The second part was written by Christopher Lloyd, Jack Burditt, Elaine Ko, Danny Zuker, Vali Chandrasekaran, Brad Walsh, and Paul Corrigan, and directed by Gail Mancuso.
[1] With Haley (Sarah Hyland), Dylan (Reid Ewing) and the twins still living at the Dunphys’, Alex (Ariel Winter) having moved back in after quitting her job, and Luke (Nolan Gould) still there after not going to college, the house is overstuffed.
After they are caught out, they host an intervention with Haley, Alex, Luke and Dylan, stating that someone needs to move out as the house is too crowded.
The kids are offended, but even as Luke pleads to Phil's emotional side using their close friendship as a pawn, Claire asserts their position.
Mitch (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Cam (Eric Stonestreet), now settled into their new house with their new baby Rexford, are hosting a housewarming party.
Ronaldo (Christian Barillas) arrives to set up, but as Mitch shows him around, Cam receives a call, informing him that the coaching job he was rejected for in Missouri is now open again, giving him a dilemma.
Gloria (Sofía Vergara) is preparing to say goodbye to Manny (Rico Rodriguez) as he is leaving to travel the world, and she and Joe (Jeremy Maguire) go to Colombia for the summer.
Jay (Ed O’Neill) has bought a hideous housewarming gift for Mitch and Cam and organized Joe's haircut, leaving Gloria feeling left out and not needed.
Next, Alex, who earlier met with her new co-worker Arvin (Chris Geere) and shared a kiss, tells them that they are moving to Switzerland together for work.
Later, in the karaoke room, Cam apologizes and Mitch says that he will leave for Missouri, and they inform Lily (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons) before singing a duet of "Endless Love" by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie.
A montage is then played of mirrored images and references to the first episode, with Mitch and Cam on the plane eating cream puffs with their kids, Phil and Claire working on the calendar for their RV trip like they did to ‘shoot Luke’ in the pilot, and Jay and Gloria watching Joe play football like they did Manny, but this time neither of them can get out of their chairs to stand up.
[1] Many articles were published at the time of the show's ending citing it as the final version of the typical American sitcom of the 1980s to 2010s period, such as Cheers, Friends, and The Office.
Diane Gordon of TV Guide was extremely positive, stating that "Like most of its best episodes, the Modern Family Finale felt like a warm hug".
The show that felt like a warm hug each week closed out their run with a well-crafted episode that didn't feel like a permanent goodbye, but instead like a 'see ya later.'