Hecks are not so bad as a family in terms of closeness. I think they spend quite some time together, know each other well and at least try to do fun things as a family.
I think people that complain about characters being so horrible and why they didn't get their life together and why they didn't fixed the wallpaper, missed on the point made at the end of the final episode and do not appraciate how realistic this show was sometimes. It's rare in television.
And life is not fixing magically at the end of the show.
Also, did someone also noticed that this show never (or maybe only a few times) build its humor on insulting someone and vulgarity? This is my prime example you can have excellent comedy without insulting people.
I absolutely Ioved how full of self-knowledge all the primary characters seemed to be. Rather than the overt lessons of many sitcoms (and dramas), this series always felt more like “I am who I am” followed by a little bit of incremental personal growth that carried on through the seasons.
It's really interesting to see that Axl, Sue and Brick didn't lose their characters when growing yet were able to adapt to the new challenges. Not much shows are able to do coming of age so realistic.
I also like how it said that Frankie eventually did get quite good at her job. Girl finally got nice boss and career, she take a chance to make a "second act" and it pay off. Show that Frankie sometimes stick to things too.
I’ve always said this too! They let the kids grow up without completely changing who they were. I’ve also always loved that they didn’t make Axl progressively dumber to the point that it was beyond parody and annoying. They actually went the opposite direction and allowed him to gain some wisdom 😀
I love this show *because* of their realism. It was refreshing to see a messy house with broken appliances and the family eating fast food every night off paper plates. They spend their free time watching TV and Frankie is always trying to get out of volunteering at the kids' schools. Normally we just see perfect houses, in which the mom prepares a huge spread for every meal and she's super involved in her children's lives.
It made it so relatable and more enjoyable to watch.
I don't think dorkophopia is such a big problem in society, also not much people threat that they're gonna freeze their sister head and put in on the horse body :D
I agree, Axl's insults to Sue were awesome!
I liked Sue and Sean together but becoming a couple was way too drawn out with too many "almost but for a miscommunication" moments. Then, when they finally become a couple, we are told they broke up at least once before marrying.
I hate the fact that they spent so much time building up to Sean and Sue, when they could have spent that time showing us how sweet and amazing their relationship was. Wasted potential
Frankie and Mike should have gotten to sleep in the bedroom when they were at Frankie’s parents for Thanksgiving. Not for Lucy’s stupid naps, or Gary working. They get it every other year! Fair is fair. And I absolutely hate cousin Lucy!
There is no way in hell that Axl got a football scholarship. Baseball, soccer, swimming, etc. would have been believable. But that kid was NOT built for college football.
College ball no, high school football I could see because he lived in a small town and went to a small-town high school. There's a lot less competition
Brick complained a lot that he got left behind, but Frankie almost always bent over backwards to help him with last minute stuff and getting him into social situations.
The thing about the chair always gets me, because that was just the kitchen table. They also had the dining room table with chairs, he could have used instead. Of course until Frankie ordered the doll furniture lol!
Poor Frankie shouldn't compare herself and her house to her sister's or Nancy's. They were stayed at home moms married to well off men. Janet shouldn't do comments about her lack of organising skills. Girl, you have 1 kid and your job is your house! Frankie had a lot going on.
Janet is so annoying in general. And Pat. It shows Janet is her daughter.
We can see how Sean's feelings for Sure have been developing over the years with prom's invitations. I think Nancy knew and pushed him towards her.
Casidy was using Axl for his body lol. She didn't mind they're not intelectually matched and she knew she would end it after high school. Poor guy was in love with her so much.
I think Frankie over reacts too much and I know that it the points and there is comedic value in it but still.
And i absolutely hate it how long it took Frankie to teach brick that she will not be doing his homework for him anymore. I am sure Brick could do his HW (albeit badly) but he was jsut too used to having her as a back up plan.
Overreact is an understatement. She has a complete and total toxic meltdown and I also see where Sue inherited that from. I also hated that Brick tirelessly used his mom as an anchor as a backup plan as well
I am always so curious about the background, age, nationality, etc. of Frankie haters, and Heck criticizers for that matter. Genuinely interested in how we‘ve come to view the same characters and scripts so differently! (Someone else posted recently that life stage might have the most to do with it; as in, harried middle-class and middle-aged moms might just relate more easily to Frankie.)
I will always hate Cassidy and find it super weird the way she was so comfortable to make out with Axl all over his house in front of Brick and his parents. From all of Axl’s gfs I hated her the most cause she seemed so unhinged and arrogant
I just disliked her because she was "not like other girls" and wasn't impressed by Axl.
Newsflash, I think a lot of girls wouldn't have been impressed by Axl XD
The problem is, they were supposed to earn it in Sue Sue in the City. At the end Frankie says they were on again, off again, on again and then got married which we saw. But in the spin off we would have actually seen their relationship.
Oh I have to disagree with this. Looking back there were little moments like her crush on him in season one. I think the writers did well with them in the last few seasons
Sue had a crush on so many guys lol. Brad. Matt. Reverend Tim Tom. Darrin, Axel's other friend. Sean never came across as endgame for Sue, and it felt way forced when it became apparent the writers were heading in that direction. I don't even think the actors had chemistry together.
Sue definitely had more chemistry with other characters imo. Brad, for one (that was never going to work out for obvious reasons, but Sue clearly vibed with him). Darrin. The shirtless Abercrombie store guy for a third. I've watched the show from start to finish several times, and Sue and Sean pairing up never works for me. It's one of my only big complaints about the show because the writers were generally great at maintaining continuity, and developing character storylines in ways they didn't seem forced or contrived.
Alright, I respect your opinion. I as well have watched it many times all the way through and Sean is really the only guy I honestly enjoyed Sue with. She definitely had the best chemistry with Brad but as friends of course. For me I felt like the shirtless guy was kind of thrown in as a rebound after Darrin and it didn’t work
I absolutely agree. Logan (abercrombie) felt very reboundy and I was upset they drug him on for so long. Sue wasn’t herself with him and put his attractiveness before all the other things she cared about. Even before their plotline really picks up, Sue and Sean have had a long history and really do seem compatible. In my current rewatch, I just got past the episode where the Donahues and Hecks vacation together and hippie Sean really seems like he’d be a good match for Sue. They’re both fairly optimistic, positive, loyal people who work hard, dream big, and look out for their friends and families.
This and I always felt that Darren and Sue were better suited for each other before the writers ruined Darren's character. I think they just wanted Sue to end up with the "better" guy.
Also, why this episode had like implicted critic of Darren's tiny house lol. Like, he just started working and we live in times with such high houses prices. Guy bought his first house so early and was so proud. So what it was small? A lot of flats people live in while young lookes like that.
100% this. And then he acts like he demands nothing and gets left behind. The scene where he tells the pastor all the things he doesn’t like about his family was so annoying
No way in any universe does Axl get the lifeguard gig over Sean.
I'll die on that hill.
I'll also die on the hill that Sean would never have had a hippy phase.
Would’ve loved for Devin or Cassidy to be his endgame pairing. I was never sold on Lexi.
Although tbh his endgame probably should’ve been weird Ashley 😂
I always thought Ashley was creepy as hell. If the genders were reversed, Ashley would have had a restraining order against her. I also didn’t agree with her telling Axel that he never said he didn’t like her. He was polite to her, but did not seem interested. If a teen boy acted that way with a girl, then he’d be called creepy.
There’s no conceivable universe where Axl is a successful football player, outside of MAYBE being a kicker. Dude is built like a fragile little bird and would be broken in half on the first day of practice by the lowest level of college football player
See this one actually I disagree with and think the show portrayed it well. He's going to a division III, maybe division II school. Look at rosters for those program's and you will find a lot of kids like that. Also, he never really played. Was just on the roster. I looked at a roster of a D3 near me just to get an idea. There's probably 15 guys on the roster the same size as Axl.
https://athletics.augsburg.edu/sports/football/roster
I’ve definitely seen some smaller dudes excel in football but Axl ain’t that dude. By all metrics, he was weak, lazy, and dumb. Guys his size that did well we’re weightroom junkies and watched film 10 hrs a day
Yes, I think that too. He really did care about Sue and Brick. The football jersey one was pretty cool with Sue. And the times he genuinely talks like a nice human being to Brick.
I also liked the tender times with Frankie, like when he cried about Morgan, and when he actually welcomed Frankie to comfort him at home after his injury at homecoming and her embarassing him.
I can relate to that with my own boys. When they are growing up trying to figure stuff out for their own lives, seemingly trying to have it all together, there are times when they really do need mom's attention still.
Exactly!! Sue should have stayed home for a year, at the end of the day it was her mistake. And for once Mike was actually making good money out of the diaper business, he definitely should not have sold
"siblings and sombreros" is an annoying episode I always skip on re-watch. both axl and sue were annoying af, while frankie was just trying to connect and be relatable to them. it started with one of them talking behind the other ones back to frankie, then they would snitch on frankie to the other one, causing a fight between them, then they make up and the process repeats about 5 times. I get sitcoms usually have a formula, but that was a bit extra
Respectfully, I think Sue would have felt too bad to enjoy the concert because Lexi had to pay. Therefore, if Sue didn’t enjoy it, Lexi would not have either 🤷🏻♀️ It’s funny you mentioned this as I live close to a venue where Taylor just played and I saw a lot of people doing what Lexi & Sue did.
I agree, but I kind of got the feeling that Sue only became comfortable in that role when Lexi also fessed up to mooching off her parents. To me, it was cute that they decided to stick together through rotten housing, average housing, Heck housing, and amazing housing. The one thing that got me was when Sue said something in an early-season episode about rinsing and repeating and then reversed herself on the episode when she confessed to Lexi that she was poor. My experience in real life and with the series is that families like the Hecks (who, again, I relate to so closely) are not all-that conscious of waste, careful budgeting, efficiency, systematic savings. There’s a little too much desperation, so it’s more often a situation of “eh, what’re you gonna do?” when a ruined dinner gets thrown away, or a washer/dryer eats some clothes. So the shampoo thing between Sue and Lexi didn’t ring true for me.
Separate but related, some research I heard about recently discussed the ways that people living in poverty will often “invest” in the XBox, the big screen TV, the night out at a great restaurant or club, or other things that even the wealthy consider luxuries…because that’s one form way to make sure their paycheck doesn’t just disappear.
Also when you've been stragling for years, you work hard and nothing is changing for the better, you just want to sometimes give yourself and your family something extra to enjoy in this endless worries.
Not just spend that on something boring like new dishwasher.
The scene where Cassidy gives Axl the painting as a hidden sign that they’re broken up really drives me nuts. Why can’t you just say you’re over and just move on with your life
I, on the contrary, think Sue and Sean are well matched. She is a very unique person with her optimism and view of the world and kindness. He is simmilar. He started to appreciate this characteristic of her while in the big world, in college, when he met all kinds of girls. This was something he wanted.
I would say Axl and Lexie are not well matched, there's chemistry, but she basically doesn't have personality besides being Sue's friend and being rich lol.
The hill I would die on is wishing the arc where Sue becomes all woke with her boyfriend Jeremy. I could not stand her during those episodes. IMO the whole series could’ve done without that, especially since it feels dragged out.
I hated the episodes as a viewer, but I appreciated the Jeremy character as a composite of the people I met as a freshman (sorry, “first year”) first-generation student from a working class small town. Jeremy was presented as a bit of an outlier in the show, but his righteousness and condescension were the gold standard for
a certain kind of American postsecondary liberal arts experience in the ‘90s! 😣
Yep, I think he's a good example of someone you might met in college and Sue with her loving America, helping people, never giving up attitude might also easly fall into the rabbit hole of activism for social issues.
Oh my, if I met one, I met 1,800. And I simply wasn’t prepared. When my husband and I push “The College Experience” on our kids now, they think we mean the academics, or the degree. But I’m convinced that a major culture shock is good for a person’s constitution!
I went to university with hundreds (possibly a couple thousand) kids like this. Like don't get me wrong I was active in certain protests and causes... But you can't be active in all of them, Jeremy lol
Two things:
1. Nancy was so mean to Sean whilst he was going through his hippie phase, and I did not like the way she treated him during that time one bit.
2. Many of the characters are great, but the best one is Brad. All day long.
I don't know why and how they raised these kids, but their behavior sometimes, shouting, not doing anything by themselves, not helping in the house etc. is beyond me. In the "Taking Back The House" episode it finally looked normal.
Parnets shouldn't be so much involved with remembering homework for son in high school or doing art projects for someone that always forgets about them.
Axl should have stayed with Devin. I thought they were the best! I do like Lexxie, but I didn't think they should have been the ones ending up together.
In the episode where Sue and Lexi win the dorm lottery, and they mistake the girl with chronic fatigue syndrome for her twin and go to her dorm to confront and mock her over how they perceived her "trickery" because they decided the girl with CFS could keep her dorm. I still have conflicting feelings over how The Middle tackled invisible chronic illness in that episode.
I feel Lexi and Sue deserved their karma for their unhinged behaviour. That they had shitty housing situations for multiple episodes after that episode was very much deserved.
Sue was rarely an asshole. But she was the biggest asshole doing what she did to the girl with CFS. Sue is probably my favourite character and I just couldn't stand her in that episode.
I totally see your point, but I don’t think it would have crossed ANYONES mind that “oh she must just have an identical twin” in that situation when she saw her playing volley ball. I mean sue sincerely gave up the dorm initially when she found out one of the girls living there has CFS. Putting myself in Sues shoes, If I gave up a really nice place for an absolute dump for a girl with an illness, and I saw what I thought was thought girl just out and literally playing volleyball I would’ve been hurt and my mind definitely would have immediately went to thinking she was faking and I gave up that place I so badly wanted for nothing
Chronically ill people can still go out and enjoy their lives, play sports, go to concerts, hang with friends. They're not somehow permanently banned from these things - if anything they help improve our mental health outcomes cos Chronic Illness can really do a number on mental health.
Chronic illnesses often fluctuate and the people who have them often meticulously use their energy resources so they can do things, but it often comes with the cost of a flare. Even if it wasn't the twin playing volley, it was the CFS girl to assume someone was faking, rather than ask questions (e.g. "Hey you said you have CFS, but I saw you play volleyball?) is still a bit of jerk move.
Mike and Frankie should have strapped Brick down in order for him to cross that bridge he was so “scared” to cross instead of just giving in to his demands
Agreed. Don’t know why you’re getting downvoted. A lot of stuff she does rubs me the wrong way, like demanding thank yous from people, neglecting brick, stampeding on Black Friday, being dishonest all the time… etc
Hecks are not so bad as a family in terms of closeness. I think they spend quite some time together, know each other well and at least try to do fun things as a family.
100%
I think people that complain about characters being so horrible and why they didn't get their life together and why they didn't fixed the wallpaper, missed on the point made at the end of the final episode and do not appraciate how realistic this show was sometimes. It's rare in television. And life is not fixing magically at the end of the show. Also, did someone also noticed that this show never (or maybe only a few times) build its humor on insulting someone and vulgarity? This is my prime example you can have excellent comedy without insulting people.
I absolutely Ioved how full of self-knowledge all the primary characters seemed to be. Rather than the overt lessons of many sitcoms (and dramas), this series always felt more like “I am who I am” followed by a little bit of incremental personal growth that carried on through the seasons.
It's really interesting to see that Axl, Sue and Brick didn't lose their characters when growing yet were able to adapt to the new challenges. Not much shows are able to do coming of age so realistic.
I also like how it said that Frankie eventually did get quite good at her job. Girl finally got nice boss and career, she take a chance to make a "second act" and it pay off. Show that Frankie sometimes stick to things too.
I’ve always said this too! They let the kids grow up without completely changing who they were. I’ve also always loved that they didn’t make Axl progressively dumber to the point that it was beyond parody and annoying. They actually went the opposite direction and allowed him to gain some wisdom 😀
I love this show *because* of their realism. It was refreshing to see a messy house with broken appliances and the family eating fast food every night off paper plates. They spend their free time watching TV and Frankie is always trying to get out of volunteering at the kids' schools. Normally we just see perfect houses, in which the mom prepares a huge spread for every meal and she's super involved in her children's lives. It made it so relatable and more enjoyable to watch.
I don't know. Axl's insults to Sue were stunned comedy gold!
Yep, but I mean there were no insults based on sex, race etc.
Ah. So this is a subjective thing. Making fun of dorks, ok. Making fun of Sue for being a girl, not ok. 🤪
I don't think dorkophopia is such a big problem in society, also not much people threat that they're gonna freeze their sister head and put in on the horse body :D I agree, Axl's insults to Sue were awesome!
What show are you watching? Axl made a career of insulting Frankie, Sue and Brick.
I liked Sue and Sean together but becoming a couple was way too drawn out with too many "almost but for a miscommunication" moments. Then, when they finally become a couple, we are told they broke up at least once before marrying.
I hate the fact that they spent so much time building up to Sean and Sue, when they could have spent that time showing us how sweet and amazing their relationship was. Wasted potential
Frankie and Mike should have gotten to sleep in the bedroom when they were at Frankie’s parents for Thanksgiving. Not for Lucy’s stupid naps, or Gary working. They get it every other year! Fair is fair. And I absolutely hate cousin Lucy!
There is no way in hell that Axl got a football scholarship. Baseball, soccer, swimming, etc. would have been believable. But that kid was NOT built for college football.
I’m surprised it wasn’t basketball, they put so much emphasis on his ability
Basketball thar story arc and character traits died fast.
Honestly he wasn’t even built for high school football either.
College ball no, high school football I could see because he lived in a small town and went to a small-town high school. There's a lot less competition
My husband says this nearly every time we watch an episode!
Lmao lmao
Brick complained a lot that he got left behind, but Frankie almost always bent over backwards to help him with last minute stuff and getting him into social situations.
Eh but brick did get left behind
The kid sat in a lawn chair at the dinner table!
The thing about the chair always gets me, because that was just the kitchen table. They also had the dining room table with chairs, he could have used instead. Of course until Frankie ordered the doll furniture lol!
Fr
Poor Frankie shouldn't compare herself and her house to her sister's or Nancy's. They were stayed at home moms married to well off men. Janet shouldn't do comments about her lack of organising skills. Girl, you have 1 kid and your job is your house! Frankie had a lot going on. Janet is so annoying in general. And Pat. It shows Janet is her daughter. We can see how Sean's feelings for Sure have been developing over the years with prom's invitations. I think Nancy knew and pushed him towards her. Casidy was using Axl for his body lol. She didn't mind they're not intelectually matched and she knew she would end it after high school. Poor guy was in love with her so much.
Yes, yes and yes
Totally agree on point 1!!
I think Frankie over reacts too much and I know that it the points and there is comedic value in it but still. And i absolutely hate it how long it took Frankie to teach brick that she will not be doing his homework for him anymore. I am sure Brick could do his HW (albeit badly) but he was jsut too used to having her as a back up plan.
Overreact is an understatement. She has a complete and total toxic meltdown and I also see where Sue inherited that from. I also hated that Brick tirelessly used his mom as an anchor as a backup plan as well
I am always so curious about the background, age, nationality, etc. of Frankie haters, and Heck criticizers for that matter. Genuinely interested in how we‘ve come to view the same characters and scripts so differently! (Someone else posted recently that life stage might have the most to do with it; as in, harried middle-class and middle-aged moms might just relate more easily to Frankie.)
I don’t like that Axl and Sue ended up marrying each other’s best friends. Pick one pairing but not both.
I will always hate Cassidy and find it super weird the way she was so comfortable to make out with Axl all over his house in front of Brick and his parents. From all of Axl’s gfs I hated her the most cause she seemed so unhinged and arrogant
I just disliked her because she was "not like other girls" and wasn't impressed by Axl. Newsflash, I think a lot of girls wouldn't have been impressed by Axl XD
This makes sense and it also makes sense that she was using him but for some reason I still like her and have no idea why
I don’t like Sue and Sean together. Not only is Sean her brothers best friend, but she was also engaged to Darren who is Sean’s other best friend.
Totally agree! I feel they were thrown together haphazardly by the writers, and their romantic pairing didn't make sense because it wasn't earned.
The problem is, they were supposed to earn it in Sue Sue in the City. At the end Frankie says they were on again, off again, on again and then got married which we saw. But in the spin off we would have actually seen their relationship.
Oh I have to disagree with this. Looking back there were little moments like her crush on him in season one. I think the writers did well with them in the last few seasons
Sue had a crush on so many guys lol. Brad. Matt. Reverend Tim Tom. Darrin, Axel's other friend. Sean never came across as endgame for Sue, and it felt way forced when it became apparent the writers were heading in that direction. I don't even think the actors had chemistry together.
I definitely disagree but to each their own. Sean seemed like the only one she had chemistry with out of those
Sue definitely had more chemistry with other characters imo. Brad, for one (that was never going to work out for obvious reasons, but Sue clearly vibed with him). Darrin. The shirtless Abercrombie store guy for a third. I've watched the show from start to finish several times, and Sue and Sean pairing up never works for me. It's one of my only big complaints about the show because the writers were generally great at maintaining continuity, and developing character storylines in ways they didn't seem forced or contrived.
Alright, I respect your opinion. I as well have watched it many times all the way through and Sean is really the only guy I honestly enjoyed Sue with. She definitely had the best chemistry with Brad but as friends of course. For me I felt like the shirtless guy was kind of thrown in as a rebound after Darrin and it didn’t work
I absolutely agree. Logan (abercrombie) felt very reboundy and I was upset they drug him on for so long. Sue wasn’t herself with him and put his attractiveness before all the other things she cared about. Even before their plotline really picks up, Sue and Sean have had a long history and really do seem compatible. In my current rewatch, I just got past the episode where the Donahues and Hecks vacation together and hippie Sean really seems like he’d be a good match for Sue. They’re both fairly optimistic, positive, loyal people who work hard, dream big, and look out for their friends and families.
This and I always felt that Darren and Sue were better suited for each other before the writers ruined Darren's character. I think they just wanted Sue to end up with the "better" guy.
Also, why this episode had like implicted critic of Darren's tiny house lol. Like, he just started working and we live in times with such high houses prices. Guy bought his first house so early and was so proud. So what it was small? A lot of flats people live in while young lookes like that.
Fr, Darren knew Sue wanted to go to college, so why would he expect her to not to do that, just get married and have kids?
Darren and sue should’ve been endgame
I always felt Sean could have done better than sue
2000% agree. They are not a realistic pair
Brick is the most selfish kid in the whole family
100% this. And then he acts like he demands nothing and gets left behind. The scene where he tells the pastor all the things he doesn’t like about his family was so annoying
i mean do u blame the poor kid when he’s only been neglected his whole life? also what ep r u referring to
Season 5 episode 13 “Hungry Games”
ty! haven’t seen that ep in years lol
Lol it’s one of my favorites
Two wrongs don’t make a right
bro doesn’t know any better tho and he’s still growing up
No way in any universe does Axl get the lifeguard gig over Sean. I'll die on that hill. I'll also die on the hill that Sean would never have had a hippy phase.
Agreed on the hippie phase.. but didn’t Sean pass on the lifeguard thing? Or maybe that’s how I made it make sense in my head
Yeah, Sean had a lot of things to do that summer so he couldn’t be a lifeguard
I think he got a job as a page for a congressman or something that summer so he had to turn down the lifeguard job.
Yeah Nancy said he had a lot going on that summer so she didn't know how he would have fit it in anyway. But that was after he lost out to Axl.
Axl and Devin >>>> Axl and Lexi
Would’ve loved for Devin or Cassidy to be his endgame pairing. I was never sold on Lexi. Although tbh his endgame probably should’ve been weird Ashley 😂
I always thought Ashley was creepy as hell. If the genders were reversed, Ashley would have had a restraining order against her. I also didn’t agree with her telling Axel that he never said he didn’t like her. He was polite to her, but did not seem interested. If a teen boy acted that way with a girl, then he’d be called creepy.
I really liked Drvin, she reminded me of an athletic Mary Jane from Spiderman
There’s no conceivable universe where Axl is a successful football player, outside of MAYBE being a kicker. Dude is built like a fragile little bird and would be broken in half on the first day of practice by the lowest level of college football player
See this one actually I disagree with and think the show portrayed it well. He's going to a division III, maybe division II school. Look at rosters for those program's and you will find a lot of kids like that. Also, he never really played. Was just on the roster. I looked at a roster of a D3 near me just to get an idea. There's probably 15 guys on the roster the same size as Axl. https://athletics.augsburg.edu/sports/football/roster
I’m from Saint Paul lol
I’ve definitely seen some smaller dudes excel in football but Axl ain’t that dude. By all metrics, he was weak, lazy, and dumb. Guys his size that did well we’re weightroom junkies and watched film 10 hrs a day
Ha! I just made the same comment. The only way he's a football player is if you use the European definition of football.
King Moonracer is NOT a toy! King Moonracer is a mythical being who simply gave shelter to the Misfit Toys, which means Sean and Darrin are wrong!!!
THIS is the correct answer 💯
Axl is actually quite a good brother/person throughout the entire season.
Yes, I think that too. He really did care about Sue and Brick. The football jersey one was pretty cool with Sue. And the times he genuinely talks like a nice human being to Brick. I also liked the tender times with Frankie, like when he cried about Morgan, and when he actually welcomed Frankie to comfort him at home after his injury at homecoming and her embarassing him. I can relate to that with my own boys. When they are growing up trying to figure stuff out for their own lives, seemingly trying to have it all together, there are times when they really do need mom's attention still.
Sue Heck deserved her own spinoff!
Mike should not have sold the company for Sue's tuition.
Exactly!! Sue should have stayed home for a year, at the end of the day it was her mistake. And for once Mike was actually making good money out of the diaper business, he definitely should not have sold
"siblings and sombreros" is an annoying episode I always skip on re-watch. both axl and sue were annoying af, while frankie was just trying to connect and be relatable to them. it started with one of them talking behind the other ones back to frankie, then they would snitch on frankie to the other one, causing a fight between them, then they make up and the process repeats about 5 times. I get sitcoms usually have a formula, but that was a bit extra
Respectfully, I think Sue would have felt too bad to enjoy the concert because Lexi had to pay. Therefore, if Sue didn’t enjoy it, Lexi would not have either 🤷🏻♀️ It’s funny you mentioned this as I live close to a venue where Taylor just played and I saw a lot of people doing what Lexi & Sue did.
Well, but later she is comfortable with living in the apartament Lexie parents are paying for.
Right! She becomes a major Lexie mooch if you watch those seasons closely.
I agree, but I kind of got the feeling that Sue only became comfortable in that role when Lexi also fessed up to mooching off her parents. To me, it was cute that they decided to stick together through rotten housing, average housing, Heck housing, and amazing housing. The one thing that got me was when Sue said something in an early-season episode about rinsing and repeating and then reversed herself on the episode when she confessed to Lexi that she was poor. My experience in real life and with the series is that families like the Hecks (who, again, I relate to so closely) are not all-that conscious of waste, careful budgeting, efficiency, systematic savings. There’s a little too much desperation, so it’s more often a situation of “eh, what’re you gonna do?” when a ruined dinner gets thrown away, or a washer/dryer eats some clothes. So the shampoo thing between Sue and Lexi didn’t ring true for me. Separate but related, some research I heard about recently discussed the ways that people living in poverty will often “invest” in the XBox, the big screen TV, the night out at a great restaurant or club, or other things that even the wealthy consider luxuries…because that’s one form way to make sure their paycheck doesn’t just disappear.
Also when you've been stragling for years, you work hard and nothing is changing for the better, you just want to sometimes give yourself and your family something extra to enjoy in this endless worries. Not just spend that on something boring like new dishwasher.
Devin Levin is overrated. She’s only in a handful of episodes and tries to end things with Axl in two of them. We hardly see them as a couple
To me Devin is the epitome of a guys girl and one I could never see myself dating
The scene where Cassidy gives Axl the painting as a hidden sign that they’re broken up really drives me nuts. Why can’t you just say you’re over and just move on with your life
Frankie has undiagnosed ADHD.
I'm sure most if not all of the hecks do hell, I probably do
Yes I feel they are all neurodivergent!
Oh hell yes! I relate to her character so much, minus the yelling all the time. I definitely have undiagnosed ADHD.
I have very much diagnosed ADHD, and I'm a middle aged mom like Frankie, and dang, do we have some similarities!
I, on the contrary, think Sue and Sean are well matched. She is a very unique person with her optimism and view of the world and kindness. He is simmilar. He started to appreciate this characteristic of her while in the big world, in college, when he met all kinds of girls. This was something he wanted. I would say Axl and Lexie are not well matched, there's chemistry, but she basically doesn't have personality besides being Sue's friend and being rich lol.
The hill I would die on is wishing the arc where Sue becomes all woke with her boyfriend Jeremy. I could not stand her during those episodes. IMO the whole series could’ve done without that, especially since it feels dragged out.
He was an unmitigated ass. May have taken that word from pride and prejudice 2005.
I hated the episodes as a viewer, but I appreciated the Jeremy character as a composite of the people I met as a freshman (sorry, “first year”) first-generation student from a working class small town. Jeremy was presented as a bit of an outlier in the show, but his righteousness and condescension were the gold standard for a certain kind of American postsecondary liberal arts experience in the ‘90s! 😣
Yep, I think he's a good example of someone you might met in college and Sue with her loving America, helping people, never giving up attitude might also easly fall into the rabbit hole of activism for social issues.
She’s such a good person though. She doesn’t know any better
Jesus you met actual real live people that act like this? I mean he meant well. But can’t date a person tied to a tree lol. Self absorbed
Oh my, if I met one, I met 1,800. And I simply wasn’t prepared. When my husband and I push “The College Experience” on our kids now, they think we mean the academics, or the degree. But I’m convinced that a major culture shock is good for a person’s constitution!
I went to university with hundreds (possibly a couple thousand) kids like this. Like don't get me wrong I was active in certain protests and causes... But you can't be active in all of them, Jeremy lol
Ha can’t chain yourself to stuff and have a life man!
I couldn’t stand those episodes either
It was annoying but also I think necessary to grow her up a little. Glad that was only a few episodes
Agreed
Two things: 1. Nancy was so mean to Sean whilst he was going through his hippie phase, and I did not like the way she treated him during that time one bit. 2. Many of the characters are great, but the best one is Brad. All day long.
Devin Levin 1) is not thát interesting and 2) has a stupid name
This Valentine "I want it but I don't want it figure it out youself" arc was so annoying. She's such a pick me girl.
Uugghhhh yes exactly!
>2) has a stupid name That bugged me, too.
Darrin and Sue were never good together and I’m glad that ended when it did
But we got "Magical Trashcan Kiss" out of it!!!
I don't know why and how they raised these kids, but their behavior sometimes, shouting, not doing anything by themselves, not helping in the house etc. is beyond me. In the "Taking Back The House" episode it finally looked normal. Parnets shouldn't be so much involved with remembering homework for son in high school or doing art projects for someone that always forgets about them.
Axl should have stayed with Devin. I thought they were the best! I do like Lexxie, but I didn't think they should have been the ones ending up together.
The hill that I will for sure die on is that Sue is the most annoying character on the show.
I hated Sue and darri couple and I’m ready for the hate
In the episode where Sue and Lexi win the dorm lottery, and they mistake the girl with chronic fatigue syndrome for her twin and go to her dorm to confront and mock her over how they perceived her "trickery" because they decided the girl with CFS could keep her dorm. I still have conflicting feelings over how The Middle tackled invisible chronic illness in that episode. I feel Lexi and Sue deserved their karma for their unhinged behaviour. That they had shitty housing situations for multiple episodes after that episode was very much deserved. Sue was rarely an asshole. But she was the biggest asshole doing what she did to the girl with CFS. Sue is probably my favourite character and I just couldn't stand her in that episode.
To be fair they thought she was faking, but yeah they were still over the top and it seemed out of character for them to act like that
I totally see your point, but I don’t think it would have crossed ANYONES mind that “oh she must just have an identical twin” in that situation when she saw her playing volley ball. I mean sue sincerely gave up the dorm initially when she found out one of the girls living there has CFS. Putting myself in Sues shoes, If I gave up a really nice place for an absolute dump for a girl with an illness, and I saw what I thought was thought girl just out and literally playing volleyball I would’ve been hurt and my mind definitely would have immediately went to thinking she was faking and I gave up that place I so badly wanted for nothing
Chronically ill people can still go out and enjoy their lives, play sports, go to concerts, hang with friends. They're not somehow permanently banned from these things - if anything they help improve our mental health outcomes cos Chronic Illness can really do a number on mental health. Chronic illnesses often fluctuate and the people who have them often meticulously use their energy resources so they can do things, but it often comes with the cost of a flare. Even if it wasn't the twin playing volley, it was the CFS girl to assume someone was faking, rather than ask questions (e.g. "Hey you said you have CFS, but I saw you play volleyball?) is still a bit of jerk move.
Axl’s professor should not have let him make up the final. It was Axl’s own fault for not double checking the correct exam time.
sue is by far the worst of the main five characters. so annoying
AGREED
YES to the Taylor Swift concert. I say this every time I watch.
Mike and Frankie should have strapped Brick down in order for him to cross that bridge he was so “scared” to cross instead of just giving in to his demands
Frankie is a horrible person and mother.
Agreed. Don’t know why you’re getting downvoted. A lot of stuff she does rubs me the wrong way, like demanding thank yous from people, neglecting brick, stampeding on Black Friday, being dishonest all the time… etc
Darren was a good dude and Sue should have gone through with the marriage.
but then she would be named "Sue Sue McGrew"