The episode originally aired on September 21, 2011 on American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and ran back-to-back with "Dude Ranch" in a one-hour timeslot.

"When Good Kids Go Bad" was viewed by 14.53 million viewers and received positive reviews from critics with particular praise for the collage of moments between Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) and Lily (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons) from Sandra Gonzalez of Entertainment Weekly[2] and Donna Bowman of The A.V.

Luke (Nolan Gould), Alex (Ariel Winter) and Haley (Sarah Hyland) take Phil's side on the dispute.

Gloria is in disbelief about this, but Jay (Ed O'Neill) confronts him in the garage and Manny confesses to have stolen the locket.

However, when they enter the school, Gloria notices how sad Manny is, and breaks into the girl's locker and slips the locket inside.

[6] In its original American broadcast, "When Good Kids Go Bad" alongside "Dude Ranch", was viewed by an estimated 14.53 million viewers and received a 6.1 rating/15% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49.

She also complimented the performance of Lily (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons) calling her a "pleasant surprise" and that "she’s at her best when she’s surly, particularly when she deadpans about her future little brother: 'No, I hate the baby.'