The Middle: Major Anxiety

Axl (Charlie McDermott) actually has to figure out his life. Hutch (Alphonso McAuley) already has his life figured out; he's going to be an engineer. Axl first decides on Buddhist studies but naturally, his parents immediately nix that idea because he won't be able to find a job or make a living using that degree. He then decides upon engineering so he and Hutch can suffer together, but then he learns that engineers don't work on trains and also decides that that isn't for him. Apparently bridges and buildings just don't have the same ring to them as trains. Sue (Eden Sher), proving that she is the bigger person, even helps him find a major by making him take a girly quiz on Kicking It Teen Style.com which proves that he is a social person but the career chooses include manicurist and handbag stylist.
Later, they bond on the roof where Axl says that Sue isn't the worst sister a guy could have. She's good at helping people something that Sue loves to do. She wants to major in psychology and Axl steals that major. She is furious and then slips down the roof and is hanging on to the edge, threatening to go to his college. In the end, Mike (Neil Flynn) tells him that he will be majoring in business. All along, Axl wanted someone to tell him what to do and finally someone did.
In the meantime, Brick (Atticus Shaffer) decides that he wants to be popular. Frankie (Patricia Heaton) tells him that this means he must put down the book and actually talk to people. He tries this, barely. In shop class, he asks a girl to pass him a tool and she doesn't respond. But, nevertheless, he does decide to go to the Fall Fling. Mike and Frankie make sure he has his cell phone and ticket before dropping him off. I thought that they would just spend the whole night in the car and it's true, no sooner than they get home, Brick texts them saying that he's having a horrible time so they go to pick him up. When he finally gets in the car, he only has one shoe and has no idea where the other one is. He gets his romantic ending, just as I predicted. A girl, Cindy (Casey Burke), who is tall and odd looking comes to his house the next day to return his shoe and then promptly invites him out for fro-yo. He declines though Frankie pushes him to go out with her, snatching the book out of his hands. I think things just might work out between the two of them, after all she likes Planet Nowhere.
This was the best episode so far this season though I do have some nitpicks. First of all, I thought Brick worked out his relationship with that girl from North Carolina but I guess they dropped that plot line completely from the show, which I'm fine with, I just wish they had mentioned something about it. And Brick managed not to lose his cell phone for over a whole year, that's impressive.
That being said, it was still the funniest episode in some time with hidden little gags, like when Frankie is showing Brick how to dance with a girl and Mike mimicking her hand posture in the background. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-Sue gets a great minor plot line. She starts drinking coffee and it has her bouncing off the walls. The funniest bit is when she dumps a huge lump of nutella in her mug.
-But she breaks the bad habit after a mere two days and she does crash pretty hard.
-Darrin (John Gammon) makes an experience during the Heck family talk show to help Brick. He believes that it will be good exposure for the band.
-Axl uses his book of majors as a plate. That's a good use for it.
-Axl even manages to give Brick some good advice, saying that he needs to start looking for friends at the bottom of the heap.
-"Over the years, I've become quite fond of you."-Axl's best line to Brick.
-Frankie and Mike decide to make out in the car when they wait for Brick, but Mike has to come to her because she hurt her neck while she was sleeping. It's cute, charming and endearing and fortunately, we don't get to see it.