Thursday, November 9, 2017

The Middle: The Set-Up

Pat Spence (Marsha Mason), Frankie's (Patricia Heaton's) mother didn't have a stroke but is still under the weather. So she's staying with the Hecks. And Frankie is  trying to make things alright for her. But Pat can certainly be annoying, over explaining everything. She prefers damp paper towels over washcloths. It also has to be her preferred brand. And she assures Frankie that she would never slip on the floors in the Heck house because they're too sticky. Frankie yells but nothing matters. Pat cries that she is such a burden but Frankie assures that it is a privilege, which is what Pat said back when she was taking care of baby Sue twenty years ago. They've reached full circle.
Back at college, Sue (Eden Sher) and Sean (Beau Wirick) are having pizza together as friends, and Sue blows it, incorrectly finishing his sentence, so now they are setting each other up on dates. Which goes oddly. Sue's pick is someone from her econ class who checks off all of Sean's boxes, but he just isn't feeling it. Sean decides to take a chance, (Brad would be proud) and decides that he will be Sue's date, but instead, Sue answers the door stands the food delivery guy. He (Jackson White) was supposed to bring food to Lexie (Daniela Bobadilla) so they go on a picnic and it goes pretty well, surprisingly. To me, he's nothing special (I don't care that he's in a band), but Sue's happy, confused but happy. She feels bad for Sean's friend though and hopes he isn't disappointed. Sean sighs and states that he's used to it.
Now, I'm certainly alone here, but I don't ship Sue and Sean. I was team Sue and Darrin (John Gammon) for three years and that failed badly and we haven't seen Darrin since. Sue has already dated one of Axl's (Charlie McDermott's) friends so I'm over it. She needs to find someone else. However, Sean also needs to find someone great. And he shouldn't be used to disappointment; he's in medical school and his mom is Nancy Donahue (Jen Ray). But I know that they will end up together and no, I won't be terribly upset, I'm just not particularily rooting for them to get together.
Now, Axl and Brick's (Atticus Shaffer's) plot is a toss away. They can't stand Mike's snoring (he's staying in Sue's room because of Pat) so they discuss what the heck he does all day at the quarry and oversleep in the Winnebago. And he's responsible for children.
So he drives the kids to school in his house and gets fired. Which makes sense. Hopefully he'll finally put his college degree to use.
While this wasn't a great episode, it was still completely solid and featured some great guest performances, which is always welcome. We'll see what happens with Sue and Sean. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Sean is polite even to cadavers.
-Pat saw Hamilton in Fort Wayne and didn't catch a single word.
-Lucy's apparently a genius now, as she made a rocket fly twenty feet.
-Brad (J. Brock Ciarlelli) loves Mamma Mia.
-Pat's generation keeps their appointments.
-Sean is so cute his patient could sit there all day, and she (Eve Brenner) has a wallet full of granddaughters.
-Frankie needs the brand name soap as she hasn't showered for four days.
-What happened to the rest of Aidan's deliveries?
-Mike is reading so many of the signs on Sue's wall. They really are seeping into him.

No comments:

Post a Comment