The essential episodes of The Middle
Watch these 15 in order and you've got The Middle — each pick states its reason.
- 01
Patricia Heaton stars as Frankie Heck, a dedicated wife and mother who juggles work, family and life in an everyday, average American town. Frankie and Mike are both working parents desperately trying on a daily basis to discipline their teenage son, Axl, support their untalented-yet-severely-optimistic daughter, Sue, and attend parent-teacher meetings to discuss their oddball youngest son, Brick. Life may seem average in the middle of America but it's anything but for Frankie Heck and her family.
- 02
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.
- 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
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.
- 06
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.
- 07
Frankie and Mike decide to try a fresh approach to Valentine's Day by having dinner out with friends. But a clueless Mike angers Frankie by refusing to present her with a simple romantic gesture. Meanwhile, Axl can't think of a life-changing moment that's occurred in his life when he's assigned to write a school paper on the subject, Brick is tasked with writing a report on love, and a hapless Sue doesn't understand why her new boyfriend has suddenly turned into a bad kisser.
- 08
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.
- 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
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.
- 12
In the season premiere episode, "Not Your Brother's Drop Off," Sue cannot contain her excitement over getting ready to move out of the house and into the dorm to start college. But Sue's excitement starts to give way to dread when she accidentally burns her hair and ends up having to cut it short, Axl doesn't want to join the family and help his sister move into the dorm, Frankie finds herself not feeling sad about Sue moving out of the house, and Mike overwhelms his daughter with learning financial and safety guidelines to keep her safe at school. Meanwhile, Brick doesn't know what to do when his girlfriend, Cindy, tells him that she wants to take their relationship to the next level.
- 13
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.
- 14
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.
- 15
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.
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