Modern Family Fans Think Manny's Character Went Downhill After The First Few Seasons
Over 12 years, "Modern Family" fans truly got to know the Dunphy/Pritchett clan well enough to practically call them distant relatives. The adult actors in the show took their characters and brilliantly developed them for 11 seasons. However, for the children in the series, their fictional development needed to coincide with growing up before our very eyes. However, many fans on social media were not too fond of how Manny (Rico Rodriguez II) changed in later seasons.
Texas native Rico Rodriguez II became part of the "Modern Family" cast when he was just 10 years old. Throughout at least the first half of the series' run, Manny seemed beyond his years and was portrayed as a sweet, innocent boy who was overprotective of his mom. For plenty of fans, Manny's brilliant dry sense of humor and unique viewpoint of the modern world were enough to make him a show favorite. However, his character did not continue on the same path to the final episode.
By the time we got to Season 11, Manny's character had become an entitled, snobby teenager who acted as if he was above everyone else his age. The once-lovable, innocent boy who valiantly defended his mother while hilariously pointing out the flaws of his surroundings suddenly became self-important. And this change caused fans to express their frustrations about the character online.
From sweet and compassionate to self-centered and snobby
In terms of personality and appearance, the kids that played main roles in "Modern Family" had their own levels of character development. Manny Delgado had the biggest change in attitude over the years. Some fans (who may have been better off watching animated shows in which the children stay the same age) did not accept the personality shift, and it's not hard to find their opinions on the subject when searching through online comments.
When an opinion poll on Reddit asked if anyone agreed or disagreed that Manny's character was better in the first few seasons, u/alixvideoss put it simply: "Literally no one should/will disagree." On another thread that discussed Manny's character specifically, u/Apprehensive-Box-641 commented how it would've been better to go in a different direction. "I had hoped he would become a humanitarian who finds a passion for helping people instead of being so focused on culturing himself and becoming a snob." Despite many fans agreeing with this opinion, others seemed fine with how Manny ended up.
On YouTube, there were fans like @epulmansor who continued the negative reviews with "I hate Manny's character development in this show ... from a mature, wise and brave cute kid to an idiot wimp." Others had no qualms with how he changed from Season 1 to Season 11. For example, @FuegoBandzMan declared, "So many people complaining about how the kids grew up and turned out to be in the show, that's how the world works, nobody stays with the same personality their entire life."