Modern Family follows the lives of the Pritchett, Dunphy, and Tucker families. Each family has its own set of quirks and struggles, obstacles and triumphs, and have their family beside them in their times of need.
It's a mockumentary sitcom that never ceases to make its audiences laugh, and all kinds of zany adventures are included. Still, families are messy, and are bound to have their differences. Take, for instance, Gloria and her step-son, Mitchell - at times, they seem incredibly close... and at others, they may as well be enemies.
Gloria Doesn't Give Jay's Children The Attention She Gives To Her Own
Gloria is a step-parent, so naturally her relationships with her step-children are different than her relationships with her kids. Add in the fact that Mitchell and Claire are both grown-ups with families of their own when she met them, alongside the fact that she is significantly younger than Jay, and it only adds to her relationships with Mitchell and Claire. Gloria is more nurturing towards Manny and Joe, especially Manny. She is fiercely protective of them and babies them, often to Jay's consternation. She'll help out Mitchell and Claire where she can, but they don't depend on her like her kids do, and they obviously weren't raised by Gloria. Gloria often puts her kids first, which might at times put a strain on the family dynamic should Claire or Mitchell feel left out.
Gloria Didn't Appreciate Mitchell's Help
Early on in Modern Family, Season 1 to be exact, Jay asks for Mitchell's help after Gloria is involved in a car accident. Mitchell was already put in a difficult position, as neither Manny nor Jay wanted to confront Gloria with the truth: she's a bad driver. When he tries talking with Gloria about it, she blows up at him, offended that he believes it's her fault, and leaves. However, she comes back when she gets into a second accident when she was leaving the restaurant--she learned her lesson the hard way, and even then, she wasn't necessarily grateful to Mitchell for his help.
Mitchell Doesn't Bond With Manny Like Gloria Does With Lily
Gloria always wanted a daughter, but she genuinely loves and cares for Lily too, buying her pretty outfits and taking her out for "girl days." Mitchell doesn't return the same gesture with Gloria's son, Manny, by taking him out for fun days or just attending a poetry reading or something of the like with his step-brother.
Mitchell doesn't often hang around with Manny, though. The two have very different interests, so it makes it a little hard to connect. Still, if Mitchell made the effort from time to time, both Gloria and Jay, as well as Manny, would likely appreciate it.
Gloria Potentially Put Mitchell In Danger
In "SuperShowerBabyBowl", Mitchell is receiving threatening texts from a number he doesn't recognize. Gloria, who had recently attended a trial with him in which a "black widow" was involved, excitedly takes on the threats and retaliates, only amplifying the stakes and increasing Mitchell's fear and paranoia that that person will come after him for revenge, given that person is now out on the streets. Mitchell hid how he was really feeling, but Gloria, who excitedly takes on the threats, failed to recognize how Mitchell might feel. Lucky for Mitchell, the texts were from a friend of Lily's, who had been trying to reach her that day. Still, if it had been real, Gloria's texts could have gotten Mitchell seriously hurt.
Gloria Kicked Out Cam And Mitchell
When a fire takes out Cam and Mitchell's kitchen, Gloria and Jay take them in until it's fixed. Unfortunately, the arrangements don't work out so well, and Gloria begins to lose it, especially with Cam. In the end, she ordered Cam and Mitchell to leave her house. This whole situation is hurtful in two major ways: Cam is Mitchell's spouse, and thus, Mitchell is hurt when Cam is hurt. Plus, Mitchell and Cam are family, and should always be welcome, no matter what. The fact that Gloria couldn't get her act together and be there when her family needed her was pretty selfish on her part.
Is Mitchell Worried About His Mom And Claire?
Mitchell is shown to be far closer to DeDe, his and Claire's mother, than Claire. DeDe was more accepting of him when he came out than Jay, and this strongly united the mother and son. Gloria is also supportive of Mitchell, more so than Jay, but she wasn't there in the beginning, and she doesn't have the same bond with Mitchell.
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That said, maybe Mitchell was wary of getting too close to Gloria, for fear of hurting his mother, and because he didn't want to hurt Claire--Claire was far more wary of Gloria's intentions when Gloria first joined the family, so Mitchell probably didn't want to get into the middle of anything.
Gloria Tried To Make Mitchell Feel Guilty
Remember the episode "The Day Alex Left For College"? Gloria and Manny are deeply disappointed when Jay fails to get them out of going to another of Lily's soccer games, and they come up with a wild scheme that Gloria actually follows through with by shooting Jay in the foot with a pellet gun. Mitchell and Cam initially don't believe the story, until they see for themselves. Their guilt over not believing Jay and Gloria is short-lived, though, when they find out that, although Jay's injury is real, the whole thing was staged to avoid Lily's game. Worse yet, Gloria tried to make them feel guilty about attending Lily's game; going to all the trouble to avoid Lily's game was undoubtedly brutal and hurtful. All Mitchell and Cam wanted was for Lily to be supported by as many family members as possible.
Mitchell Doesn't Support Gloria's Endeavors Like Cam Does
When Cam accidentally ruins the card containing the recipe of her family's hot sauce, he helps her recreate it, and eventually, market it. Mitchell, though a lawyer with skills and connections, doesn't really become involved. Now, Mitchell isn't always the first one on board when it comes to his family's endeavors; take for instance when Cam and Claire wanted to flip houses together, but even in that case, Mitchell eventually came around. That isn't the case for Gloria's hot sauce business.
Mitchell And Gloria Don't Really Hang Out
Yes, these two hang out at family gatherings all the time. They see each other often enough. However, it's not often that Mitchell and Gloria make the time to hang out, just the two of them.
Cam certainly makes more efforts to bond with and get to know Gloria. Mitchell likely has his reasons for keeping his distance, and though he's cordial and kind to Gloria when they're around everyone, Mitchell rarely makes the effort to know Gloria outside of their family functions.
Mitchell Gets Jealous Of Gloria Spending Time With Lily
From time to time, Mitchell has been shown to be uncomfortable with how much Gloria cares for Lily. Gloria always wanted a daughter of her own, and given she has two sons, she gets her girl time with Lily. While Cam doesn't seem to mind, Mitchell does, and appears to want to limit Gloria's time with Lily. This could be because Mitchell feels jealous of Lily's bond with Gloria, or perhaps he feels bad about Lily not having a maternal figure around. Whatever it is, it clearly bothers Mitchell to let Gloria take Lily too often, even if Gloria and Lily truly enjoy one another's company.