“I'm Not Gonna Write You A Love Song”

So after an almost summer-like¹ six weeks of reruns and preemptions , we finally have a new episode of Modern Family on tap tonight, “Written In The Stars”. But is there much reason to cheer this, given that we don't know what role, if any, Alex has in it?

Anticipation Level: Low to Medium. Well it still has been six weeks, so it does have that going for it. And her CalTech professor with eyes for Haley will show up tonight, and the fact we know nothing about what he's going to be doing here tonight gives us at least a thin hope that maybe any story could involve Alex. But, I still feel Alex is little more than a bit player in this ongoing play, so unless she's mentioned in any plot involving him, I don't have much optimism for anything interesting.

And this is sort of a Valentine's Day episode (either on the day or afterwards – the more I've read the synopsis the more confused I am about its timeline) – except for last season Alex historically hasn't had much (if anything) to do on these episodes.

Emotional Moment Potential: Low.

Game Changing Potential: Low. Unless Alex is directly involved in any story I don't much chance for either. If she is involved, though...

Chance Of An Alex-less Episode: Low to Medium. Pretty much from her on out this season (and next?) any time we go into an episode with no sign of Alex, “Medium” will usually be the minimum setting for this section. I expect at least one more Alex-less episode this season, and there may very well be more than that.

This week, again, only the presence of the professor gives me a little more hope she'll at least be there (hence adding the “Low” for this week, but I still feel it's closer to :Medium”, if not more), even if only to get in a little snark on Haley.

In Which Story Do I Want To See Alex Be A Part? Obviously, assuming her professor is involved in a story not yet revealed (that's not a totally safe assumption, by the way – e.g. it's possible he just shows up in a quick moment to pick up Haley for a date which goes unseen), that would be the one.

Are There Any Other Questions? Seriously? We're going back to repeats after next week's episode? Yep - “Lake Life” gets it's third airing on the 14th – because of the extra reruns they've aired on Tuesday the rerun schedule has actually caught up to the new episodes - “In Your Head” aired last night (the only one that didn't re-air was the Thanksgiving episode). I figured we'd get at least three new episodes in a row coming out of this extended break, but, hey, what can we do?

My schedule is a bit weird today because I'll be working a last-minute half-shift (and still have errands to do before that – that's why I'm up now typing this) so I could be a zombie by 9 or later, so there could be some delays with the recap but for now I'm planning on the usual.

And if something pops up that renders anything here moot I probably won't have anything until this evening just before showtime.
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¹ Fittingly, actually, last Wednesday almost felt like summer around here – it got over 70 degrees way up here.