The Middle: Hallelujah Hoedown

Someone totally called it. Yes, it wasn't me or any of my friends but this random person on facebook totally predicted what would happen in this episode.
I'll get to the prom later.
First off, Sue hasn't passed her driving test yet. She's failed it five times while all of her friends, including Becky (Jessica Marie Garcia) who has been in juvie, passed it. Sue is jealous and she hates feeling that way. Not even the wise words from Reverend Tim Tom (Paul Hipp) can help her. While at the title dance, though it wasn't really a dance, but whatever, she has an absolute freak-out, for her at least. Luckily, Reverend Tim Tom comes through, and after some more wise words from him and all her friends, even her mom, who came only because Brad said it was an emergency which it clearly wasn't. Though Sue is pumped and determined to pass, she can't take it for another month because she's already taken it five times. Oh well, she's just remained pumped for another whole month. Or four weeks as she puts it.
Then, Mother's Day is coming up. Frankie is determined that this time, Mike will not fail. In the past, Mothers' Days have gone absolutely horrible for Frankie, but she is determined to change that. She tells each one of her kids exactly what she wants. But Sue is too depressed and jealous to remember, Axl was too busy getting ready for prom and Brick remembered and even picked it out while shopping with Mike but Mike refuses to get it for her because it is a back massage machine and he is convinced that she will hate it. Then Mike gives up and lets Brick wander around the store himself. In the end, Brick finds a pair of yellow pants and believes that Frankie will like them. Mike could do no worse when he asks a random woman what size pants she wore because she was around Frankie's size. Great move, Mike, brilliant, one of your finest moments. Frankie was furious upon opening her present and they look absolutely awful on her. She rolls them up and they actually make a decent back support for her at work.
Now to prom. Boss Co. is still at work, asking people out to prom and earning money for their limo. But Axl won't be joining them because Cassidy isn't a prom kind of girl. However, when Axl comes into her class and asks another girl to prom for another guy, she freaks out. Yes, she thinks school spirit is stupid, but this is still prom and she still wants to go, so after throwing money at Axl, he asks her out and she says yes and they share a quick kiss in front of the whole class. She lets him off too easily.
I'll get back to them in a bit. Darrin and Sean are back and are taking Courtney and Debbie to prom, but they pull an Axl and can't figure out which one they brought. Axl hisses at them, "Not so easy is it?" They spend the night dancing in a square which was hilarious.
Back to the serious stuff. While dancing, Cassidy says that she wants all of the next weeks with Axl. He gets confused because he doesn't understand what a summer course at Vassar (which is in New York, for the record) entails. She will be leaving and no amount of tubing will change that. She says that it doesn't even matter because after she goes away, they won't be together anyway. Axl is taken aback. "What did you think would happen?" Axl's response? Typical Axl: "You should know me well enough to know I don't think." And then he says why wait for three more weeks, and they break up just like that. Axl is crowned prom king and Cassidy flees the auditorium leaving Axl alone on the dance floor. And, just like the guy on facebook predicted, Weird Ashley shows up to save the day. Axl was there for her last year and now she was there for him this year. My, my how times have changed. I will never be able to listen to Simple Plan's "Welcome to My Life" enough times to cure this pain, though I knew they wouldn't last, but I never expected Cassidy to be so insensitive about the whole thing, and Axl, for the love of God, would you please grow up? Please. And Cassidy, I thought you loved him. If you truly loved him, then you wouldn't have done this. Then again, Cassidy and long distance relationships don't mix. She dumped Cliff while he was at Northwestern so it certainly wouldn't have worked out anyway, but still, I had hope.
I wonder if Axl and Weird Ashley are actually dating, though she seems to believe that they are leaving Axl to bang his head against the door. Also, another note, why in the world did Sue and prom not come up when that was a major plot point last year? I still have hope that Sarrin will mend the fences and get back together. Another interesting note, this was Cassidy's first prom, though she did protest at a dance freshman year for gender equality.
Ultimately, this episode wasn't that good. None of the plots were spectacular and I hate feeling devastated but it could have been handled so much better. Mother's Day and The Middle just don't mix. There's only two new episodes left this season, and hopefully they're better than this one. Grade: B