CINDYBIN'S VIDEO PICK: SUE HECK AND THE TRASH CAN KISS

CINDYBIN’S VIDEO PICK OF THE WEEK: SUE HECK OF THE MIDDLE, AND THE TRASH CAN KISS WITH DARRIN!

So Sue finally has a decent boyfriend. She’s dating her older brother Axl’s friend Darrin. Or should I say his EX-friend, which Axl called him when he found out about this relationship, since he can’t stomach the thought of anyone finding his nerdy sister attractive.

In case you can’t tell, I’m talking about Sue Heck, of TV’s The Middle, seen Wednesdays on ABC. This show about a working-class Midwestern family has captured my heart. I just love the characters, especially the kids. Sue is definitely my favorite. Played by Eden Sher, Sue is known for just being a happy teenage girl.  She loves her mom and dad, she loves life, and when troubles come her way, she considers them a challenge and somehow rises above them. Even her athletic, self-absorbed brother Axl grudgingly admits that he secretly admires her for being an “optimistic dork.”

The last few episodes have been especially touching, with Sue and Darrin hooking up. I think they’ll make a great couple. They went to the school Valentine dance after Sue’s date ditched her for another girl. She was horrified because she was on the cleanup committee and had to go anyway, so Darrin offered to take her, not out of pity but because he really liked her. They even shared a kiss over the trash can, much to Sue’s surprise. In last week’s episode, she was still figuring out his true feelings.  But after she heard his song about a “trash can kiss”, she knew his intentions were sincere.

Sue’s parents have mixed feelings about the match. Her dad says that Darrin is “too old, too dumb, and too Darrin.” Her mom, however, thinks he is harmless and sweet. And he is. I think he’s almost as happy and optimistic as she is!

Here is a clip of the magical trash can kiss, which YouTuber “gopher77” says completely melted her heart. “Please writers, do NOT screw this storyline up!” she wrote on the message board. “Darrin and Sue are the BEST storyline to ever grace The Middle!”

And here is 20-year-old Eden Sher talking about how Sue has matured since entering high school. Surprisingly cute and non-dorky in real life, Eden said that she has requested the writers never make her character jaded. “Just let her embrace her Sueness for the rest of eternity!” she says.

Once I looked up Sue and Darrin on YouTube, I couldn’t help but get caught up in the many other videos of The Middle. So here are a few more of the Heck family, featuring mom Frankie, dad Mike, and Axl, Sue and younger brother Brick. I love when the three kids have scenes together such as long, drawn-out arguments in the back seat of the car—they all play off of one another and it’s really engaging to watch. Here’s a video where Frankie laments about how her kids never “frolic”, which includes a short clip of one of the car scenes.  

And here are compilation videos about Sue by YouTubers Michelle Maritz and dfantaxy. Here is one mostly about Axl, but includes the the scene where Frankie, after accidentally eating Axl’s toenails which he thoughtlessly put in an empty snack bag, gets fed up with being a mother and leaves the family while the kids try to figure out what they can do to make her life better. I love Axl’s line: “Mom’s wigging out because she ate my toenails!” And here's the scene where he talks to his old fifth grade teacher who quizzes him on how to spell "there." 

And finally, here are a couple of videos about the youngest child, Brick, where he loves math and discovers the Internet. Enjoy!