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The Best Episodes of Malcolm in the Middle Season 2

Every episode of Malcolm in the Middle Season 2 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Malcolm in the Middle Season 2!

Binge this in 9h 10m•Peaking at 9.3/10

A gifted young teen tries to survive life with his dimwitted, dysfunctional family.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Malcolm in the Middle Season 2 Episode 1 - Traffic Jam (2)
    8.6/10(1684 votes)

    #1 - Traffic Jam (2)

    S2:E1

    Hal, Loi, Malcolm and Reese are trapped in a horrendous traffic jam. Francis enters himself in a bet that recalls the egg-eating wager in "Cool Hand Luke." Malcolm becomes smitten over a girl he meets. Dewey has his own little adventure--all over the world--before his family returns home.

    Director:Todd Holland
    Writer:Dan Kopelman

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  2. Malcolm in the Middle Season 2 Episode 2 - Halloween Approximately
    8.1/10(1411 votes)

    #2 - Halloween Approximately

    S2:E2

    Francis visits the week after Halloween and helps his brothers in a trick that involves a giant slingshot with icky ammo. Hal tries to catch a mysterious hot-rodder.

    Director:Todd Holland
    Writer:Dan Kopelman

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  3. Malcolm in the Middle Season 2 Episode 3 - Lois's Birthday
    8.4/10(1589 votes)

    #3 - Lois's Birthday

    S2:E3

    Crummy gifts rile birthday gal Lois, who suddenly splits from home, leaving confusion, anxiety and desperation in her wake.

    Director:Ken Kwapis
    Writer:Alex Reid

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  4. Malcolm in the Middle Season 2 Episode 4 - Dinner Out
    8.0/10(1373 votes)

    #4 - Dinner Out

    S2:E4

    Shenanigans abound at the fancy spot where the family's dining with the Kenarbans, and at Francis' school, where rowdy teenage girls are partying.

    Director:Jeff Melman
    Writers:Michael Glouberman, Andrew Orenstein

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  5. Malcolm in the Middle Season 2 Episode 5 - Casino
    7.9/10(1350 votes)

    #5 - Casino

    S2:E5

    A family weekend vacation to a casino turns into an ordeal in the desert for Hal, Reese and Malcolm, who wander onto an artillery range. Francis sneaks home, but has no one to play with.

    Director:Todd Holland
    Writers:Neil Thompson, Gary Murphy

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  6. Malcolm in the Middle Season 2 Episode 6 - Convention
    8.0/10(1384 votes)

    #6 - Convention

    S2:E6

    Hal and Lois heads off to a convention while the boys stays home for the babysitter. Malcolm, Reese and Dewey assumed it's just another old woman, their parents hired to watch them. They decide to do a series of pranks on their babysitter, which includes the covered up sewer tank with a blanket and a book for the old woman sit on. To their surprise, their babysitter is a hot, teen-aged girl named Patty. She is sweet to them, but also bitter because she was rejected by Francis, a long time ago, because she was obese. Now the boys compete against each other to see who will prove their eldest brother wrong in his rejection and sleep with her without sex. Meanwhile at the convention, Lois tries in vain to stop the fight between Hal and Jack, who stole his idea.

    Director:Jeff Melman
    Writer:Bob Stevens

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  7. Malcolm in the Middle Season 2 Episode 7 - Robbery
    7.6/10(1286 votes)

    #7 - Robbery

    S2:E7

    The night shift at Lucky Aide is held hostage by two robbers, since Craig does not want to give up the combination for the store's safe. Francis tries to help a heartbroken friend at the academy, while Hal and the boys fight nature at home.

    Director:Todd Holland
    Writer:Alan J. Higgins

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  8. Malcolm in the Middle Season 2 Episode 8 - Therapy
    7.6/10(1309 votes)

    #8 - Therapy

    S2:E8

    Malcolm's humiliation as a Krelboyne drives him crazy, so he fakes his way into seeing the school's shrink, with whom the con continues.

    Director:Ken Kwapis
    Writer:Ian Busch

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  9. Malcolm in the Middle Season 2 Episode 9 - High School Play
    7.5/10(1320 votes)

    #9 - High School Play

    S2:E9

    Malcolm gets a role in the high school play and is so captivated by high school gossip that he forgets his lines. Lois discovers the joys of massage. Hal and Dewey build a society of model buildings in the living room. Francis tries to show his individualism at school when the commandant cracks down on personal belongings.

    Director:Jeff Melman
    Writers:Maggie Bandur, Pang-Ni Landrum

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  10. Malcolm in the Middle Season 2 Episode 10 - The Bully
    7.9/10(1276 votes)

    #10 - The Bully

    S2:E10

    Reese, promising champion of his school's wrestling team, gets beaten by a girl, completely demoralizing him. So he gives up his school-bully carrier, which destabilizes the natural order of things at school. Francis tries to get out of academy at his birthday in an attempt to avoid academy-birthday-traditions.

    Director:Jeff Melman
    Writer:Alex Reid

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  11. Malcolm in the Middle Season 2 Episode 11 - Old Mrs. Old
    7.5/10(1250 votes)

    #11 - Old Mrs. Old

    S2:E11

    Dewey starts carrying a purse to school. Francis's friend Richie joins him at military school. Malcolm becomes a slave to an old woman in the neighborhood.

    Director:Todd Holland
    Writer:Alan J. Higgins

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  12. Malcolm in the Middle Season 2 Episode 12 - Krelboyne Girl
    8.2/10(1350 votes)

    #12 - Krelboyne Girl

    S2:E12

    Lois and Hal try to end Dewey's dependence on his stuffed animal Domingo by convincing him that it is too dirty. Strangely attracted, Malcolm finds himself in emotional confusion about the new weird Krelboyne girl Cynthia. At the academy Commandant Spangler re-institutes old Hickory into the school's disciplinary system and Francis tries to convince his father Hal to lie for him to avoid punishment.

    Director:Arlene Sanford
    Writer:Bob Stevens

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  13. Malcolm in the Middle Season 2 Episode 13 - New Neighbors
    8.3/10(1410 votes)

    #13 - New Neighbors

    S2:E13

    New neighbors, who turn out to be even more awful than Malcolm's family, move in next door; the Marlin Academy cadets prepare for a visit from Oliver North.

    Director:Ken Kwapis
    Writers:Maggie Bandur, Pang-Ni Landrum

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  14. Malcolm in the Middle Season 2 Episode 14 - Hal Quits
    7.7/10(1236 votes)

    #14 - Hal Quits

    S2:E14

    Hal feels like his job is a piece of c* after going to Dewey's class for parent job day. So he decides to take a "kidney failure" weeks off. While Francis is forced to work at the lucky aid over spring break.

    Director:Ken Kwapis
    Writers:Michael Glouberman, Andrew Orenstein

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  15. Malcolm in the Middle Season 2 Episode 15 - The Grandparents
    7.7/10(1224 votes)

    #15 - The Grandparents

    S2:E15

    Lois' estranged parents, Ida and Victor, pay the family a visit. Right away, trouble starts brewing. Victor bonds with Reese, Ida gets Malcolm into a fight, and Dewey is haunted by childhood memories of his inattentive grandparents.

    Director:Todd Holland
    Writers:Neil Thompson, Gary Murphy

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  16. Malcolm in the Middle Season 2 Episode 16 - Traffic Ticket
    8.3/10(1295 votes)

    #16 - Traffic Ticket

    S2:E16

    Lois gets a traffic ticket and immediately blames Francis and makes him get the money to her. To do this, Francis stages a stunt for the other cadets' amusement. Malcolm finds evidence that Lois was wrong about the traffic ticket.

    Director:Jeff Melman
    Writer:Larry Strawther

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  17. Malcolm in the Middle Season 2 Episode 17 - Surgery
    7.7/10(1183 votes)

    #17 - Surgery

    S2:E17

    A hospital stay unsettles Malcolm, who's stuck in a kids ward with what may be appendicitis. Meanwhile, at military school, Francis leads a hunger strike.

    Director:Jeff Melman
    Writers:Maggie Bandur, Pang-Ni Landrum

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  18. Malcolm in the Middle Season 2 Episode 18 - Reese Cooks
    8.1/10(1226 votes)

    #18 - Reese Cooks

    S2:E18

    A cooking class energizes Reese; a planned party irks Malcolm, whose brutal honesty hurts the hostess, Krelboyne Cynthia.

    Director:Jeff Melman
    Writer:Dan Kopelman

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  19. Malcolm in the Middle Season 2 Episode 19 - Tutoring Reese
    8.1/10(1227 votes)

    #19 - Tutoring Reese

    S2:E19

    Malcolm and the Krelboynes tutor Reese, and uncover the real reason behind his failing grades.

    Director:Ken Kwapis
    Writer:Ian Busch

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  20. Malcolm in the Middle Season 2 Episode 20 - Bowling
    9.3/10(2475 votes)

    #20 - Bowling

    S2:E20

    Malcolm and Reese go to a bowling party where they vie for the attention of a cute girl.

    Director:Todd Holland
    Writer:Alex Reid

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  21. Malcolm in the Middle Season 2 Episode 21 - Malcolm vs. Reese
    8.1/10(1217 votes)

    #21 - Malcolm vs. Reese

    S2:E21

    Francis has an extra ticket for a wrestling event and it is the prize pitting Malcolm vs. Reese in a one-upmanship war; caring for Craig's cat is troublesome for Dewey.

    Director:Todd Holland
    Writer:Dan Kopelman

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  22. Malcolm in the Middle Season 2 Episode 22 - Mini-Bike
    7.8/10(1151 votes)

    #22 - Mini-Bike

    S2:E22

    Lois forbids the boys to ride a motorbike they found, but Reese disobeys and breaks a leg.

    Director:Ken Kwapis
    Writers:Michael Glouberman, Andrew Orenstein

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  23. Malcolm in the Middle Season 2 Episode 23 - Carnival
    7.7/10(1173 votes)

    #23 - Carnival

    S2:E23

    Malcolm, Dewey, Stevie, and Reese hide out at a traveling carnival after hours and run afoul of a determined security guard and several members of the freak show.

    Director:Ken Kwapis
    Writer:Alex Reid

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  24. Malcolm in the Middle Season 2 Episode 24 - Evacuation
    8.4/10(1297 votes)

    #24 - Evacuation

    S2:E24

    Hal is inadvertently responsible for a toxic chemical spill that forces a neighborhood evacuation; Malcolm deals with being grounded even in the emergency shelter; Francis suffers through a date with a geeky 12-year-old.

    Director:Todd Holland
    Writers:Neil Thompson, Gary Murphy

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  25. Malcolm in the Middle Season 2 Episode 25 - Flashback
    8.4/10(1351 votes)

    #25 - Flashback

    S2:E25

    Lois is two weeks late with her period, causing her and Hal to panic and start a big fight, while trying to keep it from the boys. And while Dewey is scared that his parents may split up, Hal and Lois remember the troubles of getting their previous four sons.

    Director:Jeff Melman
    Writer:Ian Busch

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Season 2 Ratings Summary

"Traffic Jam (2)" is the best rated episode of "Malcolm in the Middle" season 2. It scored 8.6/10 based on 1684 votes. Directed by Todd Holland and written by Dan Kopelman, it aired on 11/5/2000. This episode is rated 0.5 points higher than the second-best, "Halloween Approximately".