The Middle's 10 best episodes

Frankie struggles to deal with Axl leaving home as the Heck family drives him on a road trip out to his new job in Denver.

Sue prepares for her graduation and worries the day won't go perfectly. Meanwhile, Brick gets the opportunity to skip a year in school and Axl grows concerned about Devin's fun summer pictures she posted on social media.

After they discover that they are treated like second-class citizens in their own home, Mike and Frankie decide to take control of the house away from the kids.

Axl and Sue wind up in the same life skills class, a school therapist tries to help Brick make friends, and Frankie and Mike fight the insurance company for a new windshield.

Brick's teachers tell Frankie and Mike that Brick tested as "socially challenged," so Mike thinks basketball is the answer to help Brick interact with others. When that fails, Mike enters the neighborhood block-party lawnmower contest and discovers that Brick has a talent for souping up machines. Meanwhile Frankie joins the booster club to raise money for new football jerseys for Axl's team, but Axl refuses to give his old one to her.

Frankie summons up the courage to confront the scary mother of the neighborhood bullies after they get in a fight with Sue, while Axl agrees to teach Brick how to play kickball.

Frankie and Mike decide to stop nagging and punishing the kids and let them begin taking responsibility for themselves.

After Axl plays a trick on Sue at school and doesn't come to her defense, a debate ensues over who's really in charge in the family, causing Mike to attend a parent-teacher conference with Brick's new teacher.

Frankie contemplates a new career after Mr Ehlert lets her go, Sue mentors a popular freshman girl, and Mike considers punishing Brick for his rudeness.

The Hecks parents must react to school assessments of their kids. Axl scored high on aptitude, so his slacking and poor grades are no longer acceptable, but cramming all night with Mike still doesn't do the trick. Brick may a librarian's dream, the only school kid who truly enjoys reading, mean old Mrs. Nethercott, who luckily can't prove vandalism, still threatens to prevent him passing to the next grade unless he returns all missing books, now found all over the Heck home. Sue is the only school kid without a yearbook picture, so Frankie steps up the search for some activity she can join. the principal opens up track running without time threshold, but even a passing deer proves too much opposition fro the eternal failure.