The Middle Episode 2.21 Mother's Day II

It's Mother's Day in The Middle. Mike and the kids engage a last-minute brainstorm session seeking the perfect gift for Frankie. Mike says, "Come on, this should be easy. The woman has nothing." Sue remembers last Mother's Day her mom wished everyone would just leave her alone. That's it! The entire Heck clan scrams so Frankie can have the entire day to herself. Alone.

Frankie is thrilled to camp out on the couch and page through the stack of magazines she "borrowed" from the dentist. But while looking for her reading glasses, she takes on the job of cleaning out the junk drawer. This snowballs into a slew of other household chores. Frankie basically fritters away the entire day before ever getting to back to her stack of pilfered People magazines.

Mike and the kids return home with tales of their great day in Brown County. Frankie's always wanted to go there. She would have especially loved it today. There was a huge fair with a giant Ferris wheel. They all had a picnic lunch, a volleyball match against a fun family and got one of those old-time family photos. Frankie's always wanted one of those pictures. Now she finally has one. She's just not in it.

Frankie breaks down in tears after another horrible Mother's Day. Mike plans a do-over the following weekend. Too bad he forgot about Brick's play date with his high-maintenance pal, Arlo. Nevertheless, the Hecks and Arlo are off to Brown County for Mother's Day, Take 2!

The family arrives in Brown County just as they're disassembling the entire fair. There's also no food at the general store. That means their picnic lunch consists of cheese sandwiches from a vending machine. The volleyball game isn't any fun without that other family. Hey, they can still do the old-time family photo, right? Wrong. The photographer only has time to snap a quick shot of Frankie and one kid. Too bad it's Arlo.

In other news, Axl tries to text a girl to the prom. Yeah, there was a time you actually "asked" girls to the prom, but that was back in the 1800s when his dad was in school. The only place he can get a signal is atop the Ferris wheel. Mike slipped the operator ten bucks to give the family a ride. It's the least he could do for Mother's Day II.

Sue drops her souvenir stuffed octopus from her Ferris wheel seat. It gets jammed in the gears stranding the family a few feet off the ground. The delay gives Axl time to see that he texted the wrong girl for prom. As for Frankie, she's not having the day she'd hope for. Mike thinks she's blaming him and he says something you should never say to any woman on any day, especially her second Mother's Day.

We don't know what Mike said, but it was enough to make Frankie climb out of her Ferris wheel seat. Mike and his wife make nice later, but Frankie's jump to the ground was a little farther down than she thought. It leaves her on crutches. At least she can now prop her leg up on the couch and read her dentist's magazines. All that she asks from her family is that they get along for a spell way over on the other side of the room. Happy Second Mother's Day, Frankie!