Subreddit for the classic sitcom Malcom In The Middle (2000 - 2006). Subreddit created on December 24, 2011, under new management on January 7, 2024.
General discussion
i’m rewatching clip show 2 and it made me realize how they actually did almost give her the chance to grow multiple times in the show but by the next episode would just completely erase it. particularly with francis, like in clip show 2 when she essentially describes symptoms of postpartum rage/depression (in my opinion) and how that’s affected her relationship with francis. that would have been such an interesting concept to delve deeper into but even by the end of the episode they kind of erase the notion of her having any faults after they bring dewey to the doctors, kinda felt like just because they can do a good thing for one child means they can’t do wrong by another (and that’s not even to mention how neglected dewey is). and then in the ep where lois gives a genuine apology to francis it feels like for the series afterwards they purposely make francis seem more bratty and just petty rather than expand on the relationship more and let it change in anyway. sorry if this doesn’t make total sense i’m kinda tipsy lol. my point is that they gave lois so many chances to expand and develop as a character and even explore things like postpartum depression but rather just double down on her being angry and forcing the narrative to show her to be in the “right” without even exploring the reason more than occasional mentions of her mother and the one mention of when she had an infection after giving birth to francis
Sort by:
Best
Open comment sort options
Best
Top
New
Controversial
Old
Q&A
I think it’s just a product of the kind of show MITM was. A lot of family sitcoms follow this theme. The younger characters are naturally more dynamic because they’re growing up, developing their personalities, experiencing plenty of “coming of age” plot lines. The older characters tend to be more static and serve to ground the show. Lois being an uptight control freak drives a ton of the plots and humor of the show.
We definitely do see her have some breakthroughs and make some progress, but if she became too reasonable, too self aware and too morally right then the show would lose one of its most fundamental driving forces. The episode where she apologizes to Francis is a good example. It was toward the end of the series and I think the writers forgot for a moment that the tension between Lois and Francis is what makes their relationship compelling. Having her apologize to him took too much air out of the situation and they had to walk it back in later episodes with mixed results at best.
They sort of lost the plot in general with Francis in the later seasons but that’s a whole other discussion.
Isn't that pretty directly being lampshaded by that episode? Francis doesn't feel fulfillment, or joy, or anything when she apologizes. He can't even function without having her as his enemy.
See I thought that was funny she apologize out of the blue to Francis
Yeah I’m not saying it was a terrible episode or anything. But once they did it they had no choice but to backtrack and come up with new reasons for Francis and Lois to be fighting again in future episodes because peace between the two of them would be too disruptive to one of the show’s core themes (The Boys vs. Lois)
Mental health and character growth are relatively new things for tv dramadies
Honestly Francis' "THIS IS WHAT YOU GET" speech is infinitely more satisfying comedic television
I think Lois does mellow out quite a lot in later series