The Middle – Are the Hecks actually better off with Frankie back home?

I hate to admit it — okay, I don’t — but Axl said it best last night: “This may be controversial, but I’m just gonna say it: I like it better with mom not here.” It’s likely pretty controversial if you’re a kid saying that about your own mother, but, come on … was he wrong? Even Brick inadvertently supported Axl’s preference for a Frankie-less house when he enthusiastically noted that they could now order the four person family sausage pack. Score!

Last night’s episode of The Middle was awesome … as long as it focused on anyone other than Frankie. Okay, Sue wasn’t winning any prizes either, but she was certainly a crucial component of the success that the kids, and the kids and Mike, enjoyed in the episode.

My favorite moments are hard to pinpoint since it was the general insanity going on in that house that I enjoyed so much: the kids pointing fingers, their decision to clean up and then to not (and their rationalization for changing their minds), their conclusion that a change in vitamin or diet — or perhaps a retooling in the boudoir — would do the trick for Frankie.

And I really loved Brick and his Chow Down Chicago catalogue. How completely random, yet totally in character, was that? I thought he’d end up ordering something and costing the family a fortune, so it was a bit of a letdown that it didn’t go much further than him browsing, but it was a great fit for him. I actually wondered if he’d decide to boycott them after discovering that “they won’t deliver to Nevada,” citing some sort of unknown discrimination. Guess not.

Axl, like Sue, was better with the group than without. The toenail thing was extremely gross, and while I applaud him for cutting them into the chips bag instead of on the table, why did he leave the bag lying around? That, and the hat worked to the “optimum level of awesomeness” made for a poor individual showing.

But that was nothing compared to the mess that was Frankie. Last week Frankie got upset that the kids see Mike at the top of the pyramid, but really, wouldn’t you? The Pam Staggs on The Wheel thing was kind of funny — mostly because of Frankie’s apparent reverence for the show — but it went on for too long. And I know this is a sitcom, but what about Frankie’s “need to reevaluate” her life? Or telling Mike that “I just need a minute?” Seriously?

Life with kids is hard, and it only gets harder the older and more ornery they get, but who flees when things get too crazy? Take a break, schedule some “Me” time, but needing to rethink the whole thing? Staying away for a day because the kids are out of control? I’ve come to not like Frankie, but I would never have guessed that she’d flake on her family like that. That was so not Raven.

“…Mom’s gone. She’s gone. Our mother is gone!” – Sue
“She’s not gone. She’s only got twelve bucks in her purse; she can’t get very far.” – Mike
“Actually, ten.” – Axl
“Eight.” – Sue
“Six-fifty.” – Brick

Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Oct 06, 2011 @ 14:37 EST5EDT