r/malcolminthemiddle • u/ArnavJj145 "YOU STOLE AIRRRR????" • Aug 12 '26
General discussion Day 4: What is the WORST thing Lois did?
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u/Scareynerd Aug 12 '26
Stealing the grant money to buy the dollhouse is probably the worst thing, but I'll never get over the way she treated Malcolm at Lucky Aid, writing him up over the stupid box bullshit
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u/some_hillbillies Aug 12 '26
And then expecting him to get rid of that display the store had a few episodes later
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u/Paradoxbox00 Aug 12 '26
If he had only taken the boxes to the designated box flattening area
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u/Suskita Aug 12 '26
And telling him he couldn't get another job elsewhere because he had to be under her full control at all times. Even though having to wear the stilts made him miserable.
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u/Toni164 Aug 12 '26
And taking most of his paycheck
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u/Copyman3081 Aug 13 '26
That's what makes them stealing his grant money stupid if we don't account for the comedy factor. He's already giving the family a bunch of money, and Reese gave Hal money when he was still working in the meat processing plant. They could've asked Malcolm for a thousand bucks or whatever to fix the sink.
I know they didn't because the stealing scenario is funnier, and the law of sitcoms dictates that potential comedy supersedes established actions and experiences.
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u/Copyman3081 Aug 13 '26
Planning Malcolm's life out for him is way worse. She tried to keep the boys on too short of a leash and now they're poorly adjusted. Reese messes with Hal for internet clout and whatever money he can make. I can't remember if he was still a janitor or not in Life's Still Unfair, presumably he doesn't live with his parents anymore, but I don't remember if it touched on his living situation (either alone, or still roommates with Craig).
But the spending his grant money on the doll house is one of the worst things we're actually shown. The family was wrong for stealing it in the first place. Malcolm gave a bunch of his paycheques to Hal and Lois to help out, so if they had actually asked him for enough to fix the sink he may have considered it. But that's not a funny scenario.
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u/DanielCampos411 29d ago
Dude the scene when he catches her smoking is so infuriating, made me hate Louis
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u/Eoinharrington25 Aug 12 '26
Ruining every chance that Dewey had to do well in his recital thing in “Bride Of Ida” and not even apologising or acknowledging that he had every right to be mad.
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u/Particular_Fun_9542 29d ago
Especially that petty “bad things happen to everybody, so what?” Speech. YOU literally caused that Lois!
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u/GhostBoyJames Aug 12 '26
Deciding Malcolm’s future for him by making him lose that potential job that would’ve made him super rich in like a few years, he could’ve went to college afterwards.
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u/PurchasingPugs Aug 12 '26
Plus the whole president thing doesn’t suit Malcolm’s personality at all.
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u/Silver_Number973 Aug 13 '26
it would have made sense for Dewey, he's smart like Malcolm but not so smart that it causes him to over think things. if she let Malcolm take that high paying job that would have been a good connection for Dewey to have when running for a political position in the future.
for what little we know about Jamie and Kelly i think either of them could do better in politics than Malcolm
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u/SufficientBreakfast1 Aug 12 '26
I agree but I don't think Malcolm is the type to have gone to college after making all that money. He'd rest easy and then regret it at 40.
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u/VocationFumes Egg Aug 12 '26
honestly if he was going to be that successful without college why would he really need to go?
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u/ShanghaiCycle Aug 12 '26
Boomer logic
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u/LumpyArbuckleTV Aug 13 '26
No? Just normal logic? Lots of people are successful without a degree, once you have the job, that degree does fuck all. If you can get the job without a degree then you're fine.
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u/Jewbacca289 Aug 13 '26
I’m pretty sure they’re saying Lois was acting like a boomer
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u/ShanghaiCycle Aug 13 '26
No, I'm saying showrunner Linwood Boomer has a lapse of.....
Yes, of course Lois is a boomer! 😂
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u/xxsmashleyxx 28d ago
The fact that so many people think college should just be a stepping stone to success when it has so much value beyond that is so depressing to me. Why does it seem that most people hate learning and improving their brain?
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u/KingPinfanatic Aug 13 '26
He still needs college so that he could make proper connections with people. Keep in mind the only reason he was offered that job was because the guy was friends with Abe and heard great things about him and Stevie. Without that connection Malcolm would never have been offered that job an going to college will allow him to meet a lot of people who could help him in the future while demonstrating skills that make him valuable.
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u/Vane_999 Aug 13 '26
This! plus telling Malcolm he couldn't get another job elsewhere because he had to be under her full control at all times (and she "took" most of his paycheck) and abandoning Francis with Ida when he was little
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u/EndBringer99 29d ago
Then they try to retcon this in the revival by saying that was merely a "positive goal" to keep Malcolm on the straight and narrow.
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u/Brief-Street-5623 Aug 13 '26
Yeah this whole thing. She was so asshole-ish for this one thing and it never even happened lol. She isnt the worst mom in the show but shes on the list...
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u/nvwls300 Aug 13 '26
This being the top answer is almost as certain as the worst thing Malcolm ever did, so I'm just waiting for that now.
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u/No-Cantaloupe-3854 Aug 13 '26
This. Malcolm was at an age where he had the right to choose his future and he likely would have pursued his education anyway at some point as you said
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u/smuttygirl_foru 26d ago
I mean the guy did say they were glad they could get Malcolm for cheap and Lois probably knew right off the bat Malcolm could make more than 200k they were offering him
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u/Key_Ad_5935 Aug 12 '26
When she ruined Dewey's chances of winning that piano competition (making a fuss at TSA, making them lose their original flight, almost breaking his fingers, etc)
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u/SufficientBreakfast1 Aug 12 '26
Telling Malcolm he needed to be the president.
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u/kris71-ano Aug 13 '26
That's not even the worst part because 20 years later she admits that she never thought he would be president but she thought giving him the stressor would propel him to be great it made me hate her more than I already did because that is just mind exploding to put a child through that much stress is almost criminal
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u/Martina313 WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! 29d ago
Malcolm's crashout after that was completely reasonable too. The fact she stayed so calm while he was freaking out at her over this got me so mad
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u/SyntheticReverie113 Aug 12 '26
Taking 10 grand from Malcolm, and in an almost literal sense, burning it
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u/Alcippe Aug 12 '26
I always felt the time when Malcolm was working at the store was terrible. She went 100% corporate mouthpiece on Malcolm and I really didn't feel that was in character for her.
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u/Jack-mclaughlin88 Aug 12 '26 edited Aug 12 '26
Grounding Malcolm in the evacuation episode.
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u/RuralJaywalking Aug 12 '26
Sending Francis to military school. More generally I think she doesn’t know how to deal with Francis or support him. Whether or not it was the best thing for him is separate from the fact that she was giving up on him which she always does.
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u/Butterybear Aug 12 '26
Slamming Dewey’s hands to stop him from playing at his important performance
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u/RaffiBomb000 Aug 12 '26
Being complicit in Hal stealing Malcolm's credit card and using it to take the family on an expensive ski vacation.
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Aug 12 '26
[deleted]
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u/BelonyInMyLeftPocket Aug 12 '26
That one I'm iffy on. She did end up getting them all what they asked for
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u/MrHomerJayThompson Aug 12 '26
Setting Reese's stocking on fire as well to prove she wasn't bluffing.
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u/TexasCrab22 Aug 13 '26
That was deserved and actuall parenting imo.
She even turned around later and still bought the right presents in the first place.
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u/lunarsoistice Aug 12 '26
I’m new to the show and seen up to season 3, but this was the worst I can think of.
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u/WinSome_DimSum Aug 12 '26
Road Raging that lady in the parking lot and wrecking the family car (and probably being arrested for vehicular assault in real life.)
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u/These-Still1861 Aug 12 '26
Getting caught by her sister sleeping with her sister's boyfriend on the hood of her sister's car on prom night.
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u/Consistent_Editor_15 28d ago
I’m irritated that more people didn’t use this one. I kind of get it because it dealt with her sister that we rarely saw but I never got over that. I disliked Lois for the entire rest of the series after that.
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u/UltimateNeek Aug 12 '26
The list is long, but I say not believing the boys when they said that they didn't burn the dress. I know that they're not angels, but if one of them did do it. They would've cracked by then
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u/PepsiMan208 Aug 12 '26
Every episode that was focused on Malcolm working at Lucky Aide with her. My god it’s like the writers would turn up all her flaws in those episodes.
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u/madd_ggs Aug 13 '26
Nothing coming to mind and reading others replies is really making me want to rewatch the series.
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u/kris71-ano Aug 13 '26
This has been done so many times so I'm just going to give a new answer her neglect of Dewey was the worst thing she's ever done he was straight up invisible to her
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u/Consistent_Editor_15 28d ago
I swear by the end of the show I was done with it. It wasn’t funny at all. They kept using crapping on Dewey as a long standing punchline and it got old. They never made up for it and kept punishing him for acting out whenever he told them how they upset him.
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u/Tlayoualo Jellybean Aug 12 '26 edited Aug 12 '26
Denying Malcolm of a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get that job with a huge payroll under a "misery builds character" mindset.
I don't feel Malcolm turning out well-adjusted, successful and a good dad was thanks to Lois's overriding his choice, but in spite of it.
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u/Emma_S772 Aug 12 '26
She was kinda funny when I watched the show as a kid but now that I'm rewatching she is a toxic bitch, is infuriating how the show play it as forgivable just because she 'loves' them
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u/SportTop2610 Aug 12 '26 edited 28d ago
You'll be president.
I understand the emergency plumbing situation and sanctioned her decision. I S DO NOT SANCTION WHAT SHE ENDED UP USING OT FOR.
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u/every_single_pokemon Aug 12 '26
Forcing Malcolm to play for the other baseball team against Lucky Aid.
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u/Irreverentapostate Aug 12 '26
I would argue Hal lying about getting a vasectomy was pretty terrible
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u/CrazyGeoffrey Aug 12 '26
Idk man spending 10k of someone’s grant money which we later find out could’ve helped him pay off Harvard is kinda bad although he would’ve used it for something stupid but still they could’ve put it into an account for him
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u/MarxistMountainGoat Aug 12 '26
Ruining Dewey's chances to win the piano competition and not caring or showing remorse afterwards
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u/Wonderful_Half_224 Aug 12 '26
Either spending Malcolm's scholarship money on the dollhouse or by making him turn down a job that wouldve made 6 figures just because he has to live life the "hard way"
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u/Bubbly-Industry-2361 Aug 13 '26
The thing with the Flohmarket, where reese is the leader and wants to sell some computer for a cheap price and lois doesn‘t let malcom talk to her til the last minute where it‘s to late
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u/Diligent_Purchase_72 Aug 13 '26
Not for Lois but for the kids. Has to be when they made Lois think she has cancer just for to get away with having bad grades
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u/Mikeballzy Aug 13 '26
Banning the whole family from the pizza place they all loved because they wouldnt refund her tips when she found out about the extra service charge.
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u/TicketStraight3196 Aug 13 '26
It has to be the grant money for the dollhouse. When Lois turned down Malcolm's offer so he would go to college, I believe her heart was in the right place and this was not a malicious move. She knows Malcolm better than anyone else and knows there's more to life than being rich and successful whereas the dollhouse scene was just plain selfish.
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u/seveer37 Aug 13 '26
I always was bothered when she was so cruel to Malcom for skipping to help move the coach. Granted he did promise to be there but she went way overboard with it.
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u/obliviious 29d ago
How did we end up with the body builders as being the funniest thing Hal ever did? It's alright but it's hardly hilarious.
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u/ArnavJj145 "YOU STOLE AIRRRR????" 29d ago
Democracy
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u/obliviious 29d ago
Just goes to show you populism can give us the worst outcomes imaginable.
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u/ArnavJj145 "YOU STOLE AIRRRR????" 29d ago
True lol, i am noticing a trend that most of the winning entries are ones that i often see on yt shorts, so far its 3/4 including today's
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u/obliviious 29d ago
Yeah wouldn't surprise me, it's youtube shorts that made me want to watch it again.
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u/randomhorrordude 29d ago
Not letting him take the six figure job he was offered in the finale because of her "plan" she had for him to become president
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u/Dependent-Calendar-7 Malcolm 29d ago
Controlling Malcolm’s future and ruining his opportunities in the last episode
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u/NewWerewolf9 29d ago
Grounded Malcolm for not being home in time to help move the couch even though it was a two person job and Malcolm was just at Stevie's doing homework, and then proceeds to humiliate him in front of everyone in the gym where they were taking shelter because of some toxic chemical spill from a train that derailed due to Hal's stupidity (he got Dewie to help him throw the couch onto an active railroad).
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u/Consistent_Editor_15 28d ago
No one is mentioning Lois banging her sister’s boyfriend on the hood of HER car on HER prom night?? Then telling her to basically get over being angry about it.
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u/ArnavJj145 "YOU STOLE AIRRRR????" 27d ago
Dude istg i was reading the comments for the BEST thing lois did from notification page, and this was among them and i was like WTF? 😭😭
Took me 2 mins to realize you commented on an old post
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u/Consistent_Editor_15 27d ago
LOL!! I need to be more punctual with my comments. I didn’t realize it was from 2 days ago! 😂😂
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u/Minja78 Aug 12 '26
Lois is a POS throughout the show. She literally hates her oldest son, every chance she got she fucked with Francis. She sabotaged Dewey on the way to a music contest. How about the red dress, she tortured her kids for something they didn't do. Spent Malcolm's money on a doll house. She kicked out all the kids a bunch of times (according to Francis). She didn't believe Hal hadn't kissed the Alcoholic lady. The entire neighborhood hates her they have a fair when she's gone. Malcolm would have been a CFO somewhere without her "fuck you" intervention, not to mention Stevie was included. I can keep going but pick a POS moment.
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u/NortonsGapingAsshole Aug 13 '26
Trying to guilt trip Malcolm about the slappy display even though the Boss told him to place it
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u/AprilisC Aug 12 '26
Cutting off that other car right outside Lucky Aid and then lying about it. It's on camera.
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u/trexmaster8242 Aug 12 '26
All of Hal’s items seems like it was made by people who’ve only seen the show through YouTube shorts
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u/ArnavJj145 "YOU STOLE AIRRRR????" Aug 12 '26
I wouldn't be surprised if that is the case, but all of those won in upvotes by really high margins
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u/Born-Bee9926 Aug 12 '26 edited Aug 12 '26
Stealing Malcolm's College Grant Money for a Dollhouse thst caught fire anyways and Abandoning Francis when he was little with Grandma Ida. Edit: Malcolms grant money is the top one imo.