"Message Received" is the 22nd episode of the fifth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 118th overall. It aired on May 7, 2014. The episode deals with themes of stepping outside one's comfort zone. While the episode touches on lighter plot elements such as Jay's household all trying new things, the name of the episode refers to the revealing conversation between Jay and Mitch regarding Jay's assertion that he does not feel free to hold his own beliefs or ideas. The episode was written by Steven Levitan and directed by Jeffrey Walker. Jesse Tyler Ferguson submitted this episode for consideration at the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards, where he received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Plot Jay (Ed O'Neill) makes a sandwich for Manny (Rico Rodriguez), but Manny will not eat it because it contains pickles, which he dislikes. Jay decides that Manny must step out of his comfort zone and forces him to stay at the table until he eats a pickle. However, Gloria (Sofía Vergara) manages to turn the tables on him when she obliges him to taste one of her mother's blood sausages, something with which he is not comfortable. Jay accepts, but in turn, encourages Gloria to confront her fear of petting Stella's belly. They all agree to do it simultaneously, and when they do, they are all disgusted, but at the end of the day, Gloria pets Stella's belly when no one is around, and Manny sneaks into the kitchen to eat a pickle. Meanwhile, Haley (Sarah Hyland), Alex (Ariel Winter), and Luke (Nolan Gould) find a box that contains their parents' old mementos. They decide to trick them when they discover that Claire (Julie Bowen) left a message on Phil's (Ty Burrell) old answering machine in which she said she was pregnant. They edit it and send it to Phil, who gets the message during a golf party and believes that Claire is pregnant again. When he comes home, he and Claire discover their kids have manipulated them, and they decide to get revenge by having a fake fight to scare the children. The trick takes another turn when Claire seemingly says that she would have married her ex-boyfriend instead of Phil, which upsets Phil, causing him to leave the fight. Claire comforts him by saying that he is always here