The latest episode of The Middle has Sue dealing with a negative customer review, Axl not telling Frankie he was in town, and Brick bothering Mike during Mike’s forced vacation.
Sue notices that she’s received a bad review online from mallrat37. A customer says she’s too slow. Sue re-dedicates herself to her job. She thinks she should have never stopped reading her work manual on a nightly basis. Later, she notices a bad review from mallrat37 saying Sue was too fast, impersonal, and barely made any eye contact. Never willing to give up, Sue changes things up. However, this change results in way too much awkward eye contact. This results in a third bad review. Sue can’t let this be. She stands on a chair in the middle of the food court to confront the customers. She insists they give her constructive criticism to her face. Unfortunately, everything they have to say is rude and about the company, not her actually service. Poor, Sue. She can’t seem to catch a break, but it doesn’t stop her from giving her all.
Frankie misses so much she’s seeing Axl-lookalikes all over town. When she heads over to the Donahue’s to give them their mail, she discovers Axl is there participating in family game night. Of course, she discovers this by peeking through the window. She’s angry with Axl for coming to town and not stopping home. Shortly after, Axl comes walking in. She calls him out on being at the Donahue’s. He doesn’t understand why she’s so angry since he stopped home, too. He’s home for a little over 24 hours before heading out for spring break in Florida. Frankie follows him around before leaving to ensure he and his car are ready for the trip. He says he’s fine as he pulls a map out of his pocket, “It’s a napkin with a map on it. It’s a mapkin.” Axl makes it to Tennessee, which is where his car breaks down because he forgot to check the oil before leaving. Frankie heads out to pick him up and the two make up on the ride home.
Meanwhile, Mike’s been forced to take a paid vacation. He doesn’t know what to do. Frankie tells him to enjoy a staycation like celebs do. She also tells Mike that he’s weird, which is where Brick gets it from. He comments that celebs have much better homes. Mike gives in and is ready to relax a bit. Unfortunately, Brick is home for spring break and can’t seem to leave Mike alone. Brick decides he wants Mike to cash in all of the coupons he has given him throughout the years for things like 100 free hugs, scalp massages, tickle sessions, and mowing the lawn. Mike tries to find some alone time, but Brick is dead-set on Mike using all of the coupons. Mike’s breaking point is when Brick almost hits him with the lawnmower. Mike yells at Brick, saying that he doesn’t care about the coupons and he just wants to be left alone. Later, Mike apologizes to Brick and tells him he appreciates Brick wanting to spend time with him. Brick admits that he doesn’t really care about the coupons. He just felt he should get them out of the way now so that when he was in the middle of something important, Mike couldn’t bother him by cashing in the coupons. They both agree to destroy the coupons. Brick and Mike then enjoy a relaxing reading session outside in lawn chairs. Unfortunately for Mike, Frankie and Axl are quite the same. Mike receives a call from Frankie because she and Axl are stranded in Tennessee. Frankie forgot to put gas in the car.
image: ABC
