Last night's episode of Modern Family featured one of our favorite storylines yet from this superb sitcom, while another fell flat.

Before we get to those, however, let's have a moment of silence for Barkley..... we're gonna miss you, fella!

We'll start there when reviewing "Not In My House." Ed O'Neill's grumpy demeanor was replaced with a joyous Jay for most of the half hour this week, as he proudly displayed the dog/butler mannequin that he purchased in Las Vegas and set up by his front door, much to the frightened chagrin of Gloria.

This subplot was a bit sillier than most of the basic issues this show deals with, but that's what made it so funny. Our favorite, subtle line uttered during it?

When a confused Jay asked Gloria what Barkley was doing in the guest room. After all, he's not a guest. He works for them! Great stuff.

Conversely, anything involving Mitchell and Cameron didn't work (for a change). These two can afford a beautiful home, an adopted child... and a gardener? More importantly, it seemed like a stretch for Mitchell to actually take issue with Cameron's caring side.

The plot itself was never fully fleshed out, either. Caesar Salazar (yes, we're gonna assume that's his name) was crying because he didn't wish to get married; so then Mitchell somehow arranged a wedding in their house and everything was fine? It didn't really come together for us, although we loved Mitchell's implication that Batman is gay.

Finally, the controversy in the Dunphy household fell somewhere in between these two storylines.

Almost all Phil and Claire stories are the same: he does something dumb, deflects blame for it and is eventually outed as the culprit (whether this involves stealing a bike or looking at a topless photo of a woman on a tractor, sent to him by Gil Thorpe, in case you weren't clear on that).

Still, it's impossible to not laugh at everything Ty Burrell does and says on this show. Julie Bowen also displays the perfect combination of exasperation, humor and, well, beauty.

What did you think of the episode? We've listed a few of our favorite Modern Family quotes from it below:

Luke [on diaries, not boobs]: Some are real, right? Like Anne Frank's? | permalink

Gloria: This is not art. This is an unholy mix between man and beast. | permalink

Mitchell [on the gardener]: He's like Batman, but straight. | permalink

Phil: That was hardly porn. It was a topless woman on a tractor. You know what they call that in Europe? A cereal commercial. | permalink

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.