The worst episodes of The Middle
Ranked by viewer rating, lows first. Vote on a placement to back it or contest it.
- 01
Frankie and Mike are embarrassed to admit that they once again forgot Brick's birthday. But their embarrassment turns to fright when they discover that he has turned 15, and it's time for them to teach their not-so-sure-footed son driver's ed. But when Axl takes a shot at letting Brick drive his Winnebago, he ends up running down one of Orson's most treasured landmarks. Meanwhile, while Sue anxiously tries to choose a college major before deadline, she learns a shocking secret from Frankie.
- 02
Frankie decides that she needs to find something new that she's passionate about – life's third act - and Reverend TimTom offers the perfect solution. Meanwhile, tired of hearing Sue and Brick argue because of the giant hole between their bedroom walls, Mike orders them to fix it; and after Axl refuses to let rich girlfriend Lexie pay for some extravagant outings, Lexie finds a way to fool him into thinking he's becoming lucky when money and other high priced items suddenly make their way into his hands.
- 03
Axl heads to Chicago to visit Hutch for the weekend but discovers that his friend, who has his own apartment and a job, is now acting more like a responsible adult than the free-spirited college student he once knew. Meanwhile, Sue's excitement over having the apartment to herself over the weekend turns to horror when she is unable to sleep after watching "Silence of the Lambs"; and Brick enlists Frankie and Mike's aid to help convince Lilah, a new student who doesn't know anyone at school yet, that she and Brick would make a cute coupe.
- 04
Frankie becomes worried about Mike, who is being more quiet and distant than usual, and calls on Reverend TimTom to come over and try to find out what's troubling him. Meanwhile, Sue invites an excited Brick to spend a weekend with her at college, which includes a tour of the library. But when Sue bumps into Logan -- the hunky Abercrombie guy who had asked her out to prom -- and once again falls under his dreamy spell, she realizes that Brick is no longer with her and is now missing; and Axl and Hutch decide to take matters into their own hands by complaining to the city when their house is completely overrun with ants, and they discover that they may have even more problems than an insect infestation.
- 05
Frankie's trashy neighbor talks her into taking a road trip; Mike feels embarrassed when OSHA comes to investigate his fall at the quarry; Sue tries to talk Axl into reconciling with the family.
- 06
The Hecks find themselves spending New Year's Day attempting to stave off a zombie apocalypse in the Orson Escape Room, desperately trying to beat the Donahue's record of getting out with more than one minute, eight seconds to spare. Meanwhile, Brick is convinced that the mild-mannered man assigned to the family's Escape Room group is really the famous author of the "Planet Nowhere" books; Sue divulges a secret about herself to Axl that's she's been keeping since childhood; and Mike is stunned when Frankie reveals that she had a romantic dream involving Frank Sinatra.
- 07
Now that Axl has a real job, he begins to bond more with Mike and spends a lot of time with him – leaving Frankie frozen out of their interactions; and just as Sue is about to break up with Aidan, Brad pleads with her to wait a bit until after he has a chance to win the affection of Aiden's handsome friend, Luke.
- 08
Hecks vs. Glossners: The Final Battle
It's the Orson showdown of the century when the Hecks – along with the Donahues and Bill Norwood – wage a war against the Glossners after they steal Sue's car.
- 09
Frankie is thrilled when Sue invites her for lunch at the college. But lunch becomes awkward when Sue brings her new boyfriend along - Jeremy, the school activist - and the two of them begin bombarding Frankie with everything she and the world, in general, are doing wrong. Meanwhile, Axl informs a very disappointed Mike that he wants to quit football, and Brick overly obsesses over filling out a satisfaction survey after ordering some graph paper online.
- 10
Sue has had enough of boyfriend Jeremy and wants to break up with him. But not knowing how to do it, she asks Axl for some of his worldly advice. Meanwhile, Brick tries his best to show school spirit and fit in with his fellow high schoolers but is thwarted when best friend Troy gets noticed instead and is drafted by the football team; and Frankie becomes a bit embarrassed when she accidentally purchases some racy graphic underwear.
- 11
Frankie has come to the conclusion that April is not good enough for Axl and does everything in her power to keep her out of their annual Christmas family photo. But she finds herself vying for Axl's attention by trying to rearrange timing for the family's Thanksgiving dinner when she discovers that he plans to go to April's multiple family get-togethers that day. Meanwhile, Sue goes ballistic when she discovers that Brick will now be her new co-worker at Spudsy's.
- 12
Frankie finds a discount store that sells oddly shaped produce; Axl refuses to talk to Frankie after learning how she feels about April; Brick's new tick lands him in detention; Brad visits Sue at college.
- 13
Axl begins to panic when he realizes that he only has four months of college left before he graduates, and he hasn't sent out any job resumes - something he should have started when he was a junior. Meanwhile, Brad agrees to lead Sue's no-cut a cappella group as they enter a music competition, and Brick desperately asks for Frankie and Mike's advice when girlfriend Cindy tells him that he reads too much, and if he doesn't stop, she'll break up with him.
- 14
Frankie and Mike frantically attempt to shut off the water and save some treasured items when the pipes burst in the basement. But after freaking out and bickering amongst each other, Axl, Sue and Brick call a family intervention meeting to let their parents know that their constant fighting and bickering is negatively affecting them. But while the kids feel like they can benefit from their parents' newfound realization, Frankie and Mike start to think that the kids' lack of support makes them the ones who should be sorry.
- 15
After Frankie tries to get a stubborn Mike to go see Dr. Goodwin to take care of his toothache, Mike convinces the good doctor to leave his tooth alone and tell Frankie that everything was ok. But the two find themselves fabricating a story that's so ludicrous that they fear Frankie will figure out the truth. Meanwhile, since they are nearing the end of their senior year at college, Axl, Hutch and Kenny decide it's time to sell the fabled Winnebago; Sue tries her best to let college golf cart driver Tyler know that she likes him; and Brick attempts to write a historic Scottish rap musical - a la "Hamilton" - focusing on the life of Sergeant Charles Stuart MacKenzie.
- 16
Lexie spends Spring Break with the Hecks and confesses to Sue that she has a crush on Axl; with the quarry softball team on a losing streak, Mike hires high school coach Babbitt as a ringer to pull the team out of their slump; and Frankie desperately tries to uncover what has happened within the Heck family to make Nancy Donahue exclaim that she must be very proud of one of her family member's achievements.
- 17
While Axl tries to invent a new beverage that mixes wine with beer and Brick decides to join the school orchestra in an attempt to play the field and find himself a new girlfriend, Mike asks Sue to take the reins in putting together a romantic evening for him and Frankie to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary – which both of them totally forgot. Frustrated with being the family member whose role is to do everything they ask of her without complaint, Sue puts her foot down and declares she will no longer be that person, which causes the rest of the Hecks to rethink and rebel against what their supposed familial roles have been.
- 18
Frankie is tasked with being at her mom Pat's beck and call when she has to stay for a few days at the Heck house after coming down with an ailment. Meanwhile, just when it looks like Sean is about to ask Sue out on a date, Sue nervously blurts out that maybe they should both try to set each other up on a date with one of their friends; and Axl and Brick ponder what it is exactly that Mike does at the quarry,.
- 19
While Frankie feels the need to have a good cry after having a bad week, Mike shares the good news that, after 25 years as manager at the local quarry, he is being offered the job of regional manager but feels uncomfortable saying goodbye to his co-workers. Meanwhile, Brick suspects that he's being treated unfairly by his health teacher because of how horribly Axl treated her back when he was a student.
- 20
Frankie is ecstatic when she wins free maid service for a month. But the Heck house turns out to be quite the frustrating challenge to clean. Meanwhile, when Mike and Rusty's dad, Big Mike, starts to have trouble taking care of himself at home, the brothers begrudgingly begin to look at assisted living facilities for him; and when the Winnebago gets too cold and dangerous to inhabit since snow is coming through a hole in the roof, Axl, Hutch and Kenny attempt to move in with Sue and Lexie in their temporary college housing.
- 21
After discovering that he doesn't have a decent suit to wear for upcoming business interviews, Frankie is thrilled when Axl agrees to let her take him shopping to help him pick out a suit; and when Mike threatens to do away with the family summer pool if Sue and Brick don't start using it, they begin to worry that he and Frankie may take even more things away from around the house from their childhood that they don't use anymore as they edge towards adulthood.
- 22
Halloween finds the Hecks in their own "Twilight Zone"-type stories, with Brick providing an introduction to each.
- 23
Frankie's excitement about homecoming dwindles when her mother decides that she's going to attend the event; Mike helps Brick compete in the tailgating cornhole tournament after Axl gets sick; and Sue volunteers as class liaison for homecoming.
- 24
Sue develops a huge crush on one of her college professors and goes to extremes to get him to notice her, and Frankie and Mike agree to meet Brick's girlfriend Cindy's parents, who end up being just as quirky as their daughter.
- 25
Frankie frantically searches the house for Axl's graduation gift, which she bought months before and hid; Sue decides that she wants to make a sweet video for Mike's upcoming birthday - even though the family warns her that he probably won't like it; and after Cindy embarrasses Brick by strong-arming and chasing away a boy who was bullying him, Brick turns to Axl to help get him into shape so that he can stick up for himself.
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