Winner Winner Turkey Dinner: A Recap of the Thanksgiving Episode of Modern Family

Thanksgiving is one of the most beloved holidays here in America It brings families together, gives us a couple days off work, and kicks off the festive holiday season. Many popular TV shows feature special Thanksgiving episodes, and Modern Family is no exception The sitcom’s season 9 Thanksgiving episode, titled “Winner Winner Turkey Dinner”, originally aired on November 15, 2017 and offered viewers a hilarious look at the extended Pritchett clan’s Turkey Day celebrations. As a diehard Modern Family fan myself, I couldn’t wait to watch this holiday episode and recap all the LOL moments for my readers. So let’s dive in!

Overview and Background

“Winner Winner Turkey Dinner” is the 7th episode of Modern Family’s 9th season, and the show’s 5th Thanksgiving episode overall Previous Turkey Day-themed episodes included “Punkin Chunkin” (season 3), “Three Turkeys” (season 6), “Phil’s Sexy, Sexy House” (season 7), and “Thanksgiving Jamboree” (season 8) Like most Modern Family holiday episodes, “Winner Winner Turkey Dinner” was directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller and written by series creators Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd, along with Bill Wrubel.

The episode features all the main cast members, including Ed O’Neill as Jay Pritchett, Sofia Vergara as Gloria Pritchett, Julie Bowen as Claire Dunphy, Ty Burrell as Phil Dunphy, Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Mitchell Pritchett, Eric Stonestreet as Cameron Tucker, Sarah Hyland as Haley Dunphy, Ariel Winter as Alex Dunphy, Nolan Gould as Luke Dunphy, Rico Rodriguez as Manny Delgado, Aubrey Anderson-Emmons as Lily Tucker-Pritchett, and Jeremy Maguire as Joe Pritchett. Recurring guests include Teri Gamble as the school principal, Joseph Callari as a congressman, and Lesley Braun as a coach.

Plot Summary

The episode opens with the extended Pritchett-Dunphy clan gathered around the Thanksgiving table as Jay gives a toast highlighting everyone’s recent accomplishments – except poor Phil, who feels left out. However, as the meal progresses, it’s revealed through flashbacks that no one actually earned their “achievements” fairly – they all cheated or lied in some way.

For example, Gloria brags about achieving 10,000 steps on her pedometer daily, when really she’s been shaking it to inflate her step count. Luke and Manny pretend to be popular app developers but actually just created mockup screenshots. Mitchell lies about fighting off a home intruder when he actually knocked himself unconscious practicing nunchucks. The biggest secret involves Jay and Joe – Jay confesses that Joe got expelled from kindergarten for biting, a fact he hid from Gloria.

Meanwhile, Phil scrambles to learn a magic trick to impress everyone after feeling like the family failure. But when he performs the trick over dinner, it goes horribly wrong. Phil pretends it was all part of the act, proving he’s the best trickster of them all. In the end, the family realizes nobody’s perfect, and they come together to enjoy the holiday.

Notable Moments

Like any good Modern Family episode, “Winner Winner Turkey Dinner” has no shortage of slapstick humor, heartfelt moments, and witty one-liners. Here are some of my favorite bits from the episode:

• Jay tricks Gloria into thinking a female dog is Joe’s new Kindergarten teacher after he gets expelled, and Gloria immediately hates “her”: “With those hips, you know she’s mean!”

• Luke and Manny’s app is called “Inseam” and promises to connect users with potential partners who match their exact inner leg measurement. Very on-brand for those two!

• Phil splatters cranberry sauce everywhere during the magic trick and asks “is Butterball ready to sponsor me or what?”

• Cam explains his new position as “acting vice principal” by clarifying that “it has nothing to do with acting. That was made very clear to me.”

• The usual Mitch and Cam antics when Cam encourages Mitch to spice up their love life: “I bought a Groupon to a trapeze class…Mitch, you’re folding my underwear, not performing surgery!”

Critical Reception

“Winner Winner Turkey Dinner” earned a rating of 7.6/10 on IMDb and positive reviews from critics. Many praised the episode’s sharp writing and comedic timing. Kelly Lawler at USA Today called it “classic MODFAM” and “madcap holiday fun.”

The A.V. Club was a bit more critical, giving the episode a C grade. They felt it relied too heavily on wacky plotlines rather than emotional character moments. But most fans enjoyed the lighthearted family folly and the over-the-top Thanksgiving dinner gone wrong.

Final Thoughts

While not the most impactful Modern Family holiday episode, “Winner Winner Turkey Dinner” delivered plenty of laughs by highlighting the absurd lengths this family goes to in order to impress each other. The Thanksgiving premise lent itself well to revealing everyone’s embarrassing secrets in true MODFAM fashion. Phil’s magic trick disaster was a highlight, proving once again why Ty Burrell is a comedy genius.

Minor quibbles aside, this Thanksgiving episode captured the heart and humor that drew me to Modern Family in the first place. It offered viewers like me an enjoyable and much-needed escape from our own Thanksgiving stress into the delightfully dysfunctional world of the Pritchetts and Dunphys. I’m thankful to have 11 seasons of this wonderful show to binge watch over and over!