy house.
He doesn’t want the house to have cobwebs and skeletons and ghosts all over it to frighten people. He wants to make Halloween fun by creating what he calls “AwesomeLand.” Claire later takes Halloween back when her neighbors make fun of AwesomeLand and claim to be the best at decorating their house for Halloween, sparking her competitiveness.
Proving he’s cool enough to ride a motorcycle (Yard Sale, season 4)
When Luke and Manny put on a yard sale at Jay’s house to raise some money for charity, Phil admires Jay’s Harley motorcycle. Jay’s not selling it; he’s just getting it out of the way after a guy offered him $50 for it. After Phil compliments the bike, Jay asks Phil if he wants to have a ride.
He’s scared to try it, so he blames Claire for not letting him, but then Claire says she’s fine with it. When he realizes that both Jay and Claire don’t believe he’s manly enough to take the Harley for a ride, he does it, just to prove he can.
Grappling with finding out Haley’s not a virgin (Virgin Territory, season 3)
Every dad has to go through what Phil goes through in this episode at some point (unless they only have sons), and it’s a very delicate situation. When Alex mistakes Phil’s mention of “Haley’s aversion” for something else and laughs, Phil finds out his daughter isn’t a virgin in the worst, most unexpected way possible, and the awkwardness is palpable.
Phil wants to be mature about it and accept that Haley is old enough to make her own decisions and trust her, but at the same time, he can’t accept the fact that his little girl is growing up. By the end of the episode, he comes around and, like a good father, lets Haley know that he trusts her to live her own life.
Struggling to keep up with Luke at Disneyland (Disneyland, season 3)
The producers of Modern Family may have only set an episode at Disneyland in order to promote the network’s parent company’s amusement park, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t relatable. The trials and tribulations of a trip to Disneyland are hilariously depicted here.
Phil has a special bond with Luke that he doesn’t have with Haley and Alex. Unlike his daughters, Phil can relate to Luke. They share a lot of interests, including riding rollercoasters. However, when they get to Disneyland, Phil finds that as he’s getting older, he can’t keep up with Luke anymore. Fortunately, Luke just likes spending time with his dad.
Trying to make his alma mater appeal to Haley (Go Bullfrogs!, season 3)
Phil is really proud of his alma mater. He was a cheerleader during his college days and it was the greatest time of his life. When Haley reached the age that she started thinking about college in the season 3 episode “Go Bullfrogs!,” Phil was desperate to get her to consider going to his old school.
He took her there for a weekend and showed her all his old favorite spots, like the best place to get chicken wings and the hill where he and his friends used to sled on lunch trays. It’s a really sweet father-daughter bonding experience.
Coping with his mother’s death (Goodnight Gracie, season 4)
In the season 4 finale “Goodnight Gracie,” Phil travels down to Florida following the death of his mother. The family rallies behind Phil and his dad Frank (played as wonderfully as ever by the great Fred Willard) as they deal with their grief. Gracie left behind a note for Phil, telling him to set his dad up with a woman who lives down the street.
Phil feels uncomfortable about the idea, but Claire wants to fulfill Gracie’s dying wishes. So, they visit the woman and tell her about the situation. The episode ends with Gracie’s funeral, one of Modern Family’s most heartfelt scenes.
