I'm still floating after a season 2 episode that I think is one of two of the best episodes of the series, the other being Coal Digger from season 1. Caught in the Act is sexually awkward, hilarious fun. The soul of the episode involves the three Dunphy kids surprising their parents with breakfast in bed- only to find them having sex. It's hard to say who's more traumatized, the kids or Claire.
Claire and Phil struggle to get a grip and a way to explain their sexuality to the kids. She thinks this will heal them, unaware Haley, Alex and Luke really think the talk will be the worst part. The kids eventually reason that having parents who have sex is better than having divorced parents, which is true, and then make Claire feel good about herself by acting like the talk actually helps. Think of something else, like at school, Haley and Luke tell themselves. Classic. They also get their parents a door lock- only to find it's so loud they are unhappily informed every time their parents have sex.
Other stories of the episode have Gloria accidentally sending Claire an insulting e-mail and Mitch and Cameron ruining an expensive rug belonging to an unforgiving woman. These stories provide more of the family being mortified, giving the whole episode a tense, uncomfortable feeling. In the end, Mitch and Cameron's story almost rivals the Dunphys' in outrageous misfortune when Mitch makes a sweeping gesture of apology and destroys an expensive vase. Now that's just adding injury to injury. To us, however, it adds laughter.
Claire and Phil struggle to get a grip and a way to explain their sexuality to the kids. She thinks this will heal them, unaware Haley, Alex and Luke really think the talk will be the worst part. The kids eventually reason that having parents who have sex is better than having divorced parents, which is true, and then make Claire feel good about herself by acting like the talk actually helps. Think of something else, like at school, Haley and Luke tell themselves. Classic. They also get their parents a door lock- only to find it's so loud they are unhappily informed every time their parents have sex.
Other stories of the episode have Gloria accidentally sending Claire an insulting e-mail and Mitch and Cameron ruining an expensive rug belonging to an unforgiving woman. These stories provide more of the family being mortified, giving the whole episode a tense, uncomfortable feeling. In the end, Mitch and Cameron's story almost rivals the Dunphys' in outrageous misfortune when Mitch makes a sweeping gesture of apology and destroys an expensive vase. Now that's just adding injury to injury. To us, however, it adds laughter.