6. "The Butler's Escape" - Season 4, Episode 4
... in which he shares a story from his childhood with Luke and accepts his decision to give up magic Phil Dunphy is a magic enthusiast. There is even an episode dedicated to his high school rivalry with another magician he would often compete with in his youth. He was, presumably, elated when Luke took up the craft and encouraged him to pursue it. In this episode, Luke tells Phil that he is quitting magic and taking up other activities. Left without reason, Phil spends the rest of the episode revisiting his own magical talents, talking about how Luke is dismissing his natural abilities. While trapped in an act called "The Butler's Escape", Phil asks Luke to explain why he is quitting magic. Turns out Luke was being bullied at school for the talent, which is a subject that Phil can relate to. He shares a story with his son about his days of cheerleading (a portion of his past that he will forever be proud of) and how he would get made fun of for being on the team. He ended up having a wonderful time, though, meeting other male cheerleaders and getting to hang out with all the pretty girls. Whether or not the heart to heart had enough of an effect on young Luke to encourage him to take up magic again, I'm not sure. We don't see any further magic tricks coming from Luke throughout the remainder of the season. We can, though, confidently say that Phil made his son feel proud, if only for a moment, to be who he was and do what he loved. A very "magical" moment indeed.