Thanksgiving has arrived and once again, this spells disaster for the Hecks.
Because of the conditions of the Heck house, including the tiny table and no sink, Frankie (Patricia Heaton) decides to have the dinner at a restaurant. Sue (Eden Sher) isn't pleased to hear this but she is more concerned with Mike (Neil Flynn) not liking Darrin (John Gammon). This only gets worse as the meal continues.
Axl (Charlie McDermott) is finally forced to give Devin Levin (Gina Mantegna) a ride home from college. It's a complete set-up from Frankie but apparently Devin Levin is distantly related to Frankie's garage hairdresser. He is furious at first, though his disappointment soon sort of fades. Brick (Atticus Shaffer) is also bringing Cindy (Casey Burke) whose weirdness is cemented in this episode. Yes, its a Thanksgiving to remember.
First, there is a line at the restaurant and Sue tries to warn Darrin to step it up a notch to impress Mike. Cindy mentions that she would like the stuffed flounder inside the toy machine. Brick spends all of his allowance and birthday money to try to win it for her. She grows bored and leaves to eat. She gets a large wedge of cheese and when asked how it is, she mentions that she's had better. Things turn from bad to worse when Darrin eats the last of the turkey and though he later offers it to Mike, Mike promptly replies that he's fine. Things even seem to be going well between Devin Levin and Axl, as she loves the Colts and even can beat him at sugar packet ball, forcing him to drink some dirty turkey water. And there is so much food, Axl probably eats too much.
But this is the Hecks, and the smoke detector goes off, and, just as Brick finally gets his claw on that flounder, the electricity goes out. This means that everyone in the restaurant must go outside into the snow. Mike tells Darrin that he won't like anyone who tries to take his little girl away from him. But he is pleased when Darrin says that he will try and be better. Frankie has already her traditional speech on how everyone should be grateful that they have so much while others have so little. She is wondering if she does actually have anything to be grateful for this Thanksgiving, Mike throws a snowball at her which launches a huge snowball fight. She is happy again, Mike is happy. All is well, for now.
Sure, the Devin Levin plot and flashbacks come out of nowhere, but I have been asking for them to give Axl another love interest, and Devin does have potential but she is too smart for him, seeing right through his crap, leaving him hanging at the end. I doubt we will see her again. But Sue and Darrin are still going strong, and they are my absolute favorites. Cindy, on the other, completely forgets about the flounder, leaving Brick stinging.
Sure, this was also an odd Thanksgiving for the Hecks, as they don't have any family members over, which makes me sad because they have some great, funny characters on both sides of the family. There are tons of funny moments in this episode, without a doubt the funniest so far this season. Of course, the acting remains top notch, and Mike has his fair share of great looks in this episode. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-Devin Levin is comfortable in her own skin, changing her clothes in the car, eating Funions, talking sports with Mike and can cook anything on a hot plate, including Brownies.
-Axl first tells her that he has a girlfriend, but later tries to recant that by saying that he got a text over dinner saying that she died, but it wasn't sudden, as she was in a coma. He leans in for a kiss, but she is just reaching over for her basketball bag.
-The actress who plays Devin was made famous in the decent and surprisingly touching Christmas movie, Unaccompanied Minors. Just thought you guys might like to know that.
-When Darrin grabs the last piece of turkey, Mike is right behind him and the waiter tells him that there is no more turkey, Darrin merely says, tough break.
-In order to get Mike to like him, Darrin tells the staff that today is Mike's birthday, which is the worst thing he could have done. Mike hates being the center of attention. He takes the candle on the cake and instead of blowing it out, he sticks it in the cake, leaving the staff stunned.
-When Mike wants to know who is at fault, Sue, Axl and Frankie immediately finger point to Darrin.
-Darrin puts ranch dressing on his turkey leg and then tries to wash it in his water jug before giving it to Mike. Disgusting.
-Cindy says that her parents will pick her up when they get back Kentucky. Yikes.
-Brick never does join the family for dinner, getting served his drinks at the toy machine.
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