Season synopsis
Contains spoilers for this season and earlier seasons.
The season begins after the three households have spent summer in different places: the Dunphys in New York, Mitch, Cam and Lily in the Midwest, and Jay, Gloria, Manny and Joe in Juarez. They reunite for Father’s Day, with Cam back from Kansas City and Haley still adjusting to Andy’s departure. Claire and Jay are also sharing control of Pritchett’s Closets, so their old parent-and-child roles now spill into the office as they try to work out who gets the final say.
High school becomes the family’s next shared deadline. Luke and Manny are seniors, and Phil and Gloria take them on a college tour while their parents worry about whether they are ready to leave home. Haley starts dating weatherman Rainer Shine, but the relationship gets awkward when she spends time with his daughter and later has to reconsider whether they fit. Elsewhere, Alex returns to Caltech after her family uses her summer illness to their own advantage.
The season closes on graduation day. Javier arrives and takes Manny out to celebrate the night before, then Jay helps him recover the missing cap, gown and honor sash before the ceremony. Manny tells Jay that the time they spend together feels like father-and-son time, and Jay calls him his son. Luke graduates too; Phil and Claire struggle with the change, while Luke tricks them into handing over the Rolls-Royce he bought at a police auction. Mitchell and Cam are left weighing the news that Lily may be ready for a more advanced grade.