S8E16 "Basketball"
Phil has been preparing all year for a basketball game at the school that is parents versus teachers. He struggles in the game, and a lot of pressure is put on him. Even Ty Burrell couldn't make this story interesting, and I'm glad it didn't get much time dedicated to it, considering how unfunny it was. The game ends in an anticlimactic way when the power goes out, but Phil makes the free throw shot when he thinks no one is watching him.
Claire has a problem when she discovers that she bought some bad lumber, and she has to keep it from Jay. Meanwhile, Jay tries to prove to Joe that he is to be feared. Claire and Ben try to figure out where the bad wood is, and there is a great joke where Ben's map has points of where his dad may be. Jay visits Claire, and through how far she goes to hide the fact that she screwed up from Jay, he realizes that fear may not be the best thing for kids.
Mitch is having tea with Haley, which is a great set-up. I wish we would have seen more of the relationship between Haley and Mitch and Cam in the past, because the few times we do get them together it's great. Mitch is about to find out something that Rainer asked her to do, but is interrupted when he shows up. It is very funny when Mitch and Cam, who shows up quickly after Rainer does, which is pretty funny, speculate as to what Haley may have been about to say. They discover that Haley was talking about candling, and Cam is upset when Haley reveals that Mitch said that they have boundaries, especially as Haley and Rainer reveal their true selves to each other (which reminds me how much I hate their relationship and how Haley's character development took a major step back this season).
Gloria meets another mom at the store, who makes a big deal about how Gloria isn't making things for the basketball game like she is. She is funny at first, but becomes way too much quickly, when Gloria shows up with nachos. They try to keep each other from buying the other's things, but then realize the things they have in common. This story does not have much interesting about it, despite the guest appearance.
Mitch, Cam, and Haley's story was easily the highlight of this episode. Phil and Gloria's stories were very unfunny and pointless. Claire's wasn't very good, but at least it had a couple of good jokes.
Score: 4.5/10
What did you think of "Basketball"? Leave your thoughts in the comments!