Season Analysis: The Middle is the best family sitcom on the air right now, and it has probably set its sights on being one of the best of all time.

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“The Friend”
I feel like I (and others) have so often mentioned how interesting the awkwardness of adult male friendship can be that it seems redundant to keep praising shows that present this situation.  But Neil Flynn actually does manage to bring something different to the table, by portraying Mike Heck as someone who honestly could not care any less about his lack of friends.  Unfortunately for him, he is married to Frankie Heck, who cares way too much about this sort of thing.  Fortunately for the viewer, the new neighbor that Frankie sets Mike up on a man date with is played by David Koechner.  Koechner is known for playing for off-putting weirdos, but here he is actually allowed to play someone who could comfortably live in suburbia, but he is like all his previous characters in that he follows one rule in life: “I’ll have a beer with anyone.”
The Axl-Cassidy (and Brick) subplot showed that (now dearly departed) relationship getting on well.  It deftly played with expectations, with Cassidy and Brick’s shared love of the Planet Nowhere series seemingly suggesting that Brick might develop a crush on his older brother’s girlfriend.  But instead, it turns into an opportunity for Brick to teach Axl about culture and make the latter more appealing to his lady.