Modern Family Fans Chalk Arvin And Alex's Relationship Up To Poor Writing

Few sitcoms over the last decade can boast the kind of success that "Modern Family" had. The long-running family sitcom aired 250 episodes over 11 seasons on ABC and remained well-reviewed for the entirety of its run. Undoubtedly, part of the reason for this success came from the many different cultures and personality types on display across the series.

One such point of view comes from the bookish Alex (Ariel Winter). Wise well beyond her years, Alex's precociousness makes her something of a handful, despite the fact that she's generally a moral center for her family. However, that clear knowledge of right and wrong seemed to fade toward the end of the series after she began dating her sister Haley's (Sarah Hyland) ex-boyfriend, Arvin (Chris Geere).

For their part, "Modern Family" fans largely rejected the development, particularly with it coming so close to the end of the series. On the r/Modern_Family subreddit, u/Jainuinelydone pointed out how disappointing this conclusion was for fans. "Alex and Arvin getting together, especially in the last episode with absolutely no build-up since she got with Bill, was awful writing," the user noted. 

Other viewers were quick to back up the OP, with most "Modern Family" fans preferring Alex's previous boyfriend, Bill (Jimmy Tatro), to Arvin. "Yeah, I wonder why they got rid of Bill so fast. I never really liked Arvin, I think Bill fit in way better," wrote u/loeqky.

Meanwhile, u/ankita seemed to think that the writing for Alex, in general, went off a cliff after her character went to college. "All her scenes when she starts college are lazy writing," they wrote. "I really liked her before. Her comebacks were really funny and sarcastic, but then she just became mean, and I think the writers didn't know what to do with her exactly," the user concluded.

While it's not abnormal for writers to start spinning their wheels a bit with an archetype like Alex after so many years on the air, fans seemed particularly irked by how things ended for this "Modern Family" character. "Yeah, and I also feel like Alex and Bill broke up for no reason," wrote u/Key_Strength_2251. "Like Alex made an honest mistake, and they could have just gotten over that."

Here the user is referring to the awkward misunderstanding that ended Alex's previous relationship. Though Alex was a likable and relatable character for most of the series, "Modern Family" fans appear to have rejected her final arc by a pretty wide margin.