The WORST episodes of The Middle
Every episode of The Middle ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of The Middle!
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".
#1 - Pam Freakin' Staggs
Season 6 - Episode 10 - Aired 1/7/2015
Frankie acts like a teenager when she hangs out with Pam Staggs, a former classmate who was popular in high school. Meanwhile, Brick surprises Mike by winning an athletic award; Sue pursues some odd hobbies; and Axl seeks a date with Devin Levin.
#2 - The Drop Off
Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/25/2013
Against Axl's wishes, Frankie insists on having the entire Heck family along for the ride as they drive to his college to move him into his dorm. But the short drive turns into an eternity when Sue freaks out after discovering that Frankie forgot to fax in her essay to be a candidate for Junior Peer Leadership Advisor, and Brick proves once again that he can't be trusted when he keeps losing his new cell phone.
#3 - Siblings
Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/2/2009
Frankie encounters two perfect siblings and vows to make her children stop fighting and become a loving family. Meanwhile, Aunt Edie makes a costly mistake at the quarry and Mike considers firing her.
#4 - 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.
#5 - 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.
#6 - The Loneliest Locker
Season 6 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/1/2014
Mike and Frankie search for second jobs in order to send Sue to a good college; without asking, Axl takes household items to furnish the home he and Hutch are renting; Brick finds noisy childhood toys Frankie had purposefully hidden.
#7 - Hecks on a Train
Season 6 - Episode 12 - Aired 2/4/2015
Upon learning that Aunt Edie has passed away, the Hecks board a train to South Dakota to take her to her final resting place.
#8 - Forced Family Fun (2)
Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/21/2011
Frankie insists the family take a few days of vacation before school starts. But Mike's suggestion of a camping trip brings back bad memories of their honeymoon camping trip.
#9 - The Scratch
Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/18/2009
Frankie accidentally hits Brick in the head with a beer bottle when trying to get the trash out before the garbage truck leaves. But when Brick innocently tells his school that the scratch was caused by his mother throwing a beer bottle at him, a social worker comes to evaluate the Heck family. Meanwhile, Bob helps Mr. Ehlert shoot a commercial for the car lot.
#10 - 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.
#11 - 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.
#12 - The Floating Anniversary
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/14/2009
Frankie and Mike's romantic anniversary get-away is ruined by various family matters, including Brick being sick, Sue being lovesick, Axl just getting his learner's permit, and two psychotic aunts and their dog.
#13 - 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.
#14 - Heck's Best Thing
Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/2/2011
Frankie and Mike are convinced that slacker son Axl will blow his interview with a football scout, which could earn him a scholarship to college. Meanwhile, Sue and Brick begin a texting marathon - and rack up some serious charges - when they discover that Aunt Edie accidentally gave them her cell phone; and Frankie tries to be completely attentive to the family's needs when she realizes that she's more considerate to outsiders than her own kin.
#15 - Get Your Business Done
Season 3 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/11/2012
Frankie is inspired by the pastor's sermon at the new church the family is attending. She decides to make it her mission that every family member completes their life's destiny before they die. As Mike, Sue, Brick and Axl come up with ideas as to their destiny, Frankie has a hard time figuring out what exactly she should be doing.
#16 - Mother's Day II
Season 2 - Episode 21 - Aired 5/4/2011
Things don't go as planned when Mike and the kids give Frankie a day without the family as a Mother's Day gift.
#17 - Royal Wedding
Season 2 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/20/2011
Frankie gets swept up in the excitement of the upcoming royal wedding. Meanwhile, Mike has to make a few layoffs at the quarry, and Brick helps Sue with her audition for the school news team.
#18 - Pilot
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/30/2009
Sue tries out for show choir with disastrous results. Frankie desperately tries to close a sale with disastrous results. Brick has trouble relating to his teacher with odd results.
#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.
#20 - Operation Infiltration
Season 6 - Episode 18 - Aired 4/1/2015
Frankie accompanies Brick on a school field trip and attempts to help her socially inept son make friends with a couple of boys. Devin scolds Axl for being mean to his sister. Mike gets a sinking feeling that he may have bullied his brother Rusty a bit too much as kids.
#21 - 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.
#22 - Hecks on a Plane
Season 2 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/23/2011
Sue wins a family trip to New York, and the flight turns into a comedy of errors.
#23 - Thanksgiving III
Season 3 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/23/2011
Frankie's parents, Pat and Tag, invite the Hecks to spend a few days at their house to celebrate Thanksgiving together. But the festivities begin to fall apart quickly when Frankie's sister, Janet, and her family also join in, and soon the siblings are at each other's throats over their widely differing parenting techniques. Meanwhile, Mike tries to offer some advice to Axl on how to pick up girls when he witnesses his son trying to impress a pretty mini-mart cashier - and fails miserably; Brick attempts to prove his innocence when he is accused by Janet of damaging her daughter's expensive toy; and Sue is stoked when Frankie, Pat and Janet invite her to take part in their gossip sessions.
#24 - Flirting with Disaster
Season 6 - Episode 16 - Aired 3/4/2015
Frankie fears that her innocent flirtation with Axl’s friend has been misinterpreted, and Frankie’s dad, Tag, secretly asks Mike to help him study for his driver’s test so that he doesn't lose his license.
#25 - Food Courting
Season 6 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/15/2015
A case of disrespect hits the Heck boys when Axl -- who is celebrating his milestone 21st birthday -- refuses to come home and help Mike move an old freezer, and Brick begins turning into a mini-Axl by dissing Frankie with a bad attitude. Meanwhile, Sue is torn over what to do when the manager of Chop Suey USA tries to woo her away from her job at Spudsy's.