"So This Is (Finally) Goodbye"

I wish I had more to say with my final post to this blog, but I couldn't think of much to say.

Even that book about Modern Family didn't really give me much to add,  While the book as a whole was an interesting read, probably not surprisingly it was very lean on details about Alex, or even Ariel for that matter (though having said that, thankfully they did not mention her situation with her biological mother).

The only think of note was that in writing Alex's story in "Under Pressure", Elaine Ko drew on her own personal life, specifically noting how she herself went through the solitary pressure of a grade school spelling bee (she did not say whether or not "responsibility" was her winning word).

And near the end, it was mentioned that there was consideration given to have a farewell party for Alex be part of the finale, they went in the direction we saw instead.

And, as for the final season, I really can't think of anything new to say other than what I said over the past few months.

So, sadly, that's it.

As I said earlier, I'll keep the blog going as long as Blogger will leave it up, but unless something really crazy happens, this really is goodbye.

Again, I thank everyone who read this blog over the past six years.  Yes, I wish there more about Alex on the show during these six years, but, there at least there was enough to keep the blog going.

"So What Are You Doing Back?"

Actually, I still haven't left - like everyone on the finale I'm still having a hard time saying goodbye.

I will get to a recap of last season eventually - I tried to start writing it a few days ago but my writer's block kept acting up (maybe if the season had more Alex then that wouldn't keep happening).

And I want to wait for this book about the show to come out (it's due to hit my Kindle app on May 19th), just to see if there are any Easter egg type trinkets about Alex (possibly even from Ariel herself - the book is supposed to have input from the actors about some of the behind the scenes information).  If so, that will probably be the cornerstone of my final post.

"Still Crazy After All These Years"

For those still wondering, I've been pretty busy at work the past few days (we're essential enough to be open, and Easter weekend was still crazy even if I don't exactly consider Easter candy essential), and I've just wanted to rest when I have been home.  But I'm not quite done with this site yet.

I will get to the wrap-up post(s) hopefully in the next few days.  After that, even though I won't be adding anything new, I'll keep this site up as long as Blogger doesn't deactivate it (I like to read some of my earlier posts too once in a while) - I'm not sure what their policy is on that.

“Many Months Have Passed Us By” (“Finale” Recap)

There's not a lot more I could have asked for from last night's final two episodes.

"It's Like A Feeling That You Can't Express"

This is just a quick thoughts post about tonight's "Finale" - I've only done two paragraphs for the full recap.  I'll get to that eventually tomorrow.

The crazy thing is even though I cried a lot tonight, it really hasn't totally set in that it is all over, that we won't see anything new about Alex.  When that moment hits (probably when I wake up in the morning) I figure it's really going to hurt (which, again, is why I'm taking tomorrow off from work).

Hopefully it wouldn't surprise anybody that the moment that made me cry the most was the end of the scene of Alex, Haley and Luke reshooting the Woofie video.  Seeing them hugging together really got to me.

And I'm glad Alex did get a happy ending in her story with Arvin (though it my mind it was touch and go for a little while).

More to come tomorrow.

“It's Just A Dream Of Mine Is Coming To An End”

The “Finale” (in two parts) is just about here – in just a few all too short hours Alex's story will conclude.

“Slip Slidin' Away” (“I'm Going To Miss This” Recap)

Did tonight go worse for Alex than I thought it would or did it go better?  I'm honestly not completely sure, but I'm leaning towards worse.

“There'll Be Swinging, Swaying, And Records Playing”

OK, it will be mp3s and not records that will probably be playing in tonight's “I'm Going To Miss This” - I think Alex might be the only one of the kids to know what a record is. 

I wish that was all that was going to be happening as Alex, Haley and Luke throw one last (parents not invited) party before we wrap everything up, but we all know there's almost certainly going to be at least one disaster happening.  And who wants to take a wild guess who likely gets to take the blame when it all goes wrong?

"And Now, The End Is Near" (First Impressions - "Finale, Part 1" & "Finale Part 2", Season 11, Episodes 17 & 18)

Here's the press release for the two part series finale.  There will also be a one hour retrospective on the show at 8:00 before the finale.

"Party All The Time" (First Impressions - "I'm Going To Miss This" - Season 11, Episode 16)

So, the Dunphy kids are going to have another party while their parents aren't around?  Haven't we seen this already?

At least Alex is old enough that she can't get grounded (hopefully she's found a new apartment now that she's left her old job and had to move out of the Prescott).  But that last photo where a fire starts (even if Alex isn't involved, I hope) worries me a little.

The info for the finale should come out in the next couple of days.

“If You Change Your Mind, I'm The First In Line” (“Baby Steps” Recap)

Well, I did add up some of the pieces correctly.  I'd say good enough for government work, but, given the way they're handling things right now, I might actually be overachieving.   Not at Alex's level, of course (that would take a miracle along the lines of hitting Powerball), but...

“Baby Baby, Always And Forever”

R.I.P. Stella (a/k/a Beatrice in real life).   Given how much Ariel loves dogs in real life, I'm surprised Alex never had much (if any) interaction with her on the show.   Needless to say this was not good news at a time in real life when we could use some.


With only four episodes left - tonight's “Baby Steps”, an episode titled “I'm Going To Miss This” on April 1st (there is press release out which I'll discuss later this week), and the two part finale on April 8th, tonight's episode title seems out of place – I'd hesitate to call anything happening a baby step at this point.  And that really might be true for Alex. 

"Comin' In and Out of Your Life" (First Impressions - "Baby Steps" - Season 11, Episode 15)

I'm surprised there actually will be a new episode  on March 18th, as I'd expected ABC to wait until the following week to start the final four episodes - I presumed single episodes on the 25th and April 1st, and a two-part finale on April 8th.  Now I'm not sure how the rest of the schedule will look.

Anyway, the potential big story is not in the synopsis nor in the promo photos - Alex is nowhere to be found in those.  But, Arvin (the professor from CalTech who taught at least one of Alex's classes and had a brief relationship with Haley, somewhat to Alex's chagrin), is returning.

And this might not be a one-shot deal - during filming of the final episodes a couple of weeks ago both Ariel and Sarah posted selfies on their Instagram stories with Chris Geere, the actor who plays Arvin.

Now this could just mean Arvin is trying to get back into Haley's life, even though she's married to Dylan and has the twins.  But, maybe, just maybe, one way or another, his road may (finally) take him to Alex?  Yes, I still think the probable age difference is a bit much, but, at least, since Alex is no longer at CalTech that possible conflict of interest is off the table.

Or, maybe there is one more possibility - maybe Arvin offers Alex some sort of job (e.g. assisting him at CalTech)?   Since we haven't heard anything about Alex's current job since she let Margaret go as her assistant, maybe she's having second thought about staying there?

Let's keep an eye on this - this last month may still have a happy (or sad) twist for Alex.

“Flashback, Warm Nights Almost Left Behind”

Given that I'm posting when I said I might not be tonight should answer the most obvious question:

Even though Alex was only there in flashback mode (two blink and you'll miss it moments from long-time ago episodes), my feeling is that technically qualifies this to not be an Alex-less episode.

That's all I have to say – I still have a ton on my mind right now (and some of the scenes tonight didn't help take my mind off them), and semantics are really the furthest from my mind.

Just a quick post today

I'm sorry, but I've got a lot of stuff on my mind today (it's been a pretty rough last 24 or so hours), and right now any thoughts about what happens to Alex have to go on the back burner for a while (that's also why there's no lyric in this post).

Not that there's a lot going on tonight for Alex in "Spuds", anyway.  While there is at least a small (20%?) chance we actually see her tonight (unlike last week when there was zero chance), I still expect tonight to be the second of back-to-back episodes, and even if she is there (the best chance would be before the rest of the family goes to that restaurant) I don't expect much for her.

I'll post something later if she does show up, otherwise I'm going to be taking a break from posting for a while.

Also, I was trying to tweak the Disqus comment settings and I found out that setting comments to moderated is pretty much irreversible.  I'm not sure what will happen if someone tries to post, but likely either a) you might have to verify your Disqus account and/or email (not through me, but the system, I think) or b) I'll have to approve any messages before they show up (I'll try to do that when I can - I'm probably not going to be on this site much the rest of this week).  I'm sorry about that too.

"One Week Without You"

With Alex not appearing in tonight's episode ("Paris"), I really don't have a lot to say - not even enough for a typical pre-show post.

The best I can hope for is that they give us a plausible explanation as to why she didn't go on the trip (e.g. a major project at work which prevented her from taking time off).

And unless something happens that could change her life even if she isn't there, I'm not planning on doing a post tonight.  That and I have to work tonight so I don't know when I'll get around to watching it anyway.

"And I'm Hungry Like The Wolf" (First Impressions - "Spuds" - Season 11, Episode 14)

I was beginning to think we weren't getting a new episode on February 19th, until this press release came out today.

But having seen it, I think I'm going to wish there wasn't one.  It's an episode where it appears all the action will occur in just one setting (a restaurant), and Alex isn't mentioned in any of the three stories.

It looks like back-to-back Alex-less episodes may be in the cards (we already know next week's episode in Paris will be Alex-less) - maybe they should sub-title this "Three More Dinners"?  And even with only four episodes left after this one, I wouldn't be shocked if this one still isn't the last one.

"I'll Close My Eyes And Make A Wish"

Actually, I won't, and Alex probably won't either (I'm still not sure if she's even been allowed near a birthday cake for the past six years...)

But one person hopefully will, today.

Happy 22nd Birthday, Ariel!

"If You Won't See Me"

About 25 years ago, there was a movie called "Forget Paris".   Unfortunately, for us Alex fans, it looks like that title will be our mantra when the Paris episode airs in three weeks.

I already had low expectations for that episode as it was, since there was no sign of Alex in the synopsis.  It turns out there's almost certainly a reason why - in an interview that Nolan Gould did for Hollywood Life,  he mentioned that not everyone will be seen in that episode:

"Unfortunately, I’m not in the episode. Me and Ariel [Winter] both aren’t in it. But there are two French extras in the background of one of the shots who look a shocking amount like me and Ariel, so keep an eye out."  

I don't see Nolan as being the type to troll the media or the fans, so I'm about 99.99 percent certain this means there will be no Alex in this episode.  I hope Ariel didn't have to pay to fly over there if they weren't going to use her (she posted pictures of herself on social media in France while the show was filming over there, so the natural assumption at the time was she would be in the episode).

(And, yes, if there is an Alex look-alike but no Alex, it does count as an Alex-less episode.)

“Whoa, I Never Meant To Brag” (“Dead On A Rival” Recap)

No, it's definitely not me bragging – not only was I wrong about Alex not being there tonight (of course that's not a bad thing¹), but unlike what I also thought this morning might happen she was the only female Dunphy not offered a job by Phil's ex-neighbor turned tech guru.

But Alex does have at least something about which to brag – she's been with this company (about which we still know very little) for only a couple of months and she's already hiring and firing assistants.  And, if she follows through with Jay's suggestion, after dismissing Margaret she might just have a hunky guy as an assistant.  Hopefully he really is the best candidate – I want her to hire someone who can be a good assistant to her.

“Only To Rise And Fall Again”

This pre-show to “Dead On A Rival” is going to be a quickie, since A) I'm starting a vacation today, and I'm focused more on getting out and about than I am about tonight's episode, which, B) doesn't look all that interesting anyway:

"I Was There, To Match My Intellect, On National TV"

A random thought that just crossed my mind:

With ABC just having finished this big Jeopardy! tournament earlier this month (including a round that aired just before "The Prescott"), why didn't someone think to do a Modern Family episode where Alex appears on the show?

OK, I doubt they'd let her win, and they probably would have set it up where she gets clobbered and finishes with a negative score (like Weird Al in the above lyric), but even that would have been better than having Alex get in trouble at her (former?) new apartment because of her family.

And who knows, maybe they could've brought Sanjay back as a competitor (and at least give closure to that story before they wrap up things)?

“In A Flash, It Takes Hold Of My Heart”

...and rips it right out of my body.   Just when I thought they were going to let Frank be OK.  I'm not sure what I think about how they handled that.

Other than that, since Alex wasn't there tonight I really don't have a lot to say - will they let her or Luke or Haley react to their grandfather's death next week?  It's highly unlikely.  (Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if next week is Alex-less also – I'll have more to say about that next Wednesday.)

And I guess we'll have to wait and see if Alex and Jay have a serious bonding moment now that he's her last living grandparent.

“As Long As Your Father Told You”

For the most part when a new episode comes around, I'm always trying to figure out what will happen to Alex.   Tonight's “Legacy” will be a rare exception, mainly because I am actually more interested in a story that won't really revolve around Alex than in what she does tonight (if in fact she's even there – more on that shortly).

In this case, the story involves Phil and his father (and Alex's grandfather), Frank, who may reveal some terrible news about his health.   I have a feeling I'm going to get very emotional about this story, since I've fretted often throughout my life about losing my own father (thankfully that hasn't happened yet) and any type of fictional story I see like that usually hits a lot closer to home than maybe it should.  Even if Alex isn't a major (or any) part of it.

Having said all of that, the level and potentials you'll see in the next three sections won't totally jibe with those of the episode as a whole – they still will be tied into where I think things go with Alex tonight.

“And You (Erupt) Like A Volcano” (“The Prescott” Recap)

OK, I'm fudging that line a little, but the actual word replaced by "Erupt" is NSFW and doesn't really fit my mood¹ (it's from a song called “Supernova” - the link is NSFW as well ).  “Erupt” does fit absolutely perfectly, as I am really, REALLY ticked off at how the family and the show in general treated Alex this week.

"Gone. When You Wake In The Morning Gone." (Final Episode Airdate Spoiler)

So, when will we have to finally say farewell to Alex? 

“You Can't Start A Fire Without A Spark”

It's 2020, and it's time for Alex to start a brand new and exciting part of her life, including a (new-job provided perk) new apartment at a place called 'The Prescott”.  Nothing can possibly go wrong, right?

Right?

Oh, wait – her family's visiting her and they're going to get into trouble.  So, maybe everything could possibly go wrong: 

"Time It Goes So Fast, When You're Having Fun(?)" (First Impressions - "Dead On A Rival" - Season 11, Episode 12, and "Paris" - Season 11 - Episode TBD)

One theory about when the last nine episodes will air just got shot down - I was pretty sure that there would be a repeat on the 22nd but instead we get this.

Unfortunately, "this" means little to us right now, as once again there is no mention of Alex.

And then, there's this.  Since I don't know what will happen between January 22nd (when "Dead On A Rival" airs) and February 12th, I don't know which number episode "Paris" will end up being.

And, again, I don't know if Alex will have much to do in this one either.  I was hoping she'd find love in this one but apparently not.

That now leaves only five unaccounted for episodes (one might involve a story of Alex at her work office, or maybe not), and it still seems likely the last two would air back to back as a one hour wrapup.  When they will air is anybody's guess - are they going to finish in May as expected or will things get wrapped up early  (as far as I know filming has not wrapped, but maybe the cast/crew are keeping things extra quiet?)

No it doesn't quite make for a manic Monday, but there's always this Wednesday...

"Plenty Of Room At The Hotel California"

Is Alex's stay at this luxury apartment in this week's episode going to be a very short one?