Big things are happening on The Middle this week: it's Mike's birthday, and Axl is graduating from college soon! Everyone has different ideas on how to celebrate, but Sue thinks her father will really enjoy a video of his family and friends being interviewed and answering questions about how great he is.
As you can imagine, Frankie, Axl, and Brick all think this video is a dumb idea, and they all know this is not what Mike wants for his birthday. While Sue interviews Brick, Frankie interrupts trying to find Axl's graduation gift. She bought it a year ago, but she hid it and now can't find it. I laughed because this reminded me so much of my mom.
One of my favorite parts of the episode was this scene when Sue tells Frankie that this gift for Mike is a secret. Brick responds with, "Here's something that's not a secret: Dad's going to hate this video." The way the line was delivered was priceless! I don't know how the actors keep a straight face because I thought this was hysterical.
Frankie finds Axl's present- a shoe horn. It's a business man's shoe care kit, and she bought it because it's symbolic of Axl being a business major. She realizes that this is a terrible gift, and I'm so glad she did. Nothing says happy graduation like a shoe kit!
The family has Mike's birthday dinner where he reads Sports Illustrated at the table while everyone else is silent. Then Frankie gives Mike his present: the shoe care kit! I laughed when Axl said that present sucks. After this, Sue makes everyone go into the living room to watch Mike's birthday video. The video is pretty bad as Frankie, Axl, and Brick don't have much to say. To be fair: Sue's questions are bad, too. Which flavor ice cream is Mike? Really? And Sue interviewed Nancy Donahue, Mike's barber, his co-workers, and his boss. Mike is clearly not happy, and he fast forwards to the end of the video which disappoints Sue.
Frankie and Mike have a little talk, and Mike tells Frankie he doesn't like when people make a big deal about him, and he doesn't like people talking or thinking about him. Frankie is used to this, but Sue isn't. She tells Mike that Sue is really upset. While Mike thinks everything is fine with Sue, Frankie's talk makes him think. He knocks on Sue's door and says "sorry." Wow. What an apology.
He tries to make things up to Sue by offering to take her for ice cream, but she refuses. Then he drives her back to school, and she says she's really not that upset. She knows that this is just how he is. Mike explains to her that his family just didn't express emotion, and it got worse when his mom died. I liked that Sue and Mike had a nice talk about his mom, and it seems like Mike deeply cared about her. Mike's mom dying young helped explain why Mike is like he is, and I'm glad The Middle brought this up this week. And I always like when Mike and Sue have heart-to-hearts. His relationship with her is different than his relationship with Brick and Axl.
While Sue was busy filming everyone for Mike's birthday, Brick was dealing with a bully at school. Axl tries to help Brick by showing him how to get stronger, but this completely backfires. Axl struggles to lift weights, and he can't do a pull up, either. He tells Brick that he shut the gun show down after football, but Brick says that he doesn't want someone teaching him that has let himself go. This definitely affects Axl's self-esteem, and he tries to get back into shape. He even hooked himself up to the Winnebago and tried to move it! That made me laugh. It was so ridiculous, but yet so Axl.
After failing to move the Winnebago, Axl has a minor breakdown. He's convinced he's falling apart, and he's peaked. Brick makes him feel better by informing him that people don't peak mentally until ago 35. Brick wants to help Axl learn, and he turns on PBS. He also informs Axl that "Mike and Angelo" is one guy which completely surprises Axl. That line was great.
I thought Brick was the MVP this week. Everyone knows that I usually like Sue and her stories the best, and they were still enjoyable, but Brick's one-liners and his scenes with Axl were my favorite in this episode. I love that the writers keep giving us fresh stories and the actors continue to impress week after week.
What did you think about Clear and Present Danger? Did you like Mike and Sue's scenes this week? What about Brick and Axl's story line? Discuss down below in the comments section!
