"En Garde" became the highest rated scripted show in its timeslot and has received positive reviews from critics.

It also won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation.

When Manny explains his decision - he does not want to compete against a girl - Gloria gets mad and convinces him that this is not a good reason to quit.

Before the finals start, Jay and Gloria find out that the girl Manny is competing against has lost both her parents and is suffering from an undisclosed illness.

Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) seeing his dad being so interested in Manny's success, his childhood trauma regarding his ice skating resurfaces.

He is mad at Claire (Julie Bowen) because she was the one who quit their team years ago and stole his moment to shine.

"[3] Robert Canning of IGN gave the episode an 8.3 calling it "Impressive" and also said "The series has had a knack for this so far, and "En Garde" continued the trend with ease and wit.

[5] "En Garde" won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation.