The Middle: Season 4
The Middle Season 4 continues the overarching saga across 24 episodes.
Season 4 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Picks up essential narrative continuity directly following the events of The Middle Season 3.
- Character alliances, factions, and personal loyalties undergo significant shifts under escalating stakes.
- Addresses unresolved cliffhangers and thematic mysteries introduced during previous seasons.
- Establishes the primary seasonal conflict that drives serialized character arcs toward the finale.
Season overview
The Middle Season 4 continues the overarching saga across 24 episodes.
Episode Guide
Season 4 Progress Shield
Last Whiff of Summer (1)
Sep 26, 2012
Mike accidentally reveals that Axl is his favorite child; Brick tries to grow a giant tomato; Sue encourages her father to participate in a variety of activities with her.
Last Whiff of Summer (2)
Sep 26, 2012
Mike accidentally reveals that Axl is his favorite child; Brick tries to grow a giant tomato; Sue encourages her father to participate in a variety of activities with her.
The Second Act
Oct 3, 2012
After being fired from the car dealership and vowing not to take any job that comes her way, Frankie goes to tech school to get a real career; Axl begins his senior year of high sc
Bunny Therapy
Oct 10, 2012
To help Brick's interactions with people, the school therapist urges Frankie and Mike to get him a small pet, but the ill-tempered bunny they give him teaches the family the true m
The Hose
Oct 17, 2012
A neighbor accuses Frankie of stealing her hose; Sue cancels a road trip to Cincinnati after seeing Mike's paycheck; Brick learns about the birds and the bees.
Halloween III: The Driving
Oct 24, 2012
Sue accidentally runs over Axl's foot while practicing driving; Axl looks forward to voting; Brick binges on Halloween candy.
The Safe
Nov 7, 2012
Frankie does not make a good impression on the first day of dental assistant school; Mike and Frankie ask Axl to get a tutor and improve his grades; Sue and Brick try to pawn an it
Thanksgiving IV
Nov 14, 2012
Frankie invites a couple of Marines to share Thanksgiving with her family; Axl gets good news; Sue tries to find the person who stole the chicken head from her uniform; Brick is me
Christmas Help
Dec 5, 2012
Mike helps his brother Rusty move some furniture into the Heck family's garage, only to realize the furniture is stolen; Frankie hopes to land a part-time job in a department store
Twenty Years
Dec 12, 2012
Frankie worries Mike is tiring of her as their 20th anniversary draws close; Sue tries to get Axl and Brick's help planning a party for their parents; Axl spoils the end of a book
Life Skills
Jan 9, 2013
Axl feels embarrassed when he and Sue are asked to work on a school project together; Brick's school therapist (Dave Foley) tries to help him make friends.
One Kid at a Time
Jan 16, 2013
When Frankie and Mike dedicate a day to each of their children, Axl takes them to a paintball range, Sue has them do 17 separate activities and Brick wants to go to a sci-fi conven
The Friend
Jan 23, 2013
Frankie tries to get Mike to spend time with a new neighbor who shares his interests; Sue demands a cheer-off between the Wrestlerettes and the cheerleaders.
The Smile
Feb 6, 2013
Frankie and Mike worry that Axl may not get a sports scholarship; Sue's school science project involves smiling; Brick wants an iPad.
Valentine's Day IV
Feb 13, 2013
Axl and his friends, Darrin and Sean, offer to help guys break up with their girlfriends; Sue's ex-boyfriend, Matt, invites her to a Valentine's Day dance at school; Mike accidenta
Winners and Losers
Feb 20, 2013
Frankie is worried when Brick decides to go on a three-day school trip to Chicago; Sue wants to know if Darrin, one of Axl's friends, has feelings for her.
Wheel of Pain
Feb 27, 2013
When Axl, Sue and Brick accidentally break the family room window, they decide to blame the Glossner children -- the bad seeds of the neighborhood; Frankie tries to land a prime de
The Name
Mar 27, 2013
Frankie's sister (Molly Shannon) offers to help at the house while Frankie studies for her finals for dental-assistant school; Axl tries not to act jealous when Cassidy's ex-boyfri
The Bachelor
Apr 3, 2013
Disappointed with the finale of "The Bachelor," Frankie mopes for days; when Sue joins the school's tennis team, Mike tries to toughen her up by complimenting her opponents during
Dollar Days
Apr 10, 2013
Frankie has a difficult time describing herself during a job interview; Sue dispenses unwanted advice to Axl and his band mates; Brick joins the Prairie Scouts.
From Orson with Love
May 1, 2013
Frankie tries to make Sue appear more popular on Facebook; Frankie's dad (Jerry Van Dyke) makes Mike listen to long-winded life stories; Brick and Axl try to create a viral video.
Hallelujah Hoedown
May 8, 2013
Frankie tells the kids what she wants for Mother's day so one of them can clue in Mike; after repeatedly failing the driving test, Sue feels resentful when her friends get their li
The Ditch
May 15, 2013
While dressed in a lab coat for her dental assisting job, Frankie is mistaken for a doctor and receives special treatment; Axl talks Sue into ditching school for the day; Mike and
The Graduation
May 22, 2013
Tension builds as Frankie tries to plan a graduation party for uncooperative Axl; Sue tries to get her driver's license for a sixth time; Brick must assemble a slide show highlight