The best episodes of The Middle
Ranked by viewer rating, highs first. Vote on a placement to back it or contest it.
- 01
After nine hilarious and heartfelt seasons, a Heck leaves the nest as the family takes a road trip to Denver, where Axl will start his new job – and new life away from home.
- 02
After nine hilarious and heartfelt seasons, a Heck leaves the nest as the family takes a road trip to Denver, where Axl will start his new job - and new life away from home.
- 03
Frankie convinces Mike and the kids that the Heck family should host a foreign exchange student from Japan to expose him to life in an average American family. But the Hecks become frustrated when the student shows no sign of interest whatsoever in the family.
- 04
After Sue wins a family trip to New York, Murphy's Law goes into full effect when the Hecks board a plane and fly to the Big Apple.
- 05
With only three days left until summer vacation, Frankie is ecstatic that she's made it through another school year with the family. But her happiness turns to panic when she and Mike learn that Brick needs to write a daily journal and turn it in to Ms. Rinsky or risk not moving up to the fourth grade; that Axl hasn't fulfilled his required 30 days of community service; and that, because of an error, Sue must prove that she never took a sick day from school in order to receive a perfect attendance award at her middle school graduation ceremony.
- 06
As graduation day approaches, tension begins to build between Frankie and Axl when he ignores her requests for answers about the graduation party she's planning for his special day. Meanwhile, Sue hopes that the sixth time's the charm as she once again attempts to pass her driver's test; and during his final days of elementary school, a forgetful Brick is reminded by Vice Principal Dunlap that he's the class historian and is responsible for putting together a slideshow highlighting the last four years of school for the school assembly.
- 07
As graduation approaches, Sue begins to think that "the year of Sue" may end on a sour note when a series of unforeseen events threaten to ruin her special day. Meanwhile, Frankie and Mike are stunned to learn that Brick is doing so well in middle school that he's been offered the chance to skip eighth grade and go directly into high school; and as summer vacation commences, Axl sees some images of his girlfriend Devin on social media having fun with some guys back home and begins to think he may lose her.
- 08
Mike and the kids present Frankie with the perfect Mother's Day gift - a day to herself. But when her day off goes awry, Mike offers a do-over with the family, which comes with its own set of glitches.
- 09
Marking the 100th episode milestone of "The Middle," the citizens of Orson, Indiana celebrate the Orsontennial - the town's 100th anniversary. During this momentous event, Frankie and Mike find themselves begrudgingly trying to drive a giant cow float in the parade; Axl, Sean and Darrin resurrect Boss Co. and attempt to make some big bucks by setting up a VIP area to view the festivities; Sue, still crushing on Darrin, tries to make him jealous by pretending to be dating Brad again; and Brick tries to earn himself a place in Orson history by entering a contest to come up with the town's new motto, which will be used for the next 100 years.
- 10
Valentine's Day aims its sights on the Heck kids when a nervous Brick finds out that his quirky girlfriend Cindy wants him to kiss her on the special day, Darrin asks Frankie and Mike to help out with an exciting scavenger hunt he's putting together for Sue, and Axl begins to question his girlfriend Devin's request that he not give her anything for what she considers to be a lame tradition.
- 11
The Heck family learns about Darrin's marriage proposal to Sue.. as well as her response. Meanwhile, Axl attempts to use his intro to Psych class to cure Brick of all of his quirks and tics.
- 12
Frankie and Mike are excited to discover that Axl has found the perfect girlfriend, Morgan, and that he's in love. But just as they start to get used to his new, sunny outlook on life, Morgan does the unthinkable and breaks up with him, leaving Axl completely heartbroken. Meanwhile, Sue learns that she's not the greatest of baby-sitters when she's put in charge of watching Brick and freaks him out -- as well as herself -- by letting him watch a scary movie.
- 13
After a disastrous attempt to get her kids ready for the first day of school, Frankie devises a plan to stay on top of her kids' schedules in order to better organize their lives. But things go from bad to worse when Frankie - aided by a reluctant Mike -- tries to be pre-emptive and explains Brick's eccentric quirks to his new, no nonsense teacher, Ms. Rinsky, and gets accused of being over protective. Meanwhile, Sue is so enthusiastic about being on the school's cross-country team that she wears a heavy sweatshirt touting her team spirit in 80 degree heat, and Axl's body clock gets thrown for a loop when Frankie begins waking him up for school with an alarm clock.
- 14
Brick is sick and tired of being forced to accompany Frankie on her weekend errands and pleads with her to let him stay home alone. Meanwhile, Mike is torn over how to deal with Sue's friend when he overhears her diss his daughter, and with his fellow teammates all growing beards for the football playoffs, Axl tries to grow one of his own - with mixed results.
- 15
Mike begrudgingly invites his brother, Rusty, who is temporarily living in a tent, and his father, Big Mike, who has recently broken his hip, to join him for the annual Heck family Thanksgiving. But when Frankie observes the macho Heck men's non-communicative nature, she encourages a not-so-receptive Mike to engage them in a real conversation and express their feelings. Meanwhile, Brick is ecstatic when he discovers that Bob is bringing his girlfriend, Linda - the local librarian who loves books as much as Brick does - to Thanksgiving; and Sue wants to start a mother-daughter tradition of baking a pie for the holiday, but ends up getting more sliced up than the crust.
- 16
After years of being at their kids' beck-and-call and never having time for themselves, Frankie and Mike decide to take charge of their lives and regain control over the Heck household. But Axl, Sue and Brick don't plan on going down without a fight.
- 17
Mike freezes Frankie out because he can't fathom how she inadvertently paid $200 for a small bottle of eye cream that she thought was priced at $20. Meanwhile, Axl's fathering techniques are put to the test when he has to take care of a mechanical infant doll for health class, and Sue and Brick desperately search for a way to fix a hole that they caused in Sue's bedroom wall.
- 18
Frankie can't hide her disappointment over whom "The Bachelor" chooses to marry and ends up moping around the house for days about it; Mike tries to toughen Sue up when she joins the school's tennis team and continually compliments her opponents during their matches; and Axl and Cassidy try to figure out where their relationship stands after their big fight.
- 19
Against Axl's wishes, Frankie insists on having the entire Heck family along for the ride as they drive to his college to move him into his dorm. But the short drive turns into an eternity when Sue freaks out after discovering that Frankie forgot to fax in her essay to be a candidate for Junior Peer Leadership Advisor, and Brick proves once again that he can't be trusted when he keeps losing his new cell phone.
- 20
When Axl comes home from college for Christmas vacation but would rather spend time with his friends over family, he and Frankie must come up with a time management agreement that will satisfy both of them, Meanwhile, Sue's severe allergic reaction to the Christmas tree threatens to ruin her holiday, and after it's discovered that Brick lied to the school about his Christmas wrapping paper sales, he finds himself running a mini Ponzi scheme in an attempt to pay back the debt.
- 21
The Hecks arrive at Walt Disney World and a good time may not be had for all when a series of misfortunes threaten to put a damper on their trip.
- 22
The Hecks go to a restaurant buffet for Thanksgiving dinner. However, the meal doesn't go well because Sue suspects that Mike dislikes Darrin, Brick invites his unconventional girlfriend and Frankie makes Axl bring a date he doesn't even know.
- 23
Having finally graduated college, Axl tells Frankie and Mike that he's planning on going to Europe over the summer with Kenny. Although Frankie thinks this is a great once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Mike is less than pleased and thinks his slacker son should be putting all of his summer efforts into finding a job. Meanwhile, Sue begins to panic after she barely scrapes a parked SUV and doesn't hear back from the owner after leaving several notes on the windshield, and Brick discovers that his sudden onset of backaches is due to not sitting in his lawn chair, which was replaced by a normal kitchen-table chair.
- 24
Frankie and Mike are speechless when, on his ninth birthday, Brick demands to hear the true story about the day he was born, which has remained a mysterious Heck family secret. Meanwhile, Axl's new manager at the movie theater turns out to be a conundrum - hot and dumb - which leaves a confused Axl wondering if her hotness trumps her incompetence.
- 25
After learning that Aunt Edie has passed away, the Hecks board a train with the body to take her to her final resting place in South Dakota. But along the way, Frankie accuses Mike of not being very caring or nurturing after she trips in the dining car and is helped up by another man, while Mike continues pumping out some ketchup. Axl believes that he was responsible for Aunt Edie's death because he had used the excuse that his Aunt had passed away numerous times to get extensions on his school assignments, Sue attempts to complete her college entry essay and accidentally sends it before correcting an inappropriate sentence and Brick decides to take a risk and live outside his comfort zone by befriending a complete stranger in order to live his life as freely as his late Aunt did.
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