The Middle: While You Were Sleeping

Well, first of all, its prom season again and Sue (Eden Sher) is devastated when she opens up what she believes is her shirt that says Keep Calm and Eat Ice Cream because they are finally making it in adult sizes but instead, it is her prom dress which finally leads her to the meltdown over her breakup with Darrin (John Gammon). She was so strong in the past episodes but now, she sobs, her heart once again breaking. She had been planning on going with Darrin and now that obviously can't happen. She even agrees without argument to work at Spudsys so her boss can go to prom. Fortunately, there is this hot Abercrombie and Fitch greeter, Logan (David Hull) whose first attempt at prom was a disaster who asks her. Sue is delighted and once again, Sean (Beau Wirick) is the loser, driving so far out of his way to take her only to find out that she has a date. But now Sue needs to find someone to cover her shift, which unfortunately doesn't happen. Luckily, Logan is a keeper and sports a good face while Sue works and even helps her close up. Then, the cheese machine doesn't shut off and liquid cheese squirts everywhere, ruining Sue's beautiful dress. Logan still doesn't leave. Instead, he admits that he really likes Sue (it took her long enough) and doesn't truly care that his prom is ruined. They slow dance to music in their heads and he takes a picture on his phone. A new romance is in the air, lovely.
Though Sue's night ends wonderfully, Mike (Neil Flynn) and Frankie's (Patricia Heaton's) date night doesn't end that well. Frankie rents a cheap movie with Bradley Cooper (whom she calls Gary Cooper) before he became famous but they can't manage to finish it. They fall asleep, again and again. Frankie even takes notes so they don't have to start over again. Mike is sick of trying this hard, after all, that is why he got married, so he doesn't have to try so hard. He just wants what dates lead to. Frankie wants the romance and they will see where that leads. In the end, they decide to go out, but fall asleep at the movie theater.
Brick (Atticus Shaffer) is told to stay in the kitchen until he finishes the mystery dinner Frankie made them, so he gets creative and starts pouring stuff into a bowl. Axl (Charlie McDermott) is enthralled. He immediately takes this idea and concoction and turns it into a business venture. They sell some at a local fair but can't get it into supermarkets because it isn't approved by the FDA and Mike and Frankie stop funding this venture which means that they turn to plastic bags to store the barbecue sauce. Axl has even stopped going to class, news that Mike takes better than expected. Sure, he is still super upset and thinks that Axl is an idiot. Instead, Axl and Brick decide to pool their ideas together about how to deal with parents and write a book. After all, there is no book on how to deal with their parents but plenty on how to deal with children. It's trivial, but its lovely seeing them get along so well. Frankie enjoyed it too.
I really liked this episode. I'm sucker for nice romantic endings and fortunately, this episode got one. Sure, Sue was slow to realize it, but she's not the most obvious person. I mean, she hasn't figured out Brad's true identity yet. I also liked seeing Frankie and Mike try to be romantic, though that also failed. I knew that something would prevent Sue from getting to her senior prom, though I didn't think the cheese machine would explode, I was thinking of them getting locked in the little vendor. Still, things still go well for Sue. I didn't have any sort of date for my prom so Sue still has me beat.
Again, the acting was great and it had several laughs, a half an hour well spent. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-The biggest laugh of the night from my dad came from when Sue tries to pour out her soul over her heartbreak over Darrin and Mike turns the DVD back on to drown out her sobs. Frankie gave him a nasty look.
-The excuses Sue's co-workers give her include going to rehab, an inflamed spleen and getting fired over not saying the stupid catch phrases.
-You sign a contract stating that you must say the stupid catch phrases.
-Best callback of the episode, when Brick says that he used to write slogans for the pretzel company.
-Poor Sean, once again trying to take Sue to her prom and once again, her getting another date first. But he'll smile through it, after all, he is a Donahue.
-Logan's first attempt at prom was a huge disaster. His date was drunk and threw up over a nun.
-Logan says that it is difficult to stay as in shape as he does because of all those potatoes he eats to flirt with Sue.
-Logan looks even better in clothes than he does shirtless, at least according to Sue.
-The barbecue sauce includes pixie sticks. Gross.

The Middle: Two of a Kind

Tonight we get something a little different: Dick Van Dyke back on TV.  And, boy, he needs how to make an entrance. Frankie's (Patricia Heaton's) mom is on a cruise and her father, Tag (Jerry Van Dyke) doesn't want to stuck at home all alone, trying to mend the fences with his older brother, Dutch (Dick Van Dyke). He believes that Dutch will be in bad shape and nips at the rest of the family to pick up the extra rugs so Dutch won't trip on them. But Dutch is in fine health for a man of his age. He can still reenact his commercial for his carpet cleaning business. Tag, on the other, has arthritis in his hip so bad, he is forced to use a cane to get around, though he will not be outdone by his older brother and ditches the cane by forcing it on Mike (Neil Flynn). Frankie wishes that the two would reconnect the mend the long broken fences, but Mike just gets more frustrated as Tag remains on the couch, annoyed with all the fun stories his brother has to tell the rest of the family. Finally, when the whole family gathers, everything just goes south. The two rehash the past as they try to perform their old talent show act but Tag called the host of the show fat which led them to being cut. Dutch is furious and starts to leave though tag announces that Mike has to leave. The fight still hasn't ended by the time everyone goes to bed and Frankie fears it's because Dutch was the one who finally taught her how to ride a bike. But then, she hears them, Dutch playing the ukulele and them both singing in their aged voices though they are still strong in spirit. Frankie is thrilled that they are finally getting along, though she instantly ruined it by saying that Dutch taught her how to ride a bike and Tag is not pleased to hear that. And, just like that, the two are doing their bickering because they love each other. Dutch even offers to drive Tag home, because he can still actually drive, for now because he drives onto the curb though he blames Tag's talking for distracting him, not his poor eyesight.
Sue (Eden Sher) has her own demons. Detention. Her first. She didn't want to eat the gross food the cafeteria was serving so she and friends went off campus to eat lunch and when they returned and were asked, every else shook their heads no while Sue nodded as she can't lie.
So she seeks out Axl's (Charlie McDermott's) advice. He actually helps her out, more or less. He advises her to bring snacks which helps as she takes notes when Coach Babbitt (Brooke Dillman) goes over the rules. When Coach has to leave the room, she leaves Sue in charge and the hooligans start behaving badly. And they are bad, playing with a lighter against their skin, making out on the desks. But Sue follows the warning to a tee. Coach dismisses everyone, not wishing to call Sue out. She had written down everyone's name, and some had more than one frowny face based on the offensiveness of the act. Coach Babbitt is pleased as she genuinely likes Sue but her kindness will not serve her well in the real world. She needs to learn to be normal and act like an average teenager, with the proper amount of attitude. Sue probably won't learn her lesson but the sketch was well done which is always appreciated.
Though the episode was cute and I loved the interaction of the brothers, it wasn't really a great episode with Brick (Atticus Shaffer) and Axl basically given nothing to do, though they did have a good one liner occasionally. Sue's plot was a nice change of pace for her though she was her typical self. Frankie was her normal meddling self, though she wasn't over the top, again, a good change. And Mike tried his hardest not to care or get involved with family matters that don't involve him.  I wish I could have seen something with the Van Dyke brothers in their prime, that would have been an amazing show. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-Brick comes up with the reverse idiom, "That's just crackers on butter," which means that thing just don't make sense. Axl believes that the saying will never catch on though Dutch says it later, to Brick's sheer delight.
-Tag compares his bladder to a sieve. That's just awkward.
-Sue can't even say the word, ass.
-One of the lines she mutters to get the group of neanderthals to cooperate is that some of them are parents. Which is a truly terrifying thought.
-For whatever reason, her parents don't find out about her Saturday detention.
-Dutch ran into Don Riggles one time.
-The Donohues taught Sue how to ride a bike but Mike doesn't care much. That is one thing I thought would actually slightly upset him.
-Doris is nowhere to be seen, and that could have been a good gag for this episode.
-Standing hugs are for strangers, sitting hugs are for family.
-In all seriousness, I hope everything is okay with Jerry Van Dyke as he never stood during the whole episode.
-Dutch lives in Las Vegas and according to Tag, he is so unappealing that his wife left him. In reality, she died, which is the ultimate flight, Tag's words.

The Middle: Food Courting

Axl (Charlie McDermott) actually has a birthday and apparently, it's tonight. He turns the big 2-1! and boy, is he celebrating. Frankie (Patricia Heaton) tries to take things in stride but that's not going too well. Axl ignores her phone calls and her texts and doesn't tell her how much he liked the gold toe socks she sent him. Whatever, Frankie drowns her sorrows in a cake which he doesn't come home to eat.
In the meantime, Mike (Neil Flynn) wants Axl home for the weekend to help him move the old, unnecessary freezer out of the garage but instead, he wants to stay at college because his friends promised him a weekend he wouldn't remember and sends the sweet Sean (Beau Wirick) instead. This does not go over well, though Doris is at least happy to see him. Mike is forced to pull out his dad voice and so Axl comes home. Only the whole thing is a trick. Mike is following a tradition his father started when Mike turned 21. Big Mike asked Mike to move some manure but took him out for a beer. Axl, however, isn't thrilled with the tradition, wishing he could have stayed at school instead. Mike changes his mind and decides not to go with him because he is being so annoying so Axl tries to force the moment taking a beer out of the fridge and Mike goes out without him, Sue (Eden Sher) freaks out about the alcohol in the house.
When Axl finally does show up at the bar, the bouncer doesn't believe that Axl is 21 and thinks that his license is actually a fake. Just as the guy is about to cut it up, Mike finally vouches for him so Axl is allowed to join him and manages to drink Mike under the table.
That plot line actually has a sweet ending while the others are just weird.
Sue is being courted by another food vender at the mall, Chop Suey. They offer her four figures, ten whole dollars an hour, and even slip her free food. Sue decides that it is best to leave though she wishes she could be loyal to Supsdy's. Her manager won't let her leave and offers her a measly raise of a nickel an hour and the position of assistant manager of condiments. She decides to stay, leaving a great opportunity behind.
Brick (Atticus Shaffer) gets an attitude out of nowhere. He is super rude to Frankie and won't place his bowl in the sink. He yells at her when she tells him to wear a jacket outside and her punishment doesn't go over well. She tells him to write a three page, double-spaced paper about how he should respect his mother. But he doesn't. He stares at the screen the whole day reading through books that he has memorized in his head. Frankie ends up caving and lets him go to bed without even writing one single word. Well, there was actually one word, but Frankie moved Brick's hand to type it herself.
But, luckily, he's a teenager and his mood quickly changes, thank goodness. He ends the episode taking Frankie's unfinished bowl to the sink, but she doesn't push him. She's just grateful.
Sue's plot line did provide enough laughs and it is nice that someone else finally recognized her talents for food sales. But she doesn't understand that change is good and boy, she is not smart, that raise is probably nowhere near as good as the amount she would be making at Chop Suey. But whatever, as long as she's happy.
I just didn't like Brick at all and Frankie should never let him talk to her that way. She is his mother and deserves some respect. I don't know how he finally got the message but he did, for now at least.
Still, there were some lovely moments between Axl and Mike which are just wonderful to see, though Axl doesn't get the point, of how quickly times moves. Mike felt like he was just in Axl's seat, which means that he recently felt that young, not that he was just sitting in Axl's seat. At least that plot was wonderful. I love sweet moments between the parents and the children. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-One of Frankie's punishments is eating ice cream in front of Brick because she sent him to bed without dessert, unfortunately, the moment doesn't last as the Chop Suey is on the move and she needs to use the bathroom.
-Brad (J. Brock Ciarlelli) is peanut butter and jealous that Sue is being recruited instead of him though she believes that the hot dog shop doesn't have enough moments for him to shine.
-Frankie calls Kenny's (Tommy Bechtold's) phone because Axl won't answer his own. She tells him the story of his birth, including how she was pushing him out of her body.
-Axl tells the bartender that he already sold his fake ID to one of his friends.
-Also, if both Axl and Mike were drinking, who drove them home? I hope neither one of them.
-Sue gets upset when she sees them drinking because she has seen a skit about how alcohol ruins families and such.
-Brick wants to attend library appreciation day where if he donates a gently used book, he gets a bookmark with tassels and there will also be a behind the scenes tour of the library.
-Sean considers Mike to be a second father and hopes Mike isn't mad at him because he mowed the lawn that one time when the Hecks were away. Mike isn't. He just wants his son.
-The Hecks still have Doris, but she is happier to see Sean than anyone else. I wonder where she spends most of her time.

The Middle: Siblings and Sombreros

Well, car rides never accomplish anything for the Heck family, and just driving around because you can, in a poor attempt to bond is a sure fire way to get your whole family angry at you.
For whatever reason, Axl (Charlie McDermott) has another break from school, and he and Sue (Eden Sher) get into a nasty fight about a sombrero that Mike (Neil Flynn) obtained from Gaitlenburg, though who knows why Mike went there without the rest of his family. Each say some crap about the other and Frankie (Patricia Heaton) is in the middle of it. Sure, she thinks Sue is acting crazy about something so little and petty but Axl is also being a huge jerk, refusing to simply drive up and look for it in his messy apartment. She just wishes that they would get along. But she foolishly takes Mike's advice and informs Axl that Sue is just relentless, which she absolutely is, but you can't say that. Of course, Axl agrees and turns around and tells Sue anyway. Naturally, Sue is furious and determined to prove Frankie wrong and starts writing down one hundred reasons why she is not relentless.
Frankie turns around and attempts to make her feel better and says that Axl is a jackass. Again, basically the same thing happens, she agrees with Frankie and when Axl returns home, she tries to rub the insult in his face. It ends badly, with both kids being mad at each and livid at Frankie, slamming their respective doors in her face as she tries in vain to mend fences.
Now, you might be wondering why Sue even needs that sombrero? She and Brad (J. Brock Ciarlelli) are planning on taking a senior picture on the cow of Orson. They need the sombreros because it is Senor Cow as it is their senior year. They are smart at the beginning, bringing a ladder and setting a timer on the camera, but it takes several attempts for the timer to get them at the right moment but Sue is foolish, not wanting the ladder to appear in the final picture so she kicks it out of the way, not figuring that they would need it to climb down. Which leaves them no choice but to call in reinforcements. For whatever reason, in order to finish out the plot and fix things, Axl is the only one available. He rescues them, only after insisting that they pay him.
Fortunately, he won't make Sue pay those ten bucks she promised him for his rescue. He feels bad because he believes that Frankie doesn't have an identity outside of being a mother and Sue laments that next year, she will only have Brick (Atticus Shaffer) to mother. Axl takes some pity on her and decides he will occasionally pick Sue up and take her home on the weekends so Frankie can get that mothering gene in her some time to do its thing. Sue is pleasantly pleased that Axl will actually see her on campus and he grudgingly admits that he does know a bunch of stuff about the campus, so yes, he just might help her out from time to time.
Frankie tries to have the last word, saying that she just wants them to get along and how stupid they are for the constant arguing. Mike is sick of hearing it and follows his own crappy advice, saying something fairly cruel about Frankie.
Brick gets the short end of the stick with a horrible plot line. He receives the award for being the student in the area of physical education, and Mike tries to get him involved in sports. It fails because, as it turns out, Brick's gym locker partner wears Brick's gym shorts and Brick wears his. This partner is a good athlete and as the teacher doesn't know names, Brick's shorts actually won the award.
This episode didn't do much for me. Sure, the ladder thing was hilarious, and Mike's line about finding nothing funny was great, this was only a mediocre episode for me. I normally love Sue and like her relentless spirit but she was just way too annoying this time, lacking her normal sympathy. And Frankie was also annoying, though not much more than normal. But I hated Brick's plot, plus they had already done something roughly the same way back in Season One, when Axl's test scores were mixed up with a smarter's kids and that had a bad reaction with the other kid, who stopped trying at tests. And I don't think that a teacher would really be that stupid and know the kids only by the names on the shorts. Oh well, at least Sue and Axl get along again. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-Brick comes home in his gym clothes because he couldn't find his pants.
-I can't believe the Hecks can afford customized gym shorts.
-Frankie doesn't want her kids to fight about the coffins she and Mike are buried in.
-Brad has a million hats but only one sombrero.
-Before Brick decides to play tennis, he reads several books on the subject including an Arthur Ashe biography.
-He spends most of his gym time faking a leg cramp so he can go to the nurse's office for a banana or hiding in the bushes reading a book he placed there earlier.
-On the beginning car ride, Mike doesn't stop for anything so the next day Frankie gets a double bacon cheeseburger she was craving since that car ride.
-Mike and Frankie used to buy amazing corn. But the stand went out of business.
-Axl is almost a grown up but he can't throw star darts in the house, probably a wise decision on Frankie's part.

The Middle: Operation Infiltration

Love makes people do crazy things.
First of all, after the miracle of the Hecks getting everything they asked for when it came to Sue's (Eden Sher's) financial aid, she gets to go spend some time with Axl (Charlie McDermott) at his college because Devin (Gina Mantegna) called him out, proclaiming that it would be a deal breaker if he wasn't close to his family because she is super close to her own family.
Sue can't believe her luck, it's a miracle, but then, she figures it out. It's all a show. She decides to push her good fortune. She decides to make an unscheduled appearance at a college party despite having to wake up early the next day for her orientation. But she milks it too far, getting into the creepy territory when they snuggle under a blanket. However, when Axl finally admits the truth and Sue calls him out on it, Devin has the last laugh, it was all her plan for an April Fool's Joke, leaving everyone roughly back to where they started.
Brick (Atticus Shaffer) has machinations of his own, trying to infiltrate a group of friends that is about to lose a member to New York. It's on his field trip with the robotics club. Who even knew he was part of any sort of club? Frankie (Patricia Heaton) goes along as a chaperon. Brick had volunteered her months before, though Frankie insisted that he not sign her up for anything before April because hopefully the school will cut it because of budget cuts. That does not happen. And three boys cram into one tiny bus seat, leaving Brick alone by himself. Frankie flips out at one of the boy's mother, who doesn't seem to think that it is a big deal. As the kids tour whatever they are going to see, she sits outside on a bench and stews.
Then, the guidance counselor, Dr. Fulton (Dave Foley) comes out to talk to her and Frankie gets hit over the head like a ton of bricks. She may know now what its like to have an awkward child, but Axl was super cool and would often overlook other children, ignoring them so Axl would be alone with his friends. She apologizes to the other mom, who then forces her child to sit with Brick but Brick doesn't sit with him long, deciding to go out on a high.
Mike's (Neil Flynn's) plot line has the most potential but ultimately falls flat. His father is out for the weekend so the plan is that he and his brother, Rusty (Norm MacDonald) will slowly weed through and get rid of a select few of Big Mike's hoard. They discover their old room, remarkably untouched since childhood, filled with Mike's trophies for sports and other stuff and Rusty's jars of dirt. Rusty proves that he is the most gullible person, listening to and believing to all of Mike's stupid advice throughout his early years. Giving up on his dream of meteorology because Mike informed him that he would look like a woman against the weather map, other stuff like that. On the other hand, Rusty thinks that Mike has the weirder life, having to go home to that crazy, short lady and having a struggle to put three girls through college. However, when Big Mike returns home before they are ready, Mike finally decides to stick up for Rusty for a change and take the blame for all the microwaves on the curb, all fifteen of them.
Though this show was terribly funny, it was just odd and with the one plot line being a complete joke, it was nothing more than cheap. And though Mike's plot had such potential, it didn't work. Though Mike did realize he should have been more supportive of Rusty in their younger years, that kid was just too gullible to truly gain sympathy for Mike being a jerk. Fortunately, Frankie had one of her strongest plot lines in years, actually making real genuine growth for her character. At least his ended, happily. Sue milked her plot line to the max which is always wonderful and Axl had tons of great stuff to do also and at least she has proof of him being kind to her, treating her like an actual human being. Though I will gladly watch this episode again, it contains too many flaws to be one of the best episodes this season. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Keep your eyes peeled for a brief, three second glimpse of Barry Goldberg himself, at the college party.
-Axl glued his underwear to Sue's head. That is just gross. I truly hope siblings aren't that cruel to each other.
-Frankie occasionally served ice cream to her kids for breakfast, either on their birthdays or when there was no milk.
-Mike and Rusty pick up a game risk that has stood the test of time, sitting their collecting dust for thirty years.
-Kenny (Tommy Bechtold) is still glued to his computer, playing video games all the time, ignoring everything around him.
-Dr. Fulton really misses his ex girlfriend and seriously considers breaking up her wedding.
-Big Mike keeps newspapers for such a long time and Rusty is so out of things, that he is shocked that Reagan died.
-Pet dirt is a horrible idea and yet Rusty wasted seven years of his life on that idea.
-Axl gets so into his act of loving Sue, he even kisses her on the head. Not even Devin saw that one coming.
-The beginning is also spectacular, Mike thrilled that they are poor, which means they worked just hard enough for the great financial aid package that Sue was offered. Frankie always knew they were poor and this proves it!