7.6/10330 votes#1 - The Core Group
Season 8 Episode 1 - Aired 10/11/2016
Frankie and Mike are excited to be introduced to the love of Axl's life, April and the family is surprised when she reveals an unusual personality trait. Sue decides to change her major while Brick begins high school and wants to change his image.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.8/10309 votes#2 - A Tough Pill to Swallow
Season 8 Episode 2 - Aired 10/18/2016
Mike tries to help a devastated Sue get back into college after discovering she has been kicked out for not renewing her financial aid, and Frankie attempts to teach Brick how to swallow a pill when he gets sick.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.6/10300 votes#3 - Halloween VII: The Heckoning
Season 8 Episode 3 - Aired 10/25/2016
As Halloween approaches, Frankie is taken aback when she discovers that, if the circumstances ever arose where she and Mike got divorced, the kids would all choose to live with Mike. Meanwhile, Sue tries everything in her power to get her room back from Brick, and having to be so nice around girlfriend April all of the time leads Axl to lash out at his family,
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.5/10286 votes#4 - True Grit
Season 8 Episode 4 - Aired 11/1/2016
A clueless Sue turns to Axl for help in figuring out how she can break up with her boyfriend; Brick's attempts to make friends in high school are foiled by his best friend, Troy; Frankie unintentionally buys underwear with a lewd graphic.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.0/10303 votes#5 - Roadkill
Season 8 Episode 5 - Aired 11/15/2016
Frankie and Mike's embarrassment over forgetting Brick's birthday turns to fear when they realize it's time to teach him to drive. Sue learns something surprising from Frankie.
Director: Lee Shallat Chemel
Writer: Roy Brown
7.7/10293 votes#6 - Thanksgiving VIII
Season 8 Episode 6 - Aired 11/22/2016
Frankie decides that April is not good enough to be with Axl and does anything she can to keep her out of the annual family Christmas photo. Frankie must fight for Axl's attention when he announces that he will be spending Thanksgiving with April.
Director: Elliot Hegarty
Writer: Ilana Wernick
7.7/10287 votes#7 - Look Who's Not Talking
Season 8 Episode 7 - Aired 11/29/2016
Frankie is upset that Axl refuses to answer her calls or texts after she unintentionally admits her true feelings about his girlfriend April. Brick forms a tick in the form of a phrase that causes him trouble; Brad surprises Sue.
Director: Lee Shallat Chemel
Writer: Tim Hobert
7.7/10297 votes#8 - Trip and Fall
Season 8 Episode 8 - Aired 12/6/2016
Trashy neighbor Rita Glossner talks an apprehensive Frankie into taking a road trip to an unknown destination. Mike takes an embarrassing fall at the quarry and has to deal with even more embarrassment when OSHA is called in to investigate. Sue attempts to convince Axl to end his estrangement with the family after learning their true feelings about April.
Director: Elliot Hegarty
Writer: Rich Dahm
8.3/10313 votes#9 - A Very Marry Christmas
Season 8 Episode 9 - Aired 12/13/2016
As Christmas approaches, Sue keeps a holiday secret from the family. After agreeing to watch the neighbor’s three kids, Brick finds himself trying to hide from them as they had such a good time that they keep wanting to come over and play. Mike doesn’t know how to react when Bill Norwood gives him a Christmas gift for the first time ever,
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.8/10290 votes#10 - Escape Orson
Season 8 Episode 10 - Aired 1/3/2017
The Hecks find themselves spending New Year's Day attempting to stave off a zombie apocalypse in the Orson Escape Room, desperately trying to beat the Donahue's record of getting out with more than one minute, eight seconds to spare. Meanwhile, Brick is convinced that the mild-mannered man assigned to the family's Escape Room group is really the famous author of the "Planet Nowhere" books; Sue divulges a secret about herself to Axl that's she's been keeping since childhood; and Mike is stunned when Frankie reveals that she had a romantic dream involving Frank Sinatra.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.7/10271 votes#11 - Hoosier Maid
Season 8 Episode 11 - Aired 1/10/2017
Frankie wins a free maid service for a month and is excited for the break, but the Heck household might pose a bigger challenge than she expected. Mike and Rusty's dad, Big Mike, begins to have trouble taking care of himself.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.5/10285 votes#12 - Pitch Imperfect
Season 8 Episode 12 - Aired 1/17/2017
Axl begins to panic when he realizes that he only has four months of college left before he graduates, and he hasn't sent out any job resumes - something he should have started when he was a junior. Meanwhile, Brad agrees to lead Sue's no-cut a cappella group as they enter a music competition, and Brick desperately asks for Frankie and Mike's advice when girlfriend Cindy tells him that he reads too much, and if he doesn't stop, she'll break up with him.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.5/10271 votes#13 - Ovary And Out
Season 8 Episode 13 - Aired 2/7/2017
Frankie becomes sad when her doctor informs her that her ovaries are shriveled up, which means her days of having kids are over. In an attempt to cheer her up, Mike offers to have him and Frankie babysit the neighbor's baby overnight, which puts some perspective on being an older parent. Meanwhile, Sue and Axl are a bit shocked when romantic sparks fly between Sean Donahue and Sue's roommate Lexie; and Brick tries his best to hone up on his font knowledge when he meets Gibson, a worthy font opponent.
Director: Elliot Hegarty
Writer: Ilana Wernick
7.8/10293 votes#14 - Sorry Not Sorry
Season 8 Episode 14 - Aired 2/14/2017
Frankie and Mike frantically attempt to shut off the water and save some treasured items when the pipes burst in the basement. But after freaking out and bickering amongst each other, Axl, Sue and Brick call a family intervention meeting to let their parents know that their constant fighting and bickering is negatively affecting them. But while the kids feel like they can benefit from their parents’ newfound realization, Frankie and Mike start to think that the kids’ lack of support makes them the ones who should be sorry,
Director: Phil Traill
Writer: Tim Hobert
7.6/10276 votes#15 - Dental Hijinks
Season 8 Episode 15 - Aired 2/21/2017
Frankie gets Mike to go see the dentist about his toothache, and the two collude to convince her that there's nothing wrong with his teeth; Axl, Hutch and Kenny decide to sell the Winnebago; Brick works on writing a historical musical.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.7/10280 votes#16 - Swing and a Miss
Season 8 Episode 16 - Aired 3/7/2017
Lexie joins the Hecks for their spring break plans where she confesses to Sue that she has a crush on Axl; Mike hires Coach Babbitt as a ringer to help the quarry softball team; Frankie tries to figure out the root of an underhanded comment.
Director: Danny Salles
Writer: Roy Brown
8.3/10329 votes#17 - Exes and Ohhhs
Season 8 Episode 17 - Aired 3/14/2017
Axl is startled to run into nearly all of his former flames at a St. Patrick's Day party leaving him to wonder if it is a sign about his love life; Brick buys an old microfiche machine at a library sale, leaving Frankie and Mike less than thrilled.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.2/10315 votes#18 - The Par-tay
Season 8 Episode 18 - Aired 4/4/2017
Mike's friendship with Bill Norwood is in jeopardy after Bill gets angry when Mike poaches his plumber at a reduced rate; Frankie is disappointed when Sue refuses to tell.....
Director: N/A
Writer: Ilana Wernick
7.7/10295 votes#19 - The Confirmation
Season 8 Episode 19 - Aired 4/11/2017
Frankie and Mike send Brick to Reverend TimTom's Wilderness Jesus Jam weekend camp to brush up on his religious knowledge in preparation for his confirmation, but Brick discovers his bunkmate is the boy who he was switched at birth with that was raised by his parents for the first month of his life.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.6/10272 votes#20 - Adult Swim
Season 8 Episode 20 - Aired 4/18/2017
After discovering that he doesn't have a decent suit to wear for upcoming business interviews, Frankie is thrilled when Axl agrees to let her take him shopping to help him pick out a suit; and when Mike threatens to do away with the family summer pool if Sue and Brick don't start using it, they begin to worry that he and Frankie may take even more things away from around the house from their childhood that they don't use anymore as they edge towards adulthood.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.7/10265 votes#21 - Clear And Present Danger
Season 8 Episode 21 - Aired 5/2/2017
No description available
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.0/10312 votes#22 - The Final Final
Season 8 Episode 22 - Aired 5/9/2017
Frankie, Mike and Brick begin to notice that their luck has changed dramatically for the better after the Prairie Scouts accidentally paint the Donahue's address on their curb; and after missing his final college test before he graduates, Axl pleads with his teacher to let him take it, otherwise he won't be able to graduate. Meanwhile, Sue confides to Brad that her sophomore year in college was kind of a letdown. But a chance to speak to students at her former high school about college life leads her to a realization about her status as a student while at Orson High. A talk with Brad leads into an impromptu musical number about Sue's many accomplishments over the years.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.0/10271 votes#23 - Fight or Flight
Season 8 Episode 23 - Aired 5/15/2017
Having finally graduated college, Axl tells Frankie and Mike that he's planning on going to Europe over the summer with Kenny. Although Frankie thinks this is a great once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Mike is less than pleased and thinks his slacker son should be putting all of his summer efforts into finding a job. Meanwhile, Sue begins to panic after she barely scrapes a parked SUV and doesn't hear back from the owner after leaving several notes on the windshield, and Brick discovers that his sudden onset of backaches is due to not sitting in his lawn chair, which was replaced by a normal kitchen-table chair.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
The Best Episodes of The Middle Season 8
Every episode of The Middle Season 8 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of The Middle Season 8!
The daily mishaps of a married woman and her semi-dysfunctional family and their attempts to survive life in general in the city of Orson, Indiana.
Genre:Comedy
Network:ABC
Season 8 Ratings Summary
"The Core Group" is the best rated episode of "The Middle" season 8. It scored 7.6/10 based on 330 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 10/11/2016. This episode is rated 0.2 points higher than the second-best, "A Tough Pill to Swallow".