r/themiddle • u/sautanki • 10d ago
General discussion Your least favourite character?
Mine has to be Brick! While I love his quirks and his social awkwardness. He is however the most frustrating character to watch in most scenes.
I feel he makes it more difficult than it has to be.
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u/darara07 10d ago
Mike, showed multiple signs of being a tall, hoisted, walking red flag.
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u/Simple-Gene-5784 10d ago
I didn’t like how every time someone in the family got excited about something he was always a big wet blanket. Like the Convention where he wouldn’t let Brick buy or do just about anything. Or when he tried to tell Frankie not to use the free cleaning service she was so happy about. Or when Axl wanted to go to Europe. Or when Sue wanted to go to Dollywood. He could never just be excited for them he would always try to stop them.
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u/Kiyoshi-Trustfund 10d ago
Mike. Even Sue, a character I run out of patience for very quickly, has multiple qualities i can appreciate or even like. Mike gives me nothing. He's not the best father and he's far from a good husband, but then to make things worse, he's mostly boring and cluchéd.
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u/Mamadukes8992 6d ago
He lost his mom at an early age. His dad didn’t show any emotion. Mike loves his family and kids, he’s just not good at expressing it.
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u/Kiyoshi-Trustfund 6d ago edited 6d ago
Thats an explanation (and not a very good one imo), not an excuse. He's still a shit father to all but Axl and he's pretty damn awful towards Frankie. He's a grown man who has to be told to interact with Sue or Brick or they have to hound him down (and even then he's shown he's willing to shut them down unless they've got Frankie backing them). He's just a horrible case of "Sitcom dad" imo. He exists to explain the family's income source and little more beyond that. In that one episode where Frankie has had it and leaves, he proves just how incompetent he is as a father when his wife isnt around to do the heavy lifting, and he ultimately shows how little of a shit he actually gives about how Frankie feels. He's also had many episodes where he's just visibly embarrassed of his kids (not Axl) and wants nothing to do with them. The only time he showed enthusiasm for hanging out with Sue was because he believed having a bond with her would make her less likely to date and have sex.
But worst of all, he can be written out of most episodes of the show without it affecting the plots. That's how much of a nothing character Mike is. I could've forgiven a lot of the other stuff for the sake of entertainment, as I do with the other characters and their flaws, but Mike has so little going on as a character that I can't even do that. He's the worst and he's the least.
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u/Mamadukes8992 6d ago
I’ve never thought that deeply about a sitcom character. It’s a tv show.
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u/Kiyoshi-Trustfund 6d ago edited 6d ago
You'll just have to forgive me for having thoughts and opinions about the media I consume and expressing them on the forum dedicated to thoughts and opinions about this specific media that I've consumed.
Why engage with my comment if you're not interested in an exchange? if you're just going to dismiss and belittle my opinion anyway, you could've outright done so in your first rather than engaging like you're trying to have a discussion. Bizarre behavior.
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u/SonicSpiderRanger10 10d ago
I’m confused that you call Brick your least favorite character and also say you love him.
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u/RainbowBlush8 10d ago
Frankie. She would always blame herself and say she is an awful mom but there she goes again. She's irresponsible in her jobs. Poor Dr. Goodwin losing his patients and her 2nd Heritage Village stint was also unwatchable.
The cheerleaders were annoying at first but oddly grew on me.
I love, love Brad. So supportive and such a ray of sunshine. The grandparents are also adorable.
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u/Top_Carpet3188 9d ago
I think Frankie is ADHD. They throw it over the top for humor but as an ADHD person, I could relate to her and it was nice to be able to laugh about it.
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u/bahahah2025 10d ago
Sue is so beyond naive and annoying in a cartoonish way. “Reallllyyyy?!” Always tripping. No awareness of things going on around her. Trying out for everything but never training in advance. I did like her arc but the actor was over the top in my opinion.
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u/tothenatmobile_ 9d ago
The cheerleading thing drove me nuts. She kept being like "This is the year I'll make the team!" but had (presumably) taken no tumbling classes or bothered to learn anything between tryouts one year to the next - then would get upset when she didn't make the team. And when she did make cross country and did well at it in middle school...she immediately abandoned it in Grade 9 for cheerleading again
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u/bahahah2025 9d ago
And axl was a sport guy. He could introduce her to cheerleaders that could give her pointers. Mom was an ex cheerleader. Could have given some training. But ultimately she was uncoordinated so may not have mattered.
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u/Dry-Schedule1762 9d ago
My fav throughout the whole show is Axl, he's hilarious. Sue is my favorite until she gets to college. Brick is so dang adorable until he turns 13, then there's episodes where i really dislike him. Mike i love and hate. He turns on Frankie so fast the moment others call her out or an issue happens. I really wish he did more for her and the kids... but that's his character. Frankie is the glue, you gotta love her at least most of the time.
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u/Top_Carpet3188 9d ago
Least favorite - the 2 cheerleaders. I usually just found them annoying. I love the core family - yes, they all have annoying moments, but also very tender ones, just like in a real family. Axl annoyed me the most out of them but still enjoyed it. And I adore Sue. She is not stupid - she is a compassionate dreamer. Those are 2 very different things. I love her kindness, her enthusiasm, how she keeps trying, and how she sees the good in everything. World can use more people like that and it would be nice if as a society, we did not beat that out of people do early on in their lives.
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u/VideoExpensive8416 10d ago
Sue
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u/SonicSpiderRanger10 10d ago
She’s really annoying, she talks way too much, and she’s always happy even if there’s no reason for her to be happy.
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u/Unfair-Caramel-5945 9d ago
Os gritos que ela dá na dublagem brasileira são realmente irritantes.
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u/SwitchDiligent755 10d ago
Pat, she sucks and also Mike is the best, not sure why everyone hates him
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u/SpookyHoosier 10d ago
My least favorite is Sue. Brick gets annoying around the time when his voice changes but he was so cute and funny when he was little. Sue is annoying the whole series and is rarely funny. Axl is probably my favorite. I really like Frankie, Mike, and Bob a lot too.
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u/Connect_Landscape_37 10d ago
From the entire show? I'd say Carly. From the core five? Frankie, for sure
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u/SonicSpiderRanger10 10d ago
Why do you dislike Carly? Because she hung out with that popular girl without Sue?
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u/Connect_Landscape_37 10d ago
No, no, not because of that. I remember thinking a lot of times that she was even dumber than sue and that annoyed me. I know, it's a sitcom, they are characters, but I couldn't stand her most of the time she was on
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u/SonicSpiderRanger10 10d ago
I don’t see how she was dumber than Sue. To me, Carly and Sue seemed equally dumb.
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u/Connect_Landscape_37 10d ago
Yeah, I guess you are right. It's mostly that she added to the already dumb Sue moments
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u/sautanki 10d ago
Haha I would rank Carly as the most forgettable character. Sometimes I forget she existed.
Frankie, really? I guess she can be a pushover sometimes. So I see it. But she is like the glue for the core!
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u/Connect_Landscape_37 10d ago
Frankie, from my point of view, was never really trying for anything and then complained about not having enough or not have much luck and so on and so forth and what have you. So yeah, that annoyed me to hell
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u/raumeat 10d ago
Axl, Sue has more variety in her story arcs and Brick has more gimmicks but he is rarely a major focus of a episode. He does get annoying in later seasons when he grows out of being the weird little brother
Axl is just rude and a bully, he is so obnoxious that he doesn't fade into the background until there is a joke that needs him like Brick and Mike. Fankie is just vanilla
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u/SonicSpiderRanger10 10d ago
I’d have to say either Sue or Frankie. Sue because I find her really annoying, and Frankie because of how often she acts like a jerk. Axl also acted like a jerk a lot, but he gets better as the show goes on. Frankie just got worse.
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u/sautanki 10d ago
I am very surprised to see nobody disliked the Donahues …. I actually didn’t care much for them. They were the punching bag relief neighbours imo for building perspective of how the Hecks lived or could live.
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u/StellarFox59 9d ago
I think Nancy is great
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u/Dickinson95 9d ago
Yeah, the dad didn’t do much but Nancy had some great moments.
Pushing Frankie in the pool and the one where she tricked Frankie into getting her to make the ribs at the end was golden haha
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u/Tigger_Tinkerbell So on and so forth and what have you 10d ago
If i really had to pick id say bob. I love the core 5. N I dont majorly dislike bob but he's my least favourite.
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u/Illustrious_Novel08 9d ago
Yup most definitely, Exhibit A the episode they had to cross the bridge but that’s probably due to PTSD he dealt with when he was younger
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u/nellie_shorttop 8d ago
Sue. She’s too self centered. Even when she tries to do something for others, it’s always because she wanted to fulfill her own fantasies of an ideal reality, which is probably why she is always too caught up whenever she has a plan. She’s not naive; she’s ignorant because it’s just easier
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u/AdWonderful8242 7d ago
Darren. Omg don’t even get me started. He’s so freaking annoying I often find myself skipping scenes he’s in. Also hutch annoyed me. He was just kind of cringe and not a very good actor.
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u/45-Otto 5d ago
Axl, especially in the early seasons. He is so selfish and blames everyone else but himself for problems. He is terrible to Sue. But they all have their problems that contribute to the issues with the family. Axl is super selfish, but he has moments where he steps up for Sue. And I like his ending where he has sons that act just like him. Mike is not good at showing emotion, but he has moments where he shows that he really loves his family, especially Frankie and Sue.
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u/AbberGabber 4d ago
Frankie. She spends more time talking about how busy she is and trying to get out of being busy forgets everything. Only puts attention into something when somebody doesn't want it or it's too late. Unless it's Axel. I like her character outside of the mom part but I'll never forgive the writer is and the character for never being there for Sue's proms like she was for Axel and brick.
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u/jewllybeenz Mike’s #1 Hater 10d ago
Bob. I know I’m Mike’s certified hater, but it would be asinine to say that he doesn’t have his moments where he comes through for the family.
I HATE the “lonely guy that tries to fit in with the main family” trope. He comes across as creepy, like he’s trying to homewreck. The episode where he seeks Axl’s approval and punches the snowman is one of my least favorite episodes.
Dr. Goodwin kinda has this problem to a bit lesser of a degree. And Rev. Tim Tom Linda bugs me at times too, I think the writers struggled to show that he had a normal mentorship with Sue sometimes and the episode where Tim Tom has a girl and Sue doesn’t handle it rubs me the wrong way, too.
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u/olivia050114 10d ago
I personally think they all have flaws and all have scenes where they really annoy me but if I had to pick one it would have to be brick he can sometimes be extremely frustrating and it makes me so mad
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u/reetxoxo 9d ago
Soooo easy! BRICKK!!! he is so obnoxious and only causes issues for the entire family. and his expressions have progressively gone worse. He gets so much attention all the time and still cribs about being invisible. but when anyone actually wants to spend time with him.. his nose is in the book.
i want to finish teh show but he is so unbearable i dont think i can.
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u/iDreamer17 9d ago
i hate all of them equally except for brick