"Connection Lost" is the sixteenth episode of the sixth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 136th episode overall. It originally aired on February 25, 2015. The episode was written by Steven Levitan & Megan Ganz, and directed by Steven Levitan.
In the episode, Claire waits for her flight back home while trying to get in touch with Haley after a fight they had. Not being able to reach her, she asks everyone where she might be and a series of events and revelations lead her to believe that Haley is pregnant with Andy's baby and the two of them ran away to Las Vegas and got married.
"Connection Lost" breaks away from Modern Family'''s formula by presenting the entire episode through Claire's laptop screen as she uses FaceTime, iMessage and other social networking services to keep in touch with her family. The episode received positive reviews from the critics, with many praising the original concept and humor.
The episode won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation at the 2015 ceremony.
Plot
While waiting for her flight at O'Hare airport, returning from a presentation she had for a new client, Claire (Julie Bowen) attempts to get in touch with Haley (Sarah Hyland) after a big fight that they had. She uses FaceTime to contact Phil (Ty Burrell), who tells her that he thinks Haley slept over at a friend's house. Meanwhile, Alex (Ariel Winter) continuously sends Claire new versions of her college essay for her to proof read, but Claire ignores them.
While talking to Jay (Ed O'Neill), Claire gets a notification from Facebook that it also happens to be Mitchell's (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) birthday, so she FaceTimes him to wish him a happy birthday. Knowing from Alex that Haley was baby sitting Lily (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons) the previous night, she asks Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) and Mitchell if they know where Haley is and they reveal that the last time they saw her was when she borrowed one of Mitchell's old blue suits. Lily tells her that Dylan (Reid Ewing) was there the previous night talking with Haley, something that surprises her since she was unaware that the two of them were still in touch.
Claire uses her fake Facebook profile to view Haley's Facebook page and sees that Haley has changed her relationship status to "Married". Claire starts to panic while Phil tries to calm her down, but putting the clues together (borrowed old blue suit and being with Dylan) makes her believe that Haley married Dylan. She calls him but after talking to him, she knows that Dylan was to her relief, not the groom. Having no other way to find her, Claire hacks into Haley's iCloud account to track the GPS on her phone, much to Alex's disapproval. Claire searches the address on Google Maps which shows up on a street in Las Vegas, next to a small wedding chapel. Claire panics even more and tries to think about whom Haley would end up married to, but she has no details about who Haley is dating.
While talking to everyone; Mitchell, Cameron, Alex, Phil, Jay, Gloria (Sofía Vergara), Luke (Nolan Gould) and Manny (Rico Rodriguez), who reveal that Andy (Adam DeVine) has taken time off to go to Vegas for a wedding, Claire comes to the conclusion that Haley has married Andy without telling anyone. A parcel then arrives for Haley at the Dunphy household, which Phil opens. The parcel is revealed to be the book What to Expect When You're Expecting. Claire panics once again that Haley might be pregnant and after her last attempts to get in contact with her or Andy, she closes all of her FaceTime windows to open a slideshow of Haley's childhood pictures, eats Cameron's popcorn, and cries while watching it.
Feeling incredibly stressed by the situation, Claire FaceTimes her Dad, seeking his wisdom and to apologize for doing the same thing as Haley when she was her age. Jay reassures her that Haley being pregnant and married might not necessarily be a bad thing since when she did it years ago led her to have a loving family with a good husband. Jay says this without knowing Phil, who is now crying, is also listening and Jay tries to take back everything he said.