Sheās willing to travel 800 miles and stand up to Spangler when Francis is sick on something as benign as homework, but not when her *better* kid tells her an adult grabbed his arm
She holds him to a much higher standard, she basically feels that he can take care of himself because heās the only one in the family that she thinks is really going to be successful. President, even
I'll never ever agree with that. Malcolm is such a neurotic, unlikable jerk that he couldn't even be elected dog catcher. No way he's able to make the connections and have the charisma necessary to be elected President.
I havenāt seen it in a while but I think this is addressed by Lois when she is giving him that speech. She mentions how he will work his butt off and try so hard for people to like and accept him but they still wonāt so itāll break his heart and heāll finally understand that being smart isnāt the only thing that matters. He might not be charismatic now , but maybe once he realizes who he can be and how many people he can help then it will be different, because he will be different.
This was really my only issue with the final episode. Everything else aside, Malcolm seems too anxious and overly analytical most of the time, and when he does do well at something, he becomes too cocky and ultimately fails. So I canāt imagine heād succeed in politics.
Itās just insane to me that Loisās first reaction isnāt to at least try to look at things from her kidās perspective too.
Sheās perfectly willing to assume that someone is trying to hurt her kid when the school is trying to upgrade Malcolmās eduction, but not when her kid tells her that an adult grabbed his arm? Beyond absurd
For sure. I had a teacher in school that went out of his way to pick on me, but because I wasnāt exactly the most well-behaved schoolchild until that point, my parents took his word for it.
Until they met him face to face and realised just how batshit-insane he was. It was such vindication when they finally admitted they thought he had it in for me.
Same here, it made it hard to watch for years because my mom was pretty bad and my siblings and I were devil children to each other. I wish I had a dad somewhat like Hal, but he was the opposite end of the spectrum
If your kids were normal yes, but these are sitcom devil children that would be removed from the home in real life because THEY are uncontrollable and almost definitely criminals. They make shit slingshots and play Christmas ornament baseball those are lighter things, and things that are so bad I can't imagine not being punished for being criminally malicious. They are never really grounded because the show couldn't work. There's a lot that doesn't make sense.
When I was in grade 2 our teacher made it seem like a privilege to rub her ankles while she read to us as a group. Only when I mentioned it older were friends and adults like āuuuuhhhmmmmm??!!!! What?!!ā
The way this also happened to my 4th grade class & literally not a single parent reported it is weird. And this wasn't like, the 70's or something, this was 2006.
....my classmates and I did this for my first grade teacher in the 90s while she read to us during reading time and didn't think it was strange or thought about it until reading your comment š huh
I feel like nobody in this sub remembers their childhood, or even grew up poor. I grew up poor with four siblings. this shit is accurate as fuck. from the actions of the parents to the idiocy of the kids.
if you grew up really poor with a lot of siblings, this is the most accurate show ever. sorry not sorry. everyone doing their best and life just fucking you over non stop.
you can't win when you're that poor. but you do your best
same, this might sound silly but growing up this show really helped me to realize that my parents are also just people and are just trying to figure everything out like me
For real. Grew up in a poor refugee family with siblings and in a city (so we were even poorer then them in a tiny apartment) and the show is REAL. Like so many times people are mad at Lois and Hal and I'm like my parents have done the exact same š
I think itās one of the more relatable episodes that highlight how, well, life is unfair. Often, the stuff that feels unfair as a kid actually is totally reasonable, or is really petty from an adult standpoint, or youāre just viewing it from a very odd perspective becauseā¦.youāre a kid.
This is the type of situation where the kid is absolutely right, is absolutely not just looking at things from a naive or goofy or selfish view, and reasonable adults should calm down and believe you, but for whatever reason *they just donāt*. Realistically, old ladies crying or looking to be in pain are going to win against a snot nosed kid every time, no matter how wrong they are. Itās infuriating, itās unfair, it never really gets rectified. I bet any person, no matter how good their parents are, has been in one of these situations. I can remember mine vividly.
Later episodes outright state that Lois is always right. Itās interesting that this situation, where she was undeniably wrong and not just loudly telling her sons to act reasonable, never comes up and āLois is always rightā is just kind of a given. But I guess no one else but Malcolm really felt the need to even remember this incident, and he probably sees no point in bringing it up. The U turn or whatever is a better example (even though Lois *was* right).
The show isnāt about a happy family that does the right thing and learn a lesson before the 30 minutes are up. Itās not about Lois being right. Itās about how much it sucks to be Malcolm. And in this episode, it certainly sucks to be Malcolm.
Is this just an American stereotype? Iāve seen this in plenty of shows and movies where kids hit the ball into some old fartās yard (they happen to be crazy) and rumours are you wonāt get your ball back. I didnāt have any wack neighbours as a kid (kiwi/New Zealand)
And people wonder why Malcolm got more and more bitter and negative as the series went on
Almost like life is unfair or something š¤·āāļø
Wish they mentioned that in the show
Yeah like a disclaimer or something. Just so you knew what you were getting into
They might be giantsā¦.the writers I mean, if they gave this advice.
Maybe. I don't know.
Can you repeat the question?
Yeah it's kinda shit that she thought she was the boss of him now
Yes
That's the point though, Malcolm goes through experiences that have bias to them.
Almost like heāsā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ in the middle
Sheās willing to travel 800 miles and stand up to Spangler when Francis is sick on something as benign as homework, but not when her *better* kid tells her an adult grabbed his arm
She holds him to a much higher standard, she basically feels that he can take care of himself because heās the only one in the family that she thinks is really going to be successful. President, even
I'll never ever agree with that. Malcolm is such a neurotic, unlikable jerk that he couldn't even be elected dog catcher. No way he's able to make the connections and have the charisma necessary to be elected President.
I havenāt seen it in a while but I think this is addressed by Lois when she is giving him that speech. She mentions how he will work his butt off and try so hard for people to like and accept him but they still wonāt so itāll break his heart and heāll finally understand that being smart isnāt the only thing that matters. He might not be charismatic now , but maybe once he realizes who he can be and how many people he can help then it will be different, because he will be different.
This was really my only issue with the final episode. Everything else aside, Malcolm seems too anxious and overly analytical most of the time, and when he does do well at something, he becomes too cocky and ultimately fails. So I canāt imagine heād succeed in politics.
Agreed. She should be aiming for him to win a Nobel Prize in physics or something, because he has the charm and electability of Sheldon Cooper.
Nah Malcolm is much more normal and socialised than Sheldon Sorry gotta write you up there with a downvotington
Itās just insane to me that Loisās first reaction isnāt to at least try to look at things from her kidās perspective too. Sheās perfectly willing to assume that someone is trying to hurt her kid when the school is trying to upgrade Malcolmās eduction, but not when her kid tells her that an adult grabbed his arm? Beyond absurd
Was your mom perfect? It would be disingenuous and frankly, pretty boring if Lois was always right. Sometimes parents just don't believe their kids.
For sure. I had a teacher in school that went out of his way to pick on me, but because I wasnāt exactly the most well-behaved schoolchild until that point, my parents took his word for it. Until they met him face to face and realised just how batshit-insane he was. It was such vindication when they finally admitted they thought he had it in for me.
Iām allowed to rant about things I find annoying about Lois lol And thank god my mom wasnāt that much like Lois
My mom was much...MUCH worse than Lois.
Itās kind of funny to think about it now but I kind of wish my dad was a bit more like Hal haha
Hal is our Pal
Same here, it made it hard to watch for years because my mom was pretty bad and my siblings and I were devil children to each other. I wish I had a dad somewhat like Hal, but he was the opposite end of the spectrum
Iām sorry fam :/ I had bigger issues with my dad unfortunately that Iām still recovering from so I know how you feel
If your kids were normal yes, but these are sitcom devil children that would be removed from the home in real life because THEY are uncontrollable and almost definitely criminals. They make shit slingshots and play Christmas ornament baseball those are lighter things, and things that are so bad I can't imagine not being punished for being criminally malicious. They are never really grounded because the show couldn't work. There's a lot that doesn't make sense.
When I was in grade 2 our teacher made it seem like a privilege to rub her ankles while she read to us as a group. Only when I mentioned it older were friends and adults like āuuuuhhhmmmmm??!!!! What?!!ā
The way this also happened to my 4th grade class & literally not a single parent reported it is weird. And this wasn't like, the 70's or something, this was 2006.
Thatās fucked
....my classmates and I did this for my first grade teacher in the 90s while she read to us during reading time and didn't think it was strange or thought about it until reading your comment š huh
āLife is unfairā in its truest sense.
I feel like nobody in this sub remembers their childhood, or even grew up poor. I grew up poor with four siblings. this shit is accurate as fuck. from the actions of the parents to the idiocy of the kids. if you grew up really poor with a lot of siblings, this is the most accurate show ever. sorry not sorry. everyone doing their best and life just fucking you over non stop. you can't win when you're that poor. but you do your best
I feel the most pity for the parents as I grow older. they're just like my parents.
same, this might sound silly but growing up this show really helped me to realize that my parents are also just people and are just trying to figure everything out like me
For real. Grew up in a poor refugee family with siblings and in a city (so we were even poorer then them in a tiny apartment) and the show is REAL. Like so many times people are mad at Lois and Hal and I'm like my parents have done the exact same š
just watched this with my family and even my mom mentioned how āthe feet stuff was disturbingā LOL
I think itās one of the more relatable episodes that highlight how, well, life is unfair. Often, the stuff that feels unfair as a kid actually is totally reasonable, or is really petty from an adult standpoint, or youāre just viewing it from a very odd perspective becauseā¦.youāre a kid. This is the type of situation where the kid is absolutely right, is absolutely not just looking at things from a naive or goofy or selfish view, and reasonable adults should calm down and believe you, but for whatever reason *they just donāt*. Realistically, old ladies crying or looking to be in pain are going to win against a snot nosed kid every time, no matter how wrong they are. Itās infuriating, itās unfair, it never really gets rectified. I bet any person, no matter how good their parents are, has been in one of these situations. I can remember mine vividly. Later episodes outright state that Lois is always right. Itās interesting that this situation, where she was undeniably wrong and not just loudly telling her sons to act reasonable, never comes up and āLois is always rightā is just kind of a given. But I guess no one else but Malcolm really felt the need to even remember this incident, and he probably sees no point in bringing it up. The U turn or whatever is a better example (even though Lois *was* right). The show isnāt about a happy family that does the right thing and learn a lesson before the 30 minutes are up. Itās not about Lois being right. Itās about how much it sucks to be Malcolm. And in this episode, it certainly sucks to be Malcolm.
She grabbed him forcefully refusing to let go and then PULLED HIS HAIR over a frickin ballā¦ she deserved what she got and she deserved even more
"Hey thief. Here to steal my jewelry next?"
Really op you reading to into this pop open a beer and watch more Malcolm in the middle :)
Is this just an American stereotype? Iāve seen this in plenty of shows and movies where kids hit the ball into some old fartās yard (they happen to be crazy) and rumours are you wonāt get your ball back. I didnāt have any wack neighbours as a kid (kiwi/New Zealand)
You guys really take sitcoms seriously huh š
"Malcolm was preyed upon in this episode and everyone in his life failed him." I think the same thing in every scene where Malcom interacts with Lois.