Alex is the middle child in the Dunphy clan on Modern Family. She's unlike her siblings in that she's incredibly intelligent with a bright future ahead of her. Sadly, Alex is the black sheep of the family and often feels unheard and unnoticed — and she's not wrong. Due to her smarts, Phil and Claire often forget that she's still a child who needs guidance.
After watching Alex transform from a little girl to a bright young woman, there have been a few inconsistencies with her character that fans have picked up on.
When She Graduated College With Regrets
When Alex went to college, both Phil and Claire warned her not to study too hard. College was a chance for Alex to let loose and find some independence before the real world kicked in. She nodded in agreement but by the time graduation rolled around, Alex started thinking about her parents' words. She admitted that she was leaving some of the best years of her life behind and yet, she feels like she didn't have the best time.
What doesn't add up is that's all Phil and Claire told Alex to do. Phil even made a surprise visit to campus and told her to join clubs to make friends and enjoy her time. But suddenly Alex is about to graduate and she's just realizing what her parents said?
The Prized Child But Is Often Overlooked
For as much as Claire and Phil brag about Alex, they do not treat her with the love and respect she deserves. As the golden child of the family, one would think the Dunphy parents would put all their energy into Alex's academic success but that wasn't the case.
The only time they really harness in on Alex's smarts is when they need something from her. Claire uses Alex's strong personality to reprimand the family while she was away, and Phil typically forgets Alex is around or loses track of her.
She Always Thinks Men Want Haley But Has A Nice Track Record Herself
It's confusing why Alex compares her love life to Haley's so often because Alex has a good track record when it comes to men. Before falling in love with Sanjay, Alex showed Haley that she too had her own adoring entourage of boys (which included good ol' Reuben). She then moved on to Ben (who was an older man), Bill (who was an attractive firefighter), and Arvin (her dream man). For as much as Alex wish's she had Haley's love life, she was doing just fine on her own.
The Way She Treats Bill
For as long as Alex can remember, Haley has always looked down on Alex and treated her like she was nothing because of their contrasting interests. Haley would poke fun at Alex's clothes, her friend-free Friday nights, and eating alone in the cafeteria. The two eventually got over that time in their lives but it looks like Alex learned a thing or two from Haley.
When Alex started dating Bill, she treated him horribly. Whenever he said something she viewed as dumb, she called him out for it and embarrassed him. It wasn't until Haley talked to Alex that she realized that she was treating Bill how Haley treated her.
Is She As Bright As She Claims?
Everyone is entitled to make mistakes. No matter how smart Alex is or how hard she studies, she's bound to mess up sometimes. But when it comes to computers, fans noticed how unskilled she was.
The family has been able to break into Alex's computer multiple times, she wasn't able to unfreeze it after her dad fried hardware, and she's lost multiple projects from forgetting to back up the work. For someone who created a Rock, Paper, Scissors robot by herself, it's shocking Alex has such issues with computers.
How Was She Unable To Build Haley's Crib?
In the 10th season, the guys are away on a wilderness treat, so the women stay home and attempt to build Haley's babies' cribs. Claire took charge of the operation but admitted she wasn't great at following directions when it came to building things. Haley, Alex, and Gloria chipped in but they ended up butchering the crib.
Since Alex is a scientist who is capable of building incredible things through technology, how was she not able to put together a crib?
Why Would Alex Take A Break From School?
In the eighth season, Alex decides to take some time off from school and focus on other aspects of her life. Instead of double majoring, she takes advice from her mom and gets a job as a local barista.
The only problem is this sounds nothing like Alex Dunphy. Alex worked her entire life to get into a prestigious college like Caltech. It's not known if she intended on graduating early, but she surely wanted school to be over so she could focus on her career. So why did she suddenly pause her studies for a lesson in real life? This felt very odd for her character.
Did Alex Continue With Therapy?
In the episode "Under Pressure," Alex has a meltdown on her birthday and tells her parents that she's going to enroll in therapy. As always, her parents had no idea how to reply but supported her choice to focus on her mental health. That following day, Claire went to Alex's school for an open house where she got to know Alex's teachers and workload. The amount of work Alex was doing at her age was unfathomable. Claire instantly felt anxiety for her daughter and finally showed some compassion for her. After therapy, Alex hugged her mom for finally understanding where she was coming from.
But the question is, did Alex continue with therapy? It seemed to help her get to the root of her issues that day and could have benefited her in the long run.
Why Doesn't She Tutor Her Siblings?
Alex is a brilliant young woman with average siblings. Haley and Luke bring their own charisma to the table but school was never their strong suit. Haley got kicked out of college and Luke took a year off after high school to mature before taking the leap to post-secondary education.
It's obvious that Luke and Haley didn't want anyone's help when they were in high school because they were embarrassed to ask, but why didn't Phil and Claire ask Alex to tutor Luke or Haley when they needed help with their homework? Why did they have to wait until Alex was asleep to sneak into her room and take her laptop?
Whatever Happened To Alex's "Cool" Friends?
Haley and Luke were always out with their friends while Alex was studying or reading books. But fans shouldn't forget that Alex has also had some friends in the past that slowly faded away.
In one episode, Haley teaches Alex how to string along with the popular girls and they called her wanting to hang out. In another episode, Claire drops Alex off at the mall so she can shop with friends. At that time, her friends were so cool that Alex didn't want her mom interfering. In another season, she even skipped last period to hang out with a girl at home! Alex had these friends sprinkled throughout her life but they all mysteriously disappeared.