Uncle Rusty (Norm MacDonald) is back! And just as clueless as ever, but we learn some more about Mike (Neil Flynn) in the process, before Rusty somehow manages to ruin the day.
It is Spelling Season. Spelling is probably the only thing Brick (Atticus Shaffer) is good at that Mike actually enjoys. Mike has always strongly supported his younger son in this activity and even goes as far as giving him long words from the dictionary, Brick spitting back the correct spelling back to him and this year, Rusty tags alone. Actually, it's more like Frankie (Patricia Heaton) forces Mike to bring Rusty with them. Rusty is living out of his car so Mike invites him in, not that Frankie likes that idea. In the car ride to Chicago, Rusty tells Brick all these stories from when the brothers were younger, including the one where they threw rocks at a cop car. But everything is ruined when Rusty puts money on the Japanese girl and Brick purposely loses the Spelling Bee, leaving Mike speechless and furious. He leaves Rusty in Chicago, though it was fine with Rusty because he had to meet with some of his shady business associates. Fortunately, the money he made off the bee was enough for him to move out. Still, I don't think Mike will forgive him any time soon, though Brick could have cared less about the losing the bee. Winning meant more to Mike than Brick.
In the meantime, Sue (Eden Sher) is trying to win a car or so she thinks. Ehlert (Brian Doyle-Murray) is throwing a contest, where contestants must keep the same hand on the car at all times and they can't switch hands. Sue is determined to win and Brad (J. Brock Ciarlelli) is on hand to help, though a bee (an actual bumble bee) comes along and he is out just as quickly as he was in, leaving Sue to win the car all on her own and nothing will stop her. Nothing, not the bright burning sun, not Brad's bee stinging her cheek, causing it to swell. She even manages to stand on one foot for the entire night and holds her head up high when she and Darrin (John Gammon) have a fight. And she wins, after the yoga instructor gives up because she can't beat crazy. But she doesn't win a car. According to her, she wins something even better. She wins a short trip to Disney World. She is delighted, as that is even better than a car, to her, at least.
Frankie goes to collect Axl (Charlie McDermott) from college, but he can't find his desk and Frankie is hell bent to get that two hundred dollar deposit back so they set out to find his desk and they do, only it's being used for beer pong. But Frankie is truly brilliant at beer pong, beating everyone there. Even Axl is impressed. And just for that short moment, she becomes a cool mom. And she even returns in time to see Sue win that trip. The family celebrates with her.
This is the strongest episode in some time, and there were some true laughs, though I could have used more Sue and Darrin, but at least he was there to celebrate her victory with the Heck family. I liked that Frankie finally loosen up a little bit. And that Mike cared about Brick. Axl could have grown up a little more, by taking responsibility for finding his desk. But I'm glad that Sue finally got something she really wanted and that she is happy because I want the characters I like to be happy. And it was nice to see some Heck family members because they haven't been used enough this season. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-"It's a long story. She kicked me out. It was longer in my head."-Rusty explaining what happened with his and Marlene's marriage.
-Mike took a test for Rusty and received an A.
-Frankie buys sunscreen at a garage sale. No wonder it didn't work.
-Frankie apparently must have played a lot of beer pong in college because she can even throw a ball over her shoulder and it lands in a cup.
-Sue really should give up sometimes, but if she did then that just wouldn't be Sue.
-Rusty's knock off shower curtains are horrible and the ink doesn't even last, falling off in the shower.
-At least Rusty waits until most of the neighbors are at work before he washes his private areas.
-Rusty doesn't want to move back in with his father because then he would be a loser. He just wants to pitch a tent in Mike's back yard and bathe in the pool. Like that's much better.
-Also, I forgot to mention this last week, but it was nice seeing Neil Flynn guesting in Surviving Jack, a good show that Fox cancelled. (Enlisted was the other one.) But Flynn wasn't that nice of a character, portraying the sexist wrestling coach.
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