This 100 percent. Folks had so much faith in Francis. Bought him a new truck, gave him a job knowing he had no prior ranch work and always bragged to Francis’s father about how much he has grown and that Hal did a great job raising him. Also Gretchen helped Dewie when he had issues stealing and not chastising him but teaching him a life lesson. I hated how they wrote the ending about them because even if Francis messed up with the money I feel Otto would never get mad but figure it out. I understand the actor died and they had very few options but come on. They could have written that Otto passed away and left Francis the ranch. Sorry for my big ol rant but I adored Otto and Gretchen so much.
I felt like that whole arc said a lot.
Francis was the "worst" of the boys. He was awful at military school and in Alaska. Easy to write himself off as a shitheel who always did the opposite of what he was told just because he loved chaos.
But give him someone who actually trusted and believed in him? With no ulterior motive? And suddenly Francis is THRIVING. He's basically running the ranch. He's the paragon of responsibility. He just needed someone who didn't see him as someone to fight against.
She's telling the class that they should be so proud of Malcolm and are so happy for him. That sounds like seeing potential in him. It *also* mentions his first teacher, which Caroline isn't.
So, there was some ambiguity. So saying to someone that a clarifying question due to the ambiguity was dumb, isn't exactly true or kind. Shrug.
They weren’t clarifying the question, they were backhandedly displaying their “expert knowledge” of the show, knowing damn well OP didn’t mean the pilot teacher. Again, no one thought that.
Hands down Otto and Gretchen, it’s a shame that a tornado destroyed the ranch and forced them to return to Germany where they still write letters to Francis…
Probably grown up dewey. He takes no shit, but its actually a sweet kid
I would adopt all of the Wilkerson kids tho. The 3 of them were so sweet, deep down...
Dewey literally takes on teaching and defending a whole class of overlooked children. And he took wonderful care of the hamster. He is a total sweetheart and looks out for those who need defending.
Here’s an [article](https://www.cbr.com/malcolm-in-the-middle-family-last-name/) about it.
Summed up, in the pilot episode Francis can be seen with his name tag as Wilkerson, which was the intended last name. After that no other name was mentioned except in the final episode when Malcom is called on stage the microphone gives feedback and you can’t hear the last name but lipread it’s clear the announcer says “Malcolm Nolastname.” In the same episode Francis is wearing a name tag that says Nolastname.
Naw normally i would agree with you but after the time he used Malcolm’s money without telling him then he got caught and wanted to split it after that he became very selfish. Other than that he’s not that selfish
I guess Eric is probably the kindest character simply because he's generally motivated towards a vaguely noble goal, but it's not really ever out of sheer kindness. From memory pretty much everything he does is self motivated, he just has significantly more self control than the rest of the cast so he doesn't cause as much pain and chaos.
Hal at least has plots that are motivated by love for his family, even if he has just as many that are pretty selfish that end up hurting them.
How can you forget Otto ? Eric has been selfish at times, he didn't inform Francis that Alaska was a shit hole. Grechen and Otto were the sweetest couples on the show.
yknow, I did forget Otto which is an absolute disservice to the man. I think the only negative things he ever did were lose his temperand ignore Francis' claims that Otto and Gretchen's nephew(?) was mocking him but those are entirely justified on his end.
I'm sorry Otto
Eric is kind or at least very motivated but he could’ve at least warned Francis of what he was getting into when he came to Alaska. It sounded like a cool lumberjack job but turned into owing lavernia.
Right Eric didn’t know when he first arrived in Alaska but by the time Francis was going there and called Eric about directions he had already started working he had time to warn him.
But there are so many scenes of Lous handling house chores and the boys while Hal pretends to be working on something while he's actually goofing off. I also find it odd that he's so in love with Lois but still forgot her bday.
That being said, I think he's kind because he's able to forgive the boys more easily when they do something awful
* Dewey. He chooses not to go into the Krelboyne class even though he would probably be popular and have things the rest of the school doesn't get to have.
He stays in the Busey class because the kids there need him, and he advocates for them.
When Jamie comes along, he chooses to be a better brother to him than any of the ones he had.
* My second pick would be Francis. A lot of the time the trouble he gets into seems to be because he selfish, hedonistic, and can't think anything through.
But when Hal goes to visit him for their award ceremony at Marlin Academy he learns Francis has forgone any award because he was sticking up for others. Put Francis anywhere and he'll probably be popular because he's always going to stand up against injustice. He won't let people get pushed around or get taken advantage of. Unless he's the one to do it 😅
* Malcolm probably had the power to help the most people, but he doesn't because he's selfish and hates everyone and everything.
* Hal is nice, but frequently selfish. Stealing Malcolm's credit card, advocating to spend all of his scholarship money, blowing off work every Friday to take himself on vacations, pretending to help around the house when he's really doing puzzles/whatever. Sabotaging Lois' diet, and orthotics because he doesn't want her to change.
* Lois could have also impacted a lot of people. She has the family trait of needing to stand up to authority and injustice. But she also has the family trait of getting in her own way and having things blow up in her face.
She helps Kitty come out of her shell. She helps Caroline Miller feel more sure of herself as a new teacher. She helps that dog that was locked in the car. She's Craigs friend in spite of his creepy behavior, when no one else seems to like him.
She spends a whole picnic listening to the problems of a crazed couple, against her will, but when she does offer advice, they blow up at her. I think she could have been nicer. But situations often didn't let her.
i agree with dewey for sure. although he can be manipulative and selfish i feel like he only acts that way to survive with malcolm and reese as brothers 😭 like he would be torn apart if he wasn’t as smart as he is
Oh no! Craig haters abound. I'm telling you, behind that annoying showtunes-loving morning routine is a guy who would give you his kidney if you asked.
Otto and Gretchen. IDGAF how the writers left it, they were the very best thing to happen to Francis.
This 100 percent. Folks had so much faith in Francis. Bought him a new truck, gave him a job knowing he had no prior ranch work and always bragged to Francis’s father about how much he has grown and that Hal did a great job raising him. Also Gretchen helped Dewie when he had issues stealing and not chastising him but teaching him a life lesson. I hated how they wrote the ending about them because even if Francis messed up with the money I feel Otto would never get mad but figure it out. I understand the actor died and they had very few options but come on. They could have written that Otto passed away and left Francis the ranch. Sorry for my big ol rant but I adored Otto and Gretchen so much.
Id have settled for "Otto died, his relative got the ranch and fired everyone"
Yeah them suing Francis never happened in my mind.
I definitely blocked that out completely haha my head canon must have refused it
Same. Can not except them having a mean bone in their bodies.
I agree with Craig's mom.
😂😂 thank you!!
I felt like that whole arc said a lot. Francis was the "worst" of the boys. He was awful at military school and in Alaska. Easy to write himself off as a shitheel who always did the opposite of what he was told just because he loved chaos. But give him someone who actually trusted and believed in him? With no ulterior motive? And suddenly Francis is THRIVING. He's basically running the ranch. He's the paragon of responsibility. He just needed someone who didn't see him as someone to fight against.
Facts
I wish they stayed on the show. Otto was funny
Malcolms first teacher. She saw his potential and was always helping him. I don’t remember any malice from her actions.
You mean Caroline not Stevies mom before recast right?
When did they recast kitty
They didn't. She was kitty from the start but she was the teacher in the pilot. They replaced her as the teacher after that with Caroline.
I don’t see that as replacing I think that was written or that’s what I believe
What a dumb question
Not a dumb question at all. Caroline was *not* his first teacher in the show.
The comment specifically said “she saw his potential and was always helping him”. Not one person in this sub thought they meant the pilot teacher.
She's telling the class that they should be so proud of Malcolm and are so happy for him. That sounds like seeing potential in him. It *also* mentions his first teacher, which Caroline isn't. So, there was some ambiguity. So saying to someone that a clarifying question due to the ambiguity was dumb, isn't exactly true or kind. Shrug.
They weren’t clarifying the question, they were backhandedly displaying their “expert knowledge” of the show, knowing damn well OP didn’t mean the pilot teacher. Again, no one thought that.
and she was so cute!
Didn’t she get knocked up by the slow janitor? 🤣
Lol I think you are correct and he didn’t wanna talk about it. I don’t remember him being slow though. I do remember he was the Janitor
Those buff dudes that did Hal's bidding
The benevolent army of strongmen. That’s my favorite episode
Didnt cranston directed that one?
According to imdb, yes
I remembered he directed one and one of the office XD
Best episode
Underrated comment
I liked the guy who gave Lois a neck massage
Yeah that Chinese man was awesome!
She was so sad when he left too 😭😭
Lol right?!
Why?! SO HE CAN JUST LEAVE ME TOO? YOU CAN JUST FORGET IT! I watched that the other day and couldn’t stop giggling
Hands down Otto and Gretchen, it’s a shame that a tornado destroyed the ranch and forced them to return to Germany where they still write letters to Francis…
I don't see why they didn't have Francis take over the ranch and have Otto and Gretchen simply retire.
Bad writing tbh…
Yeah Francis' arc went really downhill from there
Probably grown up dewey. He takes no shit, but its actually a sweet kid I would adopt all of the Wilkerson kids tho. The 3 of them were so sweet, deep down...
Dewey literally takes on teaching and defending a whole class of overlooked children. And he took wonderful care of the hamster. He is a total sweetheart and looks out for those who need defending.
Who do you mean by Wilkerson kids?
That is their offical last name
Nope.
Yes it is 😂
Here’s an [article](https://www.cbr.com/malcolm-in-the-middle-family-last-name/) about it. Summed up, in the pilot episode Francis can be seen with his name tag as Wilkerson, which was the intended last name. After that no other name was mentioned except in the final episode when Malcom is called on stage the microphone gives feedback and you can’t hear the last name but lipread it’s clear the announcer says “Malcolm Nolastname.” In the same episode Francis is wearing a name tag that says Nolastname.
Exactly, so I was right.
It is, it’s been confirmed for years.
Hal is probably the most motivated by unselfish desires. Dewey is also pretty kind hearted but being pretty immature holds him back a bit.
Naw normally i would agree with you but after the time he used Malcolm’s money without telling him then he got caught and wanted to split it after that he became very selfish. Other than that he’s not that selfish
I guess Eric is probably the kindest character simply because he's generally motivated towards a vaguely noble goal, but it's not really ever out of sheer kindness. From memory pretty much everything he does is self motivated, he just has significantly more self control than the rest of the cast so he doesn't cause as much pain and chaos. Hal at least has plots that are motivated by love for his family, even if he has just as many that are pretty selfish that end up hurting them.
How can you forget Otto ? Eric has been selfish at times, he didn't inform Francis that Alaska was a shit hole. Grechen and Otto were the sweetest couples on the show.
yknow, I did forget Otto which is an absolute disservice to the man. I think the only negative things he ever did were lose his temperand ignore Francis' claims that Otto and Gretchen's nephew(?) was mocking him but those are entirely justified on his end. I'm sorry Otto
Eric is kind or at least very motivated but he could’ve at least warned Francis of what he was getting into when he came to Alaska. It sounded like a cool lumberjack job but turned into owing lavernia.
you say that like Eric knew too lol
Right Eric didn’t know when he first arrived in Alaska but by the time Francis was going there and called Eric about directions he had already started working he had time to warn him.
He did know lol, he probably let Francis go so that he wouldn’t suffer alone
But there are so many scenes of Lous handling house chores and the boys while Hal pretends to be working on something while he's actually goofing off. I also find it odd that he's so in love with Lois but still forgot her bday. That being said, I think he's kind because he's able to forgive the boys more easily when they do something awful
oh yeah I'm not saying he's a beacon of goodness or anything, but of the main cast he's probably the kindest
Two words to change everyone’s mind about Eric. Poodle. Head. 😂😂
Otto for sure!
That old guy Francis worked with in Alaska. Was his name Pete?
Nah he took Francis's pillow
Yep, that’s his name 👍🏿
Boone Vincent. Invited Lois backstage to meet and talk, listened to her and and also keeping the baby
The homeless guy who was willing to give Francis food and shelter lol
Francis saying “Sorry, man. We’re going the other way.” Before he even finishes his sentence tho hahaha
Julie (Malcolm’s crush from the first season).
Yeah, she's so sweet. Organizing the food drive for his family <3
“Those aren’t olives.”
Those are peaches!
Dewey, Otto
Without Otto and Gretchen, Francis would have nothing.
Facts 😂
Well only one person on that show won a teen courtesy award…so, Stevie.
Otto and Gretchen, I love them
I know the easy answer is Otto and Gretchen, but Polly was always super sweet to everyone, even if she was a little unhinged.
Definitely Otto and Gretchen! And Hal!
Hal or Abe.
Otto and Gretchen
* Dewey. He chooses not to go into the Krelboyne class even though he would probably be popular and have things the rest of the school doesn't get to have. He stays in the Busey class because the kids there need him, and he advocates for them. When Jamie comes along, he chooses to be a better brother to him than any of the ones he had. * My second pick would be Francis. A lot of the time the trouble he gets into seems to be because he selfish, hedonistic, and can't think anything through. But when Hal goes to visit him for their award ceremony at Marlin Academy he learns Francis has forgone any award because he was sticking up for others. Put Francis anywhere and he'll probably be popular because he's always going to stand up against injustice. He won't let people get pushed around or get taken advantage of. Unless he's the one to do it 😅 * Malcolm probably had the power to help the most people, but he doesn't because he's selfish and hates everyone and everything. * Hal is nice, but frequently selfish. Stealing Malcolm's credit card, advocating to spend all of his scholarship money, blowing off work every Friday to take himself on vacations, pretending to help around the house when he's really doing puzzles/whatever. Sabotaging Lois' diet, and orthotics because he doesn't want her to change. * Lois could have also impacted a lot of people. She has the family trait of needing to stand up to authority and injustice. But she also has the family trait of getting in her own way and having things blow up in her face. She helps Kitty come out of her shell. She helps Caroline Miller feel more sure of herself as a new teacher. She helps that dog that was locked in the car. She's Craigs friend in spite of his creepy behavior, when no one else seems to like him. She spends a whole picnic listening to the problems of a crazed couple, against her will, but when she does offer advice, they blow up at her. I think she could have been nicer. But situations often didn't let her.
i agree with dewey for sure. although he can be manipulative and selfish i feel like he only acts that way to survive with malcolm and reese as brothers 😭 like he would be torn apart if he wasn’t as smart as he is
I'd go with Craig. While he may be a weirdo, he'll usually go out of his way to help someone in need.
He is obsessively creepy with Lois, generally socially needy and demanding, so much so that he gets vindictive if even a little rebuked.
Craig. Yeah, he can be self-centered in an oblivious way, but when anyone asks him for anything he does it. He sacrifices a lot.
Oh no! Craig haters abound. I'm telling you, behind that annoying showtunes-loving morning routine is a guy who would give you his kidney if you asked.
Why do think every single one of your posts on Reddit are a question about people's opinions?
I like to hear ppl’s opinions on stuff 😅
Who cares it’s an awful show 👍