"…but can we stop using the word "crazy" to describe otherwise mentally sound people like Gloria,…"

"Now, his assumption that every woman in sight MUST be attracted to him just comes off as a kid with serious issues about consent."

His face looks fake.

The young female characters are nearly always more interesting on series than young male characters.

Sue has only just gotten stale for me as of this season. It's amazing that a character with so little range could stay that fresh. Kudos to Eden Sher.

Frankie didn't have that slot nailed down for you as of a few seasons ago?

"Slay" disgusted me far more than "practice girl."

And yet, the actors somehow didn't sell the content, which is surprising given their talent. It was equally possible Sue mistakenly thought Brad was confessing to feelings for her. The people I was watching with came to that conclusion as well

Adult virgins are in short supply, just so you know.

"- I want a little more Brick in next episodes. I feel like they use him less than in last seasons"

Yup. We don't always say our lines the way the director demands. Funny thing.

It still confuses the hell out of me. The Newsroom was the rare tv show that dove headfirst into the issue, when anchor Will McAvoy grilled a gay, black spokesman for Rick Santorum on how he could possibly hold the job he holds, for a man who holds him in such contempt. It was a bruising scene.

Or it just might be that a lot of us don't think a deeper discussion of Brad's sexuality, the kind of thing wholly out of character on this kind of comedy, is of any real importance. The idea that it needs further discussion is presumptuous on your part, as is the idea that those of us who aren't interested in it is…

You're out, but you never actually got to tell them.

I'm still not convinced that Sue wasn't thinking that Brad's secret was that he had feelings for her.

I wish I could agree, but Charlie McDermott went through several years where he barked his lines, and his character was a chronic abuser of his brother, sister, and even his mother. Iirc seasons four and five were very nearly unwatchable because of both the actor's performance, and the character he played. Only Eden…

Although I was not pleased that they veered into crassness, a territory The Middle typically skirts, usually by a wide margin. Axl stuffing his pants, the faux sex, the diaper foolishness… probably the crudest episode of the whole series.

Especially since it has the juicy, critics' tag of being one of the few tv series dealing honestly with the working poor in the United States.

Instead, The Middle set aside the comedy in order to tug at our
heartstrings, giving us a moment where Brad – clearly basking in the
glow of Sue’s comments about their friendship – suddenly decides that
the time is right to come right out and tell her, only for her to
surprise him by beating him to the punch and…

According to Slate, "The dirty little secret about gay marriage: Most gay couples are not monogamous."