Halloween with the Hecks had Axl adjusting to college life, Brick testing the dating waters, and Sue catching a glimpse of the Santa Maria.
According to Frankie, fall in the Midwest means one thing only: football. For Axl, this means dealing with the rookie end of football hazing as he finds himself and another freshman teammate taped to the field goal post. Both boys were popular in high school. Axl was the big man on campus in high school, but now he’s just a “small man on a bigger campus.”
In order to avoid running out of candy before Halloween, Frankie bought disgusting Halloween candy so that no one in the family would eat it. Frankie informs Mike she punished Brick by sending him to a party. Brick returns from the party explaining that he didn’t have much fun because all the other kids want to do is sit in basements with the lights down low. He tells them that every time he turned the lights up to read, the other kids would just turn it back down. Frankie tries to explain to Brick that he’s getting to the age where other kids are going to start thinking about dating. Brick informs her that he knows because he is already at the point. He likes a girl named Harper. When Frankie wonders if it is because Harper likes books like Brick, Brick tells her he likes Harper because “over the summer, she got her boobs.” Mike and Frankie ask if he’s tried to talk to Harper. Brick says no, but proudly tells them that he stared at her for an hour until she got creeped out and moved. He adds, “I’m definitely on her radar.” Frankie tries to Brick that he can’t do things like that. Mike says he would get a girls attention by riding by her house on his bike. Brick tells him that this sort of thing is all done online now. Frankie thinks this is great because it means Brick can avoid awkward nerves by not speaking to her face-to-face. As Brick walks away, Mike sarcastically comments, “We should really redo the basement so he has someplace to live.”
Noticing a lack of chemistry within the Wrestlerettes, sue calls a mandatory team-bonding sleepover.
Meanwhile, Axl returns home with a large load of laundry. Frankie can’t believe he has to wash all of the uniforms. Mike explains that it’s a part of hazing. Axl then receives a text and starts to hop on one foot. Fankie asks why he is doing it. Axl explains that he has to hop on one foot every time a senior text messages him. She tells him he doesn’t have to since there are no football players around. Axl replies that he has to do it because they will know.
Frankie asks Brick if he emailed Harper. He tells her he has and she responded, but he hasn’t responded in about five days. She tells him to respond. Brick decides to say he forgot and that’s why he hasn’t responded. Frankie tells him to make up a lie instead, so it doesn’t seem like he forgot about her. Brick then sends a message to Harper saying he hasn’t responded because he had diarrhea. Frankie and Mike can’t believe Brick sent that message. Mike says, “Might as well put in the plug. There’s no coming back from that.” Frankie tells Brick to make it seem like he was joking, which apparently works. Axl and Sue join them as they discuss what Brick should say next. When Harper asks Brick what he is doing, Frankie, Mike, and Sue come up with lame ideas. Axl tells Brick not to listen to them. Axl tells him to reply with “Nothin.” Axl also adds, “Don’t you dare put a “g” on the end.” Brick suggests he asks Harper to the Halloween dance. Sue, Fankie, Mike, and Axl discuss whether or not Brick should. Mike thinks it’s a gutsy move, but Sue’s worried that he’ll scare her off. Axl points out that the diarrhea comment didn’t scare her off so this probably won’t. They agree that Brick should ask. Harper says yes to him. Frankie, Mike, Axl, and Sue high five each other, ignoring Brick.
The Wrestlerette slumber party is underway. Sue comments that the trust falls were a failed experiment as she holds an ice pack on her neck. They decide to do a séance. Since it’s her house, they let Sue pick the dead person to contact. Sue picks the spirit of Christopher Columbus because he found America, the country she loves. After asking for a sign from Columbus, Sue opens her eyes and sees a light.
Meanwhile, Axl and his freshman teammate are finding it hard to meet girls. The hopping on one leg isn’t helping matters either. Axl decides they should throw a Halloween party in their room and let the hotties come to them.
Sue tells her parents about the séance. She informs them that she saw the Santa Maria sail across the wood paneling. Mike immediately says to Frankie, “Check the liquor cabinet.” Sue continues to explain her spiritual experience. She believes what she saw was real and that she must really be good at séances. Mike says to Frankie, “Might want to clear out the other half of the basement for her,” as Frankie nods her head in agreement.
Axl’s party is a success. The only problem is, he can’t get in. The bouncer at the door says it’s a party only for football players and refuses to let him in. Axl is forced to stare at scantily clad hotties from afar.
Brick comes out dressed as a bookmark for the Halloween dance. Frankie says she thought they agreed he would be a gangster because it’s cooler. Brick thinks his costume is cool. He heads off to the dance.
When the trick-or-treaters arrive, Frankie realizes all of the gross candy is gone. Her and Mike turn off all the lights and hide from the trick-or-treaters in the laundry room. Sue, dressed as a princess, informs them that she has been telling her Santa Maria experience to everyone. She decides she should write a story for the paper. After she belly crawls back to her bedroom to jot down notes, Mike tells Frankie that they have to stop Sue. Mike thinks she needs to grow up or people are going to think she’s nuts. Frankie thinks Sue is fine the way she is. She’s sweet and open to everything. Mike doesn’t want to change her, but he wants to protect her. He thinks Sue should tone her Sue-ness down a bit.
Still barred from their own party, the boys decide to crowd surf in. They happily land inside their party and in front of two girls.
Brick returns from the dance and comments that the front door looks like a “pumpkin crime scene” because of the angry trick-or-treaters. When Mike and Frankie ask how the date went, Brick explains that when Harper came over, his hands started to shake, then his whole body. He ended up getting dizzy and taking out the snack table as he passed out. The paramedics who attended to him said he should sleep upright for the night and his parents should check his pupils once every hour. He tells them he’s obviously not ready for dating before turning around to repeat himself.
Finally hanging out with hot girls, Axl and his friend talk them into staying after the party. Just when they’re feeling cool again, they’re phones ring. They decide not to do the ridiculous hazing bit because no one from the team is around. Unfortunately, the bigger team members bust through the door, take them, and tape them to the field goal post again.
As sue writes her article about the “Sue-ance”, Mike and Frankie decide to talk to her about what she thinks she saw. Mike tells her to stop telling people because it makes her sound nuts. Brick enters and tells Mike and Frankie to check his pupils. Mike does, but clearly has no idea what he’s doing. They continue to tell Sue that it’s not a good idea to tell people about her Santa Maria spiritual experience. Frankie talks about a time she thought she saw a UFO, but it wasn’t. Sue’s belief remains unphased. Brick goes into a detailed explanation of time and also informs them that you can taste colors. Mike sarcastically checks Brick’s pupils again. Mike admits that he woke up one night and saw a woman that looked like his grandmother sitting at the end of his bed. Frankie can’t believe he never told her. Brick, Sue, and Frankie all believe it was his grandmother, but Mike thinks it was just his mind playing tricks on him. Sue then tells them that plenty of things, like labor and stars exploding, seem insane, but they’re real. She thinks things are possible. She thinks Mike’s story is incredible, not insane. People thought Columbus was insane, but he proved them wrong. After a heartfelt speech by Sue, Mike doesn’t waver. Later that evening, Mike wanders out into the living and sees the Santa Maria sail across the wall. Frankie takes a page out of Sue’s book and ends the show reminding the audience that anything is possible.
image: ABC
