"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?