This was a very good Christmas episode. Though I usually love how the Hecks do the holidays, I haven't been the fondest of how they celebrate Christmas, but this episode got it right. Sure, there are plot holes but I loved the episode anyway.
Axl (Charlie McDermott) is back home from college and Frankie's (Patricia Heaton's) thrilled about it, but he doesn't want to spend anytime with the family, choosing his friends over them in a heartbeat. He and Frankie strike up a deal which includes Axl having to buy a tree and decorate with the family and spend Christmas Eve with the family and finally watch White Christmas. But Christmas Eve is a huge bust. The DVD Frankie purchases is in German which explains why it was so cheap and Axl is horribly annoyed.
Christmas isn't going well for the rest of the Hecks either. Sue (Eden Sher) adores Christmas but is devastated to discover that she is allergic to the beautiful real Christmas Tree. Mike (Neil Flynn) gets rid of it because it is slowly killing her, though, with her insistence, the tree is restored. Which means that Sue can't be in the same room as the tree, blocking herself in the kitchen. When the crazy cheerleaders Courtney and Debbie (Brittany Ross and Natalie Lander) come to visit, they believe that the Hecks are hosting a sick child for the holidays. Yikes.
Brick (Atticus Shaffer) probably will have the worst Christmas. In order to get some great prizes, he agrees to sell various things for various clubs. His system is horrible, he must sell something to pay off something else. Popcorn tins will pay off the wrapping paper but then peppermint bark will pay off popcorn tins and some on. To remedy this vicious cycle, Brick is selling poinsettias he took from the park. Which park? You and Frankie might ask? The one with all the dead people. Frankie quickly helps him carry in all the plants. That was easily the funniest part of the show.
On Christmas Eve, after the movie viewing goes bust, Frankie reluctantly allows Axl to attend his joyous bonfire. But Mike doesn't really want him to go. He pulls out an old song, "Cat's Cradle" which actually hits home for Axl. The song is about how when the son is young, he wants to spend time with his father but the dad is busy and then when the son grows up, he becomes busy and can't spend time with his father when the father wants to. Axl decides to give up his bonfire and sit on the snow sofa Sue made so she can also enjoy the tree, albeit outside in the freezing cold. The Hecks have a good Christmas after all.
The ending may have been a limp one, almost added solely so the credits could run but overall, the episode was great. Of course, the acting was top notch as it normally is, with Sue trying her hardest to enjoy the holidays despite sneezing often and getting hives on her arms. Axl has to put on a good attitude when he spends time with the family which he does only after being prodded by Mike. And, for Mike's delight, he doesn't have to spend time with Frankie's parents. Grade: A
Side Notes:
-Mike is so happy about Frankie's parents not coming that he is actually in a good mood for the majority of the episode and kisses Frankie, sure only on the cheek, but that's better than most episode.
-To cure her sneezing, Sue puts on a snorkel, so she can still make cookies, but it doesn't always work.
-Frankie and Axl literally write down an agreement for the amount of time he must spend with the family.
-The stupid cheerleaders have met Sue three times now, at least, and still don't know who she is, no one is that stupid. Whatever.
-Apparently, the rager Axl insisted on going to was super lame and he regrets his decision.
-Brick should be smarter than his plan. He should have known it would backfire as it is the Heck household after all.
-Sue, in her bubble, still insists on helping Mike decorate the tree by telling him through the screen on where the ornaments should be.
-When Axl describes the song to Brick, he is almost crying and it gets to Brick also. He must leave to call Mike at work.
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