Vegas' was, it was also a total outlier. It was a classically executed sitcom, but wasn't classic Modern Family. 'Message Received' is the genuine article". Alston further called it "a solid contender for [the show's] all-time best episode". Madina Papadopoulos of Paste Magazine awarded the episode a 9.9/10, the highest of the season thus far. She opened her review by saying, "Modern Family took a sharp turn this week", and went on to praise the episode's emotional conclusion. She stated, "While comedy is meant to make you happy, it is best when it does not represent a happy world, but a real world. The scene between Jay and Mitch is a heartbreaking scene to watch, but its realism topped with the dialogue still manages to bring out laughter". She also labelled Mitch and Cam's wedding as "the TV wedding of the year". Leigh Raines of TV Fanatic awarded the episode a 4/5 and singled out the episode's final scene. She said, "Modern Family strives to be realistic and, well "modern," and that fight is something that could very realistically happen. It was an honest moment between Jay and Mitchell confronting something that was uncomfortable for them". However, Jordan Adler of We Got This Covered was less enthusiastic about the episode. He stated, "Average would be a perfect word to describe 'Message Received', an episode that squanders its interesting plots with contrived story beats". References External links "Message Received" at ABC.com Modern Family (season 5) episodes 2014 American television episodes