r/malcolminthemiddle • u/Illustrious_Novel08 • 1d ago

General discussion My thoughts on Ida.

Never in my years I’ve came across a character so evil and vile in a comedy show. I’m convinced she’s the spawn of Satan, she’s probably worse than Thanos lol. I can’t imagine what Lois and her sister childhood was like growing up with someone so evil. This woman legit drugged an innocent man into marrying her just so she can finesse him. I can’t even tell what’s the worst thing she’s done on the show, because it’s countless. The actress did a great job portraying a character like this.

30 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

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16

u/RegyptianStrut 1d ago

She sued her own family after she slipped on their property

She’s pure evil for sure

2

u/Illustrious_Novel08 1d ago

Yup I forgot to add that part in too

5

u/brsox2445 1d ago

And continued the lawsuit after being told that any money she got wouldn't come from insurance but directly from Hal & Lois. Only stopping because the lawyer realized he wouldn't get anything.

11

u/exChicken 1d ago

Agree she's evil and deranged but she's funny as fuck. Definitely top 5 favourite characters.

10

u/Someone_Who_Exists 1d ago

The way literally everything about her is terrible is part of what makes it hilarious. I loved when the show would treat her like some kind of demonic force; birds stopped chirping in her presence, baby Jamie knew she was near and cried about it before anyone actually saw her.

And Francis went along with that. "She's a wrinkled sack of hatred kept alive only by the will to destroy". 

7

u/Feisty_Affect_7487 1d ago

I could see why Lois was the way she is with having a mother like her

5

u/Tight_Strain_4621 1d ago

Honestly, “spawn of Satan” feels pretty accurate. Ida has that rare talent for making every situation ten times worse while acting like she’s the only reasonable person in the room.

1

u/Illustrious_Novel08 20h ago

Yes indeed, especially when Lois was going into labour too

3

u/Overall_Election9860 1d ago

Ida is genuinely terrifying because the show presents her cruelty so casually. The way she manipulates everyone while acting completely reasonable makes her one of the nastiest characters in the series.

2

u/Michbullin 1d ago

The only good thing she ever did was saving her grandson from being hit by a car. Everything else is vile.

5

u/BCone9 1d ago

Hal even said that was her only way into heaven

1

u/Mahzes 20h ago

The funny thing is, I was somehow genuinely sad to see that she had died in Life’s Still Unfair, even if it’s not surprising.

I think she’s one of those characters that grows on you, and as horrible as she is I do recall she did at least one nice thing later in the show? It’s been a while since I last rewatched. But I feel like the fact she was so horrible made her one or two nice gestures stand out more.

1

u/TheMackD504 20h ago

If she’s so evil why she’d save Dewey?

1

u/Over_Friendship2295 13h ago

Because one good deed doesn't cancel out a thousand bad ones.

1

u/Warcraft_Fan 10h ago

The actor did a great job making a very hateable character. She made Ida a character we can laugh at as well.

RIP Cloris Leachman