The Middle: The Kiss

This was a great episode, until the ending.
First off, Frankie (Patricia Heaton) wants to spice up her relationship with Mike (Neil Flynn), a subject which this show should have addressed by now, given the importance of it. So when an opportunity comes for them to get away, Frankie jumps on it. Mike is less certain. The opportunity? House sitting for Frankie's sister Janet. But the house is so nice and new with all these crazy appliances which Frankie and Mike don't understand and thus can't work. So tempers flare, first at those devices but then at each other. Fortunately, Mike gets the bright idea of throwing one of the many ice cubes at Frankie though their good mood is nearly dampened when they arrive in the bedroom with the odd bed, which also needs remotes to work. But the viewer can assume that this part ends with them having sex on the floor before crawling into bed.
Axl's (Charlie McDermott's) plot line was equally as good. His friends, Sean and Darrin (Beau Wirick and John Gammon) come to visit. When asked how things are going, he reluctantly admits that he still wonders about Cassidy (Galadriel Stineman). Immediately, without missing a beat, the friends order a road trip is in order. Axl agrees at first, but then changes his mind when he realizes that he has no clue about what is going on in her life. She could totally have a new boyfriend, which is probably the case, considering she had broken up with Cliff for a whole hour before getting together with Axl. Does Facebook mean nothing to him? Still, it would be a great romantic gesture and he's curious to see where he stands so they head back. Things get hard when the gang steals some onion rings from an elderly couple. True, they thought that the couple had left but instead, they are furious and the guys don't have the money to pay so they run for it. Unfortunately, this story is still open-ended. Axl returns to his dorm, claiming that he forgot his keys but in reality, he doesn't know what he wanted yet. Who knows what is on the horizon?
Now, to the story line that ended horribly. Sue (Eden Sher) and Brick (Atticus Shaffer) are left at home, with Sue in charge. However, once the door is closed, Brick disappears so Sue goes to find him. He's in the basement but when they return upstairs, the Glossners have taken over. Yikes. None of their attempts to lure the Glossners out of the house work, until Sue and Brick are shut out of the house. Brick's proposition is simple, just ask them nicely to leave. Sue doesn't think this will work, but surprise, surprise, it does. All because she does the asking and asks the older Glossner, who has a crush on her. I didn't like that but it ended worse, with him kissing her. Sue's reaction is shock no happiness to be had.
Still, I liked this episode better than the Thanksgiving one, except for the ending to Sue's story line. I'm glad that they finally gave Frankie and Mike another strong and realistic plot line and Axl needed to face his emotions about Cassidy, the first girl he truly cared about. And Sue is gullible so I can see why the Glossners would enter the house, but I don't think that anything will happen between her and the older Glossner boy and for that, I am eternally grateful. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-Poor Mike, the first thing to make him happy in some time, that huge TV, and he can't even get it to work.
-What is up with that ice cube dispenser? It must be haunted.
-I believe we finally saw Kenny's (Tommy Bechtold's) face and it certainly wasn't even that impressive. In fact, it was not significant in any way.
-You would think the guys would have more money between them than almost nothing.
-Among the ideas to get the Glossners out of the house include luring them out with Pop-Tart pieces and yell fire, both of which don't work.
-I liked that they kept you guessing with Axl's plot line, but seriously, you aren't Facebook friends with her? Geez, that's super awkward, especially when you were dating her. Though Cassidy is odd, so maybe she didn't even have a facebook. Still, I'm confused, whatever.
-Frankie hates that Mike never wants to do anything while Mike hates that she has all these ideas which always manage to get ruined. I'm glad they got their happy ending.
-The funniest part of the episode was when the guys were singing along to Katy Perry's 'Part of Me' in the car. Who knew that they would listen to Katy Perry? And that they would know the words? Also, there could have been hidden meaning here, after all the song is about someone grateful that their relationship ended, though I don't feel that that is the case for Axl.