The Middle: The Carpool

This was a better episode than last week's.
Axl (Charlie McDermott) finally got a good plot line. While harassing his friend, Hutch (Alphonso McAuley), he is called upon in an Astronomy class to answer a question and he answers it correctly. Which makes a girl, correction, a hot girl, in the class want to form a study group. So Axl finally hits the books. Zoe (Nicole Travolta) is the typical dumb blonde. And she likes Axl and naturally, Axl is desperate as it has been so long since he touched a girl. But the whole thing goes up in smoke. Axl is not studying for his actual classes which is a problem and when he finally tells Zoe the truth, she is furious and dumps him immediately, leaving Axl once again girlfriendless. She only liked him because he was smart and he only liked her because she was hot and needed his help. Yeah, like that relationship was really going to last.
Brick (Atticus Shaffer) has a major plot line though he plays only a small role in it. The bus drivers are going on strike which means that the parents must form carpools. But Frankie (Patricia Heaton) is Frankie. She is always late and never packs Brick a good lunch. The other kids can't handle her lateness. But even some begging by the other parents doesn't work. It is only after she gets her car stuck between the fence and a garbage truck that the other parents ask her to stop. The stress she gives their own children isn't worth it. But at least they don't punish Brick for having a lazy mother.
Mike (Neil Flynn) is given some tickets for a college basketball game. He is trying to dig up people to go with him though Sue (Eden Sher) wants to go, but he doesn't believe her. Luckily, he finds enough people to go, leaving Sue behind. This inspires a great talk between Mike and Frankie. He argues that she never thought to take Axl to the ice escapades while taking Sue. Who knows what could have happened if she had asked Axl? But her words cause Mike to reevaluate his parenting. He realizes that she is right. He must spend more time with Sue, so he does and learns what JPLAW actually is. Although Sue didn't receive the screen time she normally does, this was probably the most realistic and thus the best plot line of the episode.
Overall, this episode was great, with excellent acting, though it missed the laughs the show often contains, but the plot lines were fantastic and realistic (though Axl's probably did stretch the truth somewhat). And I was glad that they brought Hutch back. The show should truly grow his friendship with Axl. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-Mike has been ignoring Sue for years, picking Axl over her. But, then again, Axl is his favorite child.
-Zoe is stupid, borrowing a too small bra from her roommate and then taking it off in front of males. Hormonal males.
-At least Axl put his new found study skills (finally!) to use, studying for the classes that he is actually enrolled in.
-Mike doesn't even know where Sue works.
-When he takes Sue out for dinner, she insists upon no potatoes because she is sick of them.
-The school says that it will break the bus drivers union just as they did to the janitors union. Yikes.
-The best gag of the show is when Frankie puts Brick's cereal, banana and milk breakfast into a bag so he can have lunch.
-Frankie also needs to stop letting the kids stay up late. That's not good for anyone.