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Episode guide

Essential Malcolm in the Middle Episodes

FOX, 2000 to 2006

Our 6 character guides for Malcolm in the Middle point to 32 key episodes across 7 seasons. Of those, 2 turn up in two or more guides, so they come first, followed by every episode in air order.

Season and episode numbers follow the original broadcast order.

The essentials(2)

Episodes that matter to more than one character, the most shared first.

  1. Season 7, Episode 22

    "Graduation"

    In 4 guides
    • Malcolm: Malcolm writes his valedictorian speech, chooses Harvard, and learns Lois's big plan for his future.
    • Hal: Hal scrambles for Malcolm's college money and learns he and Lois are having another baby.
    • Lois: Lois reveals her presidential plan for Malcolm and learns she is pregnant again.
    • Reese: Reese moves in with Craig and becomes the assistant janitor at his high school.

  2. Season 4, Episode 21

    "Baby (Part 2)"

    In 2 guides
    • Francis: With the paramedics late, Francis helps Lois deliver baby Jamie.
    • Lois: Lois gives birth to Jamie when the paramedics are late, with Francis helping deliver the baby.

Every key episode by season(32)

Season 1(6 episodes)

  1. Season 1, Episode 1

    "Pilot"

    • Malcolm: A test reveals Malcolm's 165 IQ, and Lois moves him into the gifted Krelboyne class.

  2. Season 1, Episode 2

    "Red Dress"

    • Lois: Lois spends her anniversary night interrogating the boys over a ruined dress, only for the real culprit to be Hal.

  3. Season 1, Episode 7

    "Francis Escapes"

    • Francis: Francis deserts Marlin Academy to see his girlfriend and hides out in the family's backyard.

  4. Season 1, Episode 8

    "Krelboyne Picnic"

    • Malcolm: Malcolm is mortified to bring his family to a gifted-class picnic, then stuns the crowd with his math skills.

  5. Season 1, Episode 13

    "Rollerskates"

    • Hal: Hal's overly intense roller skating lessons push Malcolm to finally snap at him.

  6. Season 1, Episode 16

    "Waterpark"

    • Dewey: Left behind with a strict babysitter, Dewey bonds with her, then wanders off alone after a red balloon.

Season 2(5 episodes)

  1. Season 2, Episode 14

    "Hal Quits"

    • Hal: After a humiliating career day, Hal quits his job and obsessively paints in the garage.

  2. Season 2, Episode 16

    "Traffic Ticket"

    • Lois: Security footage seems to prove Lois wrong for the first time in her life, and she turns eerily easygoing.

  3. Season 2, Episode 18

    "Reese Cooks"

    • Reese: A cooking class meant as punishment reveals Reese's real gift for food.

  4. Season 2, Episode 19

    "Tutoring Reese"

    • Reese: Malcolm tries to tutor Reese out of the remedial class and uncovers a teacher who is failing him on purpose.

  5. Season 2, Episode 20

    "Bowling"

    • Hal: Two parallel versions of one night show what happens when Hal, or Lois, takes the boys bowling.

Season 3(3 episodes)

  1. Season 3, Episode 2

    "Emancipation"

    • Francis: Newly free of military school, Francis comes home one last time before heading to Alaska, and Lois wants nothing to do with him.

  2. Season 3, Episode 15

    "Hal's Birthday"

    • Francis: Francis surprises everyone by arriving home with a wife, Piama.

  3. Season 3, Episode 17

    "Dewey's Dog"

    • Dewey: Dewey secretly trains a stray dog to attack Malcolm and Reese on command.

Season 4(4 episodes)

  1. Season 4, Episode 8

    "Boys at Ranch"

    • Francis: Hal and the boys visit Francis at the ranch and are shocked by how responsible he has become.

  2. Season 4, Episode 12

    "Kicked Out"

    • Malcolm: After a clash at home, Malcolm is thrown out of the house and slowly comes unglued on his own.

  3. Season 4, Episode 19

    "Future Malcolm"

    • Malcolm: Malcolm befriends a depressed middle-aged man and fears he is looking at his own future.

  4. Season 4, Episode 21

    "Baby (Part 2)"

    An essential, in the guides for Francis and Lois. Read the notes

Season 5(4 episodes)

  1. Season 5, Episode 13

    "Lois' Sister"

    • Lois: Lois learns her sister Susan needs a kidney and insists on donating one.

  2. Season 5, Episode 15

    "Reese's Apartment"

    • Reese: Kicked out for a mystery offense, Reese thrives on his own until his parents find his credit card debt.

  3. Season 5, Episode 18

    "Dewey's Special Class"

    • Dewey: A test-taking scheme backfires and lands Dewey in the Busey class.

  4. Season 5, Episode 21

    "Reese Joins the Army (Part 1)"

    • Reese: Heartbroken, Reese enlists under a fake name and learns to obey every order without thinking.

Season 6(4 episodes)

  1. Season 6, Episode 1

    "Reese Comes Home"

    • Lois: Lois travels to Afghanistan to track down her son after he deserts the Army.

  2. Season 6, Episode 2

    "Buseys Run Away"

    • Dewey: When the Buseys learn Dewey may leave their class, they run away and hide near his house.

  3. Season 6, Episode 11

    "Dewey's Opera"

    • Dewey: Dewey writes an opera about his parents' fight over a new bed, and it becomes a school production.

  4. Season 6, Episode 12

    "Living Will"

    • Hal: Asked to decide a neighbor's fate, the indecisive Hal is so stressed he becomes partly paralyzed.

Season 7(6 episodes)

  1. Season 7, Episode 11

    "Bride of Ida"

    • Reese: Grandma Ida sets Reese up to marry her helper Raduca, and the pair run off to Las Vegas.

  2. Season 7, Episode 12

    "College Recruiters"

    • Malcolm: Hal treats each college recruiter like a suitor until Malcolm decides on Harvard.

  3. Season 7, Episode 14

    "Hal Grieves"

    • Hal: Hal cannot cry over his estranged father's death until a small reminder finally breaks him down.

  4. Season 7, Episode 15

    "A.A."

    • Francis: Hal and Lois discover Francis has faked alcoholism to vent about Lois at his meetings.

  5. Season 7, Episode 21

    "Morp"

    • Dewey: Discovering he has no childhood photos, Dewey sends his parents on an elaborate scavenger hunt.

  6. Season 7, Episode 22

    "Graduation"

    An essential, in the guides for Malcolm, Hal, Lois, and Reese. Read the notes

Seen them all? Test yourself with the Malcolm in the Middle trivia quiz, or meet the Malcolm in the Middle characters.

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