“All 7 And We'll Watch Them Fall” (Season 7 Review)

You know that philosophical question about a tree falling making or not making a sound if nobody hears it? Well, here's another one: If a season that wasn't expected to be that great for Alex did pretty much what I expected it to do, could it still be considered a disappointment?

I guess the answer to that would be “Yes”. And Season 7 would be Exhibit A.

“You're Not The Only One With Mixed Emotions” (“Double Click” Recap)

OK, then. Where should I start? I feel like I should have some sort of emotion after the finale, but I wish I knew what the heck emotion it should be.

"Hey Girl, I Thought We Were The Right Combination"

One piece of possible good news about tonight's episode: Elaine Ko wrote it.  Oddly enough, it's the first time all season she's the writer of an episode that is not Alex-less - the only other two episodes she wrote this season were "She Crazy" and "Thunk In The Trunk".

Can she bring back the magic she brought to "Under Pressure" a couple of years ago?  She's been in a bit of a slump lately (neither of those two episodes were awe-inspiring, and neither was her last episode from last season, "American Skyper") and tonight would be a good time to break out of it.

“Right Now I Feel Invisible To You, Like I'm Not Real“

”Double Click”, the final episode of Season 7 airs tonight, and there is a story about Alex coming home from CalTech for summer, but nobody notices.

Officially there has been little else revealed about Alex's story – the only tiny clue I've seen came from a series of behind the scenes pictures taken by deadline.com during the filming of this finale.

The key picture is the 11th one in the slideshow (hopefully the link I copied should take you right to it) showing the Dunphy's calendar with Alex's return date circled (May 11th) and standing out quite a bit from everything else planned this month. Obviously the key to the story is this – did they just forget the date, or is Alex home early?

(By the way, based on how often Alex has been home all season, why is her homecoming even a big deal? More on that plot hole when I review the season later this month.)

Anyway, here's what I think about tonight (I'm changing things up here a bit - I'll reveal my anticipation and emotional moment potential levels together, then try to explain them):

“I Hate The Way Reality Sets In” (“Crazy Train” Recap)

Those lists of “Poor Alex” moments I plan on writing someday? This one's definitely going on the sad list.

"Strike A Pose"

I guess we can stop worrying (or, at least ease up on it) about Manny hitting on Alex:

Draw me like one of your French girls, @DomSherwood1. https://t.co/dw8tXlKFut

— Modern Family (@ModernFam) May 11, 2016

“Oooo, This Could Get Messy.”

Oh, boy – things may be about to get awkward.

I finally saw a promo for tonight's “Crazy Train” last night, and Alex appears for about ½ second, grabbing then pulling away (or maybe being yanked by a sudden stopping of the train they're riding) from Manny with a weird expression on her face – I'm not sure if she's happy or repulsed:

“Come And Hold Me Silently” (“Promposal” Recap)

Sadly, sometimes it's easy to rush things and get a recap up on time even with 90 less minutes to do so than usual (I rushed home and started watching at 10:30) when there isn't a lot to discuss. This week is a prime example.

“Dance With Me – I Want To Be Your Partner”

Just a reminder that I have to work tonight so I won't be watching tonight's episode until probably about 11:00 EDT (or later if something gets screwed up)¹, so I'm not sure yet when I'll post the recap – if it's going to be delayed much longer than the usual 12:30 or so time that I have been posting (i.e. shortly after the West Coast airing concludes so as not to spoil anything) then I will tweet the approximate posting time to my semi-official Twitter account (@aystad1 - feel free to follow that account if you'd like, or just set up a browser tab searching for that account to keep up to date).

The same thing will hold true for next week, as again I will be working on Wednesday the 11th. I'm still hoping to get the 18th off so I can watch the finale “live” - I'll probably know by the end of this week and I'll keep you posted.

Anyway, let's get back to tonight's “Promposal”. Did seeing Reuben trying to get Alex to be his date for the prom in the promo change my expectations?

"Let Me Repeat That" (Press Release News - "Double Click" - Season 7, Episode 22)

Or, perhaps more accurately, Press Release (Almost) NO News.  Yes there was a press release issued today regarding the Season 7 finale, but the synopsis was identical to the one issued a few weeks ago with the May Sweeps announcement, so no further clarification of Alex's story.

"Can't We Try Just A Little Bit Harder?" ("Promposal" Promo)

Well, I'll give Reuben a half-point for effort, but, since it appears Alex isn't impressed (I can't blame her really)...

#ModernFamily 7x20 Promo 'Promposal' https://t.co/7TWNjh5RM1

— Television News (@tvinemania_com) May 1, 2016

Of course, this probably means she'll be his "pity date" before the night ends.  Hopefully that will be the end of things.