Whether it’s by plane, train or automobile, any time the Hecks are on the move The Middle is guaranteed to deliver the laughs. Their overnight train ride is due to a somber occasion but that doesn’t stop them from learning more about each other.
Aunt Edie has died, leaving the cutest emphysemic Basset Hound without an owner. This wasn’t addressed in the episode, but I assume that they will take care of her now. That should be a whole episode on its own as Brick finally gets a grasp on how to take care of a pet once and for all. For now, Brick is taking an even broader lesson from his great aunt’s passing. He voluntarily puts his books down and decides to live his life for himself, and what better place to do so than in a confined space like a moving train? He shouldn’t have given up so easily just because he met one bad influence of a “friend” who thought it would be fun to steal beer from the food car. I’m not worried though, because Brick is confident in himself and that’s all that really matters.
Sue and Axl could benefit from Brick’s more laid-back perspective on life as they each experience their own freak outs. Axl feels guilty for causing Aunt Edie’s death because he faked her death so many times as an excuse all through high school and college to get extensions on homework. I had to laugh when he came to terms with the possibility of Sue going to his college because it would be his last karmic payment for the guilt he feels in the role he didn’t actually play in Edie’s death.
Frankie took a new perspective on Mike after this whole ordeal. Sure, he might not have helped his wife up after she tripped and fell on the train. Other men actively sought after her to help her up and then offered her an ice pack for her ankle. Frankie really picks on Mike for not being a nurturer in times when she might want more than a pat on the shoulder. She doesn’t realize until they reach their destination in South Dakota that Mike takes care of her in other ways. Before they even left on this trip to fulfill Aunt Edie’s last wishes to be buried with her first husband, Mike handled all the paperwork and payments with the funeral home. So yeah, he might not be a hugger in times of grief but he’s there for her in more subtle ways.
Notable quotables:
-Brick: ”I’ve decided there’s two types of people in the world: people who are meant to live their life to the fullest and people who are meant to read about those people. I’m the latter.”
-Axl: “I killed Aunt Edie!”
Brick: “I knew it! No one drops dead at 96.”
What did you think of this episode?
[Photo via ABC]
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