The BEST episodes of The Middle season 4

Every episode of The Middle season 4, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of The Middle season 4!

Frankie Heck and her husband Mike have lived in Orson, Indiana, their whole lives. A man of few words (every one a zinger), Mike is a manager at the town quarry and Frankie is the third-best used car salesman (out of the three) at the local dealership. She may not be a high-powered career woman, but when it comes to her family, she'll go to just about any length. And with kids like these, she had better. There's Axl, her semi-nudist teenage son conceived while under the influence of Guns N' Roses; Sue, the awkward teenage daughter who fails at everything... but with the utmost of gusto; and their seven-year-old son Brick, whose best friend is his backpack. Sometimes it seems like everyone is trying to get to the top, or struggling not to hit bottom, but we think Frankie and her family will find a lot of love, and a lot of laughs, somewhere in "The Middle".

Last Updated: 9/24/2024Network: ABC (US)Status: Ended
Last Whiff of Summer (2)
star
8.05
340 votes

#1 - Last Whiff of Summer (2)

Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/26/2012

Watch Now:Amazon
Last Whiff of Summer (1)
star
8.04
816 votes

#2 - Last Whiff of Summer (1)

Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/26/2012

Mike accidentally reveals that Axl is his favorite child; Brick tries to grow a giant tomato; Sue encourages her father to participate in a variety of activities with her.

Watch Now:Amazon
Bunny Therapy
star
7.91
772 votes

#3 - Bunny Therapy

Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/10/2012

Brick is given a bunny to help him with a quirky new tic.

Directors: Elliot Hegarty
Watch Now:Amazon
Life Skills
star
7.85
812 votes

#4 - Life Skills

Season 4 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/9/2013

Axl feels embarrassed when he and Sue are asked to work on a school project together; Brick's school therapist (Dave Foley) tries to help him make friends.

Writer: Roy Brown
Watch Now:Amazon
Twenty Years
star
7.84
747 votes

#5 - Twenty Years

Season 4 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/12/2012

Frankie worries Mike is tiring of her as their 20th anniversary draws close; Sue tries to get Axl and Brick's help planning a party for their parents; Axl spoils the end of a book for Brick.

Directors: Phil Traill
Watch Now:Amazon
Thanksgiving IV
star
7.79
755 votes

#6 - Thanksgiving IV

Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/14/2012

Frankie invites a couple of Marines to share Thanksgiving with her family; Axl gets good news; Sue tries to find the person who stole the chicken head from her uniform; Brick is mesmerized by a book.

Directors: Blake T. Evans
Writer: Tim Hobert
Watch Now:Amazon
The Graduation
star
7.79
756 votes

#7 - The Graduation

Season 4 - Episode 24 - Aired 5/22/2013

Tension builds as Frankie tries to plan a graduation party for uncooperative Axl; Sue tries to get her driver's license for a sixth time; Brick must assemble a slide show highlighting the past four years of school.

Directors: Eileen Heisler
Writer: Tim Hobert
Watch Now:Amazon
Winners and Losers
star
7.76
804 votes

#8 - Winners and Losers

Season 4 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/20/2013

Frankie is worried when Brick decides to go on a three-day school trip to Chicago; Sue wants to know if Darrin, one of Axl's friends, has feelings for her.

Directors: John Putch
Watch Now:Amazon
Christmas Help
star
7.76
768 votes

#9 - Christmas Help

Season 4 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/5/2012

Mike helps his brother Rusty move some furniture into the Heck family's garage, only to realize the furniture is stolen; Frankie hopes to land a part-time job in a department store so she can get a discount on Christmas presents.

Directors: Phil Traill
Watch Now:Amazon
Halloween III: The Driving
star
7.73
774 votes

#10 - Halloween III: The Driving

Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/24/2012

Sue accidentally runs over Axl's foot while practicing driving; Axl looks forward to voting; Brick binges on Halloween candy.

Directors: Phil Traill
Writer: Roy Brown
Watch Now:Amazon
The Second Act
star
7.73
794 votes

#11 - The Second Act

Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/3/2012

After being fired from the car dealership and vowing not to take any job that comes her way, Frankie goes to tech school to get a real career; Axl begins his senior year of high school; sophomore Sue mentors a freshman.

Directors: Blake T. Evans
Writer: Tim Hobert
Watch Now:Amazon
The Friend
star
7.69
732 votes

#12 - The Friend

Season 4 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/23/2013

Frankie tries to get Mike to spend time with a new neighbor who shares his interests; Sue demands a cheer-off between the Wrestlerettes and the cheerleaders.

Writer: Robin Shorr
The Hose
star
7.66
833 votes

#13 - The Hose

Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/17/2012

A neighbor accuses Frankie of stealing her hose; Sue cancels a road trip to Cincinnati after seeing Mike's paycheck; Brick learns about the birds and the bees.

The Safe
star
7.65
804 votes

#14 - The Safe

Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/7/2012

Frankie does not make a good impression on the first day of dental assistant school; Mike and Frankie ask Axl to get a tutor and improve his grades; Sue and Brick try to pawn an item they found in an old safe.

Writer: Robin Shorr
Valentine's Day IV
star
7.62
808 votes

#15 - Valentine's Day IV

Season 4 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/13/2013

As Valentine's Day nears, killjoys Axl, Sean and Darrin offer their services to help guys who want to break up with their girlfriends. Mike's romantic text to Frankie erroneously gets sent to a co-worker. Brick has a problem with Frankie's handling of his school artwork collection. Sue gets a surprise when ex-boyfriend Matt invites her to the school's Valentine's Day dance.

Directors: Phil Traill
The Bachelor
star
7.61
798 votes

#16 - The Bachelor

Season 4 - Episode 19 - Aired 4/3/2013

Disappointed with the finale of "The Bachelor," Frankie mopes for days; when Sue joins the school's tennis team, Mike tries to toughen her up by complimenting her opponents during matches; Cassidy and Axl consider the future of their relationship.

Writer: Tim Hobert
Wheel of Pain
star
7.54
727 votes

#17 - Wheel of Pain

Season 4 - Episode 17 - Aired 2/27/2013

When Axl, Sue and Brick accidentally break the family room window, they decide to blame the Glossner children -- the bad seeds of the neighborhood; Frankie tries to land a prime dental rotation spot.

The Smile
star
7.48
731 votes

#18 - The Smile

Season 4 - Episode 14 - Aired 2/6/2013

Frankie and Mike worry that Axl may not get a sports scholarship; Sue's school science project involves smiling; Brick wants an iPad.

Directors: Elliot Hegarty
Writer: Tim Hobert
One Kid at a Time
star
7.47
750 votes

#19 - One Kid at a Time

Season 4 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/16/2013

When Frankie and Mike dedicate a day to each of their children, Axl takes them to a paintball range, Sue has them do 17 separate activities and Brick wants to go to a sci-fi convention.

Directors: Elliot Hegarty
The Name
star
7.44
753 votes

#20 - The Name

Season 4 - Episode 18 - Aired 3/27/2013

Frankie's sister (Molly Shannon) offers to help at the house while Frankie studies for her finals for dental-assistant school; Axl tries not to act jealous when Cassidy's ex-boyfriend visits.

Directors: Alex Hardcastle
Writer: Roy Brown
The Ditch
star
7.42
615 votes

#21 - The Ditch

Season 4 - Episode 23 - Aired 5/15/2013

While dressed in a lab coat for her dental assisting job, Frankie is mistaken for a doctor and receives special treatment; Axl talks Sue into ditching school for the day; Mike and Axl's fishing trip goes awry.

Writer: Roy Brown
Dollar Days
star
7.40
849 votes

#22 - Dollar Days

Season 4 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/10/2013

Frankie has a difficult time describing herself during a job interview; Sue dispenses unwanted advice to Axl and his band mates; Brick joins the Prairie Scouts.

Directors: Phil Traill
From Orson with Love
star
7.34
803 votes

#23 - From Orson with Love

Season 4 - Episode 21 - Aired 5/1/2013

Frankie tries to make Sue appear more popular on Facebook; Frankie's dad (Jerry Van Dyke) makes Mike listen to long-winded life stories; Brick and Axl try to create a viral video.

Writer: Robin Shorr
Hallelujah Hoedown
star
7.32
722 votes

#24 - Hallelujah Hoedown

Season 4 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/8/2013

Frankie tells the kids what she wants for Mother's day so one of them can clue in Mike; after repeatedly failing the driving test, Sue feels resentful when her friends get their licenses; Axl receives stunning news from Cassidy.

Directors: Blake T. Evans