Claire (Julie Bowen) runs herself ragged trying to fix the relationship between Haley (Sarah Hyland) and Alex (Ariel Winter), after Haley tries to keep Alex from wearing one of her sweaters, and therefore has no time for or interest in Phil's (Ty Burrell) plan to use a gift certificate for a spa before its next-day expiration.

Alex accidentally tears the sweater on a loose door-frame nail, so Claire is left to drive to numerous clothing stores and find a replacement.

Meanwhile, Gloria (Sofía Vergara) is horrified by Jay's (Ed O'Neill) morbid plans to purchase two side-by-side crypts in preparation of their death.

Cam is angry about this until Mitchell admits he was worried about them staying together, and apologizes with promises to give their daughter a hyphenated name of co-equals.

[1] In its original American broadcast, "Two Monkeys and a Panda" was viewed by an estimated 10.110 million households and received a 4.1 rating/11% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49.

Keller also praised the performance of Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet calling their storyline "real, dramatic, and a little raw, especially for this show.".

[5] Rachael Maddux of New York said that despite the episode's lack of humor, "we got back in some much-needed fleshing out of important relationships.".