Season 5, Episode 14 - ISpy

How much can our lack of trust hurt others? How far will we go to know the 'truth'? This episode is all about the lack of trust in relationships in our society today; trust between romantic partners, and between parents and their children. Beginning with Claire, who is suspicious of her daughter Hayley who is being vague about her photography exhibit at school. Claire asks Alex to, 'find out what's really going on' on her behalf. Then, same thing with Luke, who goes to a friend's house with Manny. Gloria too turns suspicious when Jay has a 'sexy dream' in which he says aloud, "ohh baby, baby." Finally, Cam becomes suspicious of Mitchell when he comes home after a lunch-date with a friend and doesn't share the details.

Spying on Luke

Claire clearly has a huge lack of trust for her children. It goes to the point where she asks her children to spy on their siblings, and report back to her. She also has created a facebook profile under a fake name and added her children. She and Phil even go as far as sending a remote-controlled airplane with a hidden camera over a warehouse to spy on Luke and his friends. What does this communicate to their children? To trust no one. This is a miserable way to live life, a life full of fear. Unfortunately many people are in this boat.

Trust has reached a whole new level in today's society. With the advance in technology, almost everyone has a phone. This phone holds both personal and business related messages, as well as pictures and many other types of social media. In the episode, phones are repeatedly brought up, whether it's Gloria snooping on her husbands phone, Claire accusing Alex of hiding something when she sees a text message from her uncle Mitchell on her phone, to Mitchell making sure Cam doesn't 'spill' secrets on his social media. At one point Phil in conversation with Jay says, " [Gloria] has no business being in your business, respect your man's boundaries." While some couples openly and frequently have access to their partner's phones, other couples see it as private, and a boundary to not be crossed.

While Jay and Phil represent a kind of male dominance, with the attitude of, "a man's business is his business," the women represent perfectly the lack of trust for their partner common among many American wives. Forbes magazine identifies this issue as, "a sickness of the west." Gloria and Claire are the suspicious ones in this episode, not the other way around. It's always the women who are reaching for their husband's phone's, questioning them, and waiting up late for their husbands to come home. Women are the 'worry worts.' This, along with jealousy, often has to do with insecurity in females. They feel they aren't pretty enough, or aren't raising their children well enough.

Suspicious Claire

In the end, no one had anything to worry about at all. Everything they were suspicious of was cleared up with innocent explanations. Jay told Gloria he had been dreaming about their infant child, Joe, who was in danger and out of reach. Ironically, he turns to the camera and admits he was actually dreaming about his dog, not the child. Even though this episode highlights female lack of trust, it points out that men really aren't to be trusted, and that they lie to avoid the truth, as to not hurt their pride.

 Seeing America's trust issue dilemma exaggerated on screen makes it both hilarious and utterly ridiculous. The writers clearly want the viewers to see how much lack of trust can be blown out of proportion and hurt relationships. Trust is key in any relationship, and you save yourself so much worry and negativity simply by trusting, communicating honestly and being secure in yourself. Point made, point taken.