ISpy (Modern Family)

Plot

Mitch meets his friend Brett at a cafeteria, where Brett makes him promise not to tell anyone—especially Cam—about his secret: Brett got calf implants. Cam then begins spreading the news by texting his friends. Meanwhile, Gloria is angry at Jay because she believes he was dreaming of another woman. Jay, unaware of the reason, suspects Gloria found out he loaned money to a woman friend after going through his emails.

At the Dunphy house, Claire wants to spy on Haley and Luke, believing they are hiding something. Haley has a photography class activity she does not want her parents to attend, and Luke claims he is going to a friend's place with Manny, but Claire distrusts that friend. Her worry grows when Haley mentions Luke is going to a place known for drug activity. Claire asks Alex to snoop in Haley's room while she and Phil search for Luke.

Alex discovers Haley was selected as one of five students for a photography exhibition and calls the family to attend. Claire and Phil find Luke and his friends making a movie; when their drone is spotted, the kids think Steven Spielberg is trying to steal their movie idea.

Reception

In its original American broadcast, "iSpy" was watched by 9.87 million viewers, an increase of 0.28 from the previous episode. Leigh Raines of TV Fanatic rated the episode 5 out of 5, stating it "was all about boundaries and spying on your loved ones." A reviewer from My TV Experience gave a positive review, calling it "an eventful and hilarious episode" that ended sweetly as the family gathered around Haley's photos. Joshua Ashton of The A.V. Club gave the episode a C grade, describing it as very boring and a disappointing exception from writer Abraham Higginbotham. Ashton noted that while the episode contained some decent jokes, it felt like Modern Family was making the audience choose between engaging storytelling and well-crafted jokes, adding that weeks like this made it hard to remember the show was a four-time Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy winner.